C.R.E.A.M.

If Cash Rules EVERYTHING Around Me how am I supposed to get anything accomplished being as broke as I am? And why am I so broke anyway? I have a roommate (my mom) who pays both halves of the rent, a car that's already paid for, and credit cards that aren't carrying a balance... Since I have a good job and I know my money isn't going into bills (T-mobile is expensive but not that bad), I checked my Bank of America records to see where all of my money is going. The answer: into my stomach.... 

I calculated what I spent on breakfast, lunch, and dinner eating out plus all those damn "I wanna watch the Laker game" and "just because it's Taco Tuesday" or "Marguerita Monday" happy hours last month, and it turns out I spent an average of $20 a day on food... $20!!!! That's $600 a month!!! on food!!!!! 

Needless to say, I dropped my Subway sandwich and headed to Trader Joe's and Ralph's to stock up on food for the upcoming week. The bill was $75 and I think it should last me an entire week. Now I'm forcing myself to do something that I've hated since the first day of Kindergarten. That's right I'm bringing my lunch to work. Plus, as my girl Carrie B. (Sex and the City) would say I'm going to "take those sweaters out of my stove" and start cooking.  

Yes folks, my situation is dire. Cooking for food? How barbaric... but I'll let you know what happens... 

Idea for next week: So I read an article in Money magazine called "Life Without Plastic" and it said that people with credit and even debit cards spend more money than people who deal only in cash because with cards you're dealing with a false sense of limitless funds. You don't see the money, so you spend it more freely. As an experiment, those of us that don't deal in cash usually (me) should take out a certain amount of money for the week... and stick to using only that and see how it works. Just a suggestion. 

Also, copy and paste the link to look at this smart beezy who gets unlimited free gas plus an extra $500 a month to drive around one of those stupid billboard cars. LUCKY!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/06/19/gas.incentives/index.html

SAVE! SAVE! SAVE! That’s all I ever heard from my dad growing up. I sure wish I would have listened at some point. Learning to save money has never been easy for me. I am a 24 year shpoholic (admitting the addiction is the first step), living in a world where conservation is everything. So here I am embarking on this journey called “The Money Fast Experience”. My first step to financial conservation was to find out where my money goes exactly. Just a little background info I live at home (no rent), no car note (at the moment), and I have minimal credit card debit under $2,000. So by looking at those stats I should be in the perfect position to save, right? WRONG! So I began saving all of my receipts to get a better understanding of what I’m spending on a daily basis. The next step will probably be the hardest; I’m going to attempt to spend no money for a whole week!! I know sounds drastic but I have to start somewhere. So here I go wish me luck, I will keep you posted.

I got my mind on my money and my money on my mind. Money Fast. That's what we decided to call this experiment ( a way to inhibit ourselves from spending money for a specific amount of time while saving money simultaneously). Our idea developed of course with our motivation to be financially secure in this time of economic crisis, inflation and all that sort. Let’s face it, we’re all hurting with gas prices rising, rent increasing, etc and we want to be able to enjoy ourselves without having to stress about a lack of money.

So here’s the idea:

To not spend money for one week…and instead put that money that we would normally spend in a savings account.

The following week: apply some sort of budget for the week.

The rest is still to be determined.

P.S. that's just one way we're "money fasting" but there are certainly other ways we can make and save money (legally)...so feel free to share your ideas!