Standing in line at Panera, wallet in hand: Guest blog by Erin Ruberry

I'm standing in line at Panera with my wallet in-hand and coffee on the brain. 'It's a couple of dollars I'll never miss for a caffeine boost I really need,' I thought to myself. 'What's one cup of coffee?'

The 21-day financial fast was in its first weekend and I was already close to cracking. As I crept closer to the cash register, though, a small voice in the back of my head said, 'Don't do it. Turn around. Be strong.' The nagging voice prevailed. I got out of line and sat down at a table with my pre-packed sandwich to wait for my friends to order. Coffee could wait.

Doing without the ritual of friendly coffee date or the ease of socializing at a bar or restaurant has been the most difficult part of the financial fast. As a fairly frugal person, I'm used to packing lunch and making more meals at home than I eat out. But when it's grey, rainy and cold, all I want is a grande nonfat soy latte from Starbucks, not a mug of black coffee with a splash of almond milk at home.

Why am I doing the financial fast with Foundry? It's not to save money. For me, it’s about being conscious about where my money is going. Shelling out ‘a few bucks’ for a cup of coffee or a cute pair of Target flats isn’t going to break the bank. But for the nearly 1 billion people worldwide who live on less than $1 a day, ‘a few bucks’ has a different meaning.

I’m lucky to live in a city where there are an abundance of things to do for free: museums, parks, festivals and special events. Not spending money for 3 weeks doesn’t mean sitting inside being bored. In fact, I’m hoping to discover new attractions that normally would have fallen off my radar. When my weekly small group met last week, we took our gathering to the steps of the American Art Museum. Instead of meeting friends for post-church brunch, we've been hosting brunches at home and trying new recipes. Rather than hanging out at malls, we're getting together for hikes along the C&O canal.

To stay in the right spirit, I’m donating the money I would normally have spent on eating out (based on my Mint.com monthly budget) to the Capital Area Food Bank, ‘the largest, public nonprofit hunger and nutrition education resource in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area.

I’m hoping that this 21-day exercise makes me think twice before handing over my credit card at Target, Caribou Coffee, the cafeteria at work or any of my other usual haunts. And if it also makes me accustomed to brewing coffee at home and cooking brunch rather than going out, so much the better.

(Erin has been attending Foundry since she was a baby. She officially became a member last year. we are grateful for her reflection!)