Our society is facing an economic crisis brought on by people spending more money than they earn on homes, cars, clothes, and electronics. Is it any wonder that our economy is in a state of crisis when so many people are personally in debt? People go into debt because they desire things; this desire is an inherent part of American society. The desire for a nice home, car, and cable television is taught from an early age, our self worth is measured not by the good deeds we do, but rather by how many nice things we have. I myself am not immune to the lure of luxury. I will admit that I buy the name brand rather than generic, that I would rather shop at a specialty store than Wal-Mart for my clothes. I too am a victim of desire, of material desires that leave my bank account grasping for enough money to cover my bills every month.
On January 1, 2009, I embarked on a journal of frugal living. Okay, that sounds a bit extreme, I'm not going to give up all the creature comforts which make life bearable, but I'm going to only buy those things which I deem "necessary" for life and for work. This is going to be very difficult for me, as I have a tendency to over-shop and while I have managed to stay out of debt thus far (with the notable exception of a $10,000 debt to my parents for a recent surgery), I fear that with the downturn in the economy this will not remain the case. As the cost of living rises, and my paycheck does not, I feel that I need to do something to cut back on my spending.
This is not a purely economic decision. My house is filled with clutter. As I said earlier, I love to shop, and all of the things I buy have to go somewhere. My house is filled with "bargains" that I have found through the years. I have so many things that it is getting very difficult to clean house, and I feel that this will only get worse if I don't stop buying now. Every month, I worry about money when the credit card statement comes, dreading how much money I have managed to spend over the course of a month. I have had a steady income for the past couple of years, and still have not managed to any money.
Over the course of this year, in addition to buying nothing that is unnecessary, I will also be attempting to reduce the number of my possessions. I will be sorting through things, donating some to those who are in need (though who actually needs things like picture frames and used books, I do not know). I will be selling some of my items at a yard sale this coming spring and will probably be throwing out quite a bit of stuff too.
Throughout the year I will be attempting to determine what the true difference between the words "need" and "want" is in this day and age. In the past, if I wanted something, I automatically needed it. Hopefully this next year, I will learn that I can live without a lot of things and still be happy.
I will be chronicling my experiences both on my blog and in the form of a Master's thesis. I plan on including tips of things I have discovered which will help me be frugal as well as a list of helpful books and websites. If you are interested in my project, or going through similar things, feel free to send me an e-mail, share your story, or just read along.
My Favorite Book Swapping Site, so far I've saved about $400, all books for this project were ordered through PBS.
