$ Spending Fast Challenge $

I'm only 8 days into this, but I'm feeling really good so far. I think it helps I'm a minimalist already, so there are rarely times when I find myself really, really wanting something. There are always new Thai Harem pants that I wouldn't mind having, but I have 3 pairs already, that should be enough. So, if I'm not saying no to a bunch of things I would've otherwise said yes to, how is that going to change my budget? Well, I used to say yes to someone borrowing money from me. They'd say they'd pay me back and that never happened. That's not going to happen anymore. It's mostly going to be me saying no to my significant other, who really likes to shop and fill up our house with things. No more of that. That will make a big change to the budget (I hope).

Now that I have my official needs and wants list compiled (yay!), I'll be holding myself accountable to the list. If I cheat, I will admit it. I'll also share the times I either really want to ignore the list because I want something really badly (hopefully this rarely happens), or the times I make any major changes to the list. So far the only thing that's really tempted me so far is a mechanical keyboard. I really want one, but I definitely don't need one. So it's getting ignored for quite a while, until my debt is back to zero .

I'm not done reading the book yet, so this is really just an intro post. I still have some things to line up before I start, like putting together my "Needs" list of essential items that are allowed to be purchased. The goal is to start November 1st. But first I need to finish the book, so back to reading I go... Nevermind, I just did my budget for November and got totally freaked out. I feel like I'm trying SO hard to budget well and keep spending until control and yet every month there is little to nothing left after the bills are paid. By that I mean not even enough to take D out to dinner one night. That's ridiculous! I don't get paid a ton, but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect to have a couple date nights every now and then.  What the f*ck is going on?! I'm too anxious about all this, so I'm going to start the challenge now even though I'm not done reading the book. ---- Accomplishments I made a "Needs/Wants/

As I start this challenge, my credit card debt currently stands at $14,669.94 . I owe family approximately $9,000 . The total is about $23,669.94 . I haven't had that much debt since after college. A couple years ago I was 100% debt free and so damn proud of it; I worked really hard to get there. I'm not sure how I ended up here again, but however it happened, it happened, and it needs to be fixed. Eliminated. Gone. "The Spender's Guide to Debt-Free Living: How a Spending Fast Helped Me Get From Broke to Badass in Record Time" (see link in sidebar to get your copy) is just what I needed. I've decided I'm up for the challenge, but accountability must not be optional. Even if I'm the only one who reads this blog, knowing my pledge is out there on the Internet will help me stick to the challenge. This blog is my accountability tool. Every month will have an update on current balances and how much I was able to throw at my debt (ideally more and more

Stay tuned!