Ideas...give me an opinion.

I have had this burning desire in the back of my head forever to do some money "projects" Maybe some day I'll write books about them, I mean to justify doing them.

First is to do a blog of sorts for a year of every single cent I bring in and put out. Most people make a budget at some point in their life and the big problem people have is that they don't do it realistically. If I ask you right now how much you think you spend on food in a month chances are only 10-20% of people will have an answer that is close to their actual spending. Instead we think of how much we would LIKE to spend. No one wants to plan to go out to eat at resturants 4 times a week, but it happends. No one wants to include cookies, candy bars, ice cream and cheetos to their grocery list but we buy them all the same.
So I would like to see honestly where every last cent I spend goes. And exactly how much money I get in. This was further sparked by my boyfriends amazing claim to me that he barely made enough to cover his bills. I did some very very giving math for the year ($800/month rent = $9,600. When in reality he only moved into his apartment in June and every month he had one if not two roommates splitting the bill. So really it was more like 7 months at $400= $2,800.) In the end I came up with over 10k a year that he had no idea where went. I know where it went, late payment fees, traffic tickets, family members "borrowing" it, computer parts, concert tickets, plane tickets and all that other stuff we forget counts.

My second idea was to try and have the most financially productive year I could. Don't worry I will explain. There are always ways to cut money but I am a firm believer in cutting money where it counts not where it can be cut. For instance, a friend lives near me in a town house identical to mine. They are not using the A/C or washing dishes in the dishwasher because they want to keep bills low. 4 people to the town house, all college students. My roommates and I use ours as much as possible. Sure their bill may be a little lower, but ours usually end up being $40 a person each month....nothing to cry about. And instead I sleep through the night because I am comfortable and my window doesnt have to be open to the lovely sounds of a college town and we don't pay to have 5 fans going at any given time. Not only are my dishes spotless almost every time I pull them out of the dish washer, but we also don't waste an hour every day washing dishes when we could be doing homework....or at the bar.
For a year I would like to spend as little money as possible. No cable, no tv for that matter, eating the cheapest meals at home as much as possible, walking to anyplace I am able instead of driving, taking advantage of free activities only (no cover at the bar, no concerts with tickets etc) shopping for the best price on every single item. etc. I don't know if I could ever handle this, to be honest. I was brought up (and strongly believe) in the idea that if you want the best, buy the best because the second or third to best will never be what you want and will leave you disapointed and still wanting more. (Best example being my boyfriends 4 mini disk players and 2 "other" mp3 players...none ever being what he really wanted. I finally just got him a damn Ipod for christmas and the kid hasn't looked back. So I spend 250 bucks and hes happy, he spends over $400 and still isnt happy. In the end $650 dollars spent when only $250 was needed.) So maybe this should be more of a 3 month project. But I would still love to do it and see what my ultimate bottom line could be.