I have a new favorite television show. It's called "Extreme Cheapskates" and is shown on TLC. This weekend I found myself glued to the TV for an embarrassing amount of time watching this show. The name says it all. The show follows people who live in extreme ways to save money.
For example, one woman in New York went through dumpsters at high end grocery stores to find food instead of buying it (that's the photo above). Another man who lives with his wife and two children went without a couch and had only a card table and folding chairs in his living room. When that man took his family out for dinner, as he did only once a year, he paid the $98.00 bill at a chinese buffet all in change. Lastly, another person cut up fabric to use as toilet paper and washed it after use instead of buying toilet paper.
I was obsessed with this show. As a bankruptcy attorney, I am always looking for tips to give people on how they can save money so that after bankruptcy they can start out on the correct financial track. However, most of the things the people in this show did were a bit too much in my opinion. But there was one idea that really sparked my interest as a potential great way to save money: the fiscal fast." One of the people on the show took one week every year and agreed that neither him nor his wife would spend any money that week. The couple used the "fiscal fast" as a way to cut back on spending by using what they already had on hand. Toward the end of the week the husband rode his bike around town looking for spare change and ended up buying two goat heads to cook for dinner with about seven dollars he had found in change.
While you are not going to catch me eating a goat head, I really think the fiscal fast is one of the best money-saving tips I have heard. I often believe that if you can make a game out of it, that you are more likely to spend less and save more. What better game than having a fiscal fast? Take some fixed amount of time and agree that the family is not going to spend any money. Your family may start out with one day on its first fiscal fast and slowly move up from there. There are many families that swipe the debit or credit card 20 times a day. For them going only one day without spending any money would be an exercise in restraint.
The reason I love the idea of the fiscal fast so much is that it not only helps you save money because you aren't spending any more for a week; it also makes you realize how often you would typically spend money in that same week. I think many of us spend and spend because we are used to spending and don't even realize how often we spend money at all. The fiscal fast, in my opinion, will really open the eyes of those who are overspending.
Has anyone ever done a fiscal fast? If so I would love to hear about it. How much money were you able to save? Did the fiscal fast impact your spending habits long-term? Did you find the fiscal fast worthwhile? Just post your answers to the comments section below.
Halcomb Singler, LLP, is a debt relief agency. It helps people file for bankruptcy under the bankruptcy code. No attorney-client relationship with the firm of Halcomb Singler, LLP, is created through this blog. Also, please note that Erika Singler is an attorney licensed in Indiana and does not seek to practice law in any jurisdiction in which they are not properly authorized to do so. The information contained in this blog is general in nature and should not be relied upon for the circumstances of any individual(s) or businesses.
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