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

• 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.

Still Needs Some Work

• 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.

I'm proud of the work that I've done, but I also know that I still have a long ways to go.