Spending Freeze Challenge
// January 8th, 2012 // No Comments » // Budget, Couponing, Money Matters
At the beginning of 2010, I was determined to find a way to stay home with the Bear. Leaving him every day, even with the Best Child Care Ever (we looooove Auntastic), was taking its toll on me. I knew that I’d have to get our spending in check and come up with a realistic budget in order to see if quitting my full-time job with paid medical benefits was even feasible. One of the first things I did was implement a “spending freeze.” I couldn’t believe at how much impact one month of extreme frugality had on our budget.
Fast forward two years, and I’ve been spending carelessly, not using coupons, and not working as diligently as in those early months of my mission to nix the 9 to 5. If I don’t get a grip on things soon, it’s going to spiral out of control. Enter the first Spending Freeze of 2012.
For the month of January (and possibly February, depending on how it goes), I’m not spending anything unnecessarily: we’re eating from the pantry and only buying perishables and things we run out of; we’re using coupons whenever possible; we’re not buying anything extra no matter how great the deal is; and if we eat out, we’re using Groupons, EatAroundOKC deals, gift certificates and so forth.
I realized last night, I have to be careful with Groupon meals at restaurants, too–there’s always a tip, and it’s easy to go over the coupon amount if you aren’t careful. Last night’s “free” dinner cost us $7.83. We spent $4.00 on Diet Pepsi. How ridiculous is that? If we’d have ordered water, we’d have stayed within the certificate limit and would have been out the tip alone, meaning we would have fed a family of three a YUMMY dinner for only $3.
As for eating from the pantry, I’m lucky to have a freezer full of chicken, thanks to Zaycon Foods, and I have a few pounds of ground turkey and a ham. I shouldn’t have to buy meat for the rest of the month. I also am pretty well stocked on household cleaners since I made my own laundry soap and dishwashing soap. I also have several other homemade household cleaners, like the Tub & Shower Magic, that I’ll have to tell you about in another post. Having an abundant supply of these things will enable me to go at least a month without spending in these categories. However, my stockpile of things like paper towels, toothpaste, and toilet paper are depleted, so I may have to buy some of those things.
At the end of the month, I’ll evaluate the success of the freeze. Any extra will go to our savings account in order to build up a suitable cushion against lean months.
I was telling the Amazing Amanda about my spending freeze for the month, and her sisterly competition gene kicked in. She said, “Hey–how about if we have a contest to see who can spend the least on groceries this month?” Because I also have a very strong sisterly competition gene, I agreed right away.
We decided to start the challenge that day, rather than making it retroactive to the beginning of the month (too bad, because I think she was already $180 in, and I was $10 in . . .). We’re sending each other our grocery totals and dining totals, and we’re including household products as well–so my CVS and Walgreens spending count as well as my actual grocery store spending. Actually, we’re counting all spending except for bills, gas, and repairs. Good thing, we aren’t counting repairs, because I’ve already been hit with a $201 plumbing repair bill this month–happy new year to me.
I don’t think we determined a reward for the winner, except maybe excessive bragging and gloating.
Since we started the challenge a couple of days ago, my spending has totaled $11.47: I spent $7.83 at the Jo’s Famous Pizza (stupid soft drinks . . .), and I spent $3.64 at the grocery store on a dozen eggs, six yogurt cups, and orange juice (my total before coupons was nearly $9. Oh, coupons–why have I neglected you?)
I haven’t heard from the Amazing Amanda about her spending yet, but I’m guessing she’s at zero, since they just had a big shopping trip before we started our “contest.”
Having an accountability partner–especially one you can safely taunt–really helps keep my focus in check. After all, I hate to lose, and I really hate to lose to my sister.
If you’d like to get in on our bragging-rights-only contest to see how little you can spend this month, just leave a comment below. The more the merrier!
If you’re looking for a resource to help you get started, you might check out The Money Saving Mom’s Budget: Slash Your Spending, Pay Down Your Debt, Streamline Your Life, and Save Thousands a Year.
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