Spending When I Should Be Saving

In May I wrote about my ambitious plan to save money and have nearly $200k in debt paid off.  I had plans to make me more accountable, keep a tight reign on what I could spend money on.  I have been aggressive with my money before so it's not unrealistic for me.  

Well, things haven't been going so well with that.  

First, I was invited to take part in a trip through Europe.  A friend's son is turning 18 in December and wants to celebrate it in Amsterdam, to be followed with visiting the UK, in particular England and Wales (and there's been some threat of an Irish pub crawl before catching a flight back stateside).  I was elated to be invited.  I had been invited to take a group trip to the UK a couple times before but was forced to turn down the offer due to financial constraints expected and unexpected.  Now, the only thing that holds me back is me and the worst case scenario is that I'm behind six months on my original debt pay off plan and I gain some amazing memories.  I've been researching as much as I can when I can about activities, food, exchanges, and so forth, including harrassing local friends that are more familiar with the territory.  I plan on doing a lot of grocery shopping instead of dining out and looking for good deals and free entertainment options for the course of the trip.

Second, I am trying to get my 200 hour yoga teaching certification.  I've been wanting to become a yoga instructor since I started taking classes in 2005, and instead of making an endless list of excuses I am releasing fear and getting started. About a month or two ago I got the wild idea instead of just attending yoga classes, I would start hosting them for my friends.  I've been hunting for an appropriate training program, but for the moment it looks like I'll have to go to San Francisco.  So far it's looking like most courses are right around $3,000.  Also, at this point most programs (that I'm looking at, at least) aren't beginning until the winter.  While I am bummed I can't start sooner, it actually works out perfectly with my planned Europe trip, so yay!

Finally, I'm going to Disneyland for my birthday, dammit!  I turn the (big?) 3-0 in September.  I'm going to spend it in a place I love.  We already have the season passes (which was honestly likely a bad financial decision on my part, but it's done).  I am going to reserve the rooms shortly, make dinner reservations, and plan on making beef jerky, vegetable chips, and packing some dried fruit we have on hand to keep our food costs down (there's a 24-hour Subway next to our favorite motel, so cheap and fresh late night/breakfast options are there).

So that is my 2011 adventure itinerary.  Keeping my fingers crossed it all goes (relatively) as planned.