I first read about doing this in July when Rachel over at Small Notebook wrote about her new annual tradition of having a month with NO SPENDING!
She outlines how she does her no spending month here.
Why are we doing this:
This was completely my idea. I’ve been overspending a lot lately and after a conversation with my a good friend I realized that I have lost a very important reality – the value of a dollar.
This really worried me. My husband goes to work daily for our family and I was spending without really thinking! This can’t keep happening, I’ve got to take control of this situation.
I knew September would be a busy and expensive month with all of the birthdays so I thought October would be a great month to do this.
How it works:
We will pay all of our usual bills. After that we will have $250.00 to spend for the rest of the month.This includes groceries, gas, clothing, and entertainment. Today it sounds completely crazy to try to do this but we’re determined!
Our Plan:
- We will have groceries to start off and both cars will have a tank of gas.
- We’ve set aside money for expenses that we can’t avoid (like oil changes and a new microwave – ours caught on fire last month and I’ve lived with out it for as long as I can!!).
- I will stay home more! (no more random drives to Starbucks, Target or to the park.)
- We will find ways to entertain ourselves at home.
- We have Netflix so we’ll have regular movie nights. During the days we’ll be spending more time outside playing before the weather gets cold.
- I’ve planned out a month of meals trying to use mostly food we have in the freezer and pantry. We’ll have weekly pizza nights, roast a chicken and use the meat for several meals. There will be rice and beans a number of times. Our dining may not be fancy but we will eat!
- We’ll be making coffee at home. I’m determined to break my Starbucks addiction (at least for the most part!).
- I hope to use this extra time at home to get things listed on Craigslist or priced for a yard sale in the spring.
- I also hope to keep busy making several gifts for Christmas. We’re hoping to have a “handmade Christmas” this year.
Have you tried one month with no spending? I’d love to hear how it went or what tips you have for us!
2 Comments
Donna
October 1, 2009 at 10:04 amI totally understand, September was our insane birthday month so I really needed to recover! It will be kind of nice to just stay home a lot more!
Sherrill Martin
October 2, 2009 at 4:38 pmHey Donna,
I love reading your blog! I wanted to let you know about a capacino(sp?) mix that Costco has. It is really good, hot or iced(made in a blender.) It is cafeine free. $9.99 for a big tin and last my family over a month and we make 3-4 a day! We like it best blended with milk and ice.
Sherrill