Day 2...The First $5.00
This morning, I woke up (at the unusually late time of 8:57am), made my bed, and looked at the white board, on my wall. 365 days, I thought to myself, as I looked at it. Not anymore! I grabbed the eraser, and wiped out that last digit. The big green "5" was no more! I allowed myself a moment, to bask in the glory, of it all. Still on my bed, I allowed myself to take part in a victory dance. (Which probably looked more like a chain of spastic convulsions, than an actual dance, of any kind.) And, with a FREAKISH ethusiasm, I repeated the following, numerous times: "One day down! One day down! One day down!" I grabbed the green marker, and where the "5" had once been, I carefully placed a fancy "4". And as I looked at the new number, two thoughts ran through my head, at exactly the same time. First, there was a thought that told me I was ridiculous, for getting so worked up. After all, it has only been one day. And honestly, ANYONE could last for one day. Then, there was the thought that presented itself in the form of a question. Will this white board, and its continual counting down of days, eventually lose its charm? Or, will I get FREAKISHLY excited, each and every morning, when I take one day away?
After coffee, I went to my coin bank (a little coconut 'monkey'), and I pulled out a handful of different coins. Last night, after I was already in bed, and too comfortable to move, I remembered something my sister had told me, back when I was a teenager. She had these coins: pennies, dimes...etc, poked into the top of two doorframes, in her house-the front door, and the back. I remember being curious, and asking her why she had done it. "I read about this superstition, not too long ago," she told me. "If you put money at the main doors of your house, where you enter and leave, it is believed that new money will follow you home, and money you already have will stay in your house, unable to be spent." Since hearing her say this, I have tried numerous times to find this particular superstition. And, I have never been successful in doing so. But, regardless of whether or not such a superstition actually exists, it is still a cool idea. And I, being the ever so superstitious person (when Friday 13th rolls around, I make it a priority to stay home. I don't want to chance being the victim of a chain of bad luck. And, I am sure if this superstition has any merit, bad luck would indeed find its way to me.), decided that this whole 'ritual' couldn't possibly hurt. So, I put a few spare coins above each door, leading in/out of my house. (And, real superstition or not, it felt pretty friggin cool, putting coins above my doors. There was something so...MYSTICAL,about it.) I could practically VISUALIZE an invisible force, wrapping around my wallet...Only allowing to spend my monthly allowance, and not a penny more.
Speaking of the monthly allowance...
In this, my first month with this project, I have a grand total of $31.00 at my disposal. And, as I have already said, the idea is to hold on to as much of that allowance, as I possibly can. So, I really will not make a habit, of planning out ways to spend it. But today, I made the exception, of saying that I already know how I will spend the first few dollars of my allowance, for the month of July.
I was watching the afternoon news today, and there was this piece, about Vons, and something they are doing. I have always tried to help others, whenever I can. And so, this particular story captured me. Vons is currently holding a food drive. You can either buy individual cans of non-perishable food, or do as I am doing, tomorrow. The Vons by me has paper bags, already packed to the brim, with non-perishable foods: Canned fruits and vegetables, pastas, beans, tuna, and so on. Each bag costs $5.00 and, once purchased, the bag will be sent to a local group, that has need for it. As soon as I heard this, I knew...
This bag of food was the PERFECT thing, to spend the first $5.00 of my monthly allowance on.
While donating is nothing new to me (I try to give canned food whenever I can, and crochet for charity), I felt that doing this was perfect. Hearing about this today was PERFECT! Because it taught me something...something that may seem so obvious, but is still so powerful. I am doing this whole project, to better myself, in some way. I have made a CHOICE, to stop spending money, on stuff that I really don't need at all. While I may not be one of the 'rich elite' people, I do have the means to buy the essentials, as well as a few things that are not needed. But there are people out who are not able to buy food. They wonder if they are going to get to eat. (Oh God! As I write this, I am getting all teary-eyed.) Each day is a struggle...These people have to fight, just to survive. It just isn't fair.
And while that one bag may not be a lot, it will help. My first purchase in this project will mean so much, because I know it is going to benefit someone else. And the truth of the matter is that I'm totally blessed. I can honestly think of no better way to start this project off.
Which leads me to this.
I know this blog is still new. Most of you don't really know me all that well yet. But, I have a favor to ask of you. If you are reading this, and you can spare any amount of money, to help someone else, please do so. If you have a Vons or Pavilions by you, they are excepting donations, and selling bags for $5.00. If you are reading this, and do not live by either of these stores, then I am sure that there is still a way that you can make life for someone else a little bit easier. If you have the ability to help someone out (be it a $0.79 can of refried beans, or a $5.00 bag), then please...Remember there are people who can really use it.
Today is day 2 of my project. And, in the first days of this year long goal, I have remebered how truly lucky I am, to be able to do something like this.
After coffee, I went to my coin bank (a little coconut 'monkey'), and I pulled out a handful of different coins. Last night, after I was already in bed, and too comfortable to move, I remembered something my sister had told me, back when I was a teenager. She had these coins: pennies, dimes...etc, poked into the top of two doorframes, in her house-the front door, and the back. I remember being curious, and asking her why she had done it. "I read about this superstition, not too long ago," she told me. "If you put money at the main doors of your house, where you enter and leave, it is believed that new money will follow you home, and money you already have will stay in your house, unable to be spent." Since hearing her say this, I have tried numerous times to find this particular superstition. And, I have never been successful in doing so. But, regardless of whether or not such a superstition actually exists, it is still a cool idea. And I, being the ever so superstitious person (when Friday 13th rolls around, I make it a priority to stay home. I don't want to chance being the victim of a chain of bad luck. And, I am sure if this superstition has any merit, bad luck would indeed find its way to me.), decided that this whole 'ritual' couldn't possibly hurt. So, I put a few spare coins above each door, leading in/out of my house. (And, real superstition or not, it felt pretty friggin cool, putting coins above my doors. There was something so...MYSTICAL,about it.) I could practically VISUALIZE an invisible force, wrapping around my wallet...Only allowing to spend my monthly allowance, and not a penny more.
Speaking of the monthly allowance...
In this, my first month with this project, I have a grand total of $31.00 at my disposal. And, as I have already said, the idea is to hold on to as much of that allowance, as I possibly can. So, I really will not make a habit, of planning out ways to spend it. But today, I made the exception, of saying that I already know how I will spend the first few dollars of my allowance, for the month of July.
I was watching the afternoon news today, and there was this piece, about Vons, and something they are doing. I have always tried to help others, whenever I can. And so, this particular story captured me. Vons is currently holding a food drive. You can either buy individual cans of non-perishable food, or do as I am doing, tomorrow. The Vons by me has paper bags, already packed to the brim, with non-perishable foods: Canned fruits and vegetables, pastas, beans, tuna, and so on. Each bag costs $5.00 and, once purchased, the bag will be sent to a local group, that has need for it. As soon as I heard this, I knew...
This bag of food was the PERFECT thing, to spend the first $5.00 of my monthly allowance on.
While donating is nothing new to me (I try to give canned food whenever I can, and crochet for charity), I felt that doing this was perfect. Hearing about this today was PERFECT! Because it taught me something...something that may seem so obvious, but is still so powerful. I am doing this whole project, to better myself, in some way. I have made a CHOICE, to stop spending money, on stuff that I really don't need at all. While I may not be one of the 'rich elite' people, I do have the means to buy the essentials, as well as a few things that are not needed. But there are people out who are not able to buy food. They wonder if they are going to get to eat. (Oh God! As I write this, I am getting all teary-eyed.) Each day is a struggle...These people have to fight, just to survive. It just isn't fair.
And while that one bag may not be a lot, it will help. My first purchase in this project will mean so much, because I know it is going to benefit someone else. And the truth of the matter is that I'm totally blessed. I can honestly think of no better way to start this project off.
Which leads me to this.
I know this blog is still new. Most of you don't really know me all that well yet. But, I have a favor to ask of you. If you are reading this, and you can spare any amount of money, to help someone else, please do so. If you have a Vons or Pavilions by you, they are excepting donations, and selling bags for $5.00. If you are reading this, and do not live by either of these stores, then I am sure that there is still a way that you can make life for someone else a little bit easier. If you have the ability to help someone out (be it a $0.79 can of refried beans, or a $5.00 bag), then please...Remember there are people who can really use it.
Today is day 2 of my project. And, in the first days of this year long goal, I have remebered how truly lucky I am, to be able to do something like this.