A few days ago I heard this piece on NPR that struck a chord. Entitled, "I Love to Shop, But Do I Have a Shopping Problem?," this piece mainly caught my attention because of the advice a psychologist gave regarding compulsive buying.
Before making a purchase, she suggested asking yourself the following questions:
"Why am I here?
How do I feel?
Do I need this?
What if I wait?
How will I pay for it?
And where will I put it?"
She said that if you can answer those questions, preferably in writing, it's probably not a compulsive purchase.
The question that hits home the most with me is, "And where will I put it?" Our tiny apartment is bursting at the seams. I found myself consciously making Christmas gift decisions this year based on if we have a place to set it once it's been opened and "oohed and ahhed" at.
I hope to keep this questions in mind the next time I feel the need to fill the void with a purchase.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Simply Making Holidays Do: Christmas 2013
This Christmas has been different in a lot of ways for me. This is the first Christmas that my parents are officially divorced, so there is the awkward process of figuring out what's comfortable for everyone. It's not fun, but what can you do? This is also the first Christmas that I told myself that it's okay to refrain from "doing it up big," to create a more simple Christmas for me and my small family.
We decided to forgo getting a Christmas tree this year. Shelling out at least $20 for a real tree (albeit a beautiful smelling one) that I always regret having to throw away in January just didn't sound fun this year or at all cost-efficient. And while I do miss the pine smell throughout our tiny place, I am happy with what I did instead.
Because I do love the tradition of pulling out and hanging all of those childhood ornaments, I hung a garland that I already owned and strung the ornaments up. Getting to see those ornaments on a daily basis this month made me smile and I still get that warm feeling that I normally would get when seeing them on a Christmas tree.
I also decided not to send Christmas cards this year and to give a call to those I normally would've sent a card off to. It's only a few dollars I'll be saving, but I'm also secretly happy to not have to brave the post office at this time of year anyway.
In my small family, there are only a few close people that I actually exchange gifts with. Although I'd whip out my credit card and charge some wonderful gifts for them all in a second, I promised myself this year to keep it simple. For the ladies in my family, I found a tutorial online and made some homemade soy candles for them. I already had the mason jars so all I had to purchase was the soy wax and the wicks. I made a total of 6 candles and each ended up costing me about $1.25 to make. I added a homemade tag and some ribbon that I already owned to give them some charm. I'm happy with how they turned out and now I know that the next time I'd love to run to some fancy home goods store and buy a bunch of candles that I can make my own for a fraction of the cost.
We decided to forgo getting a Christmas tree this year. Shelling out at least $20 for a real tree (albeit a beautiful smelling one) that I always regret having to throw away in January just didn't sound fun this year or at all cost-efficient. And while I do miss the pine smell throughout our tiny place, I am happy with what I did instead.
Because I do love the tradition of pulling out and hanging all of those childhood ornaments, I hung a garland that I already owned and strung the ornaments up. Getting to see those ornaments on a daily basis this month made me smile and I still get that warm feeling that I normally would get when seeing them on a Christmas tree.
I also decided not to send Christmas cards this year and to give a call to those I normally would've sent a card off to. It's only a few dollars I'll be saving, but I'm also secretly happy to not have to brave the post office at this time of year anyway.
In my small family, there are only a few close people that I actually exchange gifts with. Although I'd whip out my credit card and charge some wonderful gifts for them all in a second, I promised myself this year to keep it simple. For the ladies in my family, I found a tutorial online and made some homemade soy candles for them. I already had the mason jars so all I had to purchase was the soy wax and the wicks. I made a total of 6 candles and each ended up costing me about $1.25 to make. I added a homemade tag and some ribbon that I already owned to give them some charm. I'm happy with how they turned out and now I know that the next time I'd love to run to some fancy home goods store and buy a bunch of candles that I can make my own for a fraction of the cost.
Food costs continue to be an issue for me. Even though I can tell myself I don't need new shoes or some pretty do-dad, abstaining from splurging on comfort foods is proving to be really difficult. And the holidays make it tough. Who am I to deny myself my favorite foods at Christmas-time? It's the most wonderful time of the year, right? We have a lot of holiday dinners and get togethers in the next week and I'm trying my best to cool it on the food spending in the meantime. It's gonna be hard, but it's worth it.
From my little corner of the world, I hope you have a wonderful and warm Christmas.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Monthly Check in: December 2013
Holiday time is in full swing and it's been almost a month since my experiment began. From lazy weekends, to traveling, to illness, there's been a few "a-ha" moments and a few "oh-no" moments along the way.
Best Practices
Best Practices
- Unsubscribing from the hoard of email listings that I had inexplicably chained myself to has been, so far, the most helpful practice in learning to "simply make do." I had a weakness for these emails, like the gorgeous email lookbooks from ShopRuche.com or the Jamba Juice Insider emails letting me know that I could get a smoothie for half off for FOUR HOURS only. As exciting as it was to get these emails, they stressed the hell of out me. Flash sales screamed in my face that "Hey! If you don't take advantage of this sale NOW you'll never have the chance again!" These emails made me constantly think about what I could "reasonably afford" to splurge on (and reasonably afford always meant charging it). They added fuel to the fire and even when I did allow myself to charge a much coveted item, the next email only began the process again. Some company's emails have been difficult to unsubscribe from, but I think my persistence has paid off and I only get the random email every once in awhile now. Now instead of jumping at the chance to open the email and see what the deal is, I'm jumping to unsubscribe and enjoy that feeling of letting go.
- I have not used my credit card since November. I plan to make a few Christmas purchases with my card, but I have budgeted to pay for them in January. I still haven't been able to completely cut the cord and leave the credit card at home, but once the holidays are over, I plan to find a safe place at home to leave it.
- Though I've had a lot going on this last month with work and at home, I've really tried to give myself time to relax and accept that laying around and doing nothing is all right and, after all, entirely human. Instead of having a Saturday where I set a long list of goals (which I never finished and inevitably ended up feeling horrible about), I give myself one goal and enjoy the satisfaction of not only getting it done--but enjoying the process. Today I am doing laundry. That's it. Some other things might come up, but I'm not drowning in a list of to-dos.
- I finally got rid of a large bag of clothes that I haven't worn in months. The extra room, no matter how small, has been lovely and makes me only want to purge and simplify my home more.
- Food. Food purchases will be the death of me. On those nights when we're too tired or the kitchen is just too cluttered to cook--and this time of year there are lots of them--it's too easy for me to break down and get some fast, easy food. I'm hoping in the new year to freeze some prepared meals to cut down on the urge to go through the drive through. The boyfriend needs to stop tempting me, as well.
- Holding myself to my budget and not dipping into my savings has long been a very difficult task for me. The holiday season has made it that much more difficult. I promise myself that in the month of January, I will not touch my savings. I need to start the year off right in order to see how good it feels to truly grow my savings and invest in my future.
- My name is Megan and I spend money for the sole excuse that I think it will make me "feel better." I had a bad cold last week and a sore throat that would not quit. I found myself going to the grocery store twice to buy food or items that I felt would comfort me in my pathetic time of sickness. And really, what I truly needed was to put my wallet away and go home, cuddle up, and watch a movie. What resulted was that I had to dip into my savings to cover purchases that I had already budgeted for, but thanks to my spending I no longer had the cash to cover. Illness is tough when it comes to "simply making do," because all I wanted to do was simply feel better and I didn't care how much I spent to get it.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Being Creative with the Needs: Money, Money Down the Drain
Every week, I haul a load of groceries home which includes a few gallon-sized water jugs. The tap water in our town is extremely suspect. And believe me when I say that I'm not one of those picky, tap water hating people, it's just that our town has a lot of issues right now and the aging water treatment plant is not at the top of the city's priorities list right now.
It occurred to me today, as I did my weekly grocery shopping, that buying my water this way is probably not very cost effective. We had a mounted water filtration system on our faucet years ago, but it broke and I never could scrape up enough money to go out and buy a new one. Plus, I was being lazy.
As I ponder this purchase, let's consider the golden question: Is this a 'Want' or a 'Need?' Water is a obviously a need. My options are to suck it up and drink tap water, buy those gigantic refillable jugs of water from a water station, get my water from the grocery store, or get a faucet system. The first option is out. The second option is out, too--we have no room to store one of those large jugs in our tiny apartment. I'm currently going with the third option and flirting with the idea of the fourth. Let's go to the numbers...
On average, each gallon of water is $1.00. Some weeks it varies and can hit all the way down to $0.89, but most of the year it's pretty consistently at $1.00.
On average, I buy 3 gallons of water per week.
That's an average of $3 spent per week on water. In a month (say 4 weeks to make it easy), I spend $12 on water. In a year, I spend around $156 on water.
I hit the recycling center around once a month and get some cash back for all of these gallon jugs of water. In my state, each jug gets me $0.05 back. If I recycle all 12 jugs each month, I get back $0.60. Don't spend that all at once.
So, on average, in considering my recycling, I spend $11.40 on water every month and around $148.20 per year.
The PUR 3-Stage Vertical Faucet Mount + 4 Replacement Filters Pack that I am considering is $48.99 (the cheapest place that I've found this pack is on Amazon. Coupled with my Amazon Prime membership, shipping is free). Each filter pack has a life that lasts about 2-3 months and gets you around 100 gallons--all together the four packs should get you through one year or around 400 gallons.
400 FREAKING GALLONS. That makes me angry that I've been toting around those heavy gallons of water every week.
Right now I am paying $1.00/gallon, whereas with the mount I would be paying $0.12/gallon. $400 for 400 gallons or $48.99? Or, how about more realistically (as who knows if I'd actually get a whole 100 gallon life-span out of each filter), $148.20 per year or $48.99 on water?
If I buy the mount, in four months I will have already made up the cost of the purchase in savings thanks to no longer having to buy those plastic jugs.
It's decided! I will take a look at my budget for December and see if I can sneak it in this month. If not, come January I will be the proud owner of a money-saving new faucet mounted water filtration system. What a luxurious life I lead. With almost $12 per month more in my bank account, I'd say that's pretty luxurious.
It occurred to me today, as I did my weekly grocery shopping, that buying my water this way is probably not very cost effective. We had a mounted water filtration system on our faucet years ago, but it broke and I never could scrape up enough money to go out and buy a new one. Plus, I was being lazy.
As I ponder this purchase, let's consider the golden question: Is this a 'Want' or a 'Need?' Water is a obviously a need. My options are to suck it up and drink tap water, buy those gigantic refillable jugs of water from a water station, get my water from the grocery store, or get a faucet system. The first option is out. The second option is out, too--we have no room to store one of those large jugs in our tiny apartment. I'm currently going with the third option and flirting with the idea of the fourth. Let's go to the numbers...
On average, each gallon of water is $1.00. Some weeks it varies and can hit all the way down to $0.89, but most of the year it's pretty consistently at $1.00.
On average, I buy 3 gallons of water per week.
That's an average of $3 spent per week on water. In a month (say 4 weeks to make it easy), I spend $12 on water. In a year, I spend around $156 on water.
I hit the recycling center around once a month and get some cash back for all of these gallon jugs of water. In my state, each jug gets me $0.05 back. If I recycle all 12 jugs each month, I get back $0.60. Don't spend that all at once.
So, on average, in considering my recycling, I spend $11.40 on water every month and around $148.20 per year.
 |
| Hey, filtered water is a necessity in this town. |
400 FREAKING GALLONS. That makes me angry that I've been toting around those heavy gallons of water every week.
Right now I am paying $1.00/gallon, whereas with the mount I would be paying $0.12/gallon. $400 for 400 gallons or $48.99? Or, how about more realistically (as who knows if I'd actually get a whole 100 gallon life-span out of each filter), $148.20 per year or $48.99 on water?
If I buy the mount, in four months I will have already made up the cost of the purchase in savings thanks to no longer having to buy those plastic jugs.
It's decided! I will take a look at my budget for December and see if I can sneak it in this month. If not, come January I will be the proud owner of a money-saving new faucet mounted water filtration system. What a luxurious life I lead. With almost $12 per month more in my bank account, I'd say that's pretty luxurious.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Working On the Wants: Shower Curtain
Booyah. It may have taken an hour, but I cleaned my shower curtain with free and clear laundry detergent and now it's squeaky clean and almost near brand new. Best of all, it smells amazing in my bathroom now.
The apple-scented candle is probably helping.
Shower Curtain: Washed down current shower curtain with laundry detergent and rinsed.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Mission: Don't Buy A Damned Thing on Black Friday
For the last few years of my adult life, I've participated in the rat race that is Black Friday in the United States. Last year I was standing in line in front of Joann's at 6:00am and the year before that I marched out to find the boyfriend a gift I had been eying for him. Waking up this morning, I couldn't help but feel a little empty that I, too, wasn't out there armed with a shopping cart ready to find a good deal and float on the high of that deal for the rest of the day.
Operation "Simply Making Do" began a few days ago, and so I have slowly began the task of unsubscribing from the multitude of emails that fill my inbox every day. It takes sometimes up to a week or two for the unsubscribe request to be completed, unfortunately, so the deluge of BLACK FRIDAY deals began bombarding me yesterday during Thanksgiving dinner. I would be lying if I didn't open a few. Because I did. My inner crafter is screaming right now, "Hey! Joann's is offering free, no-minimum shipping through the first week of December. Yaaaaarn! Papercraftssss." Let me tell you, that inner crafter is persistent.
I awoke this morning knowing that this is my first real challenge on my road to kicking my need to spend, spend, spend. In the effort to try to work through this urge to go out and enjoy this national shopping holiday with my fellow shopaholics, and not just simply ignore it, I decided to try to write through it.
As I look around my apartment, I can begin to stockpile a list in my mind of things I'd love to buy. Things that I've convinced myself would make my everyday life feel more complete, accomplished, and let's just say it, better than everyone else. Because that's what this need to buy things is all about, right? It's about stacking up better to my neighbor. Lifestyle blogs that feature gorgeous table spreads, delicately decorated guest rooms, and spotless modern kitchens are a weakness of mine. They are a weakness for many young women. But after getting lost for hours in some beautiful blog with stunning pictures of a perfect home or party, the simple truth is that I feel like crap. Lifestyle blogs, though pretty and a fun time suck, make me feel like shit. "This tension between authenticity and aspiration may be at the heart of why lifestyle blogs don't just inspire readers, they also tend to bum them out." Sure, I am feel inspired, but that inspiration always feels out of reach. There are always things I'd need to purchase to get near to that feeling of a creating a beautiful home.
If I could go out today on a Black Friday shopping spree (I'm salivating a little here) and buy ten items that I believe would make my home feel more complete, they would be:
To "Simply Make Do," I have to adapt and be creative. The desire to buy new, pretty things will never completely go away. But the trick is to teaching myself to consider alternatives and learn to find the same satisfaction that I would feel in buying new things. Before I run out to replace an item or buy something I feel like I desperately need, I have to ask myself:
It's 5:04pm on Black Friday and I've got a lot done today at home. I put most of Christmas up, resisted the desire to make a list of extra decorations to buy, read "Little Women," watched "Christmas Vacation," inched my way through a mountain of dishes, and enjoyed staying in. I think a cup of hot chocolate is in order to reward myself for a job well done today.
Operation "Simply Making Do" began a few days ago, and so I have slowly began the task of unsubscribing from the multitude of emails that fill my inbox every day. It takes sometimes up to a week or two for the unsubscribe request to be completed, unfortunately, so the deluge of BLACK FRIDAY deals began bombarding me yesterday during Thanksgiving dinner. I would be lying if I didn't open a few. Because I did. My inner crafter is screaming right now, "Hey! Joann's is offering free, no-minimum shipping through the first week of December. Yaaaaarn! Papercraftssss." Let me tell you, that inner crafter is persistent.
I awoke this morning knowing that this is my first real challenge on my road to kicking my need to spend, spend, spend. In the effort to try to work through this urge to go out and enjoy this national shopping holiday with my fellow shopaholics, and not just simply ignore it, I decided to try to write through it.
As I look around my apartment, I can begin to stockpile a list in my mind of things I'd love to buy. Things that I've convinced myself would make my everyday life feel more complete, accomplished, and let's just say it, better than everyone else. Because that's what this need to buy things is all about, right? It's about stacking up better to my neighbor. Lifestyle blogs that feature gorgeous table spreads, delicately decorated guest rooms, and spotless modern kitchens are a weakness of mine. They are a weakness for many young women. But after getting lost for hours in some beautiful blog with stunning pictures of a perfect home or party, the simple truth is that I feel like crap. Lifestyle blogs, though pretty and a fun time suck, make me feel like shit. "This tension between authenticity and aspiration may be at the heart of why lifestyle blogs don't just inspire readers, they also tend to bum them out." Sure, I am feel inspired, but that inspiration always feels out of reach. There are always things I'd need to purchase to get near to that feeling of a creating a beautiful home.
If I could go out today on a Black Friday shopping spree (I'm salivating a little here) and buy ten items that I believe would make my home feel more complete, they would be:
- Bed pillows
- Matching dish set
- Matching silverware
- Cookware set
- Sectional sofa
- Mattress
- Shower curtain
- Carpet shampooer
- Vacuum
- Coffee table
To "Simply Make Do," I have to adapt and be creative. The desire to buy new, pretty things will never completely go away. But the trick is to teaching myself to consider alternatives and learn to find the same satisfaction that I would feel in buying new things. Before I run out to replace an item or buy something I feel like I desperately need, I have to ask myself:
- Is this really a need or a want?
- If I already own this, can I clean it up to make it, most importantly, more hygienic?
- If I really, really need something, can I buy it second-hand?
- If I really, really need something and can't buy it used, can I buy it at a discount?
- Bed pillows - It's true that clean, newer pillows are important for my health. I just need to save up and wait until they go on sale. Waiting will ensure that I get the best price and that I truly need it.
- Matching dish set - This really isn't a need and our current dishes, which we have more than enough of, do the job just fine.
- Matching silverware - Again, suck it up :)
- Cookware set - We have plenty of skillets and sauce pans. If any become unusable, maybe I could ask around to see if any family members have a set they are looking to get rid of or check out the local thrift stores.
- Sectional sofa - As lovely as this would be, our current living room furniture is fine. When we move one day, we can look into buying a new set or sectional sofa used or see if a friend or family has one they don't want. In the meantime, I could always possibly steam clean ours to give them a sprucing up.
- Mattress - If the boyfriend and I are in for the long haul, we will purchase a mattress together in the next few years. Now is not the time and we both sleep well now. I should make sure to flip the mattress and the mattress topper every few months to give the bed a "fluffing up."
- Shower curtain - The shower curtain we have now is only a year old and it is not a necessity to replace it. Give it a complete clean with laundry detergent or vinegar to make it squeaky clean once again.
- Carpet shampooer - As much as I would love to have a carpet shampooer of our own, let's be honest, in my tiny apartment, where am I going to store it? Once it's spring and warm again outside, I can rent a carpet shampooer to give the carpet a clean. It's no use shampooing the carpet now unless I want to wait hours for it to dry.
- Vacuum - Our current vacuum is still chugging along fine. Once old faithful dies, only then can I think about getting a new one.
- Coffee table - It's true that our current coffee table is broken. In a freak crafting accident I cracked a portion of the tempered glass and we've covered the break with coffee table books and a tablecloth so none of the cats hurt themselves on it. It's been like that for at least two years now. I've lived with it this long, do I really need a new one?
It's 5:04pm on Black Friday and I've got a lot done today at home. I put most of Christmas up, resisted the desire to make a list of extra decorations to buy, read "Little Women," watched "Christmas Vacation," inched my way through a mountain of dishes, and enjoyed staying in. I think a cup of hot chocolate is in order to reward myself for a job well done today.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Holiday Blues & High Hopes for 2014
I've got Thanksgiving meals and Christmas presents on my mind. When I look at my bank account and realize that I failed to adequately prepare in advance for this oh-so-fun time of year, I am seriously considering throwing a "I can't afford to buy you a gift, but I definitely love you" get together for all of my friends and family this holiday season. But it's then that I realize that I've been doing this all year--this dreading of looking at my bank account, this scrimping to barely buy my sister a birthday present, this getting by (and barely at that).
With another year on the horizon, I can't help but assess where I was a year ago. I had lofty goals for 2013: pay off my credit card, start really putting back money in my savings account, and live more simply. And as I look at where I am a mere few days away from Thanksgiving, the truth of my situation is not lovely: I added $700 to my credit card, I ate into my savings and only was able to stop myself from spending half of my meager tax return, and life is anything but simple (and let's face it--it's silly to think that it ever completely will be!).
What is it to live life simply? Zen Habits defines simple living as something that is different for each person, but in essence it is "eliminating all but the essential, eschewing chaos for peace, and spending your time doing what’s important to you." Simple living also goes hand in hand with sustainability, minimalism, and meditation practices.
I'm ready to take the jump and makes some changes because I want to free myself from the constant need to buy things to make myself feel like I'm truly living. I'm tired of trying to convince myself that I'm living a worthwhile and well put-together life through buy, buy, buying. Simple living is about being creative, about making do.
I'm also ready to free myself from a never-ending list of to-dos. I never feel like I can relax.
In our social media crazed world, I've found that I am torturing myself everyday with comparisons. And Facebook is my masochistic weapon of choice. She's got this, he's going on that vacation...and I don't even begin to compare. I'm sure the fact that I have a 10 year high school reunion coming up isn't helping calm this comparing game. At 27 years old, I have a stable job with lots of perks--great benefits, freedom, and flexibility. I'm not making a whole lot, but I have to realize that the benefits and the ability to feel like a human being in my place of work are huge advantages that not many people have. Those advantages alone are worth a lot. Once I drop measuring my life against others, I am left with the truth that I've got it pretty good.
So, what's in the way of my being happy most of the time? An insatiable need to purchase things and my resulting mounting debt. It's time to simply make do, to not run to the store when I have a whim, to stop obsessing over the ludicrous idea that my life will be better when I buy "X." Because, in all of its sappiness, the truth is that my life is happening now and I'm missing it by anticipating making that next purchase and not appreciating what I already do have.
The rules:
Here's to peace, to living as close to debt-free as I can, and to sanity in 2014!
With another year on the horizon, I can't help but assess where I was a year ago. I had lofty goals for 2013: pay off my credit card, start really putting back money in my savings account, and live more simply. And as I look at where I am a mere few days away from Thanksgiving, the truth of my situation is not lovely: I added $700 to my credit card, I ate into my savings and only was able to stop myself from spending half of my meager tax return, and life is anything but simple (and let's face it--it's silly to think that it ever completely will be!).
What is it to live life simply? Zen Habits defines simple living as something that is different for each person, but in essence it is "eliminating all but the essential, eschewing chaos for peace, and spending your time doing what’s important to you." Simple living also goes hand in hand with sustainability, minimalism, and meditation practices.
I'm ready to take the jump and makes some changes because I want to free myself from the constant need to buy things to make myself feel like I'm truly living. I'm tired of trying to convince myself that I'm living a worthwhile and well put-together life through buy, buy, buying. Simple living is about being creative, about making do.
I'm also ready to free myself from a never-ending list of to-dos. I never feel like I can relax.
In our social media crazed world, I've found that I am torturing myself everyday with comparisons. And Facebook is my masochistic weapon of choice. She's got this, he's going on that vacation...and I don't even begin to compare. I'm sure the fact that I have a 10 year high school reunion coming up isn't helping calm this comparing game. At 27 years old, I have a stable job with lots of perks--great benefits, freedom, and flexibility. I'm not making a whole lot, but I have to realize that the benefits and the ability to feel like a human being in my place of work are huge advantages that not many people have. Those advantages alone are worth a lot. Once I drop measuring my life against others, I am left with the truth that I've got it pretty good.
So, what's in the way of my being happy most of the time? An insatiable need to purchase things and my resulting mounting debt. It's time to simply make do, to not run to the store when I have a whim, to stop obsessing over the ludicrous idea that my life will be better when I buy "X." Because, in all of its sappiness, the truth is that my life is happening now and I'm missing it by anticipating making that next purchase and not appreciating what I already do have.
The rules:
- Do not use my credit card. If an emergency arises, that is the only time that that evil plastic card is used.
- Hit my credit card payoff goal each month. Only in emergencies is it okay to dip into this money.
- Hit my savings goal every month. Only in emergencies is it okay to dip into this money.
- With any extra money, I can only splurge on experiences, not things. In learning to "simply make do," I don't want to shut myself inside and reject any chance to spend with those important to me. It will be important to set boundaries though. When the money just ain't there to join a pal for a drink, it just ain't there.
- Stop the constant transferring between my checking and savings.
- Give myself down time. Accept that my weekends will include the usual grocery shopping and chores, and that's okay, but it's also definitely okay to take a break. And just do nothing. Or watch hours of mindless trash TV.
- Leave my credit card at home.
- Set a budget for myself and mark off as bills are paid, groceries are paid, etc.
- Always maintain a minimum of $100 in my checking account for emergencies, peace of mind, and to cover bills that inevitably will withdraw earlier than expected.
- If there is any extra money for splurging on experiences, take the money out in cash and keep it in my wallet. Physically seeing my money and seeing what I'm limited to will hopefully keep me from blindly charging away.
- Recycle items for extra change.
- Unsubscribe from all retail email lists and text messages: Groupon, stores, and online retailers. No constant reminders of sales and pretty things equals no temptation!
- Stay off Facebook as much as possible.
- Give my apartment a complete clean. Make boxes for donation, keep, sell, memories (try to limit this box, however hard it might me). De-clutter each room and storage space.
- Cut and collect newspaper coupons. Load coupons onto Safeway card. I've been doing this for the past year and I've found it's absolutely been worth my time.
- Keep a jar chronicling quick snippets of memories in 2014. This way, if I can hold myself to my rules and truly save and relieve myself of my debt, I can look back and see that truly good, fun things did happen in 2014.
- Don't over schedule my weekends. Refrain from writing to-do lists on the weekend.
- Practice mindfulness.
- Keep a log of items that I am considering purchasing (outside of groceries). Assess what is a "Want" and what is a "Need." Toss out the wants or come up with creative alternatives until they become true needs. Then assess those needs once more--is there a creative way to make the cost of buying this need less harsh on my wallet?
- Use coupons/discounts
- Buy used/second hand
- If applicable and cost effective, make it myself
- If applicable, borrow from family or a friend
Here's to peace, to living as close to debt-free as I can, and to sanity in 2014!
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