Thanks, but...

Some friends invited me to go on a weekend trip with them at the end of the month to some gorgeous, beautiful wine country. There will be fun. There will be frivolity. There will be bonding. There will be no Velvet. I sent them a note today that this trip is not in my budget and politely declined. While I believe this would be a wonderful experience to chill with the girls and go somewhere I'd never been, I have to stay focused on my financial goals. Besides, I just got back for a long, expensive vacation.

This does highlight the fact that I have not budgeted for vacations, even though travel is important to me. I am just now realizing that in this way, my budget does not reflect my values. For now, I'm ok with that. I'd rather actively save for charity, which is far more important to me right now.

[Segue way] One of the things that I fantasize about is marrying a man that believes in philanthropy and wants to build a charitable giving trust together. Then one day I thought, "Why do I have to be married for that? Why can't I do that now?" There are a lot of things I would like to do and experience, and I don't want to put my life on hold until I get married, lose weight, have "enough" money, etc. I want to live fully starting yesterday. :)[/Segue way]

So that's why travel can wait. I've never saved up money to give away, and I want to do that now. Oh, that and I need to save up my emergency and unemployment funds, but that doesn't sound nearly as impressive. :)