So my husband and I have taken on a 31 day zero spending challenge... what this means is exactly as the name implies- we are trying to spend NOTHING, ZIP, ZERO for the next thirty days! I thought this challenge would help us reach our goals more easily by realizing HOW MUCH we can do without! In an effort to be more frugal and finally get the down payment for our dream home, we've undertaken some AMAZING changes this year. Here's the shakedown. Since January 1st we have:
1. cut off my cell phone, saving $60 a month. Now hear me out... I know you're thinking this sounds crazy and extreme, but I'm HAPPY. I chose this VOLUNTARILY! Here's the thing. We have a landline, hubby has a cell, I can WALK to work if my car breaks down, I never go far away without him, but if I DO go out of town shopping alone, I take his cell. I haven't had a phone since the first week of January and I don't miss it ONE BIT. I'm happier and more productive this way. I have more time to myself. I don't feel like people will ask me to overextend myself as much. I don't know why people are more hesitant to cell the house phone and leave a voicemail, vs sending me a quick text asking for the moon. Anyway, I don't expect you to be this extreme, but I'm lovin life off the grid.
2. HUBBY QUIT SMOKING! He hasn't bought/had a cigarette in TWO MONTHS! We save $6-7 every three days on this habit! I'm SO PROUD OF HIM! This is just as big as me giving up my cell!
3. I QUIT SHOPPING for non-essential items. This means, I've vowed not to buy any clothing, shoes, accessories, makeup, etc. UNLESS something wears down threadbare, like my favorite jeans or my can't live without black boots. However, since implementing this challenge, I've discovered how CLEVER my brain is at convincing me that things like new furniture and fancy kitchen gadgets are ESSENTIALS. I'm trying to cut this kind of spending out, too... bringing us to the 4th challenge....
4. 31 days of ZERO SPENDING. I mean, no date nights out, no dining out at ALL, not a scrap of fast food or convenience store garb, I mean NO STARBUCKS, no kindle books or google play downloads, I mean no stops for dollar store candy or even grocery shopping unless its milk, bread, eggs, meat, cheese or produce. NADA. We haves a pretty decent stockpile from my (mis)adventures in couponing and I've taken this challenge on so that we can eat from our pantry for a few weeks, at least!! Obviously, our bills are set on auto-draft and we have to buy gas and prescriptions and other essential things. The saving grace is that we each get a crisp twenty dollar bill for the month, when we just can't stand it any longer. Let's see how long we last!! Other than that, our accounts have been frozen!!
So here's the recap: WEEK 1
Sheena's spending: $11.63 cents - I had this trip planned already, so I had to justify spending most of my "fun money" on this one purchase. I had two $10 rewards coupons for one of my favorite stores and I wanted to combine that discount with the president's day weekend sale, in order to score some great deals on items I will need for our upcoming vacation at the end of April. Here's what I got: Sperry top sider "Laguna leather" shoes in white. Retail price, 90.00, price after discount, 18.93 price after coupon - 8.93. NO JOKE. I got a $90 pair of boat shoes to wear on vacation for more than 90% off!!!! My next purchase was 1 sun dress and 2 flowy blouses retail total: about $150 my price, 2.70 for ALL THREE after my ten dollar off reward coupon! I'd been waiting for this sale for almost a month. I easily justified it, because now I won't feel like I have to buy anything for vacation (er... that's my story and I'm sticking to it.) Lucky for me, I haven't been tempted to spend a penny since.
Allen's spending: $3.47 - the story here is not at all long or involved. Allen wanted a starbucks and he had it. :)
Groceries: Bread, lunch meat, cheese and cokes - $19.47
Gas: Both cars, $30.00
What helped us not spend: MENU PLANNING!! I've been experimenting with freezer cooking, crock pot cooking and weekly prep cooking and menu planning, in order to save both time and money, while allowing us to eat home cooked, healthy meals. I'm loving it. (I do NOT miss fast food!!) I was a total fast food junky and I can't believe how much we used to BUDGET for dining out (at least $50/month WTF?!?)
Not going out anywhere: I used to joke by saying, "every time I leave the house it cost us at least $XX.XX" So, I CUT IT OUT. I may go to the park for a walk or back and forth to work, but I've cut out the entire, "I'm bored, I'm just gonna run to the dollar tree and get some new craft supplies...." or, "We don't really need it, but I'm bored and there's a great sale on candy at CVS this week." I know this sounds extreme, but I don't feel deprived. The daily walks keep me happy and my job provides MORE than enough social interaction (emphasis on the MORE part...) We also used to go to "town" for dinner once a week, which cost about TEN bucks in gas on TOP of the cost of the meal. (We live in a real rural place, ya'll... if we wanna go to a real grocery store or dine-in restaurant, we have to go to "town" about 25 miles away!!!)
There's our tips, tricks and weekly weight-in. I hope our frugal endeavors can inspire some of you, the way I have been inspired by other bloggers. Love and such. X -S
