Day One:
*Desperate times, my friends. I spend way too much on things I don’t
need. I mean, I haven’t actually sat
down and done the math (I loathe
recreational math), but I’m pretty sure I’m not a very effective saver. There’s no real rhyme or reason to my
budget. There’s no real budget,
actually. Most of the time I pretend my
savings account doesn’t exist, and if I just don’t look at it…the numbers won’t
be true.
Come on. It’s internet money. It’s not even real to begin with.
Anyway, please believe I’m well intentioned. I have a hundred thousand scraps of paper
with budget ideas and budget notions and budget plans, but they mostly get
tucked in drawers and pockets and end up in the lint trap of my dryer long
after the figures I wrote down are outdated.
So…nice try, but this style just is not cutting the mustard anymore
(even if it is successfully paying the mortgage).
So I, along with my similarly
well-intentioned-but-shabbily-followed-through friend Betty, will be
implementing No-Spend Days into our weekly lives. We start with one day a week (which, in
shameful admission, is likely to be a struggle) and work our way up to 20 days
per month were we spend nothing.
I had to actually wait for a day when I didn’t stop at
Dunkin’ Donuts or CVS or 7-11 or wherever on the way to work so I could have a
truthfully clean slated day to begin with.
Today was that day. Not because
of will power, but because I woke up late and tried on fourteen different
outfits (now sprawled across my closet like wardrobe Armageddon) and simply
didn’t have time to stop for morning coffee and pastries and cheddar cheese
Combos.
It pleases me to report that I am now 10 hours into my first
No-Spend day, and have found myself to be amazingly resourceful. Since this was sort of an impromptu decision,
I was without some of the basics that I normally would run right up to the
store to snag extras of. I do this
habitually, knowing full well I have a brand new tube of mascara or pair of
running shoes or Fossil handbag sitting at home. But if I don’t have it with me…I’m doomed to
buy it again.
Not today, universe.
I dug through my desk and found a bag of 50 calorie sandwich
flats. Stuck my hand under the seat of
my car and pulled out a (non-expired!) cup of mandarin oranges. Rifled through the pockets of all the coats I
have lying around at work and found a pressed powder compact. I was totally set.
Additionally, I found an open bag of Combos in my
trunk. I would lie and say that I don’t
normally take chances on stale or expired food, but (*see note above). I popped a few into my mouth and, after
gagging a little, decided these were well beyond even MY ability to eat
them. They tasted like my trunk
smells…which is kind of like burned plastic and potting soil. But whatever, I had a whole cupful of
mandarin oranges waiting for me.
So begins my journey.
Still not sure how Betty and I will dole out or enforce reprimands for No-Spend
infractions, but we’re pretty honest with each other and I think we’ll come up
with something suitably horrific to keep us in check.
Wish us luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment