Spending Fast

Morning coffee: $2.15

Mindless online makeup purchase: $34.00

Not knowing where my money went: Priceless


When I first took on the role of a bill-paying, renter I was making a mere $12.50 an hour as a receptionist, while attending school full time. My parents paid my way through college and gave a little extra spending money here and there (thanks mom and dad!) but school aside, I was financially independent on the mere pennies that I drug in after a long day of playing phone jockey.

Understandably, I didn't have much of a savings, especially considering the fact that I loved (and continue to love) to shop. Time went on, the leaves changed colors and fell, only to grow again, I graduated college, got my first job, was promoted, and landed where I sit today, in a grown up chair, making a grown up salary.

So, if I was able to pay the bills on my tiny college student income, it would stand to reason that I must have a huge surplus to save and invest now, right? Hmm... so where is my money going?

I signed up with an amazing financial management website called Mint and tracked my spending and noticed that most of it is totally unconscious, and well, unnecessary. So how does one stop doing what she didn't realize she was doing in the first place? I decided that the best way to stop is to cease spending altogether for 14 days, then slowly begin to add in the budgeted necessaries.

A few ground rules:

1. Bills and gas don't count
I doubt that AT&T would accept "I'm on a spending fast" as a reason not to pay my iPhone bill and I'm fairly certain my daily commute from San Jose to Mountain View would be challenging if I couldn't gas up.

2. Minimal grocery money is allowed
I have set aside a tiny bit of money for groceries as this is not a test of surviving malnutrition, it's about stopping needless spending. And I need fresh veggies. Dining out and bar tabs are out of the question though.

Alright, that being said, it looks like the experiment is about to begin...

Goodbye Visa, goodbye check card, Blue by AmEx? I think I'll miss you most of all...

Dodge