I love financial freedom. Financial stability is one of my deepest needs. I have lived with and I have lived without. I prefer to live with. My husband and I have decided to live well below our means. We live in a very comfortable but modest home. I’m buying duct tape today to cover an arm rest on my Honda that is proudly toting 213,ooo miles. It’s very important to me to be good steward of what has been given to me and give generously. It’s very important to me to be financially accountable and not live frivously. I’m one of those weird women who loves budgets and numbers and debt calculators but because I don’t have to worry about there being enough at the end of the month. Occasionally I can be the Coupon Queen. But I have a very dark secret.
I am a diva.
I am a princess.
And because I make certain financial choices I feel I am entitled to a certain way of living. I view luxuries not as privileges but as rights.
And this was brought to light today by Carey Nieuwhof’s post on his decision to go on a spending fast. http://careynieuwhof.com/2012/03/today-i-start-my-spending-fast/
And I didn’t like it. And I felt like a hypocrite. And even then I didn’t want to give up anything. I didn’t feel pretty. I felt pitiful. Seriously, like a roach when the light was turned on.
So I’ve decided to go a spending fast myself. But to show my weakness and what a thorn in my side this is my goal is only 30 days. I’m hoping it turns into my cable tv fast, that 30 days melts into 120 days and I don’t even notice.
This list will seem very superficial and shallow. But work with me. I am a wuss. We all have our demons.
1. No new or second hand clothes, shoes, or purses. This is hard for me because it’s a change of season. But I have clothes with tags still on them, purses that haven’t seen the light of day in a year, and more shoes than I can find spots for.
2. No new running or biking gear. Again, hard with the change of season but I have 3 pairs of running shoes, a pair of hiking shoes, and a pair of indoor soccer shoes. I think I’m good. Anything on my bike can wait at least a month.
3. No spa day. (Gah, I can’t believe I’m saying this out loud.) I have felt I deserve to be pampered. I feel I work hard and should be given treatment of face, hair, nails, and massage monthly. I am such a diva.
4. No new personal items at all, no Starbucks stops just for me, no eating out just with me, no movies just for me, no buying things for my daughter just so I can use them. I can justify so much just to have more stuff.
4. No new books, music, movies, apps, or technology unless they are free and unless I absolutely need them for work and cannot wait a month.
Ugh, they say confession is good for the soul and I have revealed a very dark side of myself. I know this will help our monthly budget out a bit but I know it will help me set free some really unimportant things in my life to make room for things that really matter.
The Rabid Mime 
I simply must recommend Jen Hatmaker’s new book, “7”. You have the same type of wit that she has and if you are in an uncomfortable sacrificial mode….well, at least check it out and you’ll see. Fun, entertaining, “kick you in the gut” kind of stuff.