A "no-spend" challenge for 31 days had to begin with some ground rules. We came up with the following:
1. Reducing our grocery budget to $200.00 for the entire month of January. Allow me to explain that we have enough food in our freezer and cupboards to feed us for at least a month! Our budget will cover things such as milk and fresh fruit and vegetables.
2. Our fixed and necessary expenses will be paid as usual.
3. Pre-planned expenses will be paid as usual - for example, our puppy has a much needed appointment with the dog groomer at the end of January. I would like to learn to groom her myself but as of yet, haven't gleaned the necessary skills. The boys will also get their monthly haircuts. I have tried to cut their hair on my own in the past but lets just say I am absolutely not a hairdresser either and don't want to cause any mental duress for the sake of a challenge :-).
4. Our gas budget will remain the same.
5. We won't make any unnecessary or unplanned purchases.
Being that we have chosen that I would stay home full time to homeschool the kids, we are a one income family. That necessitates that we be a fairly frugal family and we are for the most part but I know that we can tighten the purse strings just a little bit more. We can also be more resourceful with the things what we have. We don't drive expensive vehicles or have the latest in technology but we have no shortage of "things." I admire a simple and minimalist lifestyle (imagine how much time I could save cleaning if we were minimalists?!) and while it feels so satisfying to use up consumables, the problem lies in the fact that I often forget not to replace the things that are gone with more! My scrapbook room will attest to that fact.
Week 1 Update:
Ian spent $20.00 on gas.
We used $52.89 of our grocery budget: $28.14 of that was spent at the grocery store and $6.91 was a pre-planned McDonald's breakfast for Austin (we have a standing arrangement that following bloodwork he can have McDonalds breakfast for a treat), but 17.84 was spent this week for a Taco bell dinner. I wasn't feeling well at all (still fighting this cold) but in hindsight it was a terrible choice both health wise and fiscally. We are left with 147.11 in our grocery budget so this has to be a week of wise spending.
We also spent 5.78 for my prescription refill and another $4.50 for parking for bloodwork.
Overall I feel that it was a fairly successful week but I look forward to the challenge of making next week an even better week.
"You've got to tell your money what to do or it will leave." Dave Ramsey
No comments:
Post a Comment