It felt so nice to take a brief break from the digital world. And now an update about my "Digital Cleanse"....
Although I cheated a few times and visited Facebook, I stayed away for 4 whole days and it was so nice not worrying about what other people were doing. I still like Facebook and will be active on the website, but I certainly don't need to be checking it 10 times a day.
The same goes for Twitter. I finally logged into Twitter last night for the first time in over a week and I have to be honest, I didn't really miss it. I would rather have a few good conversations through email or gchat with the people I actually like to keep in contact with. There are so many people I follow that annoy me and I don't know why I subject myself to them. It is a very strange phenomenon. I am sure I will pop up again in your Twitter feeds, but I am guessing it will only be sporadically.
As for texting...I cheated a couple days after beginning the cleanse because one of my college roommates texted me a picture of her engagement ring while on a trip to Hawaii. I just had to reply! She and her now fiance have been together for 10 years (!) and we all were just waiting for the day when they would finally get engaged. After that I was more lax with abstaining from texting, but I still took time to call my mom in my car on the way home from work most days, so that was nice. I just can't deny how easy it is to communicate through texting. Our family plan includes unlimited texting and it fits in with most people's lifestyles much easier. So although I will continue to be a texting machine, I am still going to try and make and active effort to talk on the phone with those who mean the most to me.
Not emailing from my phone was the easiest. I don't have my work email on my phone so I mostly get junk or stuff from friends, so it was easy to wait and reply when I got to a computer.
As for Improve Yourself! 2010, I am going strong with my goal to save money and put it in our house fund. Granted it has only been a week, but I menu planned last Monday and we actually stuck to it! Such a big feat for us. I have created another menu plan for this week, and after church this morning I hit up the grocery store. I saved $45 (and spent $58) by only buying stuff on sale and using coupons. Here is our menu for the week:
Sun: Spaghetti and homemade meatballs with side salads
Mon: My grandma's homemade chicken soup with crescent rolls
Tue: NY Strip Steaks with sauteed mushrooms, baked potatoes, and side salads
Wed: Tilapia over steamed spinach with a side of fettuccine alfredo
Thu: Quick Beef Soup with the leftover crescent rolls
Fri: Dinner out
Sat: Pizza (Maybe chicken, spinach, and tomato pizza, Landlocked Mermaid style)
Does anyone else have any other recommendations for how to stick with our financial goals? I am open to hearing anything!
Some days are harder than others…
5 weeks ago
i think you did a good job! it's actually really hard, but twitter is so over the top. and i'm totally with you - i don't know why i just don't stop following people who are so pretentious and annoying. it's like a sickness. it also allows for some fun conversation with other people! :)
ReplyDeleteA few people seem to be taking the techno challenge and avoiding the constant updating. It's a good thing to live in the real world and just visit the virtual online land. Congrats on it. Twitter is my big obsession at the mo. I love it, but I've holding myself back from a bit as of late too. (meaning not checking it 100 times a day.)
ReplyDeletei love the grocery store receipts that print your savings at the bottom... i used to use them as badges. it's pretty easy to save 10% every single time you go just by using the store card discounts but i always aimed for 20% by using coupons from the newspaper... i definitely agree that this is a great place to start really saving.
ReplyDeletethe best thing for me was this book "Smart Women Finish Rich" i know i recommend it to everyone but it really changed my financial life! i got completely out of debt and have been ever since. it really took recording every single cent i spend... seeing where it all went each month really helps you understand you're spending WAY more than you thought you were on makeup, or snacks, or skirts, whatever. can't wait to hear what works for you!
my grandparents stick to teh philosophy of only buying things on sale that week after perusing the weekly coupons and ads for groceries that arive on their doorstep. she says she eats more variety that way, with the occasional splurge for things she loves (like steak):) i'd love to hear more about how you save, especially in these times!
ReplyDeleteWow, you really did a nice job with your cleanse! I think I'd find it really difficult, but I may try just to say I tried :)
ReplyDeleteMan. Your life feels so impressive! Love that you did so well on the tech challenge. I don't know whether I could do it, but I still want to try. I did it over Yom Kippur and broke down after about three days.
ReplyDelete