Friday, September 10, 2010

Spending Nothing - More than a game.

$620 in 31 twenty-dollar bills.Image via Wikipedia
It's only 10 days into this challenge of the  "spend nothing game"  (see link below) and  I am finding that changing one's spending habits can be quite difficult.  For me, it has now become more of a necessity rather than a game... but I like to think of it as a game so as not to feel "deprived".  It has also caused me to stop and re-evaluate what is a "need" and what is a "want".   When I had so much disposable income, I truly didn't bother to think about what I purchased, and, I purchased oh so much more than I needed.  Things just snowballed from the first Tahari suit to my first luxury car to a cruise line suite to the best hotels and ski in ski out lodging.
When my husband I were first married we would stay in the Days Inn or some other 19.00 per night hotel.  The Days Inn became the Radisson and then the Marriott or Hilton and then the Ritz Carlton until it was 5 star hotels all the way.   It was up and up and up... and spend and spend and spend.
Once you go UP it is quite difficult to go DOWN.  But realistically we all need to hold on to our money a little tighter... because who knows what tomorrow will bring.  The current state of the economy has caught me off guard.. and now I need to circle up the wagons.  I feel bad that I'm not pumping up the economy as I used to... sorry Uncle Sam.

http://whowritesforyou.com/2010/02/15/the-spend-nothing-game-–-how-long-can-you-go-without-pending-any-money/
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3 comments:

  1. Randy MurraySeptember 12, 2010 at 8:46 PM

    I think you're taking the right attitude by making it a game rather than thinking of it as depravation.

    The SNG is designed to be fun while allowing the players to decide on what they'd rather have: a moment's gratification or something more important to themselves personally.

    Good luck on the rest of your month!

    Randy

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  2. beatguySeptember 29, 2010 at 1:38 AM

    Finding myself more and more aware of what I really want vs. what I really need because of this "game"...Thanks
    By the way, as the month draws to a close, how's the game going for you, Ann?

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  3. Ann JanzenSeptember 29, 2010 at 3:31 PM

    Well beatguy, I have slipped a couple of times this month but on the whole did much better than expected. It was really tough though...I had to think about every decision to buy or not to buy.
    I had to go to the hairdresser's instead of buying my own bottle of Miss Clairol! I just couln't take the chance of orange hair! I also bought a Russell Stover Mint Dream candy which I certainly didn't need, but I couldn't resist.

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