no spending, no worries

So a few weeks ago, the boyfriend told me about an article on Yahoo! Finance about a lady that went ten whole days without spending a dime. At first I honestly didn't see what all the hoopla was about, then I started thinking. That means no gas, no groceries, no bills getting paid... Is that even possible?
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!

Monday morning came and we were so proud of ourselves. My account had grown significantly, and believe it or not, B and I decided to eat lunch at the house, after class, instead of going out to celebrate! I still have a pretty adequate supply of soup and chicken breast, so hopefully I won't have to get groceries again until the weekend. Completing this little challenge showed me how the smallest amounts of money can add up quickly! I never realized how often I wanted to run to Sonic for happy hour, or run to Walgreens and raid the candy aisle! Not to mention Redbox. I'm pretty sure I've single handedly paid for a new car for the CEO of Redbox. Yes, I'm that loyal of a customer... what can I say? I love my movies! But I am starting to realize I can take my movie nights down to a few less a month!

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

Unplugged, unamused, yet still alive :)

I started this blog because I like to write. I'll admit I'm not the most talented or vivacious writer, like a certain friend of mine, however I enjoy journaling and seeing my thoughts out in front of me. A blog just seemed like a great thing for a girl in her 20s to do. So I've gone from avid blog reader to beginner blog writer. For the 3 or 4 people who actually do read this, I'll go ahead and apologize for my lack of dedication. As I already know I won't be blogging frequently. This will just be a new outlet for my thoughts :)

So... after days of contemplation I did it. I deactivated my Facebook. I'm not one of those people who are super against technology taking over our lives or anything. I just realized how much I was living through my computer. It was like I couldn't remember what my life was like before my Facebook page. I constantly was worried about what was or wasn't on my Facebook, whether it be my current relationship status, unflattering pictures tagged of me, or silly comments on my wall. I had forgotten that I am actually a person aside from that page. I can still enjoy getting ready and dressing up even if there won't be a picture taken of me. I can still have deep thoughts, questions, or opinions without sharing them with everyone I know on Facebook.

I really realized how much Facebook had taken over when I got a new phone with a handy little Facebook app on it. making it so much easier and convenient to keep tabs on. Also, I started ignoring the people I was around, sorry B, because I was too busy checking status updates or checking out people's pictures. I realized that I wasn't living my life. I was simply checking in on other people's when I got the chance.

I mean don't get me wrong, Facebook is great. I mean I'm a junior in college and I'm at my 3rd university, so obviously I have a few friends I try to keep in touch with and fb helps SO much! Also it's nice when we get caught up in our own busy lives to check in on friends without having to play phone tag for a week before we get the chance to catch up. This little Facebook free journey should be interesting. I've gone to the links of having my boyfriend change my password so I can't reactivate it. Can you say ridiculous? Yep, that's me! Meanwhile I'm unamused with this whole process, but I'm hoping it will help me be more productive with my freetime.

Other than schoolwork, email, and this blog. I'm going to try to stay off my laptop and try to spend more time soaking up my life. More time in my Bible, other books, and spending time with the precious people in my life and not just a photo and newsfeed of them :) I know most of you think that I'm beyond ridiculous for this, but don't lie... in some way, shape, or form you are/ have been addicted to technology too! So here I go... off to enjoy my Facebook free life.

Until next time..  :)
G