Yes world, I am Catholic. And despite my complete frustrations with the Catholic church when it comes to my wedding (that's a complete series of posts), one of the traditions I really value about Catholicism is the Season of Lent. Maybe it's the challenge of doing without or doing something extra for 40 days, maybe it's the fact that I feel empowered by some "higher power" to do something worth while — either way, Lent is something I look forward to every Spring. Which is completely ironic and slightly sadistic as the whole idea behind Lent is Christ's death.
But before this becomes a religion post, which it is not, let's move forward. In high school and in college I generally gave up soda or chocolate and did fairly well. Then when I realized that instead of giving up something I could do something extra, I selflessly vowed to work out every day. That didn't work out.
But now I'm in a different place. I am working out everyday and on ZUMBA nights I'm working out twice a day. I don't buy soda for home, but when I go to the movies or eat out I order it. I don't have loads of chocolate sitting around at home, but I do have a package of tiny York Mints so I can have one each day for lunch. I feel like I'm eating healthy and living healthy. But an area that needs to improve in my life, that has only gotten worse since D moved north, is where and how I spend my money.
Since D moved north I have LOADS of time to go to the mall (often several times a weekend) and I am constantly buying books rather than, oh I don't know, reading them. This hasn't hurt my check book very hard because when D and I lived together we ate out a lot and so my expenses have about broken even.
The thing is — I don't want to be one of those people. You know — those people. The people who go shopping on a weekly basis to entertain themselves by purchasing NEW things. I've never been that person. I've never felt the need for new and fashionable clothes and accessories before. But in the past few weeks what started out with buying what was needed (professional attire) to shopping on a weekly basis. This habit has evolved from shopping strictly at JC Penny's and Herbergers to New York & Company and The Limited. I've started to become the type of girl I make fun of — too preoccupied with appearances and brands. Which is ironic as it was just last week that I reviewed "The Necklace " — a story that explores the downfall of such a young woman as a result of this same bad habit.
I can't blame D's absence and my subsequent boredom entirely, there are loads of things I could be doing. Reading, reviewing, blog hopping, working at school, cleaning my apartment, wedding planning, etc. It's the first time I've really lived alone and I'm still getting used to this whole constant paycheck thing.
And now for the point of this entire post: for Lent I've decided to Live Simple. No more shopping, I have plenty of suitable clothing pieces and accessories and don't need anything more. I have plenty of books and can use this time to read my own books rather than purchasing books. When I go to the cheap theater I'm not going to get popcorn and soda. I'm going to limit myself to eating out once a week. Of course, all things wedding are exempt as it is (as of tomorrow) 3 months away! I'm looking at the next 40 days as a time to remind myself of what's important in life (and it's not the material things).
I understand that I'm in a situation that not everyone is in — many have families, mortgages, etc. I live in a rather nice but extremely affordable apartment, with one person I don't have a huge grocery bill. And my other bills are few. I don't have a car payment. I do have student loans to pay off, but apart from that I am not "held down" by other monetary commitments. With the extra funds from living simple I plan to put the money towards the wedding and a mortgage (yes, we are looking at houses!!).
What about you — do you ever get addicted to shopping, book buying (oh, who am I kidding! We're all addicted to that!), or other entertaining activities that could be deemed as materialistic? What do you do to counter that habit?