We’ve covered various aspects of minimalism in previous posts. From downsizing to getting rid of excess clutter in your home without losing your mind. Maybe both of those ideas seem slightly extreme for you and you’d like to test out the waters of minimalism without making any permanent commitment, or maybe you aren’t interested in the minimalist lifestyle at all, but would love to challenge yourself financially.
If you fall into either of those camps, then this may be the perfect challenge for you! Today we are discussing the ever-popular 21-day financial fast. This fast has helped lots of people get control of their spending habits, plan and save for future goals, and to force them to really take inventory of what they already own and committing to make use of it. So what are the rules? Well according to MoneyCrashers.com the rules for the 21-day spending fast are:
- Make It Last for 21 Days. We can all do something for a short period of time, but to really build a new habit or to challenge yourself, you need to commit for at least 21 days. This is long enough to really benefit from the test.
- Only Purchase Needs. A need is much different from a want. A need is something that is required to survive: food, housing, medication and other necessities are all you’ll be spending on. Now here is where you can make this more challenging for yourself: is a need a Starbucks coffee or can you meet that need by simply brewing a cup of coffee at home? Same thought would apply to eating out.
- Pay With Cash Only. This is a good way to really see what’s being spent and how much money is going out. Most of us often times don’t think about what we are spending when we just swipe our debit/credit cards.
- Keep a Spending Journal. During this fast, track what you are spending, areas that are hard for you and what you are saving. When you are done with the 21-days, you’ll be able to look back on it and see what emotions or thoughts are tied to either saving or potentially over-spending.
After the 21-days, celebrate! You’ve accomplished something huge. Maybe you’ve gotten a better hold over your spending or maybe you now realize you can use more of the things you own to better serve you or that you don’t need immediate access to a lot of the things you own and you can start simplifying your life.
Now you may be thinking – how does a self storage unit work into plans to save money. Well that’s easy, a storage unit is a great way to get low cost space for the possessions you aren’t sure about whether to keep or not – you certainly don’t want to have to re-buy something you thought you could do without during an enthusiastic purge phase. Additionally, by de-cluttering your immediate living environment you give yourself a chance to see how simpler surroundings mesh with the lifestyle you think you want.
With competitive pricing and storage units of all sizes, Dollar Self Storage is here to help you in any way we can. You can feel good about safely storing your items and not spending a ton of money doing so! Check out the Dollar Self Storage location nearest to you for pricing.