I’ve learned some important things about my spending this month. Nothing earth-shattering, but lessons that will be useful moving forward.
Even though you can save some serious cash during a no spend month, saving money for just one month will only do so much. Next week, I’ll talk more about what to do after a no spend month. Using what was learned during the month to tweak spending and money behaviors can impact future savings in big ways.
What would I have spent money on this month that I didn’t?
Groceries – even though I didn’t really need to, I probably would have stocked up on some sales
Coffee – I rarely buy a coffee when I’m out, but I’ve been tempted more than once. Maybe it’s because I’m trying to cut back on coffee consumption and it’s simply “wanting what I can’t have” at work here
Dinner out – I would have went out for dinner twice. We treat going out to eat as entertainment, rather than just a break from cooking. And when we go out, we relax and linger at the table longer, plus the kids aren’t rushing off to do something else and we have their full attention.
Lunch out – this is actually unusual for me to consider, but it crossed my mind one day. I received some stressful news and thought about calling Alan and asking him to join me for lunch. I did call him, but skipped the lunch.
Clearance Christmas items – I would have checked out Target’s clearance section. I will need more wrapping paper next year, but I skipped it. This may actually end up costing me money – but who knows what temptations would have been lurking in the clearance sections!?
Food
You know what I like most about my grocery buying restrictions this month? The time savings! I haven’t spent more than 15 minutes a week shopping for groceries (though I look at the sales before I go).
I’ve declared a new grocery challenge for February. I really want my kids to eat healthier – and I’ve seen some improvements this month, simply because there’s less junk food coming in. So, I announced to my son that we were going to try a new healthy grocery challenge in February. He was not an immediate fan of the idea, but I intend to show him it isn’t painful to eat healthier.
So, February will be an all-organic month (and gluten-free). Though I will probably go over my typical budget of $300, I know we can do it on a reasonable budget. Aldi, Trader Joe’s, Costco and Fresh Thyme Farmer’s Market all offer healthier food options at decent prices. I anticipate the biggest challenge to the budget will be milk and eggs – we buy a lot of milk and eggs.
Here’s what we ate for dinner, not including veggies and fruit (lunches were leftovers or ham/cheese sandwiches + fruit/veggie):
- Irish Ground Beef Stew
- Pulled Pork
- Spaghetti
- Omelettes
- Chili
- Tuna Noodle Casserole
- Leftovers/Fend for yourself (the kids usually have a sandwich or make themselves pasta)
Food I purchased:
Entertainment
I won’t bore you with the details. One thing I’ve noticed over the course of the month is – we don’t tend to spend a whole lot on entertainment. We’re generally pretty happy to be at home, working on projects, reading, and playing games. We get out of the house to work out, go to Taekwondo, and see family (when the weather is nice, we hike and bike). The kids generally hang out with friends at our house or their friends’ houses.
The one thing I’ve missed most is dinner out. Though we have went out once (on my parents dime), I probably would have went out a couple more times.
Money Spent
Confession time. I spent money this week! We ran out of cat food, so I went to Costco. Costco isn’t located near my house and I don’t like to make more than one trip a month, so I bought all the things I needed from there. It just didn’t make sense to delay it a week – that would have cost me extra time and money (in gas).
Here’s what I bought, not including the cat food:
Extra spent this week:
Paid a fee for a friend – $20
Costco – $58.21
Shampoo (for my son) – $1.06
Eggs (not on exception list) – $0.79
Exceptions:
Food – $9.88
Gas – $31.13
Prescription medication – $11.31
Week 4 Total: $132.38
Week 3 Total: $156.31
Week 2 Total (including exceptions): $35.49
Week 1 Total (including exceptions): $103.53
Total for the month (besides regular expenses): $427.71
Check out other blogs’ no spend adventures:
John and Jane Doe
Mystery Money Man
Joyfully Frugal is doing several challenges
We don’t really spend a lot on entertainment either. I feel like there are so many great free things to do and we end up missing half of those so it’ seems silly to pay for entertainment. Like our community is doing skijorning this weekend. Where insane people get pulled behind horses on skis. But lucky me, I’m STILL working on my mater bath. Ugh. Does home reno count as entertainment? =)
Oooh! Skijorning sounds really entertaining. A little crazy, but entertaining. Oh no! Still working on that bathroom!? I do actually count home reno as entertainment, but there is a point that it becomes not so entertaining. I’m guessing your about to that point by now. Good luck!!! 🙂
Nice! Great job! Entertainment is challenging because I’m in my 40s and single and I feel like I do need to get “out there” more, especially if I’d like to meet someone in person instead of online, so it’s a bit tough to negotiate.
Thanks, Tonya! I can see how being single would change the entertainment budget. And spending a little to meet people in person and socialize is money well spent, in my opinion!
Wow! You’re doing so well. I’ve only gone out 3 times this month to get food at a restaurant, which was no small feat!
Thanks, Alexis! It’s great you’ve only went out 3 times! Have you added up the savings? Whenever I’m cooking dinner and would rather not, I remind myself of how much I’m saving over going out or take-out. This helps motivate me most days!
I’ve only been out 3 times this month to eat at a restaurant, which was really hard, but I’m saving so much money already!
We count eating out as entertainment, also. It’s nice to be able to get out of the house for the evening. And when the weather is nice (as in, no ice on the ground and 20+ degrees) we combine a walk downtown and around campus with our evening out.
Good luck with your grocery challenge next month. We try to eat a mainly paleo diet (mostly meat, vegetables and fruit) and find that we feel better when our meals don’t center around carbs (though pizza is always emotionally satisfying.)
I like your definition of “nice” weather. 🙂 That about sums it up here too. It’s great you have a nice place to walk!
I used to eat a very strict Paleo diet – I felt better then. I’ve gotten further and further away from it the last few months and need to get back on track. But, this time, I hope my family gets on board too. I don’t expect them to join me 100%, but plan to show them that we can eat tasty meals without all the carbs.
Awesome job!!! My wife and I are contemplating getting rid of the cable because we just don’t turn on the TV. It also helps that we have an active one year old that doesn’t like TV so we’re constantly chasing him around the house and taking him to the park. Even when it’s cold outside. He’s determined to run around and burn off his energy.
Thanks, MSM! Yes, I remember not even being able to sit down for 15 minutes straight when the kids were toddlers! Sitting down to watch a TV show was impossible. I would much rather read than watch TV, but I do enjoy a good movie now and then!
Great job this month! Luckily for me, I haven’t had to eat out this month at all, so I spent a total of $0! Typically I would spend about $200-$300 a month on eating out, but now that money is headed straight into my investments!
Great job on the savings! Going out to eat can really add up, though, I admit, that’s one of the things I missed most. We usually spend around $100/month, so we did realize some decent savings there.