A new resolution

I added a new resolution to the other two (no, Jeremy, I'm not talking about THAT one -- though I'm working on it, too). I'm tracking my spending in hopes of eventually developing a budget. I wanted to come up with a budget, but realized that I have pretty much no idea where my money goes. So instead, I'm writing down everything I spend money on each day through the end of February to see if it leads me to any huge revelations. I suspect I will confirm that I spend an embarrassing amount of money on wine, cab fare, and pedicures.

In the meantime, I need to figure out how to organize all the data I collect. The usual categories to budget for seem to be things like housing, food, entertainment, transportation, communication, travel, and clothes. Linda posed a good question the other night -- does dining out count as food, or entertainment? And what if you're paying for someone else's meal? And do drinks count as food? I think I might also invent my own "personal upkeep" category that includes all visits to salons and gym membership fees.