I like structure - and if I am going to do this right I need to set rules for myself. With the help of the reweave team I have created three. Every "sub"rule falls into one of these three rules:
- I will not go into "debt" with friends (ie. having them pay for something and then I pay them back on October 1st).
- If I accept something for free it either needs to be donated by an organization, offered for free to everyone, or it needs to something I would have received for free anyways prior to this experiment.
- I will not eat ramen!
Now that I have set down the rules, here's how I'm going to do this.
I know my monthly t-pass is $43 and I use the mbta at least twice a day, five times a week. There are 20 work days in September (excludes Labor day), so I pay approximately 50 cents per bus/t ride. That leaves me with about $4 for food and such for the rest of the day. (If I walk home from work then I have $4.50!)
Food is a bit trickier. Eating at a restaurant is out of the question. So is Boloco... and Chipotle.. but I digress.
I've been saving my receipts and found that if I "charge" myself per serving, I can keep track of how much I spend and how much I eat.
For example: If I buy a container of oatmeal for $4.99 and there are 15 cups, I know that each 1/2 a cup serving costs me 19 cents. That how much I will "charge" myself for breakfast.
I will spread the cost of my shampoo, conditioner, etc over the course of the month in a similar way.
When it comes to going out, transportation on the commuter rail, group dinners, etc- I have a plan for those too but I will write about those experiences as they arise!
Day one starts tomorrow! Bring it on.
