So this fast from non-essential spending is a lot harder than I thought it'd be! Here's just a few examples...
* I was totally craving chocolate after lunch today and usually, I'd go to the gas station and get a little 4-pack of SoftBatch cookies. I wanted some sooooo bad! (So I actually scrounged around the house and found some quarters... $0.79. Surely that doesnt count against me!)
* I got my new Jo-Ann's sales flyer in the mail this week. Last night, before bed, I got all cozied under the covers and sat down to formulate my plan of action on what to buy, what day to buy it and with what coupon. Only after I'd scoured the flyer from front to back did I remember that I can't buy ANYTHING that I'd planned.... even if I do have an extra 10% off of sales price coupon. Boo.
* Starbucks always sounds good. Of course.
* Sean and I really want to go to the coast this weekend. But, a hotel and dinners out are definintely NON-ESSENTIALS. So, no coastal getaway for the Wilsons this 4th of July weekend. Boo times two.
* We've been watching True Blood on DVD (Season 1) this summer. We only have one disc left, but when we went to exchange our Blockbuster online movie for a free in-store movie, they didn't have it. So we got something else. Which means that we'd have to pay for any other movies we got. There is nothing on TV tonight, and it was very tempting to just go to the store and pay for the DVD, even though we're getting more in the mail tomorrow or the next day.
Now, please know as I write all of this, I do realize that all these things I am not allowing myself to just go out and buy are just that...."things." I realize that by all standards, these items are luxuries, nothing I need to survive. I just find it very eye-opening how much I freely spend in a week on little things that I don't really need. By taking this time to step back and see how much we are accustomed to simply "going and getting" exactly what we want, when we want, I hope to change the way we spend all the time. Not just for this week. Just keeping it real, folks. :-)
