Frugality Game: Final Episode: The Dog Days are over!!!

The Frugality Game is over guys!!! And I have a surprise for you! : I WON!!!
I know I didn't think I'd win, in fact I was pretty sure I would end up coming second after Jackie but let's just say that Jackie hasn't been quite as transparent about her spending as she should have been. (the sneaky wench. Haha!)
Now if you remember, at the start of this game, it was my sister Jane who was all gung-ho about playing this game because she was certain she would win. She was so excited in fact that she created a spending log sheet on which we each had to fill in exactly how much money we spent every day. Now I and Jane had been faithfully filling in our purchases every day, but Jackie got kind of lazy with keeping track of her purchases, and that is why Jane and I thought she was not spending any money at all. But it turns out that she has been spending money. And quite a lot of it at that.
 I only discovered this recently when I had lunch in my favourite restaurant with my sisters. I was begging Jackie to at least give me an estimate of the little money she had spent for my blog. But she kept brushing me off. Finally I said "well, I've spent more than $300, you don't have to tell me exactly how much you spent, but just tell me if it's more than $100, or more more than $150..."
She laughed derisively. "Trust me, I've spent way more than that."
I dropped my fork into my chicken alfredo. "You have? ..Exactly how much more have you spent?" I was starting to get a bit excited, but I was trying to hide it for her sake.
She sighed dramatically. "Well... I had to buy a lot of things this month for the apartment. And then there is gym membership, your birthday present, these clothes I just bought. And lots of other stuff. And that's just October. I spent so much money at the end of September that I don't even want to talk about it. In all, from the end of September till now I'd say I've spent about... more than $600."
"What? I can't BELIEVE you!" I said in an admonishing voice, though I was grinning from ear to ear. "I mean, honestly, I've been telling everyone on my blog that you've been so financially prudent, and that I'm proud of you and this is how you repay me?"
She had the grace to look ashamed and started wringing her hands. "Well, it's really, really hard to save you know."
I was reminded that I'm a shopaholic too and I know how hard it is to save, and I felt sorry for her. "Well don't worry. Even though the frugality game is finished we'll still keep trying to save, and eventually we'll get there, right?"
"I have to get there. I'm broke. Don't expect a Christmas gift from me, kid." She joked.
"Haha, you're funny...You are joking...right? right????
She just winked and said she had to go.


So that's it folks. I've WON!!!! I'm so happy. I didn't even realize yesterday was the 21st till my friend mentioned it and then I started freaking out in the middle of the cafeteria. But I didn't even care. I made it guys. Thanks to the fantastic followers who read along and/ or commented on each post (thanks especially to Zabrinah, Isabel, and E.)
So it'll be back to regular programming from the next post. Blogging about random stuff, though I will keep you up to date with my tales of getting over my shopaholic tendencies. I'm not going to give up on myself. I'm better than I was last month, and I want to be better next month than I have been this month. I just gotta keep my eyes on the prize. And off sale racks and high priced eyeshadow.

Frugality Game : Episode 1

Disclaimer : This pic is not mine and is used compliments of cyberescue.co.uk

   My sister Jane was convinced that she could succeed in spending virtually no money this month. As in zero dollars. On Wednesday when I was telling her that she has to spend money SOMEtime, she said in a very serious voice "No, I can spend no money if I cook everyday, if I don't go out with friends, if I don't leave the house, if I don't do anything."

   I rolled my eyes at how serious she had become. This game has really brought out her competitive streak. As soon as I got home Wednesday evening she announced that she had spent no money that day.

   "How much money did YOU spend?" She asked brightly.

   "I don't wanna talk about it." I mumbled.

   "Haha! See? I'm winning already!"

   "Yeah, yeah. Don't judge me. I had to buy lunch."

   "Well, if you would cook in the morning like me you could bring your own lunch to University."

   "But I can't cook.

   "Well, whose fault is that? You're so gonna lose this game."

   Ooooh, that was low.

   I turned away from her and consoled myself by planning my next blog post.

   However, my buying lunch is no longer a problem as my sister has relented and said lunch doesn't count. Nor do grocery bills or anything like that that is absolutely necessary. I mean, you've gotta eat, right? Instead, only the purchases that are not necessary, like say, buying a snack when you've just had lunch, or eating out for dinner when my mum has already cooked dinner, will be counted.

   Anyway, my other sister Jackie has also joined the frugality game. She like me, is a shopaholic used to be a shopaholic. In fact, sometimes I wonder if I get some of my impulsive shopping habits from her. Therefore, I was worried that she might not last out this game. However Jackie has actually spent the least amount of money out of the all of us so far.

   But onto the struggles of yours truly in this darned game. Well, it's been really tough on the Misnomer so far. And was especially hard this week as the mall I work in had a mall-wide sale.

   Yup. Mall-wide. And up to like 60% off in certain stores too.

    Can you imagine how an alcoholic feels when being confronted with liquor after two months of being sober? Well, that's how I felt when I was confronted by the giant sale sign after being clean for three days.

Lets play a game.....

Disclaimer: Pic compliments of www.lilitu.com

 
My sister has just suggested that we play a game. I perked up hoping she meant something like Uno or Poker or something interesting.
   "I propose we play a game this month. I've decided to play this game with my friend T and we decided to challenge each other to see who can spend the least money this month. 'Cos we're both trying to save. Do you want to play too?"
   My shoulders immediately slumped and I went back to frowning at the laptop screen. I thought I knew why she was mentioning this game to me. Earlier this very night I had unwittingly allowed her to read my last blog post on being a shopaholic. Still in denial about how horrible my shopping habits have become, I kinda don't think I need to play any silly frugality games. Pssh. I can stop my shopping anytime. And I will. All on my own.
   Yes, these were the thoughts that raced through my head in the seconds that followed her announcement. Then I figured what the hell, I might as well play this game. I mean, I only have a part time job while my sister has a permanent full time job, so she makes more than me, so she is probably going to spend more than me. I should win this game easily.
   Then I remembered something about my sis Jane: she is the sensible sister. And she doesn't like to lose.
My other sister Jackie and I are far more flighty, live-for-the-moment people. We're both shopaholics, we're both random, and we both have odd senses of humour. Jane is special too, but she's just always got her head on more than us. She's dedicated, passionate to what she loves, and single-minded. And she doesn't like to admit it, but she can be very competitive. She will be a worthier opponent that I had previously thought.
   And so without further ado....let the games begin.
  This will be a series I will try to blog about at least twice a week till the end of this month-long game. Should be interesting seeing how a shopaholic will cope against a sensible sister. Lets do this.


   p.s. By 'month', my sister means that this game will commence from today, Sept 21st till Oct 21st, as September has nearly ended (and thank God for that. September has not been my best month. lol)