Starting this year, I’m going to do something different with sneakers and how to purchase sneakers. Last year, I told you guys about a certain structure I’d set up when it came to purchasing sneakers. The idea was all good and dandy, but this year I took it even further. I actually took that idea and made it into a contract with myself with some very clear and measurable steps that help me determine if I can purchase sneakers.
How does it work? It goes as such: Each month, I have to accomplish every task, every day. If I complete every task I set out to complete for the day, every day for the month, then and only then am I allowed to buy sneakers, and only up to $200 a month. If I miss a day, I can go back and complete those tasks, given they can be still be completed.
In the event that there was a sneaker I wanted that cost more than $200, then I have to complete however many months of goals and tasks to cover the cost of the sneaker, and without purchasing a sneaker inbetween then. So, if I want a sneaker that costs $300, for instance, then I would have to do 2 months straight, in which I would have $400 available to cover the $300 shoe, with $100 leftover.
And what about any leftover money from the month? It will go into what I call “the savings”. Any monthly $200 that was forfeited from incompletion also goes to the savings. And I cannot spend any money in the savings until my birthday the following year. So, in 2021, however much money I have in the savings, which can be from $0-$2,400 in a year, would be able to be used to purchase sneakers on my birthday. Before and after that day, the savings cannot be touched. I like this because even if I do not accomplish any full month, I still get the one chance on my birthday to buy sneakers, and who can be mad at that?
Another sneaker goal of mine that I want to tackle this year? Attempting to wear a different sneaker every day. I say “attempting to“, because of weather and other factors that may or may not play into a day’s agenda. In December a few coworkers and I decided to take on the challenge of wearing a different sneaker every day that you’re in the office. Being that I had sold about half of my rotation before starting the job, I thought that I was going to fail at the challenge because I thought I didn’t have enough sneakers to run December. Technically, I don’t. But since it was the number of days we were in the office that counted, not just all of December, I was able to get away with it.
For 20 days and some change, I got the opportunity to decide what sneakers I can wear for what day. There are many people out there in the world today who only get to wear one pair of shoes. Before the challenge, I had an awareness that I wore some sneakers more than others. But the challenge made me actually pay attention to what sneakers I do and don’t wear, as well as reminding me that I have a plethora of sneakers to choose from when it comes to options and outfits. It made me wear my sneakers, even if I didn’t want to. But that only meant that I was able to get some more money’s worth out of them and appreciate them even more.
Thinking about the December Challenge and the Sneaker Contract, I have a very mindful year in sneakers ahead of me. The Benchmark and measuring stick for the year would be on my sneaker purchases, probably a rubric most people wouldn’t use to measure the success and usefulness of one’s year. But, the more sneakers I’m able to purchase, the more personal goals and tasks I achieved in the year. This whole contract thing was meant as a way to curb my sneaker purchases. But if 2020 becomes a record year of copping sneakers for me, then we’ll know something.
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