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15 Day No Spend Challenge
[Deleted User]
member
in Parenting
DH and I are talking about doing a 15 day no spend challenge. Well no
frivolous spending. If it's an emergency or if we need something for our
shop or the farm we'll buy it but nothing else. The only exception is
gas. DH can't work without it. No dollar aisle, internet
shopping, or stores period for 15 days
We're in pretty decent shape financially but we've gotten a little too comfortable. We're slipping back into some bad habits. We also realized that we're spending a lot of money on nothing in particular. We'd rather direct more of that money into savings or toward renovations. We're hoping that taking a step back from spending will force us to start breaking some of those habits.
Would anyone be interested in doing this with me?
We're in pretty decent shape financially but we've gotten a little too comfortable. We're slipping back into some bad habits. We also realized that we're spending a lot of money on nothing in particular. We'd rather direct more of that money into savings or toward renovations. We're hoping that taking a step back from spending will force us to start breaking some of those habits.
Would anyone be interested in doing this with me?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: 15 Day No Spend Challenge
It's a little different for us because we don't really need to go grocery shopping. We will be making a meal plan (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and only sticking to that. I've really been slacking in this area. We're going to work with what we have first. We have lots of things in our cabinets that kinda get pushed to the side or over looked in favor of new stuff. I'm going to take inventory, make a meal plan based on what I find and fill in the blanks with stuff from the sales paper at the store later this week. After that no more grocery shopping for us.
For someone who doesn't have our food advantage I still say make a meal plan. Take a good look at what you already have and use that first. Only go to the grocery store once a week during the challenge. If it doesn't go in a meal don't buy it. Your budget would depend on your family size and location.
@Scoutnumbers05 I totally understand. I have an Amazon dependency problem. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for their sexy two day shipping.
Harry Styles = Life Ruiner
There’s a lightning in your eyes I can't deny
Then there’s me inside a sinking boat running out of time
Without you I'll never make it out alive
But I know, yes, I know we’ll be alright
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
J. 1.14.13 my reason for breathing
Throwing leaves
Some of our friends will periodically do a month-long abstention from eating out. We might do that for August. The last time we did it, we were like "Where did all this extra money come from?" It adds up quickly.
Throwing leaves
MIL has a really well stocked pantry. She buys a couple extra cans of tuna or whatever nonperishable things she wants when she goes shopping. Over time it's grown to the point where she only needs to buy fresh things from the store. Once a month she may need to buy something for her stash but that's it. She does this with toilet paper and such too.
She says that it's cut down on her grocery bill a lot helped curb her spending over all because she doesn't need to run to the store after work every day. She even keeps a simple inventory of what she has in her pantry. When she needs to shop she already has her list made. She plans her meals from that list too.
I think I want to do something like that just not on such a big scale. I'm thinking mostly with home/bath supplies since our food is taken care of. It might help me curb my in store impulse buying if I just don't need to go to the store that often. I have a bad habit of going into a store for one small thing and coming out with a cart full of stuff that I don't really need.
I deleted my amazon app. I can't take my card off because we have subscriptions. I really need to look at those too and figure out what we need verses what we just like to have.
I'm just rambling now so don't mind me
Throwing leaves
Be careful here and make sure it's a need and not a want. DH wants a new chainsaw. The one he has works perfectly fine. He just wants a better one. He needs a new part for our tractor in order for it to run.
I get caught up in the want vs need thing a lot. I tend to justify my wants as needs. A lot of times I can do without. I also tend to blow my needs out of proportion. I needed new bras. My boobs have a mind of their own. If they aren't properly contained they will cause trouble. I didn't need to blow $200 at a lingerie store. I justified the expense because I needed new undies. Bras for anything over a C cup aren't cheap. In reality Target would have been just fine. I only needed to get two or three. I didn't have to spend that much.
I don't want anyone to think that I'm bragging about how much money I can spend. I'm throwing out real numbers in an attempt to be honest with myself. I can be very irresponsible with money. I won't not pay my bills so I can get new shoes but I don't always have self control when I'm in a store. I shop for emotional reasons sometimes. I spent $3000 after a loss. I don't even remember what I bought.I also shop to solve FWP instead of doing without or being creative with what we have. I need to stop that.