Dirtbag Writer

Add More Money to the Travel Fund with a Financial Fast

Posted on 27. Jan, 2010 by Writer in On Living

So starting to freak a bit – the financials are depleting at a rapid pace.  I guess it is time for some sort of financial intervention.

Good thing just the other day I heard an interview with Michelle Singletary about her book The Power to Prosper: 21 Days to Financial Freedom and I am now 10 days into her prescribed financial fast. Her rules: only buy necessities (that means no going out to eat, no stopping for coffee, no clothing, no nothing), use only cash for purchases (that means not even being able to use he debit card), and refrain from any sort of shopping (no browsing catalogs or online window shopping).

Her whole idea is that the fast sort of rewires your brain for spending.  Even if you are super frugal, you are still probably spending more money than you realize.  And that is totally the truth for me, I had thought I was the queen of thrift but now I am not so sure.  These past 10 latte-free days have been more of a challenge that I had thought… drinking water at the bar after a day on the slopes, telling the girls I can’t meet them at the wine bar, and missing one of my fave bands – oh poor me.

But it has been fun too – I hosted a Sunday brunch instead of going out (I just asked someone else to bring the champagne…), watched Nova episodes on Hulu instead of paying for a RedBox, and enjoyed my walks to the store (because after paying for gas with cash you will never want to drive again).

Damn – if I had learned to be this frugal years ago when I was actually making money I would be a kajillionaire by now.

So you all with your high paying jobs and full-time freelancer dreams – try the fast, make some changes, put away even more cash, and quit the job even faster (with way more smarts than me).  Let me know how you do!

Photo Courtesy of the US Government

Tags: Plans, Simple Living