Websites and packing and backpacks, oh my!

My eyes are beginning to glaze over from the extended time they have spent scouring the internet for the best travel websites, the most comprehensive "what to bring" lists, and the top-rated travel backpacks on the market. As it is, I have printed out a good 30 pages of excellent information, I'm starting to worry that -as usual- my current mental packing list is pages too long, and I have my eye on some well-designed Eagle Creek backpack styles. Sadly, my mom and I purchased a convertable rolling backpack on sale at REI over the summer... before we'd done our research. It is rather bulky, not ergonomically designed, and not all that secure. Alas. The downside of snapping up a deal when it comes along (in this case, months before I'd even starting researching for the logistics of my trip).

In the plans for the next week: DEVISE A BUDGET! I have a wonderful money-spending tactic of buying things "only when I know I'll use them." Unfortunately, this applies to lots of things, and doesn't really cut down on my expenses. I can *always* use more music, more books, daily sustenance (translate: eating out)... and, ever since this Europe trip, more clothes, as the ones I currently have are not made to withstand cold, snowy winters. I've put a good amount of effort into documenting my spendings during the past few semesters of college, but again, "documentation" doesn't automatically lead to a decrease in the money turned over.

Thus... I turn to the ever-illusive budget. And I'm going to have to do everything in my power to create it wisely and actually stick to its stipulations. "Just one more night of clubbing" every week of the semester may well deplete the funds I need to make my way around Europe this summer.