It’s time to make cents sense of a single’s expenses

I glance at the amount of my latest credit card statement and gasp. I’m single, and I live with my parents. I hold down a good job. I don’t pay for rent or groceries. But instead of squirreling away my hard-earned money, my monthly credit card bill eats half my salary each month. It’s time to make cents sense of a single’s expenses.

Stockings

Do the math. The number of times you can wear a pair of stockings before a run snakes sneakily down your calf (be forewarned: this usually happens on a date) multiplied by the days of the week equals a whole lot of pairs of stockings.

When I went to the store right after Purim, I expected that $80 or so would buy me around 20 pairs, enough to tide me over through at least the week of Pesach and hopefully a couple weeks after. I left the store with a receipt for $100.97, 18 pairs of stockings, and a prayer on my lips that they last me at least half the season.