January No-Low Spend Wrap Up

This January I decided to follow Carla in her No-Low Spend month. The idea was to cut out all unnecessary spending.

Did we have a low spend month? Well, no. Did we feel comfortable with our spending? Well, yes. The first day of January started with unexpected events and the whole month seemed to follow suit. This included a lot of eating out while traveling and hotel bills. It also included a visit to a museum for a much needed mental health break. Each one of these expenditures was considered carefully and was decided to be necessary.

Ward mentioned that he thought that the low-spend month was a success and wanted to extend it into February. I think that's a good idea. We aren't big spenders anyway, but this may keep us from the extra purchases that we don't need like cheese curls. (Love those things.) Or maybe it won't. But it will least it will make me stop and think before I put that bag of the ever-so-light, crunchy, tasty, yellow balls of fat and salt on the counter on the counter to buy. :)

No Spend/Low Spend/Fiscal Fast

"A penny saved, is a penny earned."

Those of you who are out there in the frugal blog world are probably very familiar with these terms and have maybe participated in them at one time or another. And for those of you who aren't hanging out in the frugal blog world, these terms mean just what they sound like--ways to take short term or long term breaks from spending money to further savings goals.

This month I'm going to participate with Carla at 1/2 Dozen Daily in her month long No-Low Spend Challenge in January. During this time, Carla challenges you to figure out your necessities (such as rent, utilities, and basic food) and not to buy anything else. I'm looking forward to seeing where this challenge leads my family. Even though we look at the numbers and were doing OK, I'm still uncomfortable with some of our spending. Any extra money we realize in the end from this challenge will go to an elderly charity I'm fond of.

First my goals and personal rules for the challenge. We hope to cut out any extra spending of non essentials. For us, this will mostly mean watching our food budget and entertainment. It might also mean something like I've been needing some new jeans for a while, but I won't buy them this month. However, I will make an exception if I see a really good price on something that we have been thinking about buying for a while. Also, as deference to my family, I will not be posting many actual budget numbers. However, for those of you who do this, I find the details very interesting and often inspiring.

So how are we doing out-of-the gate on this challenge? My husband is on-board and my son who is away at college wants to participate also. However, I keep getting new ideas of how we should implement the plan, and I need to learn to control this. Every time I come up with a new rule, they say it's stricter than before and that's not what they agreed to. I sometimes tend to get carried away with things. :)

What about our actual spending? Have we been able to keep our goals for the first three days? Well not exactly, but we all know that flexibility is required in some circumstances. It's a long story, but the last couple of days, we have had to be out of the house for long hours without a lot of prep. This has resulted in a drive through meal, that under normal circumstances, wouldn't be allowed. In the meantime, if you want to join-in in your own no-spend month, we'd be glad to have you.

A Penny Saved...

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned

Or More Fittingly, 

A Nickle Saved is a Nickle Earned,

A Dime Saved is a Dime Earned, and

  A Quarter Saved is a Quarter Earned.

When we were kids, my sisters and I all had Benjamin Franklin banks. These banks gave us a running total of the amount of money we had by pulling a lever after inserting each coin. When we reached ten dollars, the door opened at the bottom and our money could be retrieved. However, the banks only accepted nickles dimes, and quarters. You could break them if you put a penny in. 

The banks were very special and were kept in our parent's bedroom. Also, it seemed as if it took forever to save ten dollars and when we did, the money was put aside for our college fund. A very wise thing, but not much fun when I was little. So I was excited when my mother recently gave me my bank. I decided that I had a second chance. I would use it to save my pocket change and buy something I wanted. However, a funny thing happened on the way to my purchase. I found that I was having as much fun saving the money as I was spending it. I really liked pulling the lever and watching the money add up. (Sometimes it's the simple things.)

So, I am having fun while saving money and having fun while spending it. That's what I call a win-win situation. It's nice when things work out like that.
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But wait there's more: You may wonder, what do I do with my pennies? There is a slot on the side of the bank where you can put pennies. They don't get counted, they just get stored. If you put them in the front slot, it will jam.