Too Much Want

Excessive.

Can you enjoy the simpler things in life, or do you need everything to be in excess? There is no questioning that we here in North America have it really freaking good with access to everything that we want at our fingertips. It’s really easy for us to get caught up in a world where we buy things that we really don’t need, and that really don’t add any value to our lives.

The best examples of excess that I can think of in my life are the knickknacks that I buy at home décor stores. There really is no burning need to buy another bird shaped decoration or pretty clock (most often shaped like a bird), but for some reason I get easily suckered into paying upwards of $40 (who am I kidding, more than that) for these sorts of things and they don’t leave me feeling as fulfilled as a concert or a skate on the canal. 

I’m sitting at my dining room table right now, looking at what I like to call, “my cabinet of fun but unnecessary.” In this cabinet you can see that I have about 100 records, 2 dozen board games, a dozen almost finished bottles of obscure alcohols that have probably been there for a good year, and the thing is surrounded by 3 of my 30+ plants and of course, the creepy mannequin head with a Lady Gaga wig and pilot’s hat, just like everyone else has in their homes to keep up with the most trendy hipsters in all existence.

This is the wig, eat your hearts out little monsters. 

These things all have or continue to add some simple joys to my life, but the reality is, if there ever were a fire, I would easily be able to go on living my life as if nothing had happened. Mind you, I would stand out like a sore thumb at the next Lady Gaga themed party, but that’s really not the point. If you are sitting at your computer and reading this and thinking about your own debt and wondering how you can get to the point that I am in a fast time span, this should be a bit of a punch to the junk to tell you that the answer is right in front of you sometimes.

It’s all about reassessing what we have and asking what we can give up in order to get ahead. For me, the hard things to give up were: buying music, buying new clothes, eating out, and going to concerts. These things took up a lot of my budget, but I really felt like I was entitled to have everything that I wanted, but I looked at these things as needs, but wants. I needed to go to that concert so that I could spend time with my friends, I needed to buy that album so that I could support my favourite artists (like they would go out of business if I didn’t), I needed to have new clothes so that I could maintain my sense of style that friends and family raved about. There are so many stories that I could tell myself to justify just about any expense.

My best story was, well, “it’s vintage, so I’m not paying as much as everyone else”, or “it’s on sale”. It doesn’t matter if that t-shirt is on sale, it doesn’t change that fact that you have 50 more in a drawer at home. When you’re on a budget you need to identify these excessive items in your life. If you’re someone who is always wanting to get the latest and greatest music, stop following all of the music blogs, unsubscribe to the music blogs, and learn to dust off that Lauren Hill CD and ride it out until you’re financially stable again. Set limits for the amount that you are allowed to buy as well. Limit yourself to one album per month, and ask for the other albums you want for birthdays or holidays. The same can apply to clothes. Are you hooked on fashion blogs and already stocking up on the latest cool shades of green since orange is so last season? Stop following these trends and start setting your own trends. Learn to embrace what you already have.

The reality is that most people who are in debt, already have everything they need and then some, so giving up these types of things should not be difficult to do. As I approach the end of my debt, the things that I had to give up are getting welcomed back into my life, and the purchases I make are smarter ones. It may seem crazy at the time to stop going to your favourite restaurant every week, but when you’re out of debt in 2 years, you’re going to look like a freaking financial genius.

I used to go for brunch every single Sunday before my debt repayment process. Well today I went to my friends Kate and Caitlin’s place and had a fantastic brunch, stimulating conversation, and a great time with people that I love, which I have come to realize from this process, is worth more than any of the excessive wants that I had filled my home with.  Take some time, figure out what really matters to you, and the rest will all just fall into place. 

Can you believe I have less than $4,000 to go?! Wowsa!

Excessive vs. Restrained

The classic "Moon Landing" on Modern Family

Without question, yoga has become a staple in my life. I have now been practicing yoga for two years and the results have been wonderful – just check out my butt next time I pass you on the street! It’s a great way for me to just relax, let go of my day and all my stressors and focus on me me ME. Anyone who has really been bitten by the yoga bug knows that classes are ended in a pose called shavasana (which translates to corpse pose). The pose is seemingly easy, all you do is lie on your back as if you were dead, but it’s actually the most mentally challenging of all the poses. You need to clear your mind and focus on all the work that your body does for you and experience a moment of calm, not only for your body, but for your mind. Now, when I first started yoga, I never liked to stay after class and lie around, mainly because the place that I practiced yoga had the tiniest freaking change room ever, and you were very likely to experience a “moon landing” with one of the fellow yogis.

Shavasana is so easy, even cats can do it!

Lately, I discovered the immense benefits of staying in class at the end and really experiencing shavasana. I will stay there for at least 5 minutes and really focus on eliminating the things in my mind that stress me out. This has been instrumental in keeping me focused on my goal of eliminating my debt. Now, working at a yoga studio, I know that to properly clean a yoga mat, you only need about 3 sprays of mat cleaner to properly clean your mat. As I’m lying there in shavasana, trying to relax and clear my mind, I hear the yogini next to me spraying her mat down (which is really poor etiquette btw – take it outside). You think she’s done, but oh no, she just keeps going and going and shpfft shpfft shpfft, the sprays keep going and going, I mean really, how badly do you stink that you need to spray your mat this much? After spray number 10, I started to count how many sprays she used on her mat; the grand total: NINETY FIVE! Needless to say, I was not impressed and it got me thinking about my next topic for my blog: Excessiveness.

This is a subject that I have touched on before, but I feel like sometimes we need to be reminded of how much money we can save by making conscious decisions to use less in our lives. I was watching an episode of “Til Debt Do Us Part” starring my idol, Gail Vaz-Oxlade, and in this particular episode there was a newly immigrated husband who was completely caught up in this idea that he needed to have everything and that the more stuff he had the better his life would be – to the tune of $68,000 worth of debt. It was depressing to see someone move here and get so caught up in the idea that we all need to have a giant house or expensive car, marble everywhere and hardwood everything to show that we are doing well. Why does all this $hit matter? I pay $550 to live in a palace of an apartment and I feel like a spoiled bit¢h! So I’ve taken a look at what I have been doing to live within my needs and I want to pass some pearls of wisdom on you all.

The first thing I was able to cut out of my life was transportation costs. Not many people know that I used to own a pretty sexy k-car. It was so great for getting around and I got totally caught up in driving around and listening to music. I wanted any excuse I could think of to go out and drive so that I could blast my tunes on my awful Wal-Mart speakers and get out and about. When I moved away from home, I got rid of the car and was able to use my Uncle’s equally $hitty car. The gas bill was a ridonkulous! I was spending $10 everyday on gas, and that’s before it went over $1.00 per litre. This left me flabbergasted. How was I supposed to get ahead when I was wasting all this money on driving? It was clear to me that I would need to move somewhere closer to where I worked so that I could save on fuel costs. I wasn’t even spending money on insurance and car maintenance and I could see what a pain in the a$$ it was to have to rely on a car. Now, I might spend $10 a month on getting around – really, how amazing is that? Not only has this had an immense effect on my pocketbook, it’s had an incredible impact on my health. So my message to you is simple, look for a way to cut back on your transportation costs.

I realize that I am in an unusual situation to live so close to everything I need, but the point is that you can make a conscious decision to cut back on getting around. In the summer, try taking a bike or walking to work; if you’re trying to lose weight or get in better shape, I assure you that this will give you results – again, I’m talking sexy butt. If you can take public transit, do it. Challenge yourself to go one month to use you car as little as possible and watch how much money you will save.

It's funny because it's true.

Now speaking of challenges, I was reading a blog by one of my commenters (Lifeisfullofsunnydays) and they were doing an exercise where they tried to see if they can go a whole week without spending any money, so I am going to do just that. I just got back from the grocery store where I spent $35 dollars on groceries so I’ll see how far I make it. I have to pay rent this week, so that’s not going to count, but I think that this will be an awesome challenge to prepare me for my trip to Saskatchewan which is happening this upcoming weekend! I am so excited to be on vacation and I am really stoked to be still receiving a paycheck while doing it! So, here’s how this no spending thing is going to go down, I am not going to buy anything until the weekend. No cup of coffee, no snacks, not even more groceries. I really think that I can do this, but I really hope that people will understand when I join them for coffee and don’t buy anything. This week will be the opposite of excessive which is what exactly – restrained, frugal? So if you see me out and about feel free to buy me a coffee, or dinner, or even better, a beer.