No Spend Challenge Journal: Week 1

Sometime in January, my husband and I realized that we had never stopped spending from the frenzy that was Christmas shopping. We weren't big spenders before but we found ourselves getting boxes everyday of something we had bought online because it sounded like a good idea to buy. The Hosh actually bought a $40 notebook holder. Like for an actual notebook, not the computer kind. It was time to admit we had a problem so we decided to go on a spending cleanse to reset out spending habits.

The rules of this challenge include only spending on core expenses, like our mortgage, utilities, etc. and setting up a tiny budget for food and prior commitments. We sat down, drafted a budget detailing the absolutely necessary spending per month. The goal was to stay on budget and not spend any unplanned dollar outside the budget.

Here's the story of our #nospendfebruary.

Click here to jump ahead to Week 2, Week 3 or the final Week 4.

Weekly Recap
The first week was really eye opening. I found that we had more time for family centric activities, developed a deeper sense of gratitude for the things we already had, learned more homesteading skills like making household cleaners and being more mindful of every penny.  We also realized how easy it was to spend money without a thought.

Day 1: I ran out of dish washing detergent and previously I would have run to the store and bought some, and probably a couple of other things in addition because I "needed" them but instead I used all natural materials from around my house and made my own dish washing detergent. My husband thought it cleaned even better than the store bought detergents! Score! My husband entered into the Superbowl Pool (forgetting that it was ‪#‎nospendfebruary‬) at the party we were at. Luckily, I won the first quarter and final so we ended up +$40 after the initial bet.

Superbowl Party Food. Yum.

 Day 2: Packed lunch, crockpot pork roast for dinner, found ourselves with a lot of extra free time since we didn't go out to dinner (the month before we went out to dinner over 75% of the time!) Spent the extra time cleaning and playing with my baby!

Day 3: Spent money at dinner but that was pre-planned before we decided on doing No Spend February. It will be our only meal out during this month. I also went to Walmart with my mom for 1.5 hours and almost bought a few things but each time, I reasoned I didn't need that item. By the end of the trip, this really positive reassuring feeling came over me. It was like being content, feeling like we have enough, and grateful that we have more than we need. 

 Day 4: Found out that our corgi has fleas, likely because in addition to No Spend February, I have started a walking challenge so I've been walking our dog around the neighborhood a lot more and she keeps stopping in the yard of this house that is overrun with outdoor cats, most of which I assume have fleas. My husband wants to take her to the groomer for a flea dip but I looked up an all natural DIY flea dip that I'll be trying to make at home tonight. Also, we're doing leftovers for dinner tonight so that we don't waste any food. I feel like we're making really good progress and actually starting to use the things in our house that have been collecting dust. Maybe a household purge is also in order.

Day 5: I was in Little Saigon today for something work related and usually when I'm down there, I'll pick up some different dishes at the little restaurants/markets because they're inexpensive and delicious. My husband took a day off of work today and usually, if he does that, I try to stop in and bring him lunch. This morning, I literally said, "Oh, since you're home today, I'll just stop by that Vietnamese sandwich place you like and... and get you nothing. Because I can't spend any money. I'll come home and eat leftovers for lunch with you instead." He laughed and said, "Harder than you thought, huh?" I also was running late this morning so I didn't get a chance to make my morning fruit/veggie smoothie or have breakfast so by the time lunchtime rolled around and I was driving home, EVERYTHING was calling out to me. I actually avoided driving on side streets and stayed on the highway as much as I could so that I wouldn't be enticed by driving some new restaurant. I did end up making it home without buying anything but now I need to figure out how to make my own french baguettes at home. This is a huge departure from our normal habits. We would dine out almost everyday for lunch or dinner or both. I wouldn't even think in advance about meals because I assumed I could just stop in and buy whatever I had an urge for. 

Day 6: Paid our mortgage today. I used to just make sure I paid it before the 15th because it wouldn't be considered late but they would tack on a $6 convenience fee. I always reasoned, $6 is like a cup of coffee, no worries. But with the ‪#‎nospendfebruary‬ challenge, Bank of America is no longer getting free money from me! Last night, I also found out that we're paying a ridiculous amount on internet service. I spent this morning reducing our rate plan by $10 a month. That's a savings of $120 a year! I wonder what else I'm mindlessly paying too much for on autopay. 

This OSH is amazing and we still didn't buy anything. #willpower

Day 7: Scheduled my breast pump rental to be picked up. My son has stopped taking a bottle during the day so I don't need to pump anymore! $44/month saved. We also took care of all our recycling and took the $45 we made straight to the bank. While out taking care of errands, I got really hungry but didn't breakdown and buy food. We ended up just cutting the day short and going home to eat. I need to remember to pack more snacks for when hunger strikes. I can see this being a problem in the future when we aren't was close to home. We walked around Orchard Hardware while waiting for an appointment and successfully avoided buying anything but I am reminded that I need to start some seeds for the upcoming grow season. Normally I would have gone to the store and bought hundreds worth of gardening goodies but this year I am going to try using what I have and see what I can score for free. ‪#‎nospendfebruary‬