The financial fast finished on Sunday the 23rd, but I decided to do 2 more days because my church is fasting for 25 hours on the 25th of each month this year to celebrate our 25th anniversary.  Being hypoglycemic, I rarely fast from food, so I usually fast from things that I feel have a slight hold on me (lately it's been Twitter, Facebo.ok and gos.sip blogs!).

I can say that the financial fast was definitely a life changing experience! The first week I felt very down and out. It almost felt like I was on a food diet! I couldn't take myself out to eat or window shop when I was bored like I usually do.  I also had been convicted after reading some of the lessons, so that added to my low feelings, but I knew I was doing this fast for a reason. The one lesson that hit me in the gut during the first week was the chapter on entitlement. At first I thought I had minor entitlement issues, but when I started thinking about all the things that I justified buying because I "deserved it", I felt very much like a spoiled child. I had very strict parents growing up and couldn't wait until I grew up and could do exactly what I wanted. Once I went to college and started making my own decisions, I figured since I was a good girl, what is wrong with treating yourself sometimes. Well now I look up and see that I have a lovely 3 bedroom condo and closets filled with nice clothes, but life is much more than material possessions. I definitely want to get the financial stuff in order so that everything else flows right.

The other chapter that struck a nerve with me was day 3 "God's Generosity" which dealt with being generous to others like God is generous to you. In the past I used to give money to my parents to help them cover their bills. In the last year I had stopped doing that because I felt like they weren't good stewards with their money, so why should I continue to throw good money after bad. Well, the day prior I had broken the fast in order to send my money a small check for her birthday. I didn't want to break the fast so early on, but it was definitely something that God had put on my heart. After I reading the chapter and talking to my Mom about the state of their finances, I vowed to myself that I would go back to giving my parents money on a monthly basis. I followed up by depositing some money into my Mom's account last week.

The fast definitely helped me realize that I don't have any unmet needs and most of my wants I could do without. Once the second week rolled around, I became accustomed to not spending money. I won't say I was perfect during the fast, but I didn't spend any money shopping for clothes and shoes like I usually do. During the fast, you were required to create a budget. I already had one, so that allowed me to re-evaluate my spending in certain areas. As I stated before, I added an additional expense to my monthly budget for my parents, but I decided to disconnect my cable service until I save up for another television. I also was able to lower the amount budgeted in some categories because I just wasn't spending as much as I anticipated. I probably have more trimming to do. Right now my mortgage, escrow and property taxes are around 40% of my gross pay and although my other expenses are low, I need to do something to lower that percentage.

After the fast you are asked to keep a 30 day spending journal, which I have already started. One of the habits that I plan to continue is giving myself a weekly allowance for food, gas, entertainment. Right now it's around $125 a week. I will have to do a follow-up and let you know how that turned out. If you would like to read some more posts from this fast, please check out Serenity23's blog.