31 days – $250 Our NO SPEND MONTH!

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!