Today the earth moved.... It wasn't really supposed to move 'officially' until the 1st of February but because tomorrow heralds the Chinese New Year, I decided - to hell with it - No time like the present. Besides between now and the 1st of February there is an awful lot of damage I could do, stocking up for the hungry year ahead - those cute black shoes I saw in Winners at a steal of a deal will have to take a walk - on somebody else's feet that is! Yeah, I may as well start now - 'No sooner said than done - so acts your woman of worth'.
I have made a firm commitment to give up compulsive spending - YES - give up compulsive spending for a whole long year - no luxuries - just essentials - like food, gas, hefty mortgage, childrens school fees, dental fees on braces for two of the kids, retirement savings plan, education plan for kids university, property taxes, bank interest fees, insurance and taxes on two cars, life insurance plan, B.C. hydro costs, telephone charges - (landline and 4 mobiles), Terasen Gas for heating the house ( it's going to snow next Tuesday so we'll need lots of heat), city charges for emptying the garbage (I don't want rats around the house), clothing for three children (not ME remember I'm off luxuries for a year) hairdresser (does that count as a luxury or a necessity?) food for 4 pets and occasional vet visits, (the last occasional vet visit cost me $420!). Yes, folks the aforementioned are just a few of the daily/weekly living costs of an average family of five. Give me luxury any day - screw the essentials - they're no fun!!
Just seeing the above all written down has made my heart turn inside out - Flippin' hell - I never knew we had so MANY life essentials - how on earth did I ever afford to become a compulsive spender? I mean...? O.K. I shouldn't be so hard on myself - I'm not that bad. Really, I just compulsive spend on bargains. Phew! that doesn't sound so bad. For a minute there I was beginning to get worried... The guilt was about to choke me. The devil just whispered into my ear "Your house is bursting at the seams with bargains Delisha" - the cheek of him! He has no right to call me Delisha either - especially when he is insulting me.
Maybe he's right - I know I didn't really need that sleeveless RL top I got in the January sales, even if it was on a 60% off bargain or the two pairs of boots for the price of one. The challenge ahead is to know the difference between want and need. Right?
Why do I want to do this? Because there is too much waste in the world and I have far too much stuff - and my knuckles have blisters from bringing 6 black sacks of stuff down to the charity shop - the last time I brought it down to them they told me that they had no room for any more stuff!! So I had to drive around until I found a thrift shop that wanted my unwanted stuff - Then when I saw the starving children in Africa on t.v....and the little 12 year old orphan girl who had to walk two miles for water and carry it back on her head and the sight of her little toothbrush stuck in a hole on her mud cabin wall - it got to me. I already have one adopted kid in Africa. Now I want two more - one for each of my three children. I should have done it ages ago but I turned a blind eye. Oops - I'm getting a nasty guilt attack...but I cannot take tylenol to ease the pain...It's stuck in my gut.
When you see our essentials list, you probably think we're millionaires - Nope, we're just ordinary Joe's living in North America (though I'm not a hockey mum), and there's only one earner in this little family of ours - just one earner. Sadly in some homes now, there's not even one earner, so I know I'm lucky on that count, but life can change in an instant for anybody, which is why I want to learn how to lessen my grip on the glossy stuff - I'm sure by the time I've finished writing this, I'll remember other things I forgot to mention on our 'essentials' list - Yes - the annual family vacation - my husband says it's not a luxury - "It's an essential!" I wont argue with that.
I work in the office for my smarter-spending other half (as his secretary/receptionist), so at least that saves us having to pay somebody and can go on my list of credits - as well as the fact I just compulsive spend on bargains. Correction - 'used to' compulsive spend on bargains!
Tomorrow is D-Day.
Please tune in and join me on this adventure of a lifetime...A year of Simple Abundance...Will it make me even more irritable than the normal menopausal woman that I already am? Will I be able to pass on some wisdom from the experience to you and give you some useful tips? - or if bad comes to worse - will I crumble the next time I see a bargain in the weekly flyers?
Let the Adventure begin as we welcome the Chinese Year of the Ox...Yee Haw!!
Anchors away...
Patricia Delisha xxx
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