January Fast

We are on a diet around here. I'm guessing you are too, and so were the throngs of people in my yoga class and pretty much everyone at work.

December was filled with excess and gifts and chocolate and hey why not it's Christmas! Am I right?

So we are eating a lot more kale this month... but actually the more important diet we are going on is a budgetary one.

'Cause in December we could say, "Hey it's Christmas!" but in January the cold hard truth of our bills and debt cannot be pushed aside.

So I declared January a "no spending month". We are not buying anything (except groceries- HEALTHY groceries)

And 13 days in it's been a real eye opener to me. Oh boy, do I love buy stuff! Wow.  NOT buying anything for a month is going to be HARD.

It's just so easy to shop these days. A thought passes through my head.... hmm... Lily's sneakers are looking a bit tight. Huh, I wonder if Payless is having a sale? Oh look, Frozen sneakers!Perfect! Click, click, click... three days later new shoes arrive! Magic!

This month I have (so far, in one week) resisted buying: new shoes, new bedding, a new pillow, organic deodorant, socks, a book, a new vacuum and a coat. And I never entered a store. I know, RIDICULOUS.

Obviously this fast is long overdue. I need to set some limits. Amazon prime is such an enabler. One Click buying? It's just too easy. All those beautiful catalogs that arrive in my mailbox, with their glossy promises of the perfect house and the perfect life... Straight into the recycling. Don't open them just to "get inspired." Ha! Beautiful towels don't really make your life any more interesting.

The truth is that even though every few months I go through our house and get rid of stuff (evidence here and here), we still just have way too much. Last week I "magically disappeared" ONE HALF of all the toys in the kids playroom and THEY HAVEN'T NOTICED YET.  I don't really know why I bother buying them toys, because lately all they play is Harry Potter/Voldemort using old drum sticks as wands.

The truth is that the "middle class" lifestyle in our city is crazy expensive. In fact, we live in the most expensive place in America. Lucky us! My grocery bill makes me cry sometimes. Add in memberships and ballet classes and kids constantly growing out of their shoes and busting the knees out of their pants and the boiler needs repairing... it ADDS UP.

So we'll see what the next few weeks will teach me about my spending habits and what we REALLY need to spend money on. I have a feeling I'll have a bit of shopping list ready for February 1st...