Why Cars are Convenient
- Not Spending Money!

I'm feeling a little frustrated today with regards to my not spending any money project - and not driving the car project.

I took this picture today to illustrate the weather. It's been blizzarding today and while it's not the coldest day ever, the wind makes it pretty miserable.

Regina Saskatchewan, January 28, 2008 - Front Yard View



Regina Saskatchewan, January 28, 2008 - Back Yard View


THE POINT:
I can see why people are addicted to oil as they say in the U.S. People love driving their cars, especially when the weather is like this.

It was extremely convenient to get into my car and drive where ever I wanted to. If I wanted to get out of the house and go for coffee, it was nice and convenient to jump in the car and go for a drive.

THE STOP SPENDING MONEY PROJECT
I am doing to this STOP SPENDING MONEY project to get a contrast from what it was like before when I just spent money on whatever I felt like, without giving it much consideration.

The way I'm doing this project is a bit extreme. I'm just not spending money for the next few months to see what it feels like. I want to experience the withdrawals that come along with cutting out "this addiction".

I'm trying to simulate the "don't use credit cards frivolously", and "save cash reserves money" idea that I've been talking about for the last month. What would happen if everybody stopped using their credit cards for frivolous items and just used cash. As well, what would happen if people took their excess cash that they saved on frivolous item purchases and save it in their cash reserve account.

This is also a bit of a simulation of what happens when people lose their jobs and come under some other form of financial stress. Their finances would be cut down to a minimum and they would have to quickly get used to a much more frugal budget. This is difficult if you're used to spending without thought.

HERE'S WHAT I"M LEARNING
I'm learning that it's hard to just stop spending money out of free will. It's much easier to spend money when ever I want, and whenever I get the urge.

If a person is used to free spending, it's painful to stop the free spending habit. The pleasure of saving cash reserves for safety purposes may not be as good as spending money for now, for today. This is an important thing to note.

Saving cash reserves may not be pleasurable, but they will certainly give a person peace of mind in the long run. This stress relief over the long term, will far surpass the short term please of spending today! (It's easier said than done!!)


IT'S HARD NOT SPENDING MONEY!!
Today is a lesson to talk about. I am really really in the mood to get out of the house, go to Tim Horton's coffee shop and then the mall. This is because cabin fever is pretty nasty today!! In order to get out, I would have to dress up alot more than I'm used to, walk to the bus, take the bus etc.

Another stop spending article - MSNMoney Articles

I'm glad I'm doing this STOP SPENDING MONEY experiment. It's helping me to actually understand what I am talking about when I say, save your money in cash reserves, pay down debt, and be more conscientious of what you're spending your money on!