Next steps

With only 2 days left in January, I am finally allowing myself to fantasize about what I will do next.
Progressing from the shallow to the serious…

The shallow

People have been increasingly telling me that I look tired, which is usually a euphemism for “you look like crap”.  As a result, I have a newfound appreciation for the resources required to keep this 32 year-old body looking ambiguously late 20’s / early 30’s.

In February I will:

• Wash hair with shampoo, not soap
• Get a facial
• Get my hair cut (unfortunately my hairdresser is in Thailand and I may have to spend one more week with minimum wage hair)

From this to this in two weeks of poverty

Lifestyle

I will:

• Go straight to Starbucks!
• Never eat pinto beans again. (Borrowing from celebrated lyricist Taylor Swift: “Like. Ever.”)
• Return to a diet that isn’t 80% cheap carbohydrate.
• Try to deport the fat deposits that are claiming asylum on my lower back.
• Stuff my face with ice cream, chocolate and coconut cream pie. (Yes, I’m aware of the contradiction with my earlier goals)
• Stop cooking my own food.
• Never iron again.
• Cease bugging you for money (for at least one month).
• Go on vacation (I have the Grammy’s, Honduras, Costa Rica, Scandinavia and Switzerland coming up in the next six weeks. Yay!).
• Return my minimum wage wardrobe to Goodwill.

Things I may slightly miss

• Not having an excuse to over-share my thoughts and experiences with you guys.
• No longer being able to use “it’s for the kids!” to justify any infraction.

Serious next steps

Perhaps I am over-enamored with my own idea, but I am now even more convinced that this is a great way to raise awareness and funds while offering a rewarding and potentially transformative experience. I would love to take this further – perhaps by partnering more closely with a non-profit to make Minimum Wage Month “a thing”. I will explore whether it can be rolled out more broadly in the Wall Street and financial services communities.

I have no interest in making money personally from this. If you can hook me up with interested parties and contacts, please do. If you’re inspired and want to roll with this yourself then that’s great too. And if you want to do it yourself, just do it!