Priya Parker Project Step 5: Dwindling Cash Experiment

"Hello? That's money callin' me!"

This is my experience with step 5 of Priya Parker's Reboot project. 

STEP 5 (Finance)-  Dwindling-Cash Experiment:  To check how much money is enough money for you to live a normal life. In this experiments you first note down how much money you spend on yourself per month (not how much you earn) . Take that amount from bank and put it in an envelope. Then divide it into 4 parts (40%, 30%, 20% and 10% of total).  Then expose yourself to 4 different money parts one in each week. Start with 40% money for first week, then 30% in next week, etc. Note down what you did in each week and how did you manage e.g.  live with this much money for one week each to know how much money is sufficient for you/your habits/constraints/spending pattern, mind-set, etc. Find out what amount you are comfortable with and live on. Build a financial model and see how much you need to “reboot” your life.

I will tell you upfront I did not follow through and divide 1 month's worth of earnings into 4 parts and follow Priya's instructions. It was much too difficult and I really did not like the idea of spending A LOT of money in one week just because it says to. Instead, what I did was analyze my spending habits in my bank account from January until mid September. It is obvious that I spent money a bit more freely when I had a lot more in my savings than I do at the moment. For those who don't have a lot of money up front to do the Priya project like she says, this may be a manageable way to run a dwindling cash experiment.

January 

In January I took two trip to Palm Springs with my bff and Vegas for a bachelorette party. We did spa days and went to a Chippendale's show, and spent money eating and drinking well. I noticed that I ate out significantly more and frequented the higher-end grocery stores more often than I would like to admit. And to buy what? I don't remember, but I'm sure it was tasty. I also had my hair done with red extensions as a "happy I'm not working anymore" gift to myself. No, I will not disclose how much that was. Sorry, honey!

February

The Seahawks lost the Superbowl. I bought some new gear and hats for me and my husband before the SB. I also started buying a bunch of craft stuff to start on a project for St. Patty's day. I spent money on an online analytics class. Did a few trips up to Seattle and spent money on wedding gift and bridal shower gifts. 

March

I was in Seattle a lot. For a wedding, to see my family, and spend time with some friends. I contemplated the idea of looking for a job in Seattle and moving back. Portland is a tough market to crack into. I had a few job interviews that resulted in pretty bad rejections. I knew I still had a lot of work to do in order to be hirable in Portland. However, if was hard to shake off the rejection. I also spent money on a St. Patty's day excursion with my friends and made rainbow shoes and orange and green kitty accessories. Staying crafty really helped me through my tough transition into looking for a job again. 

April

This month was my husband's birthday, so I decided to throw a lip sync battle party and provide some food and booze for the guests. It was a lot of fun and, wow, the house was a disaster the next day. Luckily, Ian felt better enough to help me clean the house the next day  so it wasn't a mess that we had to deal with all week. We may have gone out to dinner a few times as well. We also traveled to Ian's best friend's wedding in Plano, Illinois. Our second wedding of the year. Good times!

May

In May I went to Colorado to meet up with my best friend and her pal for a girls weekend. By this time I had gotten a few more job rejected and feeling pretty low. Although I kept applying, my heart really was not into anything so I concentrated on meditation and  bought/ read books on energy work, soul purpose guidance and more. As silly as it sounds, the more I realize our out of touch I am with the present, the more stress and anxiety I tend to hold. I also noticed how shallow my my everyday breaths were. I still have a problem with this, but at least I started waking up to these things and am making an effort to connect with the earth.

June

Wedding number 3 in Chicago! That meant more flying and buying food, Ubering all over the place, etc. I did buy a new dress, purse, and also bought paints to update my shoes to match my dress. I vowed to myself not to buy another dress for the next 2 weddings coming up. At home, we stopped eating out so much and I started buying less organic foods and meats. My husband and I also worked on our backyard garden to make sure we had some fresh veggies to supplement our grocery bill (which is around $100/week for 2 of us).

July

This summer, we went to the beach way more than we normally do. It's  something I have mentioned to Ian many times that I wanted to do more often. The temperature is generally 10-15 degrees lower at the beach than in-land. It is the perfect getaway spot when the temps are rising in Portland. July 4th weekend, we took a gamble and went into the coastal mountains to find a camping spot, and we got super lucky! That didn't cost us much except for food and one meal out . Then our friend invited us to a weekend beach house trip in which we contributed food and booze to the communal eating/drinking space. Good times!  We also did a family camping trip to an island in the Colombia. We did a follow up trip with friends at the same spot. Again, most of my money went to food for these trips and covering my bills.

August

In August we went to a wedding (our fourth one) and I helped with their flowers and was in charge of the tear-down check list. Then we did a family trip to Copalis Beach. Spent money on food and wedding gifts. I also spent money on two concerts. One was $10 bucks to see the Physics, a Seattle band, and the other was to see Lindsey Sterling. Her tickets were $40/each and a bit pricey for my budget, however, it was much cheaper than when I tried to find tickets to her show in the past. I also spent money on materials to make costumes for a drag costume birthday party. I dressed up Ian as the Portlandia Statue, and I was Poseiden, and Cooper was a pretty princess. We won first place. It was a lot of fun. When I have a vision I generally tend to see it through and for the most part, I was happy with the results. I did forget to mention that I did spend money on sewing classes and also materials in July. It was intense, but I really learned a lot about the basics of sewing. I hope to take those classes again the future when I have more money and time. We did not go out to eat except when friends wanted to go out.  The garden was growing so that cut my food bill to around $80/week. That was nice. I also did a quick 2 day trip to Seattle to see friends and my sister. Spent money on travel, food to cook for a dinner, and a meal out. Our anniversary is in August and we kept it fairly low key with dinners at home and maybe Ian treated me out to dinner later on. I can't really remember. I also recall my drinking habits significantly slowing down over the course of the summer. I don't really know why, but drinking for taste and complimenting the food I eat is really all I do. Drinking to loosen up or get a buzz doesn't appeal to me anymore. I find myself ordering a glass of wine or beer or one cocktail and that's it. Makes me more of a cheap date, which Ian loves LOL!

September

Since September is still going, I decided to only document a few things. I did buy a new electric bike, and we haven't really been spending too much money on groceries. Maybe closer to $70/week. We went to a lovely wedding (our fifth) in Mt. Rainier and paid for gifts for the bride and groom. I went on a 90s boat cruise with some girlfriends with the Groupon rate of $12. Didn't drink at all because the cocktails were $8 bucks! yikes! Did spend money on Uber to get around but the girls chipped in to pay so it's all good. I also spent money to put Cooper in doggy daycare as we are about to go on a road trip, and I hired a dog walker to take Cooper out for walks 5/days a week while Ian and I are at work starting the 28th. I haven't made payments on that, but it will hit my wallet at the end of the month.


So overall, I do notice that my spending habits and my eating and drinking habits did change a bit due to being on more of a tight budget. We did not go out to eat as much, and I even stopped buying treats for my dog. He has to eat his regular food for treats, poor thing. I was still able to do many things I enjoyed (within reason). I stopped buying clothes after June. Even the thrift store was off limits. I inventoried my existing clothes and separated them based on work appropriate and casual wear. I have been spending mostly my unemployment check each week. Not the whole thing, but certainly a lot of it goes to food and bills and small things. Do I think I could live off of the amount I get on unemployment forever? No. I don't feel comfortable at all. It would be really painful and even more sacrifices would have to be made to live off of it. I am lucky that I don't have to  be on my own, but if I was, I certainly would feel a lot of anxiety and stress during this time.

Realistically I think I could get by on perhaps $600 a week after taxes and be ok. It could feel comfortable and I could save at least $50 to $100 a week possibly. I would still need to work on lowering the grocery budget and modify my social habits a bit. It would be a bit tougher to travel on this budget, so I would have to wait longer in between vacations to plan some good trips. 

I have been talking with some friends and family about a new perspective on how to find happiness without getting burnt out n the rat race. If I were to go back to work, at what cost does the added stress add to my family? I am still pondering that. All I know is that happiness and health is priceless. You can't buy it. If health can be bought, Steve Jobs would still be alive today. If happiness can be bought, then people at the poverty level around the world would never smile or laugh or be thankful. But that isn't the case at all. Having had the opportunity to travel to different places, I notice how simplified people's lives are. They have significantly less consumables in their homes. There's no gizmos or gadgets for everything in life. They make do with what they have and what their community and help out with, or help their community with that they have. There's an internal struggle I have: to want nice things and experiences at whatever cost it takes, and to want the simple and frugal life. It's hard to have both sometimes. I am very fortunate to be married to someone who is very fiscally responsible and helps me to be realistic with money even when old habits tempt me. If we can't eat as many fancy cheese and crackers as we used to, we won't shrivel up and die. But I want to not cut them out of my life forever.

So what do I think of this modified Priya Parker Project? Possibly a failed one. Possibly an eye opener.  It raises more questions than answers for me.