WHOA, February!
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You were barely on the starting blocks; then you came from nowhere and down the outside.
It was a pinch and a punch on Friday for yet another first day of the month already in 2019.
However, now the bolt has come to a sudden halt.
February is the month plenty of Australians sign up for Febfast or even Frugal February.
These are both great opportunities to make time stand still or, in the very least, drag on and on!
Febfast encourages people to give up sugar, alcohol or something else for a whole month, albeit the shortest month of the year. (Rumours of it being a leap year were very much exaggerated!)
Not having much of a sweet tooth anyhow, I always choose to give up booze during Febfast.
Seven days in, I always wish I had selected sugar.
On board for the campaign in my fourth year, I was flabbergasted to find Febfast 2019 started on a Friday.
Very, Very Wrong. No way, Fri-yay! Freaky Friday!!
I did the only things I could during Happy Hour; I shot netball goals with my second-born before I binged a Netflix series with my soda water.
I woke up feeling refreshed on Saturday morning and ready and raring to tackle the return of ferrying kids around town to sport and birthday parties.
When I went out to lunch over the weekend and a waitress offered to chase up a wine list for our table, I was able to save her going to any trouble.
“Febfast, Day 2,” I say.
Looking around, I sadly could not see too many other fellow Febfasters.
Leaving the restaurant, however, I happily noted our lunch bill, sans drinks, was more than reasonable.
It felt like I had weighed into Frugal February territory without even really so much as trying.
Of course, if I was doing Frugal February flat out, I wouldn’t have gone to lunch in the first place.
I always choose to give up booze during Febfast. Six days in, I always wish I had selected sugar. On a sobering note though, Febfast is a clever campaign to support young people facing serious disadvantage in Australia, which gained traction a few years ago.
Among other tips from Frugal February devotees are:
- Pay cash for everything because it makes you more accountable. I am a serial tapper and I hardly remember the last time I had cash to splash. At the pool earlier in the summer my daughter jammed a $5 note into my wallet, catching it in the zipper as she quickly closed it. It took me three attempts over two frustrating days to unzip my wallet. Forced in to being frugal is not what it’s cracked up to be!
- Beg, borrow or steal. Perhaps less theft and more borrowing is the key point. Do we really need to own everything? Trade books, tools, camping gear and luggage. We used to live next door to lovely people who always loaned us tools and their ladder. Then we moved, which put our Bunnings-style tool library well out of reach.
- Re-gift or handmade. Save big dollars by re-gifting items better suited to someone else. They obviously need to be unused and not re-gifted to the same person who gave them to you in the first place. Re-gift with great caution!
- Unsubscribe to all the marketing emails. Online retail sales are a dime a dozen now but they can be tempting if you’re not careful.
- Pack your own lunches during the working week. Cook brown or black rice the night before and add whatever protein, salad and dressing comes to hand each morning. It’s cheaper than a poke bowl and nutritious to boot.
I might work my way up to doing February frugally, next year.
For now I’m doing Febfast, which has slowed things down no end!
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