Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Goals

I searched the web for "50 pounds of rice and beans" and didn't find my prose at the top of the list, or by page five for that matter.  I mostly found people's advise on how to store food in mylar lined plastic buckets for either the coming apocalypse or for the fulfillment of their Mormon commandments.

I did find some interesting blog/comment posts about people trying to do a No-spend Month experiment.  Typically this would involve not spending any money, or sometimes a goal of very little, during a whole month with the exception of a few things like rent and electricity and the like.

Having worked a serious budget for the last four months and seeing how much we "have" to spend each month made this sound like a laughable goal.  But I was reminded of something I recently heard on a piece featuring Ted Turner's successful career and charitable givings.  He said you have to set your goals high (as have a million other people I suppose).  So even if we've felt successful putting away some savings each month according to our budget, are we just coasting?  Could we put away a serious chunk if we really put our minds to it and set a big goal.  No-Spend November?

2 comments:

  1. Sorry, I refuse to do a No-Spend month in October, November or December. January?

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  2. Ok, that might be a fun experiment. But I don't need to tell you that storing up goods (especially perishables like a thanksgiving turkey) is far less efficient than storing up cash (that's what cash is for, after all) and not meaningfully different from a spending perspective. Minimal "consumption" November -- now that would be meaningful. Start with a pile of cash and see how little of it you can use in a month without cheating by dipping into stored goods. But I suggest you run it from late October to late November. You can celebrate the end on the last Thursday of the month!

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