Hello, and welcome to the fourth “Minus Month Challenge” here at NMI!
Here I take one of my many indulgences and strip it from my budget for an entire month.
The goal isn’t specifically to save a bunch of money, but rather, to save a little while also learning the importance of delaying gratification for the future good of myself.
A minus month can also come with some pleasant side effects such as weight loss, more energy, better mood, a fatter wallet and spontaneous bursts of joy (OK, not really).
Last minus month – technically two months ago – I tried giving up lattes for a month, and I did OK.
This month, I decided I’d try giving up something different: alcohol.
Don’t worry, I promise, I don’t have a problem.
I actually don’t drink that much – I may get a bottle of wine a couple weekends out of the month, and if we have a get together with our friends, we’ll definitely drink some margaritas, cocktails, etc.
It’s more just that alcohol is so expensive.
Getting a decent bottle of wine can cost anywhere between $8 to $12 (I know that’s considered cheap, but for me, it ain’t), and spirits are even more.
I thought it may be nice to give both my wallet and mind a break.
But again, don’t worry.
I mean, it’s not like I’m like this:
THE MINUS MONTH CALENDAR
I’ll be indicating a successful minus day with the hashtag #DB, which stands for ‘didn’t break’, and a fail day with the hashtag #B, which stands for ‘break’.
WEEK 1
Day 1 – #DB
Day 2 – #DB
Day 3 – #DB
Day 4 – #DB
Day 5 – #DB
Day 6 – #DB
Day 7 – #DB
WEEK 2
Day 8 – #DB
Day 9 – #DB
Day 10 – #DB
Day 11 – #DB
Day 12 – #DB
Day 13 – #DB
Day 14 – #DB
WEEK 3
Day 15 – #DB
Day 16 – #DB
Day 17 – #DB
Day 18 – #DB
Day 19 – #DB
Day 20 – #DB
Day 21 – #DB
WEEK 4 +
Day 22 – #DB
Day 23 – #DB
Day 24 – #DB
Day 25 – #DB
Day 26 – #DB
Day 27 – #DB
Day 28 – #DB
Day 29 – #DB
Day 30 – #DB
Day 31 – #DB
FINAL THOUGHTS
Woohoo! I did it! I didn’t buy or drink any alcohol all month!
I’m pretty proud of myself.
While I’ve never been a huge drinker, as I get older, I find myself partaking in it more than I used to when I was younger.
It’s nice to know it’s something I can cut from my budget and not miss!
Another update: Two months later and I’ve still completely kept from buying alcohol! I don’t miss it at all. My budget, my body, and my health says, “thank you”!
WANNA JOIN ME?
Got something you wanna do without for a month? Got a bad habit you wanna break?
Join me as I track my progress with the fourth minus month challenge!
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