SO BUSTED! I've been laying low the past few days trying to escape the wrath of the Budgetmaster (hubbie) and his recent discovery of my stashed coffee receipts.

There are several reasons why I would fail as a criminal. The biggest error I make is my general lack of attention to detail. Here's how it went down.

When it came time to really tighten our belts and pare down the expenditures in our household budget, many luxury items were cut, and I mean cut. Netflix? Canceled. Lunches at restaurants? No more. Movies? Maybe once a month. Then it came to coffee consumption. I refused to budge. I gave an impassioned speech on my God-given rights of the pursuit of happiness that would make the Supreme Court weep. But hubbie wasn't moved.

I eventually, albeit grudgingly, admitted he was right. I didn't need my Americano every day. I could drink the office coffee with (gasp!) powdered creamer. And in an eleventh hour agreement, we worked a compromise (also known as The Sumatra Treaty) that would allow me to splurge on an Americano three times a week which would save us about forty bucks a month.

And I strictly followed the budget for about three weeks. I slowly and unassumingly built back up to an Americano every work day. Should I have paid in cash? Maybe, but like I said earlier, I suffer from a lack of attention to detail. I swiped my debit card almost every time and sometimes added a tip before stuffing the receipts in my backpack.

Fast forward to last week. Hubbie asks me if I have the car keys.

Look in my backpack, babe.

What's this, Mia?

What, babe?

These receipts?

OH CRAP!

And here's another reason why I wouldn't make a good criminal...I sing like a canary without any prompting at all. I'll give up secrets with just a look from my inquisitor.

In the end, confessions were made and all was forgiven. I will pledge to do better. It's just too bad that it's so darn cold in the mornings though. I'm going to have to put on gloves instead of warming my hands around a nice, hot cup of the best coffee in the world and taking warming sips at every traffic light. Sigh.