frugality: a work in progress
I've been reading threads on Vogue Forum (and The Purse Forum) about saving money. This is incredibly ironic as we all know it's a fashion based magazine that promotes consumerism, particularly that of a high level. It (as well as fashion blogs) drives me into a consumerist frenzy as well as fostering the belief within myself that owning things will make me happy and boost my confidence by improving my image, thus improving myself. Upon writing this, this very moment, I've realised the true extent to which this affects me and how much of a sham it truly is because no matter what, or how much, I spend/buy, there will always be an accumulation of wants that have been passed of as 'needs'. A spiral of self destruction masquerading as self (image) improvement.
I'd truly like to say I now spit on this.
However, what the real point of this was is to mark my new found motivation to begin saving seriously as scared shitless inspired by those threads (see The Purse Forum Thread!). I feel the need to for this to be written and shown in order to hold myself to it. So here is my goal for the rest of the year.
Goal (2010): Up savings by 1.5k
This might not look like much, but I'm still a full-time student and whilst I'm legally unemployed, my unpaid work with the family business eats up a fair chunk of my time. Yes, I could still get a casual job, but honestly D takes up so much of my time at the moment (what with public transport to his eating up 4 hours a day!) that I barely get to see my friends anymore. What could be called my "allowance", seeing as it cannot really be considered a wage, is sporadic both in amount as well as frequency. I am not complaining as I know our circumstances, but these are the obstacles I'm facing to meet my goal.
My goal might not be considered much, but it'll be a challenge for me and I need to start taking it seriously. I'm now 21. I'm an adult. One day I'll be out there fending for myself in the real world so I better start learning now.
The next step for me is to being budgeting. I need to work out a frugal, but reasonable budget for myself. Living at home, my main expense is just public transport, but I have to be realistic as I know I've become permanently corrupted to be somewhat materialistic. Plus there are personal things that my family would probably not pay for. So, off I go to work that out.
I'd truly like to say I now spit on this.
However, what the real point of this was is to mark my new found motivation to begin saving seriously as scared shitless inspired by those threads (see The Purse Forum Thread!). I feel the need to for this to be written and shown in order to hold myself to it. So here is my goal for the rest of the year.
Goal (2010): Up savings by 1.5k
This might not look like much, but I'm still a full-time student and whilst I'm legally unemployed, my unpaid work with the family business eats up a fair chunk of my time. Yes, I could still get a casual job, but honestly D takes up so much of my time at the moment (what with public transport to his eating up 4 hours a day!) that I barely get to see my friends anymore. What could be called my "allowance", seeing as it cannot really be considered a wage, is sporadic both in amount as well as frequency. I am not complaining as I know our circumstances, but these are the obstacles I'm facing to meet my goal.
My goal might not be considered much, but it'll be a challenge for me and I need to start taking it seriously. I'm now 21. I'm an adult. One day I'll be out there fending for myself in the real world so I better start learning now.
The next step for me is to being budgeting. I need to work out a frugal, but reasonable budget for myself. Living at home, my main expense is just public transport, but I have to be realistic as I know I've become permanently corrupted to be somewhat materialistic. Plus there are personal things that my family would probably not pay for. So, off I go to work that out.