Food For Thought: Embracing Lent

Don't panic! We're not going to talk about fasting because that is probably my worst nightmare, and I'm also not coming at Lent in this segment from a true Christian perspective. Instead, I'd like to talk about how I used the Lent season to start changing bad habits and and exploring my weak spots. Lent is normally referred to as the 40 Days, but in reality the period from Ash Wednesday to Easter is 46 days or 6.5 weeks. 

For me, Lent two years ago meant giving up wine. I had been interested in an opportunity to really challenge myself and the Lent spirit of reflection and deliberate sacrifice was very appealing. I gave up alcohol and was genuinely surprised at how annoying it was. I'm not a heavy drinker, but I like a glass of wine while cooking dinner or a beer when I'm out with my friends. All of a sudden red wine, champagne and a thick winter beer were like fantasy substances dancing just out of reach. 

Badddd mentality, Kerry!

Last year, I gave up clothes shopping which was a huge change. Before you start thinking I'm a drunken shopaholic, I promise I have very few vices and they don't qualify as life ruining addictions. I haunt the local Goodwill a few times a week and up the ante by shamelessly using my member card for an additional 10% off. 

I had started tracking every purchase a few months before Lent, and realized that I picked up new things much more often than I realized. I would guess that I hadn't shopped that much lately, then realize I'd already purchased 8 new things that month. Fortunately for my husband, that total bill for those 8 things would only be around $25. But one of my biggest steps to living a more frugal lifestyle is realizing that overbuying cheap items still adds up to a big financial burden over time. I'd started treating shopping like my favorite weekend hobby and realized that I needed a reset. And boy, was that shopping shortage ugly. 

Once both Lent periods finished, I found that I shopped and drank less than I had before. I've never had a true problem with either area, but it was nice to distance my cravings a bit. Being aware of my vices made me curious about the financial cost in the long run. 

Yep, better than a 50% off sale!

After all, a bottle of wine a week is still $10 in a week, $40 in a month and $520 in a year. And a fashion habit of $20 a week is $80 a month and $960 a year. And $960 a year is a mini vacation, or three months of student loan payments, or a few gorgeous furniture pieces for my apartment. I know that everyone's sick of the overdone financial advice to cut out your Starbucks every day and save a million dollars, but I actually was kind of moved by these specific examples in my own life. 

Some people are great at living life in moderation, and I think that's fantastic and admirable. I do a heck of a lot better with absolutes. I find that six week Lent chunk is enough time for an entire reset on my mindless habits. Then once the habit is broken, I've also had six weeks of distance to really think about my choices and areas where I may want to make changes. 

Most recently, I've tried to tackle juice and TV.  I entirely removed juice from the grocery list last Spring, and because I love a good bargain, once I don't buy it in bulk from the grocery store I'm unlikely to pick it up later on. Sometimes at a restaurant I'll order a soda or juice and enjoy it, but I know if I had juice at my house I'd been slurping it down 3x a day and overloading on sugar and empty calories.

My interest in monitoring my TV consumption mostly came about because I've been reading a lot about screen time for kids. I was all high and mighty thinking about how I'd be sure to monitor my future offspring's screen time, then realized that I didn't have the faintest clue how many actual hours of TV I watch. And boy was I surprised when I started paying attention. I've decided to give up watching any non-social TV for a month. For me, that just leaves Killjoys from Syfy, which I watch with my Dad, and whichever show my friends are watching in our little TV Sunday Club. That way, I'm at least being deliberate in my viewing and not mindless.

Do you live life in moderation or do you need challenges to kick your butt into gear and make big changes? Anything you're striving to give up these days?