A Personal Journey Through the Tarot: Page of Pentacles

Budgeting

The Page of Pentacles is asking for a restructuring of how we deal with and relate to our money. You have needs, you have wants, you have dreams. Mostly they all require cash. Of all the skills taught when I went to school the most useful one of budgeting was not. Apparently, those of us that live in North America live in perpetual debt. There are the obvious debt creators; higher education, mortgage, car… and then there are the more insidious debt creators, like frivolous spending on credit cards, $5 coffees, $30 lunches…

I grew up in a time no debit cards. If I wanted to spend money I had to actually go to the bank, stand in line and get it from a teller, no ATM’s. If I wanted to reduce my line standing time I needed to draw enough to last the entire week. If I overspent I was back in the teller line. This allowed for a very direct knowledge of how much I spent.  

Warning! We are moving towards a cashless society that is designed to make us spend money as easily as possible. If crippling debt is a problem try for one week just to use cash. Figure out what you may need for the entire week, get the cash and attempt to stick to just that. This is obviously only for your day to day discretionary spending, but it is an excellent place to start if this is something you struggle with. 

Today I draw the Page of Pentacles and decide to review my budget for the next 6 months. After I take care of my necessities can I prioritize my frivolities?  Is there any way I can reduce my debt during this time? If I can not reduce it can I at least avoid increasing it?