how to not give a fuckcut spending
what if you lost everything tomorrow? your job, your savings, your comfortable life. could you survive? most people have no idea, and that uncertainty is the invisible weight driving every anxious financial decision they make.
the fear underneath the spending
you don't overspend because you love stuff. you overspend because you're terrified of discomfort. every subscription, every convenience purchase, every "i deserve this" is a small insurance policy against feeling deprived. but here's the irony: the more you spend to avoid discomfort, the more dependent you become on spending to feel okay.
it's a trap. and there's only one way out: prove to yourself that you can live without it.
the poverty line experiment
for one month, try living at the bare minimum:
- cancel cable and streaming -- use the library, free content, or just exist without constant entertainment
- take public transportation -- or walk, or bike. your car is not the necessity you think it is
- eat rice and beans -- add vegetables, spices, eggs. people around the world thrive on simple food. you can handle 30 days
track every dollar. see how low you can go without actually endangering your health or safety.
what you'll discover
first, you'll be uncomfortable. then annoyed. then, somewhere around week two, something shifts. you realize most of what you spend money on isn't essential. it's habitual. and habits can be changed.
you'll notice how much mental energy you free up when you stop making purchasing decisions all day. you'll eat simpler and feel fine. you'll be bored and discover that boredom is actually a creative catalyst.
most importantly, you'll know -- not theorize, but know -- that you can survive on almost nothing.
why this changes everything
when you know you can live on $1,000 a month, losing your job stops being catastrophic. taking a risk on a new career stops being reckless. saying no to a bad situation stops feeling impossible. your financial fear dissolves, because you've stress-tested yourself against the worst case.
try it for 30 days. the freedom on the other side is worth the discomfort.
if this resonated, share it with someone who needs to hear it.