Syriana Castilleja

Money patiently waiting for the seven days to pass and be spent.

 In a desperate act to save money, I challenged myself to seven days of no impractical spending. So I attempted this experiment, which required daily accounts of each and every expense made. 

For the first day of this daunting challenge, I was able to work a 10-hour shift which essentially forced me to save money. So, I can proudly say I spent nothing and also made a pretty penny at work. 

Unfortunately, the experiment I once thought would be easy started off rather rocky on day two. On this early Tuesday morning, I spent $7 on a holiday drink from Starbucks. Was it worth the splurge? Absolutely, and I plan to redeem myself from this point forward. After the morning passed, I ultimately decided to hide my wallet to prevent myself from any further spending. 

To say I am shocked would be an understatement. Also, it is a wonder to think I successfully spent a full school day without treating myself to an online order of clothes or a midday pick-me-up drink. Kudos to myself for not picking up my debit card once throughout the entirety of day three. 

Sadly, I was forced to fill up my gas tank causing a whopping $62.78 to be stolen from my bank account. However,  due to this being a necessity, there are no hard feelings aside from my bruised wallet. On the bright side, I managed to practice self-control and did not purchase any candy at the gas station. A round of applause would be greatly appreciated for the success of day four. 

At this point, the idea of spending money was overwhelming me. It is also important to understand that a person’s friends are indeed some of the most influential people in their life. This established, on this fine Friday, I happily joined a few friends for lunch at Bagel Boy. I spent about $11 on my food and my debit card was safely put to rest for the remainder of the day. 

On Saturday, my amazing mother purchased tickets to state football, so my wallet was safe. Rest assured that no money was spent the entirety of the day. On Sunday morning, however, all I could dream about was a smoothie bowl from Nektar. I happily treated myself to one, since I did much better saving money than I had anticipated at the beginning of the week. 

In total, I had about $90 left on my debit card, with only $30 not including my gas bill. If I learned anything from this grueling experience, I learned that I have a serious shopping addiction. Surprisingly, I persevered and managed to not buy a single article of clothing for an entire week. Not so surprisingly, every dollar that left my bank account was for food. Clearly that department needs some attention. If anyone is considering this challenge, don’t. It was rather tedious and the week moved very slowly because of my money restriction.