Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Low Spend Month to Save More Money


 

   I need to save more money and do it rather quickly.  The recent government shutdown, with a possible second one in the very near future got me to thinking about how we definitely need an emergency fund so that we are covered in case of job loss, prolonged illness on Jeff's part (his job brings in all our income) or any other emergency that we might need funds for that we could quickly get our hands on without having to go into further debt.  We do try to put money away on a regular basis, but I want to be able to "up" that amount.   I went over various ideas in my head but kept coming back to one in particular...

   I have seen people doing "no spend" months where they only spend money on things like housing, food at home, utilities, etc..  I would love to be able to do something like that, but Jeff has committed to his bowling league for the rest of the season, so we cannot drop that.  Also, I do not want him to.  He needs to have a fun outlet and something to look forward to each week.  He works so hard for all of us, takes great care of me and works at a job that can be especially difficult due to the weather this time of year.  He also gave up the sport he loves for year while we raised our kids and I am happy to see him be able to be on a league again. 😊  I've decided instead to do a "low spend" challenge for the rest of this month.

   My parameters for this low spend month are as follows:

1. Jeff will continue to bowl in his league.
2. I will not be shopping that the thrift stores for the rest of the month (ok, this is going to be a really tough one for me but I am determined).
3. No eating out or ordering in food from the tavern. All meals will be eaten at home, at family gatherings or packed and taken with us if we go somewhere.  The exception will be if we use a gift card that covers all the cost of the meal and tip.
4. All meals will be created around what we have in the pantry, refrigerator and freezer.  I can buy fresh produce, dairy products and anything else that we might use up on a regular basis like the hot cocoa mix that Jeff uses in his coffee.
5. I also plan on trying some new recipes and also doing a once a week soup night like I used to.  This has saved us so much money in the past.  I just made a large pot of homemade chicken noodle soup using only half of a large chicken breast and bulked it up with lots of veggies and noodles.  I currently have a ham bone that I thawed out from our Thanksgiving dinner that will go into a large crockpot of homemade split pea soup that I will be making tomorrow.  Most of that will be frozen for future meals which is a wonderful thing to have on hand when I don't feel like cooking.
6. We will cut down on trips out of town with my car.  Jeff has to go to work 5 times a week and we usually use my car twice a week to go to appointments, shopping or to see the kids.  We will combine my twice a month appointments with any needed shopping.  That should limit our trips in my car to once a week on average instead of twice a week.
7. We will continue to make use of the library, YouTube and Netflix to watch movies and different TV shows.  I am also borrowing more books on frugal living, health related issues, and some "just for fun" reading as well.
8. Even though we are in a cold snap weather wise right now, I will keep the heat turned down at night and during the day when Jeff is sleeping.  I'll turn it up when he is awake though since he likes it warmer than I do.  I can always snuggle under blankets during the day and add another one to the bed at night.  I prefer it cooler anyway. I also turn the heat down when he leaves for work so that I can have a cooler bedroom to sleep in at night.
9. I need to be more diligent on working my points programs.  I have been neglecting them lately due to me not wanting to be online much due to all the political BS and some abhorrent laws that have been passed in a few states lately that absolutely disgust me and break my heart. It has been all over social media and I just have not been able to deal with it.  It gives me nightmares and makes my anxiety and depression get so much worse.
10. Lastly, I hope to list some things online that we are not using any more and get them sold.  That money will go into our emergency fund as well.

   So that is my plan for the rest of this month and we will see how it goes.  I may do a modified version of this every month limiting myself to one trip to the thrift stores a month. or every other month.  I do need to get that money saved as well as putting more money towards our debt.  I am getting this feeling lately like this is super important to do and I am going to go with what my gut tells me.


      

14 comments:

  1. And....drum roll, please....She's back on her feet! It's great to see that you are thinking, planning, and sounding so good:). I love hearing all your good ideas. I always learn something when I read others' ideas.

    I did really, really well keeping the grocery budget low in January. I planned to repeat it, with a little more money, in February. Nope. Not going to happen quite like I planned. I think I'm actually going to spend more in February than usual, because I realized I was out of a bunch of things I hadn't noticed before:). It's ok. My main goal is to make sure things aren't going bad in my stockpile and rotate it a bit. Clearly, I've done that in a lot of areas. There is a lot more to use, but I'm glad I was able to restock the things that were gone. Now, they are all fresh. Nice.

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    1. Thank you and yes, I am feeling more like "me" again. :)

      There is nothing wrong with restocking on things you need. In the long run that is going to save you so much money!

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  2. I am trying hard to eat from our stockpile. I ask the Mr. to pick up milk, eggs or specific fresh produce when he is on his way home from work. BUT. He is a terrible shopper. I say Milk and he ends up spending $50. We live 20 miles from the closest grocery store and only have one vehicle so kind of have to do our shopping this way. Thrift stores are my sore point. I need to stay away from them. We have a large chain thrift shop in town that one could easily spend a whole day in!

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    1. Hi Karen. :) I send my hubby with a list and he keeps to it for the most part thank goodness. I totally understand getting lost for hours in thrift stores. ;)

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  3. Not one but two posts. Yippee-skippy!

    I was under budget for groceries in January. I worked really hard at it and it paid off. Also made a lot of soups, just like you suggested in your other post. Split pea sounds yummy, that's one I love but forget about.
    Oh thrift stores. Mine don't do the colored tags like yours do. I miss that since it felt like such a treasure hunt. I limit myself to going only on the Senior's day or if I have a coupon. Our store has a punch ticket for donations so I can get the same senior discount if I donate enough and they punch the whole ticket. A great motivator to declutter. My big thing at the thrift store is always dvds and books. I completed my collection of Sue Grafton books, yea!
    It's cold here as well. MrDog and I are having only one walk a day in the late afternoon. He is so not happy with that change.
    Take good care of yourself.
    SJ

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    1. Hi SJ, I finally got on my emails today and replied to you.

      Good for you for being under budget in January. That is great! Books are my weakness at thrift stores also. My cousin has a store now that sells frugal finds and he has given me permission to use his bookstore area as my own personal library. Yay!!! Gotta love that.

      Be blessed!

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  4. I am tracking my no spend days and no drive days for the year. The goal is to pay off extra debt and put money into our emergency fund. Because January is an easy month to no spend, I got off to a great start. February is going to be a challange though. So first of all I budget $35 a week for groceries for the 3, sometimes 4 of us. I have a pretty good stockpile though. In my house bowling would be a budgeted expense. I have one and my hubby has one. My son helps us with a side hustle so he earns money for his budgeted expense. I track the no drive days because each one saves me money. I find these no spend months freeing. I plan better, and impulse shop a lot less. On the one hand not going to thrift stores means I miss out on some of the things I am looking for, on the other hand I am better at knowing what I want/need. I put the word out more and go in on days with special sales. I use this as an incentive to keep going. Good Luck!

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    1. Thank you Amy! It sounds like you and I have a similar outlook on life and the way we do things. :)

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  5. Another hello from me. Thought of you yesterday as I made split pea soup. I first made chicken broth using bones from the freezer. Then used most of the broth for the soup. Added some pulled pork that was in the freezer to the soup instead of ham. I thought I had diced ham in the freezer but didn't, oh well.

    No snow yesterday, just hail in the morning. But it continues to be cold. Cheers, SJ

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    1. I'm glad you made the soup. It sounds really good with the pulled pork!

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  6. Sounds like good ideas. I too have been trying to use what we have in the freezer. It's a battle with me to try to make more vegetarian meals. Take care and keep warm.

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    1. Angela, do you and your family like lentil soup? It is one of my childhood favorites but my hubby is not a fan of it. I was just thrilled that he liked split pea soup. Other soups that are vegetarian that we enjoy are potato cheese, broccoli/cauliflower cheese, corn chowder, veggie soup, udon soup, tomato soup. What are some that you like?

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  7. It sounds like we have similar guts. Mine is telling me to prepare. We usually do a low spend grocery challenge early in the year but I just have a feeling. Maybe it is because I haven't been out of work in 19 years. I don't know. I don't want to take the chance and Hubby said do what makes me feel secure. So no low month grocery challenge for now. I can always do one later in the year if I want.

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    1. I think it is always wise to listen to our gut feelings on things. I'm glad your hubby is on board with you on this. Be blessed and build that savings account!

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