25 bucks a day & 5.5 Weeks of Sober

25 bucks a day has been an initiative I have been trying dearly to stick by for about 2 months. Essentially the rules are quite rudimentary - After rent / cell phone / internet expenses- I attempt to hold daily expenses to 25 dollars.

It's proven a little difficult, but for the most part, excluding traveling expenses, I've pretty much towed the line. The major challenges I've found are late night eating, and the lack of judgement when inebriated, or when you have forgotten to plan for an outing and douchebags charge you $8 bucks for a hotdog. I've definitely lapsed many a times, but I think I have had 5 or 6 weeks within the budgeting constraints, and because of it I've been able to put a bunch of my cash into RRSP's.

My best tips into keeping this feasible are the following.

1.) Spend less than $5 for every weekday lunch
Make sammies, go to the grocery store, pack leftovers, or steal from Brad's lunchbox.(If you don't know Brad meet him and commence mooching)

2.) Cook Food In mass for future meals
Pasta, Stews, and anything in a pot can be delicious - even a few days later. The freezer is also your friend.

3.) Water bottles are the new cool
For water and other recreational beverages it's a key player. Flasks and gatorade energy drink mixes are equally ridiculous.

4.) Brunch is the greatest meal to eat out
Eat like a king for like 15 bucks. Grease, ketchup, and mimosas. Need I say more?

5.) Don't be an introverted idiot.
Save up 80 bucks every week for hilarity on the town each weekend. If you save it - you'll party 19 times as hard.

6.) God gave you 2 feet.
Don't taxi unless a cop tells you that you must. Metros (subways) are also hilariously cheap and amazing for people watching.

There are some things that I miss, and in all honesty I will be buying many of these items this weekend. After 2 months I just can't live without them. Notably: Dry Cleaning, Steak, New shoes, Shaving Materials (that don't cut my face), Fancy Hair Goop, and Oven Mitts.

Since my last posts I have returned to drinking of alcohol after a good 45 day period of cleansing. It was an eye opening experience, and I don't regret partaking in the spell of sobriety, nor stopping the cleanse itself. Going to a bar sober definitely has taught me a few observational lessons, and my liver continues to write me thank you notes for giving it some alone time. It's also brought to my forefront how alcohol dependent our world has really become. I was never an alcoholic or anything, for those who were concerned - ahem family, but I do think that moderation is probably the lesson learned out of all of this. Everything but some crazy examples are never horrible in moderation.

I do have to admit that drinking a relaxing glass of wine with friends or family was probably the one thing I missed most.