As I mentioned earlier, we are officially without a paycheck for 12 weeks. (My paycheck will start again when I return to work after my leave of absence in August.)
We do have savings, but as I want to quit my job by next May, we don’t want to dip too far into that.
I was perusing frugal blogs, when I discovered the No Spend Month. The idea is that beyond basic, fixed bills, you allot yourself a certain amount to spend for the month for food, eating out, gas, tolls, entertainment, etc.
I talked this over with my husband who is also eager to save money but not to set ourselves up for failure. We have decided to allow ourselves $500 for the month. This will actually be quite a challenge for us as I routinely struggle to keep our groceries under $300 a month. Also, my son’s birthday is this month, so we will need to be creative. In addition, we are planning two trips to visit my mom (who lives three hours away), so we will have gas and tolls to contend with.
I will start this challenge on June 1st and end it on June 30th. I will let you know, week by week, how we are faring. Wish us luck!!!
If you would like to join us, tell us about your experience in the comments section.
UPDATE:
June 1st – 6th spending
June 7th -12th spending
June 13th -18th spending
June 19th – June 24th spending
June 25th – 28th spending & lessons learned
This post was shared at Life as Mom.
I am also going to be doing a no spend month in June. I haven’t had a chance to write about it yet but I am up for the challenge! I am going to add you to my blog so I can see how you do!
Great! Let’s do this together. Be sure to post how you do!
Deal! I will be posting the details to mine sometime this weekend.
We're looking at a no-spend month as well. Aside from bills and some gas for the car for my husband to get to work (which isn't much for us) I don't anticipate buying anything, inlcuding food.
Yesterday I went to glean some peaches and apricots from a woman who isn't going to eat all of the ones off of her tree. I will be canning them. I aleady have lids, jars, and sugar on hand. My children are able to have their fill of both as well.
Our garden is doing well; we are eating from it and our pantry and freezer every day.
In May I was able to stock up on a sale on eggs and sour cream, so I have fresh things to last a while. I have powdered milk on hand, so I have milk to use in cooking.
We have done this for a few years now. We always do Feb (short month!) and pick one or 2 other months of the year. Usually ones with out birthdays or travel plans – it just makes it easier and more 'honest'. Good Luck!
Good Luck! We had our No Spend Month earlier this yr. We did pretty well, not perfect, but that's okay.
~Liz