30 days of Nothing

I'm feeling incredibly inspired by Cathy's experience with the 30 Days of Nothing Challenge. For those who don't yet know, it's essentially a commitment to buy only basic necessities for an entire 30 days.

Aside from reigning in my spending, this post speaks a bit more to why I'm interested in taking on this challenge. For me, it isn't about adhering to any religious principles. It's simply about finding a way to walk the line between enjoying the life that we've worked hard to create for ourselves, and acting responsibly and ethically with respect to broader world, human rights, and social justice issues.

I cannot pretend to understand what the experience of being homeless or hungry -- as so many people around the world are -- is like. If I go without food for a day, or even a week, I do so with the expectation that there will be food for me to eat the moment I want it. And while vegetables sometimes rot in my refrigerator because I haven't eaten them in time, other people are starving.

One person dies every second as the result of hunger.

That's 36 million people who starve to death each year.

and 1 out of every 6 people on this planet do not get enough food to be healthy.

This website has real-time counters of world hunger statistics

So as people are starving, I'm creating wish lists of frivolous things to add aesthetic and comfort to my already cushy (in comparison) life.

Something is deeply amiss.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't get to enjoy life or splurge now and again. But there is a balance to be struck between consumerism and giving back. I've become far too comfortable with the idea of deciding that I "need" something, and then just going out to buy it. This challenge will give me an opportunity to reflect upon my spending habits, and perhaps make some changes in how and where I do spend money.

This is going to be hard for me.

I am anticipating that these will be the most difficult things for me to give up:

1. Target:
I cannot walk into this store without spending money on something I never knew I "needed". Ideally, I would avoid Target altogether, but we buy a fair amount of our groceries there since the prices are significantly cheaper than the other stores.

2. Dining Out:
All 4 of us love food. And we eat out a lot. Cutting this out would save us a ridiculous amount of money each month. Aside from our weekly brunches, the kids and I will often grab a quick lunch while we're out running errands (and we don't go to traditional "fast food" places, so I can't even use dollar menus as an excuse). I will have to be very planful and mindful about packing lunches (and actually remembering to take them with us when we go!).

When I first began thinking seriously about doing this challenge, I tried to rationalize why we should keep going to Sunday Brunch. It's tradition. It's the one time that we as a family have to reconnect. It's the highlight of my week because I don't have to cook or clean -- I can just enjoy spending time with my husband and my children. However, as I thought more about it, I realized that those are exactly the sort of privileges I need to give up for a period. And, in the end, a one month brunch moratorium is not a huge sacrifice.

3. The Kids:
I am 99% sure that my children will notice that we are not going to any restaurants. I am equally sure that they will not be happy about that fact.

Also, any time I have to take them grocery shopping with me, my budget goes out the window (again, this is a situation where the two of them work in concert to foil me. While I'm trying to keep one kid from adding unnecessary items to the cart, the other inevitably sneaks something in. And then there are the "special treats" that they ask for. And suddenly they have all these opinions on what we should be buying. I am *so* not ready for that.

I will definitely be taking advantage of the fact that my city offers some truly amazing free activities for children and families. We will also be making very good use of the memberships that we already have, and museum free days.

4. Art / Craft / School Supplies:
This should *not* be an issue. Really, it shouldn't. I have more of these things than I can even use. And yet I'm a complete sucker for paper, notebooks, crayons, markers, paints. If I see a spiral notebook on sale for ten cents, I *have* to buy several. It's like a compulsion. I should get help.

So here's my plan:

I need to ease into this. I've decided that I will be officially starting the 30 Days of Nothing Challenge in January. However, for the month of December, I am planning to keep a journal of what I bought, how much it cost, and how I was feeling when I spent that money. That will give me a baseline. In January, I'll do the same thing, but instead of actually buying things, I'll just be writing down the temptations to buy. At the end of the month, a portion of our total savings will be going to the World Food Programme.