Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Experiment

I'm gonna start something new. Maybe it'll become a fad and I'll be credited as the first person to do it. Or it won't and I'll fail spectacularly because I can't keep the momentum going.

I'm going to start living on half my income. It officially started on Monday and I'll see how long I can last. It shouldn't be too hard as I was a finance major in college and I play with money all day long. I won't eat out every meal, I'll only go to the mountains on the weekend using free lift tickets, and I won't blow a whole paycheck on a painting. (Yes, I love art. Support the arts!)

So yes. I'm now living below poverty. I guess I'll see what happens. Ideally I'm living on half my income so that when I do get accepted to the Peace Corps, I can quit my hell hole of a job and work at Starbucks.

Yep, right now that's my aspriration. To become slightly bohemian and work at a coffee shop. It doesn't make sense to stay at my job if I know I'm leaving. And besides, it would be fun. Ok, it would also be irresponsible, but that's part of the fun.

Dream Big.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Poverty level as of 2006 for 1 person

$10210 per/year

which translates to

$843 per/month

have fun!!!

Data Reference

katie said...

AWESOME!!!! When the months go by and the money really starts to thin, I'll gladly pass on all the great cheapskate hints I've learned from 1) being a grad student and 2) living with people who barely make what for you is 1/2. They know all kinds of good stuff!

Carrie said...

Yay--proud of you! I'm on the adventure too. I decided to go part-time and go to school. I've always wanted to work at Starbucks as well. Maybe someday I'll be brave enough to completely quit my job. :-)

Doug said...

I've racked up an obscene amount of credit card debt in the past month (well, obscene for me as my balance had only twice been over $1k), so as soon as I start working, I'm with you all the way. Because I have to pay those off.

When I was going my MA, I lived off $1050 a month and I was absolutely fine. I even smoked 1/2 a pack a day! I had one credit card ($500 limit) and a student line of credit (which I didn't use). Last year I made $1700/mth and never had money left over. The more you make, the more you spend. Maybe it's a mentality.

When I came back to London, I bought quite a bit of stuff for my apartment from the Dollar store. The ones in Canada are unlike any I've seen in the US and have an incredible amount of stuff. Mr. G. was not happy, but as I explained, why would I pay $2.99 for sponges at Wal Mart when I can get them for $1?

I'm going try the 1/2 solution too, and I'll keep you updated. Good luck to us both.