Lessons Learned on a Spending Sabbatical
Many people complain about the “consumer treadmill,” but few are willing to actually step off. An article on MSN recently profiled someone who did. Judith Levine spent a year buying only essentials—no movies, no restaurant meals, no ice cream. While her spending sabbatical enabled her to pay off nearly $8,000 in credit card debt, she also found more meaning in a life of less spending. “You not only learn what you can live without, but what you really want to spend your money on.” Today she devotes more of her time and money to causes she believes in.
Matt’s View
Levine also had some interesting observations about the social nature of spending. She saw how getting together with friends often seems to require spending money. While some friends began to feel penalized for getting together with her (“Oh Judith, not another walk!”), she found many others were interested in managing their money more effectively and appreciated her suggestions for free entertainment, like going to museums when admission is free.
Managing Money by The Book
- "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." - Matthew 7:24-25
Recommended Resources
- Money, Purpose, Joy - Discussion Guide
- If you want to take your relationship with money to a whole new level, bring the subject into your small group. It can be scary to open up about money, at least at first. But the "Money, Purpose, Joy Discussion...…Read the rest
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