Feb. 29, 2008
Winter Spending Fast January and February 2008
Posted in Journals Current--Logs and Inspirations
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Winter Spending Fast I made it! Two months without buying anything except food and groceries. Not even a tube of lipstick or a pair of socks. This winter we have been revising our curriculum (Character Quatity Language Arts) to change the labels and numbering system. This has been suggested to us by various reviewers and users, so we bit the bullet this winter and did it. However, it came with a high price tag--over a thousand dollars a week in typesetters and editors. (While we were re-labeling, we also had the books edited three more times each.) Thus, Ray took on more paper routes to businesses and a new Saturday newspaper stuffing job. I took on more tutoring students, and we dug in to be able to afford that many typesetters and editors during the winter--a time that curriculum doesn't sell that well, so we had to generate more income to pay our help. To alleviate some of the pressure that I knew Ray was feeling, I decided to go on a "spending fast." If I'm not buying anything, that is less money we have to earn--and less pressure for both of us. During the first month of the fast, I didn't go into a store at all--grocery or otherwise. I decided that for the first thirty days, I would do a spending fast and a store fast. It wasn't really that hard to stay out of stores as I'm not a big shopper anyway. I don't have a lot of time for shopping and would always rather spend extra money on books or family outings anyway. It's not uncommon for me to go six to nine months without going into a mall at all (unless it is to scrapbook at the scrapbooking store!). Then the second half of the fast, I did go to the grocery and the office store (for our business). Still, I didn't buy anything but groceries or food. I wish I could say I learned a lot through the fast. I think it did help Ray feel less pressure--and feel respected and loved that I was making a sacrifice for him to help alleviate his stress. I didn't really miss shopping--though at the end, I was getting anxious to at least get some new powder or socks! One unexpected result was a teeny bit of jealousy towards people who were buying a lot --new cars, furniture, clothing, etc. It surprised me because I seldom buy that many new things anyway (especially since we started TFT three years ago and put literally everything we have in it). Thus, I didn't understand why it bothered me right now that people were getting "stuff" and I wasn't--when I wouldn't be buying those things if I wasn't on my fast, anyway. Guess I am a little more materialistic than I thought I was! Mostly, I was happy to meet my goal. It always feels good to have self-control! It always feels good to do what you know you should do. So, more than anything, I'm happy that I followed through and had the self-discipline it took to do the fast. Now if I just did the same thing with a food fast! :) |
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