At the beginning of this month, we were (myself included) slightly skeptical on how we would fare on the spending fast this month. Would we starve? Would we go through spending withdrawl? Would we quit halfway through?
So far, none of these questions have been as challenging as we thought. I know this because Dana mentioned that we should do this more often (I wish I had a recorder because she proposed that we do this once a quarter, 4 times a year). I gave her, in my best Moe Syzlak from the Simpsons voice, “Whaaaat?!” Dana, we need you blog about this. We’re calling for you. Dana! Dana! Dana!
"Whaaaat?!"
There are some minor challenges that we are facing. Here are a couple of mine and how I am dealing with it.
Haircut- I have been doing well getting my haircut when I needed one instead of way after the fact. I know this because my hair stylist doesn’t question me when I ask for a 2 guard on the sides (“You know, Bryan, a 2 guard is really short. Are you sure you want me to use it? It will look much different than it does now.”) I was supposed to get a haircut 2 weeks ago. Now, I am looking at another two weeks unless I find a free haircut somewhere. I am really starting to get shaggy.
- Dana is good at a lot of things, but giving a haircut is not one of them. After a botched haircut attempt while we were living in Germany, it is an unspoken rule that this is not an option.
Dry Cleaning – I really want to get my shirts dry cleaned, but I must wait. Instead, I am doing a couple of things that will keep me distracted until February.
- I am wearing sweaters on cold days. I realized that I may be wearing them too much when I tell people at the office how I am saving money by wearing sweaters and they simply say, “We’ve noticed.”
- I have increased my golf shirt usage on not as cold days. Just by wearing a golf shirt one additional day per week is saving 20% in dry cleaning.
- Believing that I will iron. I have had 5 shirts sitting on a chair downstairs handpicked to be ironed out by me. Those shirts haven’t moved all month.
So, if you see a guy walking down the street with wrinkled clothing, ratty hair, and smells like sweaty Polo Sport deodorant, don’t jump to conclusions and think that he is homeless. He could be on a monthly spending fast.
