Well we decided to give it a try and see if we could meet the challenge. We decided we would begin that Friday, knowing that if we waited too long to start this journey we may talk ourselves out of it!
So while B was at work Friday night, I ran some errands around town, paying my cable bill and his electric. Then it was off to the grocery store. With two lists in hand, I grabbed a buggy and made my way through the store, stocking us both up on some grub. I tend to stick with soup, frozen chicken, and frozen veggies. I have a bad habit of planning to eat all fresh and organic, then letting the stuff go bad before I decide to eat it. I personally blame that bad habit on being a college student. No normal college student has a regular enough schedule to eat at home at the same time everyday, or plan to cook a whole fresh good meal every night. And by the time I get out of class or off work at night, I'm normally craving PB&J or chicken noodle soup. But anywayssss..... B on the other hand decided to be a grocery list diva. Sending me as his personal shopper meant that I had to be quite specific about his food selection. After getting snacks, soup, vitamins, and whatever else we felt like we couldn't live without for ten days, I made myself to the self-checkout and headed home! This would be simple. Not spending money would be no big thing, and in the meantime my savings would be building! Woohoo! Why didn't we do this sooner??......
Friday, June 3rd- Day 1- No big deal! Not spending money was easy... Not only was I working all day, therefore leaving me no free time to spend... but I also got my paycheck at the restaurant and putting it in the bank knowing it was untouched was heavenly!
We continued this little "spending free" adventure for the next 9 days, which turned out to be quite interesting. Here's how it went...
- The following weekend (Days 2 & 3) was a piece of cake! Staying busy working the weekend meant no temptation to spend, however it was a tad hard saying no to Sunday lunch after church and settling for yet another sandwich made at the house!
- Monday, June 6th- Day 4- This was a tough one for me! Saying no to the vending machine, during our break between lab and class was hard, but I made it. Not to mention I ran out of my favorite mascara today, tragic.
- Tuesday, June 7th- Day 5- I took an afternoon run around the farmroad with our chocolate lab, Kate, all the while dreaming of an ICEE.... killer. However, my sweet mommy (who happened to be staying the night with me) heard about this terrible ICEE heartbreak and may or may not have brought B and I one when she got off work. Sweet! Mom saved the day with that one!
- Wednesday & Thursday, June 8th&9th- Day 6&7- Breaking our Mexican food habit was definitely a struggle for B and I. We love getting Mexican food for lunch after class right off campus! Luckily, we had a little cheesedip in the fridge to hold us over. Oh yea, and my gas light came on... Oh joy! Still have to make it to Monday!
- Friday, June 10th- Day 8- Friday was a great day for me! Not only did I get a paycheck Thursday from the gym, but once again Friday was payday at the restaurant and I was racking up on savings! B had made it this far without a hitch, he took out his spending temptations on his E*Trade account. Already having money in his account before the challenge started meant he could invest and play around with his stock as much as he wanted, without technically spending anymore money! (I'm a tad bitter about this one, and I'm still not sure how I feel about this stretching of the rules. If I would have known this I would have bought myself a Forever21 gift card before we started so I could steadily feed my online shopping addiction.)
- Saturday, June 11th- Day 9- ALMOST THERE!!! Worked a double at the restaurant and left my wallet at the house, that way a Subway 6"couldn't reel me in after work!
- Sunday, June 12, Day 10- We made it! After church I headed to work and then back home for a long night of studying and cereal for dinner!
I'm pretty sure I'll be a little bit more of a frugal college student, after this experience. I love watching my savings grow and seeing what all I can live without. It's a shame to think we had to do this as a challenge, when some people do this without a choice. I'm going to try to remember that day to day and evaluate to importance of what I'm buying. Going without mexican food and movies is not that huge of a struggle in reality, sometimes I just lose sight of the bigger picture.
Not having the option to spend for ten days really brought to my attention where all my money normally goes. It's like keeping a food diary. You don't realize you ate a whole box of 100 calorie packs in a day, until you decide to right down what you are eating. Well, I didn't realize how much of my paycheck was funding my Subway obsession, until I drove past Subway countless times over the last week and couldn't pull in... I seriously recommend trying this challenge to all of you out there! I bet you will learn more than you thought!
Until next time,
G
No comments:
Post a Comment