Spending Fast: Week One

Well I have officially been on my spending fast for over a week now and in some ways I feel like I have been cheating. You see I have still been letting Mike take me out to dinner every so often and to the movies this weekend. However, my war in this fast is against things, not food and experiences and I have succeeded in not buying one single piece of material goods! Actually its been fairly simple not buying anything (its only been a week though) and its made me stop and think about needs vs. wants, and the part I play in over consumption in this society. I have a front row view because I work in retail and I see up close and personal just what people buy and how much they spend (at least on jewelry and accessories) and that helps my perspective, but also frustrates me because I feel I am making my living in the very industry that I am questioning.

The point of this process for me is to save some money (although that has been hard because I have had to go to the doctor twice this week), and to reflect on how I am using the finances the the Lord has so richly blessed me with. I feel I want to be more reflective when I am spending money and to try to buy locally made products or products that I know have been made with fair wages and goods. I feel a little overwhelmed, a little frustrated, and little bit hopeful. I am prayerfully trying to figure out where I stand and where my boundaries are when it comes to consumption. I want to stop wasting my money and time on things that I do not need and this spending fast has helped to give me insight on my own frivolous and selfish habits.