Living Leaner

I just read an article in Reader's Digest about a family that went on a non-buying spree for one month. The author, his wife and son gave up all expenditures except for essential foods for 30 days. Aside from normal spending like paying the mortgage, utility bills and phone - they budgeted themselves $100.00 for the month. It was an entertaining and interesting read and pointed out how much richer they felt when they discovered they have everything they need.

While I would never label myself a spender, I am not a saver either. My sister Ann was the saver in the family. She even saved the candy she collected on Halloween - enjoying her cache well into the month of May. Unlike Ann I never really saved nor limited what I spent on essential and non-essential items. Truthfully this hasn't been too disastrous for me because I really feel I have everything I need. Of course it helps that I live in a small town away from Big Box stores begging me to open my wallet at every turn. I think its only natural that I evolved into a non-consumer just because of where I live.

Of course, my spending habits have been affected by the state of our economy and even the environment. I am finding myself putting more thought into what I purchase, where I purchase it and how I pay for it. Basically, I buy essential items from local merchants and pay with cash. But the article has made me think that I could do even better - like choosing to ride my bike everywhere I need to go, making my lunch everyday even when I am in my home office and skip buying a latte even though I only do this twice a week. So I have decided for the next two weeks I am going to think about how I could live leaner and what this means for my lifestyle. My goal is to go cold turkey in October - limiting my purchases to not more than $100.00 for thirty-one days - that's $3.22 a day.