this week's lunch money

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.

When it comes to money, you could say I'm my father's daughter. China's Cultural Revolution forced him to live on the bare minimum, and his frugal traits have passed down to me. That, coupled with the fact that I live in an expensive city on a not-so-ostentatious salary, makes me crazy cheap. I'm obsessed with Mint.com. I bring my lunch every day. I always take the subway. But I've been thinking about people less fortunate than me a lot lately, and I've realized that I'm ridiculously blessed with a warm home and food at every meal—things that I often take for granted. I donate my time and cash as much as I can (especially proud of my cancer fundraising!), but lately I've been a bit remiss. That's why I've decided to start a "this week's lunch money" campaign for myself. Once a month, I'll make a meal instead of going out or resist buying that cute new shirt and put that money to a worthy charity. This week I put my dollars to Project Medishare in support of my friend Laura, who is helping fight cholera in Haiti. Just as suspected, that made me feel so much happier than any shiny new bauble ever could.

P.S. The video has nothing to do with the post. I just love it.