Over the past year, I've slowly become aware to how much I actually consume. Plastic cards and online shopping have made it very easy to spend without feeling like you're spending actual money. Take a scroll through my Pinterest page. Throw in some advertisements on all the things I "need" to have a life full of happiness and rainbows. And "SNAP" goes my self-control.
I've attempted to build and manage a budget for our household since we got married...four and a half years ago. I fail miserably at keeping up with it. Plus every month there is some sort of unexpected expense that only happens once every eight years that pops up and messes it all up. So I start and stop and start and stop and start and stop. It really hasn't been a huge deal because we're able to pay our bills every month, thankfully.
Through both experiences, I've felt a pull. A pull to get our budget under control in order to be more financially secure and to give more. God is calling me to live out my life as His disciple, in a way that honors Him. I am passionate about giving to those in need and helping those that cannot help themselves. This passage constantly comes to my mind, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." -1 John 3:16-18
I have this friend named Elisa, who is pretty incredible. She's an advocate fighting for those who suffer from injustice. How she lives her life is inspirational. She is constantly doing something to help others. She has a blog, The Average Advocate, and she helped start and directs the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Initiative. This all may sound familiar if you read my post, 28 Days in a Black Dress. She is the person that inspired me to participate in her project Action: Little Black Dress, which raised money for International Justice Mission and Love146.
Well Elisa was being her normal, awesome self, and shared a story via Facebook that has spurred me into action. The article is written by Janet McMahon, a woman who decided to stop buying things for herself for an entire year in order to give more to others. You can read it here.
Her rules were as follows:
- She could buy food. Any food no matter what the cost. This includes going out to eat.
- She could go to the movies or an event or a museum or buy a plane ticket. Experiences didn't count as "things."
- She could buy makeup. But it had to be the cheapest she could find.
- She could buy toiletries, but those also had to be the least expensive option.
That was it. Nothing else. No clothes, haircuts, home decor, etc. And she did it!
I'm going to do it. Starting Monday. (I haven't had a hair cut in awhile, so I figured I should at least go get a trim before I start this.) I would wait until February 1st to make it a cleaner start/finish day, but then I'll have time to think about it and back out. I'm committing without over-thinking in order to actually do this project.
Here are my rules:
- I can buy food. By food, I mean groceries. I can eat out twice a week. I can buy one Starbucks drink a week.
- I can go to the movies or an event or a museum or buy a plane ticket. I won't count experience as "things." (Honestly, these instances are rare anyway).
- I can buy toiletries, but they have to be the least expensive option.
- I can get my eyebrows waxed once every three months. (This seems silly, but Janet included this on her list of given up items. I have unruly eyebrows and work in a corporate setting...I need this).
I feel like there should be more rules, but I guess I'll deal with anything that's questionable when it happens.
A few other things I'm going to do this year:
- 52 week savings plan
- Run a half-marathon
- Action: Little Black Dress
- Read the Bible chronologically
- Work out regularly
- Learn Italian
Ultimately, I want to give more, spend less, and help those in need.
Mother Teresa said it best, "Live simply so that others may simply live."
-J
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