Mathematical cookies

Sarah showed up at my door with a plate of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and a calculator. ‘I figured if we’re going to suffer through budget planning, we might as well have something good to eat,’ she said, pushing past me into the living room like she owned the place.

Turns out Sarah approaches personal finance the same way she approaches everything else - with color-coded spreadsheets and the kind of organization that makes me feel simultaneously inspired and inadequate.

Mathematical cookies

She’s got categories I didn’t even know existed. Apparently ‘miscellaneous Target runs’ isn’t a legitimate budget line item.

The actual budgeting part. Less fun than the cookies.

We spent two hours going through everything, and I’m not gonna lie - seeing it all written down was both terrifying and oddly liberating. Sarah helped me realize I’m actually not as broke as I thought, just really bad at tracking where my money goes. Who knew those coffee shop writing sessions were adding up to actual money?

The cookies definitely helped. Sarah’s theory is that everything’s easier with sugar, and after today, I’m inclined to agree.