Living on a Prayer

Yesterday I read an article on my trusty Yahoo! homepage - the source for all breaking and not-so-important news - that inspired me to knock an item off my list. As I scrolled through the list of stories, one caught my eye. It was a blog post about how a couple survived on $3/day. I was fascinated by the headline until I read the story in its entirety and realized they were only "living this way" for 5 days and weren't including their 2 kids in the "experiment". Sure, the premise is cool...they are living "below the poverty line" for 5 whole days to see if they can "survive" living in Brooklyn.

A) Doing something for 5 days is hardly a life-changing experience, so why it was on a major site is beyond me. Do it for a year...a month...hell, just a week. I value weekends just like most people, but you aren't proving much when you live on $15 for the week then go out Friday night and order the largest rib-eye and bottle of wine you can find. B) Having been a babysitter extraordinaire I can tell you firsthand, what those kids are eating, you're most likely nibbling on. So how accurate was their representation? Oh, this handful of Goldfish doesn't really count. C) I can do ya one better.

Starting today, I will not spend any money for one whole week. You might laugh, but this is probably one of the hardest things for me to complete on my list. After a thorough breakdown of my credit cards earlier this week, I realized how much money I spend on silly things. Can someone please explain to me why I'm spending roughly $70/week at various grocery stores and then eat out for at least one meal every day. Not to mention the online shopping...er shopping, in general. It's absurd.

Now don't get me wrong...I'm not living off ramen noodles and beans all week (even though that sounds like a nice low-cal diet), I just won't be spending money. I went to the grocery store last night and got a few items (in addition to the mounds of canned soup, pasta, and other non-perishable items in my pantry that are simply collecting dust). This week is about being resourceful not wasteful.

I have food and a general meal plan for the week to keep me on track. I have things to keep me occupied, thanks to paying in advance for things like yoga, dance, etc... I have a gentleman to squire me about town, should I desire. Finally, I have my debit card *note - debit card, not credit card* for emergency situations, but I think I should be okay.

So here begins a week without spending. I'll be living on a prayer. Hence the clever title. Now click the link and enjoy some Bon Jovi.