While I have enough money in savings to pay myself a decent salary for the next year. I am going to attempt to give up some of life’s little luxuries a) because it’s the responsible thing to do, b) because it’s going to be very hard to watch my savings go down, and c) because many of the things I’m giving up are conveniences that I have no excuse not to do myself anymore.

So here are some of the things I plan to give up. Let’s see if it actually happens!

1. No Pedicures – I normally get a pedicure every seven weeks – at the same time I get my hair done. This really sucks because my pedicurist ROCKS! It took forever to find someone who doesn’t make me bleed like a stuck pig and/or jump out of the chair because of my delicate and ticklish Princess Feet.
2. No Shopping – Well… no major shopping. Well… no shopping at Nordstroms. Okay! Okay! Only shopping at Nordstroms during a sale!
3. Generic Brands – I will enter the plain and sometimes shoddy world of generic brands, but the first time my Safeway Select resealable plastic bag leaks in my purse, I’m going back to Zip Lock and hitting Nordstroms for a replacement Kate Spade!
4. Less Eating Out – By “less” I mean, instead of spending $8452 a month on restaurants, I’ll probably spend $8317 a month. This one will be very difficult, especially since I plan to launch a Houston restaurant critic website soon, and will need to eat out a lot for research purposes (more on the restaurant site later!).
5. Less Massages – Instead of every other week, I’m going to cut back to once a month. You may think I’m joking here, but I’m dead serious. Before I gave up the six figure career, I was getting a massage once a week. (I have back problems.) I think cutting back to every other week was more traumatic on my massage therapist than me. You see, my massage therapist has become a good friend/arm chair psychologist in the last four years, and she went through withdrawal not catching up with us once a week. So now when she comes over, we’ll probably spend half an hour chatting it up before I even get on the table. (And ever since I got Julio The Massage Chair I can’t really justify so many massages.)
6. No Maid Service – Now, this is the only one that makes me want to cry. I can deal without the luxury of a new dress and I don’t really mind doing my own pedicures, but cleaning my own toilet is a fate I never thought I’d come to. I always said I’d live off Ramen noodles before I’d give up my maid service. But (sigh) I feel I should give it a try. You see, I HATE cleaning. I don’t mind picking up and organizing, but I HATE cleaning. Toilets, floors, windows, dusting. I hate the thought of it. I hate doing it. And I get absolutely no satisfaction out of having accomplished a job well done. I love that little cleaning fairies flutter in while I’m at work and magically delete the grim and grunge of our lives. And there’s few things better than having forgot that it’s cleaning day and walking into a surprisingly clean house. AAAHHHH, I will miss it like a crack whore misses her first morning vial.

These are the things I plan to give up, but after a few months of having gnarley toes and a grody toilet, I might be singing a different tune!

If anyone has any tips on making these things a little less painful, I’d be grateful for any advice!

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