Good Morning Dinks. Yes you read that right, today we are sharing an article from The Financial Post that tells the story of how one personal finance expert (it’s not me) lives on only $21 per week. Twenty-one dollars is not a lot of money and some of us spend more than $21 in parking tickets each month, but nevertheless I found this article and I wanted to share it.
I know as dual income couples we all have disposable income and we can afford not to live on a budget if we didn’t want to, but we are also all saving money for our personal goals or paying off debt and that’s why it’s important to take an active role in managing our money. Just because we don’t have kids doesn’t mean that we don’t have other financial priorities and responsibilities. After all money that is not spent is money that can be saved.
Who is this woman that lives on only $21?
Fiona Lippey lives in one of Australia’s most expensive cities, and she does it on a budget. Lippey grew up “moderately rich” and like many of us she had a rude awakening in her early twenties when she moved out on her own. Forced to live on a strict personal budget and no money to do it with, Lippey had to quickly learn how to get the most out of life with the least amount of money.
Lippey learned to thrift shop and save money on everything in her life from clothes to food. Lippey was accustom to a life with very nice things; but she quickly learned that those nice things cost money, money that she didn’t have as an independent young woman in her twenties. Life was not as easy for Lippey when she didn’t have Mommy and Daddy’s money; but she made it work. Lippey learned to cook, shop, and live on a (very tight) budget; to her surprise she was actually still happy. Does this remind you of our It’s Not About The Stuff post from a couple of weeks ago?
The $21 Challenge:
Could you do it? Could you live on only $21 per week? I don’t think that I can do it, but I am absolutely going to try. Next Monday I am going to withdraw $21 from my bank account, and I am going to try and live on only $21 for the entire week.
Considering the fact that I eat out most days of the week I honestly don’t think that I will be able to live on only $21, but like I said, I am going to try. I will write a post next week about how I spent the $21 and what I lived without in order to stay within the budget.
I know that this is a difficult challenge but I am going to try and do it. I am going to think about all of the money that I will be saving, not all of the things that I will be giving up.
If you are a blogger and you want to take the $21 Challenge write a post about it and send us the link. We will include your name and blog post in our recap.
Photo by Dan4th
Unless I worked from home every day I don’t think this is possible. Gas alone would push me over the $21 mark.
$21 a week for gas, food and other variable expenses would be very difficult for me. However, I’m willing to give the challenge a try.
I feel like this is missing the point. With a little planning, most people should be able to go 7 days without spending $21.
The real issue is why would you have only $21 available over 7 days? If your cost of living is that high and/or your income that low, it’s time to make a change.
Woah….that’s a serious challenge. $3 per day? For a week? As much as I’d love to try this challenge, I know immediately I would fail. Well, wait. I could probably eat PB&J for every meal during the week and I’d survive. Huh…