When I publicly announced I was giving up my 4 to 5-can a day habit of Diet Coke for Lent, if you knew me at all, you probably laughed. Sure, this is the girl who tried to give it up for goofy challenges last summer, or worse, you remember that time in college when my friends kept me away from it for a whole night just to see what would happen. (That was ugly. I fully admit I am a caffeine junkie.)
Well, it's Easter weekend. And I made it.
Granted, I kept Fr. Mark's comment in mind that Sundays are like "mini Easters," and I did drink a Diet Coke on a couple of Sundays. But here's the thing. It didn't taste as good as I remembered.
Even the cans of Diet Dr. Pepper, which I drank on a few mornings to get me moving, didn't taste as good. In fact, on more than one occasion, they were left unfinished on the counter.
So yes, habits can be broken, for a time. It takes a lot of persistence and a little whining on some days, but for 40 days I kept my broken body Diet Coke-free.
I figure even with the occasional soda splurge, I still saved abour $40 in the process. So I'm asking you: Where would you put it to best use? I'll throw out a few ideas to vote on.
- Donate to Fresh Start to support its furniture donation program.
- Give to our church's food pantry to assist the jobless with their family's needs (I know, it's not much, but having been on the other side, something is something.)
- Other ideas?
I would take the money and buy toiletries for the food bank. Toothpaste, deoderant, laundry detergent, dish soap, shampoo, etc. Things that can't be bought with food stamps.
ReplyDeleteWhen we donated to the food bank for a church project, we found out that if we gave money to the food bank that it went further than if we bought things for the food bank ourselves and gave the items to the food bank, even if we used coupons or bought the items on sale. The food bank has source that are much below our cost. Also in March and April, the food bank we donated to is participation in a matching contribution on from a national group and it will share in a piece a million dollars based on how much each participating food bank collects. That made our contribution add up a little bit more.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, CONGRATULATIONS for making it! Are you going to stick with it now that it doesn't taste as good?? :o)
ReplyDeleteAs for the $40...my suggestion...give it to an elderly relative who has a hard time paying for his/her prescription medications. My grandma could use a few extra bucks, I know. It's something we take for granted, but for someone on Medicare and a fixed, small income, it's a huge burden.
Hey, just had to make another comment because, believe it or not, my name is the little word-verification word that I have to type in to verify I'm not a spammer for the next comment! How cool is that? It's normally something strange, like economie (yes, often something spelled strangely). Anyway, sorry to take up space on your blog...thanks for humoring me!
ReplyDeleteThat's quite the experiment, but is it life-change now? I vote to put half the money into bank accounts for your kids and the other half donate to a food bank.
ReplyDeleteHmm, is it permament? No, I drank a can this morning. Did I pack four others to get me through the day? No to that as well.
ReplyDeleteI think I broke a habit that's been bothering me for years (OK, since high school). It doesn't mean I'll avoid it like the plague, but it also doesn't mean I'll go insane if I can't have it (most days).
These are all great suggestions. I'll leave this open through the end of the week and let you know what the final decision is!