If you're new here...welcome!
If you've been here before...welcome back!
My, how the time goes.
Who can believe it has been two years since I started on this journey of not buying it?
I'd like to think I could effectively recap the months of not spending that have come and gone since my last post. However, that would take far too much time and memory power than I currently have to devote to such a task!
Suffice it to say that, although I have never left the path completely (although having made quite loopy detours), I am now ready to get back on the Not Buying It train for the next part of my intentional living journey. And this time I have a traveling companion!
My dear, sweet hubby (with whom I just celebrated our 20th Christmas together) and I have recently endured a serious financial discussion (we have typically avoided such talks!), and are jointly committed to overhauling the way we manage our fiscal resources. This will be no easy feat, as the old system has been in place for, well, the entire time we've been together :-0
However, we both acknowledge that we are more than ready for this change ~ and that, like many sacred cow systems still in place in our world today, we're in need of a completely new plan of action going forward.
So far, we're eight days into this new chapter in our relationship. Already we've had quite a few laughs as we bare our selfish and independent mindsets to one another ~ and attempt to justify our long-standing addictions to consumerist spending.
Truth be told ~ and all trepidation aside ~ I am quite excited by this new challenge. It is a relief to finally have this 'elephant in the room' exposed and to be partnered with someone who admits his financial faults and is willing to step up with me to embrace a new way of living.
For the time being, I am arming myself with the book Your Money Or Your Life. It has much wisdom to impart. We've written out a budget and are tracking our daily expenses.
Looking back over the initial posts on this blog, I am struck by how much of what I said then still rings true today. Sometimes it's good to go back and read what we've written to remind ourselves how far we've come ~ and gain confidence from our previously stated intentions.
Updated specific intentions will come in the next few days.
(Winter weekends indoors provide for excellent opportunities in which to contemplate such things!)
In the meantime, I'd love to hear from you on this subject, dear readers.
Have you set any financial goals for the New Year?
What, if any, changes have you made in the past that have worked well (or not so well) for you?
Are there other resources you would recommend?
2 comments:
Hey, I never knew about this blog! I'll be interested to see what develops here. :)
Have you set any financial goals for the New Year? It's going to be a big year for us, financially, because we are choosing a major reduction in income!! I am 'buying' more freedom by quitting my terrible job and switching to something part-time.
What, if any, changes have you made in the past that have worked well (or not so well) for you? One thing I like for many reasons is using cash instead of cards. First of all, I plan to never have a credit card again - ever. But I do have a debit card for paying bills, using the ATM, etc. However, I find it's really hard to track how much I spend when I'm always using that card. If I have a $20 bill, I can clearly see how I am spending it. You cannot overdraw the cash in your pocket!!
I have decided to go back to writing down every expenditure in a little bank register booklet that I carry in my wallet. I just want to see how often I whip out a card or cash to buy stuff. What am I spending and where and on what? And more importantly, WHY???
Glad to see you and Doug are doing this together. I look forward to reading about your progress.
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