Ok, it's Jan 24, 2007 and I am starting the challenge in my own modified manner. I don't spend a lot of money on myself - or so I tell myself because I buy clothes/shoes/purses, etc. on SALE. I can't bring myself to pay full price for any of that kind of thing. However, it dawned on me that several items I buy on SALE are needless and a waste of my money. I've been enticed to buying this crap because of the 20%, 30%, 50%, 75% off sale signs. It's like a magnet for me and an excuse for me to buy something I don't need. I have plenty of clothes in my closet. I have more purses than anyone my age needs. I have more pairs of black shoes than I can count.

So, this is my challenge to myself. No, I will not stop going into the stores BUT I will stop buying things just because they are on sale, especially clothes/purses/and shoes. For every item I put back down, I will log that amount into my challenge tracker and will see how much total I saved by years end.

My modified challenge is somewhat backwards from the original theory of taking a $20 bill and making it grow. I will start with the $50 I recently saved in returning a pair of shoes that I bought "on sale" in my challenge tracker and will add in how much I save each time by not purchasing an "on sale" item. Let's see how much I save by avoiding sales! This is a big leap for me and I hope I don't waiver.