No Spend January...I tried my best.
This past December, Michael and I took a long look at our finances and decided that something had to change. We are very lucky to both work jobs that we love and get paid a fair price for doing them, but at the end of each month we had little to put in savings, and were left wondering where in the world it went through out the month.
My beautiful friend Erin and her counterparts Sally and Perkins have been such an inspiration throughout blogland over the last couple of months. Each update she would do, I would sit and wonder how I could do the same thing. Were Michael and I capable of giving up our free for all spending to see more growth in our savings account? We sat down and decided to accept Erin's challenge and am so glad that we did.
Us excited for doing pretty good on Erin's challenge. One of my main goals for this new year is spending no money on clothes. I started off struggling a bit because I knew that Alexa and Glenn were coming into town and wanted to have some cute things to wear while they were here and we were exploring Houston with Bowie and Andre. But as I started to pack, I started to find more and more items in my closet that I actually liked. I packed less than I usually ever do and really enjoyed shopping my closet. Throughout the month, I did order a Stitchfix box and have a sweater on my way, but the box was paid for with a gift card and my sweater was my giveaway winning choice. It makes me excited to say I officially survived month one of no buying new clothes and am still alive.
One of the other things I've taken away from Erin is the cash system. Michael and I didn't do it as elaborately as Erin probably does or my friend Pam and her husband do (hi friend), but we pulled out a certain amount each Friday and gave ourselves only that amount for food, gas, and any extras either of us needed. We were a bit surprised that we could actually live without our debit cards and on a small budget each week. I am so excited about our success with the cash system and it was amazing to see how much money we still had in the bank. We were talking the other night and asked each other if we felt we had lived without anything we had wanted this month and the truth is that we hadn't. It was actually liberating to see that money moved over to savings and became like a game to see how little we could spend during the week to have some left over for little treats or to put back in the bank.
I did buy things this month, but they were bought with gift cards. For instance, I got us a new bed spread at IKEA with Kaitlyn and Alexa but used my gift card. I have a new wireless printer that I bought but no money was spent because I used my gift card. We bought a new fan for our kitchen along with new doorknobs that really make a huge difference to our cabinets, but didn't spend a dime of our own money. I found myself really thinking about what I wanted to use that money on because I wanted it to be something that we would use for longer than a month before it grew old on us. I can feel my mind slowly starting to realize that the labels of certain things and the over indulgence in other things was just so not me and that I truly don't need all the things that I use to think that I did.
One thing I want to work on this month is my grocery shopping skills. I need to make a list before I go and not allow myself to get anything other than what is on that list. I will almost always get side tracked and end up with more things in my basket than are needed. I've definitely saved some money by giving up Dr. Pepper for the most part. Now if only I could learn to stop after a few handful of chips instead of eating the whole bag.
I am so excited for the growth I saw in our bank account and in my spending habits. I am looking forward to challenging us to keep up with the cash system and challenge myself to no clothes allllll year long. I think I can I think I can I think I can. Thank you to Erin and the other ladies hosting the link up. YAY for accountability and great people to encourage us along the way.
One of the other things I've taken away from Erin is the cash system. Michael and I didn't do it as elaborately as Erin probably does or my friend Pam and her husband do (hi friend), but we pulled out a certain amount each Friday and gave ourselves only that amount for food, gas, and any extras either of us needed. We were a bit surprised that we could actually live without our debit cards and on a small budget each week. I am so excited about our success with the cash system and it was amazing to see how much money we still had in the bank. We were talking the other night and asked each other if we felt we had lived without anything we had wanted this month and the truth is that we hadn't. It was actually liberating to see that money moved over to savings and became like a game to see how little we could spend during the week to have some left over for little treats or to put back in the bank.
I did buy things this month, but they were bought with gift cards. For instance, I got us a new bed spread at IKEA with Kaitlyn and Alexa but used my gift card. I have a new wireless printer that I bought but no money was spent because I used my gift card. We bought a new fan for our kitchen along with new doorknobs that really make a huge difference to our cabinets, but didn't spend a dime of our own money. I found myself really thinking about what I wanted to use that money on because I wanted it to be something that we would use for longer than a month before it grew old on us. I can feel my mind slowly starting to realize that the labels of certain things and the over indulgence in other things was just so not me and that I truly don't need all the things that I use to think that I did.
One thing I want to work on this month is my grocery shopping skills. I need to make a list before I go and not allow myself to get anything other than what is on that list. I will almost always get side tracked and end up with more things in my basket than are needed. I've definitely saved some money by giving up Dr. Pepper for the most part. Now if only I could learn to stop after a few handful of chips instead of eating the whole bag.
I am so excited for the growth I saw in our bank account and in my spending habits. I am looking forward to challenging us to keep up with the cash system and challenge myself to no clothes allllll year long. I think I can I think I can I think I can. Thank you to Erin and the other ladies hosting the link up. YAY for accountability and great people to encourage us along the way.
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