A Week Without Spending; Day 1

 I have, tentatively, decided to embark on a goal on my 43things. I'm going to try to go a week without spending a cent. This will be difficult. I haven't completely decided my rules for the program, though. So far...this is what I've decided to make exceptions for:

• School supplies and requirements
• Food (groceries, NOT Fast food)
• Hygienic/medical necessities (shampoo, soap, toilet paper, deodorant)

I know that there will probably be moments of weakness where I bend my rules a little bit. I do share a household with others though, so I will be able to accomplish this a lot easier than if I didn't. I don't think I can recruit everyone else in on this one...so if they want to take me to a restaurant, buy gas, etc, they can choose to do so. I kind of feel like a mooch because of those situations, but I'm not going to be suggesting them.

I had a realization this morning about just how hard this might be. As I left for my afternoon classes, I had intended to just catch lunch on my way to school. Wrong. No fast food. I didn't have enough time to pack a lunch, so I grabbed some yogurt and a spork from a previous fast food purchase and hit the road. In doing so, I forgot my water I intended to bring from home. Oops. Ordinarily I would be replacing it with a bottle from a vending machine but today I will learn to do without, or make use of the plethora of drinking fountains my tuition dollars pay to maintain (though the water tastes kind of funny).

I had intended to buy a school planner from the bookstore here, complete with academic dates already printed in it, but I'm guessing that will either have to wait or they'll run out and I'll end up buying a regular one. Which will probably cost a lot less, and I can personally fill in the pertinent dates. Plus, yesterday I overheard some faculty politics and their frustration with the bookstore here. I guess they've taken away their discounts and some other less than friendly practices I missed. I don't pay school bookstore prices anyway unless I have to. I had to buy school logo apparel though, and that's the only place to get it. I just had to.

It is this blog that makes me appreciate bluetooth/wireless photo synking with your computer. Too bad none of my cameras do it. I guess by the time I need to buy a new one it will be standard equipment, though, and that is something to look forward to.

I'll try and give some daily updates as to my struggle with this goal. It will be hard, because spending money is so second-nature for me. I really enjoy it sometimes.

Here's my lunch. I also grabbed a pear.

This is going to take some planning (and memory) if I am going to succeed.