Irony at it's finest. Day 1.
It's the 1st day of my year-long Spending Fast and I ironically found myself at the mall with the hub. Say what? Yeah. I know.
It was kinda like testing myself and probably way too soon. It's DAY 1 for goodness sake!
He wanted to return something and I said "I can do this. I can handle it..." and I did but it was kind of a weird experience going there knowing that no matter what "Great YEAR END/NEW YEAR Deal" I saw and whatever I found that I couldn't possibly live without that I was in-fact going to walk out of there item-less. Oh, poor me huh. I know what you're thinking and yes, I did do this to myself.
Browsing from store to store I was surprised to find that through this project that I may actually be able to find myself released from the burdens of my self-imposed debt. The constant heaviness of that debt that however subtle it feels on somedays is always there. It prevents me from doing certain things and definitely holds me back. If not literally then mentally.
Being in those stores I found that I no longer had the unspoken pressure/expectation to spend. That due to the Spending Fast that expectation has been removed (at least for the moment). Ok. I proved my point. Now, can I stop? ha.
In lovely lovely Anthropologie, it was a new experience to be able to enjoy the smells and textures and the true beauty of the items. Strange. Needless to say, that was quite a different experience than I usually have in shops. Usually I am consumed with the desire to find the best thing for the best price so I can be the best at whatever I'm trying to do/look-like/whatever. The American way? Be the best-est?
I'm happy to say that I left the mall awkwardly empty-handed.
Todays experience made me realize that I have been constantly and mindlessly spending money based primarily on convenience, instant gratification, boredom and I'll be honest... out of laziness too. It's a lot easier to buy a new shirt or skirt than try to figure out an outfit from old stuff that I'm sick of already.
This is only Day 1 with a total of $8 spent (on oranges, cilantro and other grocery store fruits) and who knows how much saved. As I sit here freezing (68 degrees on the thermostat) with a hat on and 2 pairs of socks I'm excited to see what other revelations come into being throughout the year... however hard it is in the beginning I think it will be worth it in the end.
Back in my home town of York, pa a local film critic spent half of every review she wrote explaining why it is so awesome that she is a film critic. ¾ of the column was dedicated to her awesomeness yet the review totally stunk.
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my husband and i lived frugally for a couple decades and then retired. not spending is a habit and once you are used to it, it comes easily. you become like ross perot who talked about getting 7-dollar haircuts even though he was rich. you think about and therefore care more about the individual dollars. this might sound absolutely awful, but keeping track of your small expenses as well as your large ones is how you acquire a lot of moola.
warren buffett talks about how keeping track of small expenses is key.
i have friends who don't understand how we retired in our early 40s but who spend money as fast as they can .. on clothes they don't wear, 5-dollar starbucks coffees, etc.
maybe the focus on money (and not spending it) sounds like a drag .. like chastity .. but really, the more you focus on it, the more importance you give it, and therefore you start placing focus and importance on your time. most people i know don't seem to get that time really does equal money. you have to spend your precious earthly hours earning each dollar. when you piss it away, you are literally pissing away your life.
money = your time; savings = your freedom.