Wawa and CVS Overload

When I balanced my checkbook last week (which I hadn't done in two weeks, which meant I overdrew my account, which made me thankful, once again, for my overdraft protection), I noticed that a lot of my money was going to debit transactions at the following two places: Wawa and CVS. For those who don't live in this part of the country, Wawa is similar to 7-11, Sheetz, and Circle K. Some Wawa stores have gas stations, while others are just convenience stores. CVS, as most of us know, is a drug store, but it is more than that. It is my favorite drug store. I have long had a relationship with CVS...a relationship that involved things like new mascara, magazine, and lip balm. And some things just haven't changed.

I work at two different hospitals within our network. The big one has a CVS on the way to it. It is the same CVS that used to be near my apartment when I was just out of college. I have spent a lot of money in that CVS. Now, when I am on my way to work, I am finding myself stopping there often to pick up a couple of sodas for the night at work and a "few other things." These things have included any and all of the following: new fun pens, a clipboard, magazines, a Sudoku book, snacks, a lint brush, hair ties, a headband, socks, nail polish, hair conditioner...the list goes on and on. Of all these things, I can't really say that there was one of them that I really needed. Even the sodas were not something I really needed. I have several twelve packs of Diet Coke Plus in cans in my garage that would be perfectly appropriate for drinking at work in the middle of the night. However, instead, I have been blowing money on a lot of little things that have a way of adding up.

The second hospital, which is the smaller one, has a Wawa on the way to it. I also stop at this Wawa for sodas to get me through the night. I can get in less trouble at Wawa because they have a smaller selection. However, they have a deli station where they make sandwiches to order, and more than once recently, I have gone up to that little touch screen and order food to take into work and eat in the middle of the night. This is problematic for a few reasons. First of all, I have lots of frozen dinners in my freezer at home that I bought just for those middle of the night meals. Secondly, those deli hoagies and sandwiches are not on my Weight Watchers plan. And finally, that stuff adds up! And that is evident in my bottom line, which, you know, fell below zero last pay.

Therefore, I need to rein it in. I need to start bringing food and soda from home and stop making stops on the way to work to buy it. I need to remember that I am supposed to be living on a budget. And, on a mostly unrelated note, I also need to stop using my saved credit card information to shop on Amazon. Bad Mary! No more shopping!

If only those weren't such convenient stops on my way...