Think you've got financial discipline? Could you go 21 days without spending a dime on anything besides necessities (and I mean real necessities, I-really-need-these-shoes necessities)?
That's a challenge personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary is issuing to her readers in promotion of her new book. I've done this kind of challenge before myself, although more out of necessity than trying to see how strict I could be on myself. It reminds me of what my friend The Frugalista did a couple years back that gave birth to her blog.
It's an interesting experience and definitely the kind of thing that builds a certain level of character. Most of us don't realize how much money we're wasting unless we stop spending altogether and look at how much money we have left over. This is also the kind of thing that can help you with making a decent budget and with shedding your credit card debt. Once you realize how disciplined you can be with your disposable cash -- and indeed that you actually have disposable cash -- you can start putting it toward the balances you have on your cards.
So how many of you are willing to try Michelle Singletary's
21-day challenge? If you do it, let me know how it's going.
2 comments:
Hey Keith,
I saw your blog retweeted on twitter.
I am trying the 21-day fast. I was in desperate need of help. I had the financial knowledge but not the discipline.
The fast has been easier than I thought. While I'm not the most religious person (I tithe to a church where I used to live but lately have been a regular attendee at Bedside Baptist), I do find it easier to do with the biblical references behind. I believe in God so fasting was somewhat easy (not without challenges but I know that this will make a HUGE difference in my financial life).
I'm on day seven, so once I get to day 21, I'll post an update on how I'm doing.
Thanks for writing, Lauren. Good luck on your 21-day challenge. Check out The Frugalista's blog at www.thefrugalista.com; she did something similar a while back. Keep reading, keep Tweeting my posts and definitely keep me updated on how your spending challenge goes.
-KR
Post a Comment