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To take control of your spending, you must first be aware of your spending. This mindfulness can be difficult for many people to achieve. GRS reader (and awesome artist) Tsilli pointed me to the work of Kate Bingaman-Burt, who has a unique way of being mindful of the money she spends: She draws it.
Bingaman-Burt teaches graphic design at Portland State University, but for the past eight years, she’s also been documenting her spending habits at her blog, Obsessive Consumption. But this isn’t just a spending log — it’s art! Here’s an example:
Would drawing my Burgerville milkshake make me more conscious of my spending habits? I’m not sure. But I do think that were I still in debt, drawing my credit-card statements would make me more mindful. Bingaman-Burt does that too:
I’m not suggesting that you should start drawing what you buy, but I do think that anything you can do to increase your mindfulness is great. It’s when we spend without thinking that we get into trouble.
You can see more of Bingaman-Burt’s work at Obsessive Consumption or on Flickr.
This article is about Funny Money, Odds and Ends Wednesday, 18th November 2009 (by J.D. Roth)
November 18th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Hey J.D.,
We can become in control of our life by becoming conscious in everything we do.
When we’re aware of what we buy each time we make a purchase, we’ll think twice about what value it really brings us, whether we need it, and how it impacts our personal finance. We gain control of not only our money this way, but also the clutter in our life, our health and diet, and anything else related to that item.
I like how you said that mindless spending is what leads to no money. We can spend as long as we’re thinking. It doesn’t even have to be over-budgeting or anything, but by simply noticing and thinking about each thing that we bring into our lives (via a purchase), we gain a firm grasp on our wallets and don’t let the spending get out of control.
Dig Kate’s drawings, and nice reminder to never stop being conscious of our spending (and our lives),
Oleg
November 18th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
I read Kate’s blog several times a week and I think her drawings are great. I think her method of documenting what she spends is both really really smart and really problematic. If you read it consistently, as I do, you might get the sense that she is spending just to spend, so she has something to draw. I know this is probably not true, and its nice that she’s honest about her consumerist habits, but it can be unsettling as well. But perhaps that’s what makes it so compelling.
November 18th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
I’ve certainly been there before, I have not drawn it out but have taken mental notes or have just seen it in my bill at the end of the month and have learned to control it better.
November 18th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
mmmmm…. burgerville.
November 18th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
What a neat idea…especially drawing out the credit-card statement. Mindfulness is such a key part of turning one’s finances around. It would be interesting to keep a personal journal of drawings; you could look back through it a few months later and consider whether you still have/use the item, whether you got value from it, etc. Wish I’d thought of this when I first started to really track my spending!
November 18th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
You’re so kind, J.D. – thank you! I’m psyched that you posted about Kate. Her work brings up tough questions, and bares a lot of contradictions most people won’t examine or expose. But I do think that’s what makes it both compelling and brave. She had thoughtful responses to some challenging questions on OPB last week: http://www.opb.org/thinkoutloud/shows/stuff/
November 18th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Personally I think if I start drawing my credit card statements, I may get so sick of the hassle that I might just cancel them.
Maybe that is the point
November 18th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
I think Jessie bought a copy of one of her magazines awhile ago. That looks really familiar. I’m going to check this evening and see if it’s what I think it is. She might have even taken a class from her while at PSU.
November 18th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Being aware is key. The best way to become aware is to start documenting things around you: what you see, what you do, what you eat, what you buy, etc.
That way you will be able to look at those words and separate your emotions from them and look at yourself objectively.
Money management is not hard, we just to make it so.
Best,
Tomas
November 18th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Absolutely love this! My husband does graphic facilitation, and her drawings remind me of that. In its most basic form, it’s something that anyone can learn. What a delightful way to bring a more holistic approach to finances. A real melding of left brain and right brain.
November 18th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Hello all and thanks so much for posting and commenting about my work!
It has been an interesting project and one that will be wrapping soon (at least the credit card part…I will be debt free by 2010!)
The daily drawing part is something I don’t think I can give up, however. The four years worth of drawings has really taken on a nice life of their own - an odd diary of sorts through consumed objects. People ask me if I buy something everyday and there are many days that I don’t (though, I am still consuming non-tangibles - heat, electricity, internet etc - I have drawn these, too, actually). On the days that I don’t purchase anything I will draw an item that was consumed around the same general time frame. Yes, there are times when I have purchased something so I could draw it (fake mustaches, an interesting looking mug from the thrift store), but nothing usually over a dollar or two.
Thanks again for your comments! I appreciate it!
November 18th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
This would work great for people who are visual learners and are having problems paying down their debt. The tedious details that are in a credit card statement would definitely make me want to pay it off quick!
November 18th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
The drawings are great, and I admire Kate for having the diligence to do this.
But from a Law of Attraction standpoint, I’m not sure about the wisdom of doing this. Those of us who practice the LOA principles use vision boards to help us to focus on what we want, thus attracting more OF it into our lives.
I think becoming aware of one’s actions and the consequences thereof is fine; but feel caution is necessary lest the documentation backfire and cause the opposite result.
It might be all right to document the purchase of something you really want–say, you finally bought that jet ski you always wanted. That’s fine. Document the purchase, draw it, and maybe it will promote the energy needed to continue to attract more good stuff your way. But I’d be leery about drawing my credit card statements or bills, lest I inadvertently attract MORE bills and credit statements into my life!
November 18th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
I’ve gotten rather bad this semester with the little daily spendings on food…. Even just $3 five times a week is way out of my personal food budget! That and I probably don’t need the candy bars or muffins that often…
November 19th, 2009 at 6:31 am
This reminds me of some friends’ experiment - they took every single receipt they had for one month and tacked/taped it onto a bulletin board. They covered a huge board and it hit them that they were spending more time being consumers than they were being anything else - spouses, friends, business owners. In their case I’m not sure it changed their impulsive buying ways, but hey, it’s an interesting way to “look” at spending. Which reminds me that I’ve slipped into a bad habit again - getting coffee when I’m out and about.
November 19th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
I like her drawings and the concept a lot. I have the drawing skill of your average fifth-grader, though, so if I tried this, the results would be pretty muddy.
When I was getting rid of my clutter, I photographed a lot of the things I gave away (I also gave a lot of them away via my blog, so I needed visuals).
http://blog.timesunion.com/simplerliving/category/take-my-stuff-please/
I’m glad I did because it helped me track my progress and gave me a visual diary of my efforts. Taking photographs is also something professionals recommend as a way to let go of things you don’t need but want to remember. Mindful decluttering, maybe?
Naomi