I’m 30 days into my spending fast and I can already tell that this journey is going to be interesting. I’ve been faced with a number of factors or unexpected events that triggered a lot of stress within me. Have I spent money on things beyond my “Wants and Needs”? Of course. Did I beat myself up about it? At first, yes.
How am I pushing through the struggle?
Since the beginning of the spending fast, my goal was yes to “spend” less money and shed the weight of credit card and student loan debt. After some self-reflection I began to realize the desire stems from the necessity to be more intentional with my life. To be on purpose. Two weeks into the fast, I started a new ritual with the goal of doing just that. I was already tracking my spending and decided to go a step further to review the actually spending at least once a week.
Integrating this weekly ritual the last two weeks has been an interesting process. My intention behind this process is to gain clarity about what I want and who I want to become. I allocate at least 30 minutes on Sunday for me to review and reflect on the purchases that I have made in the previous 7 days.
During this process I ask whether the purchase has added value and if so, where in my life? The only way I know if it has brought value into my life is to find clarity. The simplest way to find clarity is be asking questions of yourself.
Here is an excellent post about finding clarity.
This is more that a year on a spending fast, it’s a year of clarity.
It is through the clarity of our wants and desires that we can begin to live with more intention.
Status Update:
Currently, I have reduced my credit card debt down to $2,107.34.
Questions to Ponder
- What are your goals? Today, this month, this year.
- Who do you want to become? Today, this month, this year.
- What kind of struggles do anticipate? Today, this month, this year.
- How will you overcome them? Because you must.