Thursday, August 14, 2014

30 by 30: The Final Recap

Well it happened, I've turned 30.



Interestingly, the closer I got to it, the less scary it was. I've accomplished some pretty big things on my unwritten life list. Married, child, job in my field, house, car, done some travelling. I think 30 will be ok. 40, now that's scary, but that's for another post.

Time to recap my 30 by 30 list, originally posted 4 and a half years ago.

  1. Blow up at least 3 of our own photos to use at art in the new house
  2. Make a calendar in Photoshop to give as Christmas gifts
  3. Teach Snax a new trick
  4. Serve at a soup kitchen at Christmastime
  5. Take a wine tour
  6. Play ice hockey
  7. Try (and hopefully enjoy) running
  8. Bungee jump
  9. Road trip down the California coast
  10. Scuba dive
  11. See the Goo Goo Dolls in concert
  12. Go on a short term missions trip with AJ
  13. Weigh 160
  14. Read the favourite book of at least one friend each year
  15. Spend New Year’s downtown in a big city
  16. Read the Harry Potter series
  17. Spend a day painting on canvas
  18. See the Grease musical
  19. Take kickboxing
  20. Learn to drive stick (better)
  21. Go white water rafting
  22. Pay off our debts
  23. Recover the dining room chairs (didn't do this, but we got new chairs so sort of the same?
  24. Learn to sew so I don’t have to get my mom to fix my buttons
  25. Get a great permanent job
  26. Buy a design program (probably Photoshop)
  27. Host a family Christmas
  28. Bake a pie from scratch
  29. Be in a play
  30. Have a baby
7 to-do's left undone. Almost 80% isn't bad I guess. Most of what's left is travel related and some of the other items (like buying a house, having a baby, paying off debts) kind of took priority over those. So overall, I'm pretty proud of myself.

But that means, dun dun duhhhh, it's time for a 40 by 40 list. Being 40 seems crazy right now, but hopefully by the time it comes, I'll feel the same way as 30.

I am currently working on my list of 40 things and will post my to do list soon. Feel free to send me any suggestions.

Goodbye 20's, I'll miss you.


Friday, August 1, 2014

Starving the monster

Three years ago a friend of mine, Sarah, went on a year-long spending fast. I was blown away and inspired, but I never got around to doing it myself. Two years ago, inspired by Sarah, our Pastor, Carey, did the same thing. This summer, Carey spoke about it at church in a series called Starve the Monster, all about entitlement and challenged us to try it for ourselves, whether it be for a week, a month or a year.

After 3 years of thinking about it, I'm ready to act and AJ is on board to embark on this challenge with me.


So today is day 1 of a 9-month spending fast. Not quite a year, but a pretty daunting amount of time.

Why are we doing this?

This is not because are church has told us we have to or we think it's the holy thing to do. It's not about saving money, although I hope that's a nice bonus. For me, there are 4 main reasons I've wanted to do this, ever since Sarah talked about it.

1) We have so much stuff. It just happens. We're not hoarders by any means, but we have more than we need and don't need to add to it.

2) Appreciating things more. I want something, I buy it, I enjoy it: sometimes for a while, sometimes for an embarrassingly short time. I'd like to pay more attention to the things already have that work just fine instead of just buying things on a whim.

3) Considering my purchases. This really goes with number two, but how many of the things I buy do I even really want that badly? If I abstained from buying that thing I want for a week, would I still be thinking about it a week later? For most things, the answer is probably no. I'd like to be more intentional about purchases and less quick to pull out my debit card.

4) Battling entitlement. I never thought about it in those terms before this series at church, but I do feel entitled. I work hard at work so I deserve a couple new shirts or I had a bad day so I need an ice cream. I could and should be so much more thankful for the things I have and the things I'm able to have. And if I can be happy with less stuff, maybe I can afford to do more with my money – do more family activities, treat friends and family to a night out and give more away to great causes.

I think everyone deals with money in a different way and your reasons for a spending fast might differ from mine, but I think most people would agree that we all have too much stuff and aren't thankful enough for it.


So. The rules. We obviously are not planning to spend zero dollars for the next 9 months.

1) This spending fast does not apply to necessary expenses. Mortgage, utilities, car expenses, groceries - not affected. Although I do think we'll be a little more intentional about our grocery spend.

2) This spending fast does apply to discretionary money. Clothing, shoes, accessories, eating out, music downloads, etc. Yikes! (And no buying that stuff for AJ because he can't buy it for himself)

3) Gifts for others on special occasions are ok.

4) Spending gift cards is totally fine.

5) Spending on family/date experiences is ok, but we'll be more conscientious about our choices.

6) If we find there's something we truly need, try to buy second hand first.

So of course, Target just opened 5 minutes away from my work and I can't go shopping, but I'm excited to see what this little adventure teaches us. I imagine we'll both be very easy to buy for come Christmas.

I'll aim to post an update once a month or so. If you've ever thought about taking control of your discretionary spending and become a little more thankful, would you like to join me?