Passage One
The idea to stop spending had been spreading for a while,but it was a trip to Target , a supermarket,one afternoon that finally broke me. Together with our four-year-old Sebastian, my wife Ruth and I loaded up on packs of underwear, bath mats, Spider-Man toys,kitchen tools,and a spray to kill insects. As we came close to the checkout line, I thought, "We don't need any of this junk," and we gave up the cart,saving a good $300.
That got me thinking about all our pointless expenses: DVDs by mail,lunches out, car washes, “bargain” toys, fancy coffee drinks, and just about everything I've ever bought on eBay and Amazon. Especially given the current economic climate, it all suddenly felt like too much. With a promise that we'd stop if it was killing us, I convinced the family to take the giant step into frugality(节约).
The rules were that we would buy nothing for 30 days except absolute needs, like fresh milk and fruit. A handful of key expenses like Sebastian's preschool tuition were excused, but restaurants, parking, clothing, toiletries, Internet access, babysitting and gas,were now in the no-buy zone.
On a website called thrifty fun. com,thousands of users posted tip after penny-saving tip on cash. There wasn't a crisis on earth,it seemed,that couldn't be prevented with some combination of baking soda,white vinegar,lemon juice, salt and a certain dish washing liquid.
I realize many people live like this all the time,by necessity,not by choice,and I predict letters saying,"You had to give up your coffee. ”But this wasn't an exercise in“playing poor”. Our month of no spending was a financial wake-up call,a chance to change our relationship with money at a time when everyone I know has money on the brain.
What would the writer probably pay for within that month?