August 13, 2018 7:40 PM
Mid Year Resolutions: Part 1
Part 1 because I get super ambitious when I set goals for myself, knowing that I won't reach all of them, but with the hopes that at least one of the goals actually sticks.
I've always been a really frugal person. Growing up, I just figured that if something cost money I couldn't have it. It wasn't until college that I realized I had some money, and I could just buy things. Now during college my goal was just to find an internship so I could secure a stable job where I sat in a cubicle and typed words on the computer for 8 hours a day. And I did that. But shortly into my job I felt bored and unhappy. Was this really what my life was going to be like for the next 40 years? It was at this point that I stumbled across Mr. Money Mustache and learned about the wonders of early retirement. Since then, that has been my long-term life goal. I could just take my natural frugality and put that into overdrive.
That was about 3 years ago. Yeah, I've been saving money and investing it, but I've still been spending way more than I need to. I needed to make more concrete goals.
Spending $30 on food a week
This is the first of what I'm calling my "Mid-Year Resolutions". (I know, the year is more than halfway over.) Why $30? I don't know, it just seemed like a reasonable number that didn't require me to drastically change my diet. I just finished reading On A Dollar A Day in which a couple tries to first eat only $1 worth of food every day, and then tries to eat food based on the average amount people get on food stamps. Things like this inspire me and remind me that I'm spending a lot more on food than I need to.
So far it seems to be going well. I've meal prepped and cooked everything for the week during the weekend, and I spent just over $29 at the grocery store without actually thinking about how much everything cost before putting it on my list. I've also told people about my goal so that should also help me stay on track. I plan on posting an update on Friday night to see if the amount of food I cooked actually lasts me as long as I expected.