Exactly one year ago today, I splurged.
That’s right! I got in my pre-owned car and drove straight to a church rummage sale with $25 burning a hole in my pocket.
Three hours later, I left with a trash bag full of the latest fashions. That was the last time I spent a single penny on clothes.
I’m inordinately proud of this.
Why?
Because I hate the system, and I want to undermine it at every turn.
See, the system wants you to spend lavishly and go into unholy amounts of debt. That’s because an indebted peasant is a vulnerable peasant. You’ll get to work early every day. You’ll skip lunch. You’ll stay late. You’ll sacrifice nights, weekends, and vacations. You’ll answer work emails in the middle of the night. You’ll go into the office even when you’re running a fever of 102. You’ll work what amounts to three full-time jobs while only getting paid for one. You’ll flirt with full-on nervous breakdowns. You’ll sacrifice your health and friendships. In short, you’ll become the walking dead.
You’ll do all this because you are totally screwed if you lose your job. You’re already a heartbeat away from missing your next mortgage payment. Living to work is your only option.
Except it isn’t.
You could crawl out of debt by instituting a spending freeze while simultaneously slashing your expenses. Then you could build up what I call a “middle-finger fund.” This is a cash reserve that allows you to flout the system as it actively tries to destroy your soul and will to live.
My wish is that you loose the chains and free yourself from bondage. That you carve out space to rediscover yourself and the ones you love. That you ultimately rediscover life itself.
By the way, I still had $9 in my pocket when I left the church. Wink.
Frugal Tip: Paper towels suck. Tear up ratty old shirts and put them to use.
The Frugal Fight 