I’m officially in the second half of my Minimum Wage Challenge. A voluntary belt tightening to live on less than half my net income; California minimum wage less taxes, for a total of $1073 a month. This is a three paycheck month for me in my real life, and in October I get another raise, so I could be living large. But I’ll be working at getting my Challenge Savings and Challenge Emergency fund back up there by trying to spend less than $25 a month in entertainment!
Someone asked me today why I’m doing this. I only had a second to respond, I couldn’t go into the whole “it’s increased my gratitude” spiel that I wrote about in April. I simply replied “it’s an extraordinarily cost effective hobby.”
Hullo to my folks out there in Nicaragua! May your internet cafes be excellent! As goofy as it is, my folks read my blog and I think it’s very sweet. Even though the focus is primarily on frugality, for me frugality is a way of life that increases independence, gratitude, skills, and attitude, so my financial journaling can be personal in some ways and a fair enough way to keep up with a daughter that lives 2700 miles away. Feeling that life is abundant is really about more than knowing that I have food in the cupboard and money in my account. Many families in central and south America would see my life as very rich; endless water, hot and cold; many different outfits; seven rooms for 2 people; groceries stores filled to the brim.
Tomorrow may be the first canning of the season. Since we are eating store bought jam I can’t wait to get some of the good stuff put up.
It’s All Downhill from Here
September 2nd, 2006 at 01:29 am
September 2nd, 2006 at 02:32 am 1157164334
September 2nd, 2006 at 01:24 pm 1157203465
September 3rd, 2006 at 07:47 am 1157269664
September 5th, 2006 at 10:26 pm 1157495174