Writing Helped Me Overcome My Bad Spending Habits
And it can do the same for you too.
I just spent $250.
I was saving up for new wireless headphones that I could use to work out. On top of that, my old ones broke and I wanted an upgrade. So I decided to save up $250 from my minimum wage job at 18 years old and get them.
But wait, that’s not all.
I’ve also spent at least a thousand dollars on clothes with my minimum wage job in one month. Then I’d go crazier and buy a boatload of new Jordans from the mall. I’ve spent five hundred dollars on shoes in one summer.
Sometimes I’d beg my family to pay for half and I’d pay them back later.
My spending habits began to ruin my life. I became obsessed with online shopping. I couldn’t go into clothing stores because I’d be one second away from going into debt. But my spending changed when I started writing.
Here’s how writing can help you overcome your spending habits too.
Writing Forces You to Look at The Bigger Picture
I only had one thing on my mind since the start of June in 2020—writing.
I wrote every single day before I went to bed because I wanted to become an amazing writer. It’s a clear goal that I’ve made progress toward. Stopping now is like cutting off my air circulation.
Now that I work on my craft every day, that leaves me less time to browse the web looking for the latest Adidas sweatsuit. I have bigger fish to fry. I’ve worn the same shirt for a few days straight (gross, I know), but I’m getting the job done.
When you have a clear-cut goal in life you want to accomplish, you don’t care about anything else. You want to excel at your passion and you need complete focus for that. Like, come on, would you rather buy a new pair of Gucci slides or get your feet dirty in your passion first?
It’s the dirt for me.
Writing Forces You to Spend Sparingly With Income Fluctuation
I don’t want to repeat this shpeal because I feel like it’s been beaten into the heads of every new writer with a cinderblock, but most writers don’t make money blogging.
Seeing those payments of five dollars, three dollars, and ten dollars in my bank account from blogging kept me hungry. I didn’t get discouraged at all because it showed me that I needed to put in more work.
It humbles me to be more frugal when it comes to spending and keep my focus on perfecting my writing.
Any writer can tell you that this industry is tough. When you first start, you need to work to the bone to make a penny. If that payment of five dollars was your only income for the month, you know your spending habits need to change.
So think of that (small for now) writing income as your only income. No minimum wage job to alleviate your finances. It’s your bread and butter that can fluctuate at any moment so you need to be prepared for days this happens.
Writing Forces You to Look in The Mirror
I love writing because it gives me therapy.
To write effectively, you have to put a mirror close to your face and look deep inside yourself. It can be scary at times, but that’s what brings out the best writing.
No one wants to get on the internet and tell people about their life’s woes. I barely wanted to tell you how much money I spent on clothes that don’t fit me anymore.
But I’m writing this so other people don’t make the same mistake (and hopefully I won’t either).
My name is Khadejah. I had a horrible spending habit. This is how I changed it…so on and so forth (that wasn’t so hard).
Even after writing how many words so far? I didn’t think about expensive items once while writing this. Sure, I wrote down some luxury brands like Gucci, but I just wrote the word and kept it moving. I didn’t imagine how I’d look in their new slides like I used to.
Anyway, my point here is that writing forces you to show your scars to the reader. You have to examine yourself without rose-colored glasses. Once you do that, you begin to get lost in your writing and forget about money.
Takeaway
If you want to be more frugal, you should adopt writing as a habit.
To do this, you should write for at least thirty minutes a day, do this for three months straight, and pick a time that suits you the best. Easy.
Writing will force you to look at the bigger picture, spend sparingly with a fluctuating income, and look in the mirror.
After writing every day, I’m proud to say I’ve worn the same dirty old shoes for weeks now. That’s okay because I’m going places with my writing. I don’t have time to focus on money.
You don’t either.
So let’s get this dirty work done.
Huge Announcement! Introducing The Story Crafters Club!
On Sept. 30th (Monday) at 8 am EST
I’ll be hosting a 2-hour long writing training Zoom call going over subjects like:
How to make your writing more clear
How to write good intros
The best ways to format your Substack posts
I’ll also be unveiling the Story Crafters Club group chat for paid subscribers with tons of free resources and perks to get your writing career off the ground and soaring!
Plus, I’ll be answering any questions you want afterward!
And if you can’t make it, don’t worry! This meeting will also be recorded and posted for you to refer to anytime!
It’s gonna be a blast!
Hope to see ya there! :)
Khadejah, your storytelling is getting too... awesome.
I'm doing a new initiave on featuring great writers every Fri.
This post is going on my list.
This was very interesting and unexpected. I love your passion for writing. Thanks for sharing.