A couple of random thoughts

We're still clipping along on our 30 days of nothing experiment, and I have to say that this challenge has lead to lots of valuable and interesting insights and conversations at home, online and even within the community. I wanted to share a couple of random thoughts:

Spending vs wasting:
In our household, I definitely am responsible for spending more money. But of the two of us, Jon wastes more money. Here's how I define the difference: The things I spend money on (aside from the random impulse spending, which I'm officially putting the kibosh on) are generally well-researched high quality products which we actually use after we purchase them.

Wasting money in my eyes essentially means spending on things that are truly unnecessary.

Jon spends most of his money buying lunches while he's at work. For years he's been resisting my encouragement to pack a lunch from home. Now that he's actually been doing it for a couple of weeks, his attitude has completely shifted. I don't think he'll completely give up buying lunches, but he's been amazed at the money he's saved, so we'll see.

Jon used to disproportionately use things like paper towels. That's also changed dramatically since we started this experiment. He has also literally watched money blow away in the wind (things like that happen with remarkable frequency when Jon is involved!).

We've both been amazed by how much little changes in our daily routines add up to huge savings. By identifying when, why, and how we each spend money, we're in a much better position to put our "bad spending habits" to rest.

In other news, I spent $2.50 on parking so that I could take the kids to the aquarium (on free day). I deliberated long and hard over spending that money, but ultimately I decided that since the focus of spending the money would be on having a memorable experience with my kids (rather than on some random thing), it was justified.

I also think that spending $2.50 for metered parking downtown is a pretty minimal expense, given that most lots cost upwards of $20. Finally, the quarters came from the change accumulated on my last grocery shopping trip (where I began paying with cash!)

Finally, I've noticed that I've been remarkably happier and much more at peace during this spending hiatus. I'm feeling more connected to other people, am more likely to spend quality time with the kids, and am feeling infinitely less pressure to compare myself to others. I think the key has been really defining our goals, so that with each choice we make, we have a clearer understanding of what's guiding us toward whatever conclusion we reach. It's a good feeling.