I had read back in the summertime about Small Notebooks No Spend Month. Wow.

Last winter I did a piggy bank challenge and was fairly successful.

So now we're gearing up for Christmas and I'm issuing a new challenge for MYSELF. No extra spending this month. That includes clothes, movies, toys, trinkets, etc. We can buy fuel, pay bills, groceries, and necessary toiletries. That's it.

What I'm hoping is that we will be better prepared for Christmas and feeling less of the crunch if we stick to the bill-paying and stop purchasing things to improve our homes, lives, and so on.


I'll let you know how it goes. ;0)

Piggy's Not Quite Back, But Closer

So I think the challenge is almost up, yes? I think March 1.

Here's the deal. I sort of wandered from the initial intention, which was to not shop. At all. We've been doing great with a budget. Even went to using cash for variable expenses and are using an envelope system. It has made us stick to a budget and has cut spending tremendously.

But there was Valentine's Day. We get the kids a little something and a card to celebrate a day about love. And a little token from Hubs and I to each other. We sent cards to family with a picture of the kids. Such things were probably way off the shopping embargo's path. I just have to mark a special day with a little special-ness. In the dead of winter we all need a little lift. I'm talking $5 toys for the kids and a $.99 card. Just a little token.

Also, gifts. We've had some family members' birthdays come up and no shopping embargo could stop me from sending them a little gift.

What this challenge has taught me is something that I'll continue with for the rest of the year. It has put a stop to impulse purchases and to emotional spending. Throwing stuff in the cart just for fun. I'm keeping "stuff" to a minimum. I'm not using my credit card. I'm planning purchases and budgeting for it. If we have something to buy, it has to come out of our budget. It has put the brakes on retail therapy.

It is a great exercise, I highly recommend. It's not over for me on March 1st, I'll be using my new habits from now on.

More on Money

Part one is just below...

I forgot to mention.
The envelope system.

I have tried this so many times and have never made it work. Then bought this book. Now it works.

Here's the trick:
You plan for every penny coming in. Every penny gets a category. Things that you only pay for a few times a year get added up to an annual total and divided by 12 months. Every month we are adding to the vet envelope, the car licensing envelope, the clothing envelope, the vacation envelope. The list goes on...and on.
The idea being that when the time comes to pay for whatever it is, say our car licensing in March, that the money is there. It's brilliant! I always just left money in the account, sort of a cushion of unaccounted for money. But instead of letting it pile up in the account to pay for needed periodic expenses, I bought things like pants. Now there's an envelope for those pants.

I hope this makes sense. It really does work. I'm loving it.
We put the few big envelopes (car licensing, vacation, furniture, household repairs, car repairs) in a lock box elsewhere. Then I have budget folder in my desk by the computer that holds the envelopes for frequent expenses, such as groceries, spending, etc. For fun, the entertainment and restaurant envelopes are in the cookie jar. For no reason other than I wanted something to go in that cute cookie jar!

So that's what's working for us.
Does it take some extra time and a lot of extra math? YES.
Is it worth it? So far, absolutely.

One More

So the Hubs and I made a deal after Christmas.

No "purchases" until March 1. That means no toys, no DVDs, no "extras", no clothes, no gadgets. We told the kids no toys until Easter. We decided we needed to eat out less. To stay home more. We need to tighten the belt and pay down the debt. We are living outside of our means.

We want to do better.

Then Mad Hatter shares this challenge. It is such a happy coincidence. And now it feels like a competition? It at least makes me more accountable because I've got to report back how it's gone.
So go read about the challenge and read Mad's post.
I'm saying ME TOO!

Between January 4 and Feb 31, I will only purchase essential items for myself and for my family. This includes groceries/consumables, gas, basic hygiene (shampoo, soap, not cosmetics), medicine and essential clothing.

I have always been a practitioner of retail therapy. Even in high school, I would take the tip money I had earned as a waitress and treat myself to a new pair of shoes or a new t-shirt to cheer myself up. This is a bad habit that has gone on for years. The Hubs and I both do it. I figure it's time for us to find joy in our family, in each other, rather than at TaRgEt (Swistle, I'm sorry for putting down your boyfriend!).

I'm planning to track my expenses more closely during this time. I'm pledging any extra money to our debts, which we desperately need to get paid down. I'm also pledging to give some to our church, because we often leave that needed offering unpaid.

This is a pledge. Another resolution.
Oh, I love a project.
Add it to my list.