My April Challenge

I got this sweet old office chair for free
off the curb at the end of the month (when
people are moving and going through their stuff).
Green gazelle-y to the max.

Last month, I challenged myself to not drive to work. That challenge was a bit premature, but I'm not giving up on the idea of using challenges to break bad habits and adopt good ones.

For the rest of April, I am challenging myself to.... wait for it..... buy nothing. (This is where my husband's jaw drops while reading.)

This shouldn't be hard, should it?

But it is. Even though I try to purchase only things I need, "need" is a relative term, and I have this awesome ability to convince myself I need just about anything I want. And just going to get whatever it is I "need" is a bad habit that is begging to be broken. If I'm ever going to successfully eliminate my debt, I have to stop creating more.

As I think about what I have and where I'm at, I'm pretty sure there is nothing I will truly need this month. And if I find myself in need, I have options:

1. Borrow it from a friend. For just about anything I'd ever really need, I'm pretty certain I know someone who would loan it to me for a bit.
2. Try to get it for free. Have you looked at your Craigslist's free page? Wow.
3. Wait until May. This extra wait is often promoted by folks encouraging you to spend less. They say that if you wait, that immediate desire to have it will often be reduced or even eliminated. I think I should try this out.

Of course, there are a few things that will be exempt:

• food and drink
• personal care and paper products (nope, not going without toilet paper)
• services and utilities (the challenge is to not by any stuff, but I'm still paying for my health care and energy usage and parking)
• fuel for the car

Phew. Okay, I'm ready to give this month's challenge a whirl. It's only a month, right? I'll report back every so often to let you know how it is going. Wish me luck!

How are you challenging yourself this month?