Everyday Limes

Alright! That’s it! I give up!

After spending money on some great vintage finds and some expensive yet good quality foundation and being tempted to spend another $100 on shoes I have to give it up. Spending, that is, I have to give it up.

For the past several months I have not been able to dwindle down my annoying debt. I feel like I’m in a sort of stagnate stage where I pay something off but then something else pops up and I just counter the progress I have just made making my last payment. So I have decided that I need to do a <a href="http://spending detox. Reset my spending like a food detox resets your body.

The Spending Detox: Some steps I am going to try and follow.

1. In order to be as successful as possible, I will be starting my detox post my vacation. Trying not to spend money while you are on vacation is just setting yourself up for failure.
2. Prepping for Success: In order to not overspend I need to get my ducks in a row. IE, organize my pantry, clean out the fridge, do laundry. If everything I need is set up for me to avoid spending money I will be less likely to fall off the wagon.
3. Rules. I can’t just give up spending money completely. I do have to pay my bills… ugh…. What is being “detoxed” will be any unnecessary spending. Anything that is not needed to fulfill Maslow’s basic section of his <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://Hierarchy of Needs: A Theory of Human Motivation“>hierarchy of needs.
   • Physiological Needs: Food, Water, Sleep
   • Safety: Security and Safety
4. When going out, order the least expensive item on the menu. I am going to put a limit of $20 on all my non-home cooked meals. I am actually looking forward to this part of the challenge. Its going to be interesting how creative I can get going out with only $20 bucks to spend. I’m still in the debating process on what the limit will be on non-home cooked meals. 1 meal a week? 2 meals a week?

At this point, I’m out of rules, or guidelines. Honestly, I don’t want to overcomplicate it either. Too many rules to follow will drive me to get fed-up and then give up.

This detox will run 30 days and I plan on starting it officially on July 22nd. Please feel free to share your advice, support, even criticisms in the comments. I am very interested to hear what you all have to say about this endeavor.