365 Days of Gratitude: Day 13 - Pre-paid Visas

If you're anything like me, you overspend at Christmas. Every year, I spend more money than I think I'm going to and it's become a thing that I've budgeted for in 2019. And while I'm flying solo for the first time in a decade, making this the cheapest Christmas I've had in yeeeears, I wanted to make sure that the people I did have to buy for were taken care of and that I got them something they'd enjoy. Anyway, my point is that I always spend too much at this time of year, okay? Cool.

Now, the problem I have with spending too much money on other people is that I have less leftover for me, and that includes for much needed items like, you know, food. Tonight, when I got home from work, I opened my fridge to look for something that I could make and it was bare, my friends. I'm talking empty. And not just empty, empty but 'dead on the inside' empty. Thankfully, I have a stash of unused gift cards that I have stored away for such an occasion. You see, as a single guy, I don't really spend gift cards just because I want to — I spend them when I actually need them. Seeing as I need to eat to live and I don't get paid for a few days, I grabbed a $20 pre-paid Visa that I had been given last year and went out and bought as much Chinese food as I could afford, which, after tonight's meal has been subtracted, should be enough to last until the new year.

That's winning at life, my friends. No, I didn't have to tack on a week's grocery bill onto my already bulging credit card debt, I used an old pre-paid visa to go out and score Deep Fried Wontons and Szechuan Beef. Pre-paid Visa, I speak your name.