What are others doing to deal with budget "gotchas"?

My mother used to have a saying when she was alive. "When it's gone, it's gone." Another words, you spend what you got, and when it's gone you don't spend anymore! I'm such a frugal tightwad that I'm actually spending less in retirement, than I "budgeted". I'm actually saving money. I make a game out of it. I mostly eat chicken legs that I buy on sale and rice. I buy the rice in 50 lb bags at Sam's club. I think I paid about $8.50 for my last bag. That comes out to 17 cents/lb! I bake the chicken in the oven and smother it in Louisana hot sauce. I can live on next to nothing.

You don't have to be as cheap as me, but my point is that you can go as low as you have to go. For instance, most of the people in the world live on less than $2.00/day. They eat the equivalent of tortillas and beans. Do you know how cheap a bag of dry beans are? Pretty durn cheap. In the middle east it's mashed chick peas and "nan" or flatbread. In India it's chapatis (flat bread) and "Dal" which is lentils. In china it's rice and some vegetables with a tiny bit of meat. It's amazing how little meat we really need. The average adult male needs about 55 grams or 2 oz., and the average female 45 grams or 1 1/2 oz. of protein. So, my point is, spend what you want, but when it's gone, it's gone. Then you have to go back to living on tortillas and beans till your next distribution! - Art