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No Spend Month: 30 days to a bigger bank account, part 4

This series, by Denise T., originally appeared on Middle Path Finance.

No Spend Month: Week 3

I had a dream last night that I got to eat out. Sigh. As much as I try to replicate our favorite restaurant meals at home, we miss eating out. It's been three weeks.

That means the end, It's almost here. We only have one week left of no-spend month, where we vowed to only spend $400 for all of November on everything we need, including groceries, entertainment, and gas.

But it's a big week, with Thanksgiving and all of the usually-oh-so-tempting Black Friday deals that I have to ignore because they aren't in the budget for me this year, no matter how cheap.

Our super-frugality has become in some ways routine, and in other ways, trying.  I miss good ethnic food.

During week three, we spent $86. Most of it, $55, went to groceries. We also spent another $18 on gas to fill up our second car.

How have we managed for this long on so little?

If you'd told me two months ago we'd be able to live on $400, I would have thought you were crazy. But by breaking our bad habits-- like eating out, all the time-- and being a little more conscientious, we've been able to reduce our expenses significantly.

So, if you are sitting at home wondering how we've done it, or planning your own No-spend month, here are a few tips:

1. Meat is a luxury when you are living on a shoestring. Most of our meals have been vegetarian, more out of necessity than desire. If we do eat meat, it's only what is on sale.

2. We've been borrowing DVDs from friends and from the library. And, we've been lighting a lot of fires and putting our feet up on the coffee table while drinking some of those bottles of wine we've had in the cupboard. That was the good part of staying home.

3. So far, we've filled up the gas tank of each of our two cars once. To save fuel, we use the small, compact car for any trip longer than 5 miles, and we run multiple errands on one trip-- no more running out just to get one thing at the grocery store.

I also recommend spending as little as possible early in the month, so that you don't run out of money at the end of the month. Our first week was our lowest-spend, at $46. We haven't been able to go that low since, because the pantry runs dry and the cars eventually run out of gas.

Beyond that, it's been just a matter of staying out of spend's way. No window shopping, no mouse finger dangerously close to clicking on the Amazon.com deal of the day. Although I do admit to Internet window shopping, I have yet to one-click shop.

 

No Spend Month: 30 days to a bigger bank account, part 3

This series, by Denise T., originally appeared on Middle Path Finance.

No Spend Month, week 2

We are now two and a half weeks into our no-spend month, where we vowed to spend only $400 for all of November on everything we need, including groceries, entertainment, and gas.

This week, in some ways, has been a lot easier. Our super-frugality has become part of the routine. Cooking every night has finally become a habit, with the hubby remarking "that the best thing about this challenge is that there is always something yummy in the fridge."

I can deal with that.

Hubby has also stopped pouting. Not just stopped, but done a complete 360. Sunday, the start of week three, he said "You know, we should try to live on $600 a month, including bills, every month."

I almost had a heart attack. One, I never thought I would hear him say it, and two, for a hot minute I was really afraid I would have to live on $600 a month forever.

Now that we are deeper into the experiment, we have seen the benefits and started to experience the drawbacks.

Let's start with the positive. The house is cleaner. If you can't go out, you may as well vacuum.

Living in a clean house is fabulous, but having a fat bank account is even better. Usually, we save about 10 percent of our take-home pay every two weeks. But we managed to put 50 percent of our pay into savings this week, a real testament to the fact that we are living on a shoestring.

Considering the current economic and job scene, it has been really fulfilling to build up our cash reserves, and at the same time practice living on next to nothing. It's a valuable skill to have if you suddenly don't have a job.

Now to the drawbacks. We did spend more than twice as much the second week as we did the first, $118 compared to $46.

Here is where it went:
$90 for groceries. Half of this went to our Thanksgiving turkey and side dishes. The grocery store was selling turkeys for 29 cents a pound if you spent another $30, so we did the math and determined it was worth it to buy everything now, including fresh green apples for apple pie, cranberries, and of course, a 17-pound turkey.
$19 on gas. Lower gas prices were a real budget-saver here.
$5 for a replacement inner tube for our jogging stroller. It didn't seem fair for the baby to miss out on his daily walk just because we were trying to save a few dollars.
$5 on beers with a friend who came into town from Chicago. We can't just not visit with friends from out of town.

As a result of this challenge, I also notice I am doing things I have never done before, in an effort to save money. For instance, I took a calculator (to make sure I was on budget, to the penny) and a sale flyer with me to the grocery store. Now I wonder why the hell I've never done this before. I have also learned a valuable cooking lesson. If you have a bag of onions and a few pounds of potatoes, the sky is the limit.

For fun, we borrowed some DVDs from a friend and popped popcorn.

It wasn't all fun this week. Saturday was tough, because we had to turn down a dinner and drinks invitation to our favorite restaurant. It just wasn't in the budget. I'm sure we'll get over it, though.

Also, part two of the challenge was to try to lower our monthly bills. So far, I have only managed to shave $14 off of what we pay every month, by getting both my home phone and Internet with the same company. Maybe I can do better, like trying to cut our electricity bill in half.

But I think that is a challenge for another day.

This week, in some ways, has been a lot easier. Our super-frugality has become part of the routine. Cooking every night has finally become a habit, with the hubby remarking "that the best thing about this challenge is that there is always something yummy in the fridge."

I can deal with that.

Hubby has also stopped pouting. Not just stopped, but done a complete 360. Sunday, the start of week three, he said "You know, we should try to live on $600 a month, including bills, every month."

I almost had a heart attack. One, I never thought I would hear him say it, and two, for a hot minute I was really afraid I would have to live on $600 a month forever.

Now that we are deeper into the experiment, we have seen the benefits and started to experience the drawbacks.

Let's start with the positive. The house is cleaner. If you can't go out, you may as well vacuum.

Living in a clean house is fabulous, but having a fat bank account is even better. Usually, we save about 10 percent of our take-home pay every two weeks. But we managed to put 50 percent of our pay into savings this week, a real testament to the fact that we are living on a shoestring.

Considering the current economic and job scene, it has been really fulfilling to build up our cash reserves, and at the same time practice living on next to nothing. It's a valuable skill to have if you suddenly don't have a job.

Now to the drawbacks. We did spend more than twice as much the second week as we did the first, $118 compared to $46.

Here is where it went:
$90 for groceries. Half of this went to our Thanksgiving turkey and side dishes. The grocery store was selling turkeys for 29 cents a pound if you spent another $30, so we did the math and determined it was worth it to buy everything now, including fresh green apples for apple pie, cranberries, and of course, a 17-pound turkey.
$19 on gas. Lower gas prices were a real budget-saver here.
$5 for a replacement inner tube for our jogging stroller. It didn't seem fair for the baby to miss out on his daily walk just because we were trying to save a few dollars.
$5 on beers with a friend who came into town from Chicago. We can't just not visit with friends from out of town.

As a result of this challenge, I also notice I am doing things I have never done before, in an effort to save money. For instance, I took a calculator (to make sure I was on budget, to the penny) and a sale flyer with me to the grocery store. Now I wonder why the hell I've never done this before. I have also learned a valuable cooking lesson. If you have a bag of onions and a few pounds of potatoes, the sky is the limit.

For fun, we borrowed some DVDs from a friend and popped popcorn.

It wasn't all fun this week. Saturday was tough, because we had to turn down a dinner and drinks invitation to our favorite restaurant. It just wasn't in the budget. I'm sure we'll get over it, though.

Also, part two of the challenge was to try to lower our monthly bills. So far, I have only managed to shave $14 off of what we pay every month, by getting both my home phone and Internet with the same company. Maybe I can do better, like trying to cut our electricity bill in half.

But I think that is a challenge for another day.

No Spend Month: 30 days to a bigger bank account, part 2

This series, by Denise T., originally appeared on Middle Path Finance

No spend month: Week 1

Four days into the challenge, hubby began pouting.

"This sucks. Everything costs money. It's so depressing," he said, as he unloaded our $18 bag of groceries. "I'm noticing all kinds of things I didn't before. This takes too much planning."

Meaning, he finally is noticing that diapers and formula, leaving the kitchen light on, and drinking beer costs money. And now that he has a set budget, all of a sudden he feels like he's missing out. Because he can't do something, all of a sudden he really wants to. He's never been a high-maintenance guy, so I thought he would have a much easier time than I would.

I, on the other hand, am feeling optimistic about the challenge. I think we are going to do just fine, even if we have committed to buying the Thanksgiving turkey for the extended family.

The challenge hasn't put a crimp in our lifestyle yet. We are cooking at home every night, sure, but the food is good and plentiful, and there are still plenty of free movies to rent from the library.

We've also managed to live something resembling a normal life. Sitting at home moping and avoiding our friends isn't sustainable, and we'd like this to be something we can and want to do again.

The first day of the challenge, I went to an art opening at my friend's gallery. Cost: $1 for the parking meter.

On election night, we had a party. It's been a tradition since the 2000 election, so it'd be a shame to skip it now. Normally we'd spare no expense to throw a party, but this time our budget to feed four kids and 11 adults was only $30. (Okay, $18 originally, but then hubby realized we had no lighter fluid and no side dishes, so we spent another $12.) We didn't think we could pull it off, but we did, and there were plenty of leftovers.

Even though we're only a week in, the challenge has already altered our habits. Our limited budget led us to shop at Aldi's and look for loss leaders in the local grocery ads for the first time in seven years. By Thursday, the hubby had snapped out his depression and declared "Turkeys are on sale for 78 cents a pound." Looks like we have our Thanksgiving solution.

Here is what we've spent this week:
What we've spent: $46
That includes $1 for parking, $31.50 for the election night party food, and $5 for raffle tickets as a fundraiser for my mom's school, and the $8.50 that mysteriously disappeared from hubby's wallet. He has yet to come clean about what he spent it on, but we're not over budget, so I'm not going to nag. We had 3 No Spend days this week. 

I also hit the jackpot. Sometimes small wishes do come true. Finding a yoga class has been on my to do list for a while, but was out this month due to our budget. Then I got a call from an old friend who is getting her yoga teaching certification, needs to log a lot of hours of teaching, and wanted to know if I'd host a free yoga session at my house once a week. Bingo.

Not shopping and not spending has had an unintended side effect. My productivity has sky-rocketed. In one week, I have knocked several things off of my to-do list, including framing four lithographs I bought 6 months ago and rearranging the guest room furniture. It's also forced me to come to terms with my closets, which are overflowing with stuff we never wear and never use. It's time to let all of that go. Ebay here I come.

I can see now the potential this challenge has to be life changing. Everyday, we think about what we really need and what we really don't, and how to make as much as we can out of as little as possible. These are skills I embraced when I was young, broke, and in college. but somewhere I lost my way. I'm hoping to find my way back.

No Spend Month: 30 days to a bigger bank account, part 1

This series, By Denise T., originally appeared on Middle Path Finance

Can you go a whole month without spending money on anything other than bare-bones necessities? I didn't think I could either, but last November I wanted to see if it was really possible. It turned out to be a transformative experience that not only boosted my savings account significantly by the end of the month, but also changed the way I relate to and handle my money ever since. These are tough times, especially for the young, semi-hip and artsy. We all need to whip our personal balance sheets into tip-top shape-- pay off debt, put some money in the bank that won't get swept away immediately by bills, and overall try our best to disaster-proof our finances. This is the first of a five part series about my No Spend Month. How we did it, how it impacted us. Hopefully, it will inspire you to do the same.

Part 1, Preparing for No Spend Month

My husband and I have declared November a no-spend month. 

We have budgeted $400 for the month of November. That's all we have to spend. This $400 has to cover everything that isn't a monthly recurring bill.

What doesn't count: utilities, student loan payment, monthly transfers into our emergency fund, 401k, and 529 plan. Baby formula is also exempt. The $400 must pay for everything else: food, gasoline, entertainment, clothes, parking, and anything else we would normally buy.

Considering we easily go through $2,000 a month, it's a steep decrease from what we are used to. 
Why are we doing this?

We've read a blog about a family of three that tried it, and another family that decided to spend nothing-- not even buy groceries-- for two months.  It inspired us to give it a whirl.

With all of the craziness lately on Wall Street, and watching the balances of our retirement accounts dwindle to less than half their value since September, we feel like it's high time we fattened up our emergency fund and learned to live leaner.

We also feel making a diligent, conscientious effort to stop spending might help us slow down, hop off of the consumption train and take a look at where the heck all of our money goes each month. We are generally good savers, but we could be doing so much better. And it seems like we've been spending more and more these past few months.

How will this work exactly? We've laid some ground rules that we hope will help us get the most out of our experience.

First, the $400 will be placed in cash in an envelope on the side of the fridge on Nov.1. We aren't allowed to use credit cards, no ATM withdrawals, and no cheating. This is easy to monitor online. This is the only realistic way we can stay on budget. 

Second, we need a carrot and a stick to help us stay focused. Otherwise, it would be too easy to say "Oh well" and give up.

The stick: For every dollar we spend over the $400 budget, an equal amount goes to a charity that we deplore, one that stands for everything we don't. The idea is to add an extra layer of "I don't want <insert group> to get any of my money, so I better stay on track." The carrot is dinner for two sans the baby at a fancy steakhouse near our house.

Third, we aren't allowed to front-load expenses in October. What is the point of not spending in November if you spend twice as much in October because you know you can't spend anything in November?

The only exception to the stock-up rule is groceries. I re-stocked the pantry with basics only-- nothing fancy-- such as beans, rice, cheese, etc. so that we would have the foundation for what I hope to be many home-cooked meals.

We will have to cook at home most of the month to make this work. We will also have to be incredibly fuel efficient in our vehicle use. We won't be able to drive as much and will certainly have to plan shopping trips so that all stops can be made on one trip. No more running to the store for one item.

We haven't forgotten Thanksgiving either, although it will pose less of a challenge this year. Our annual 1,000 mile drive to the in-laws house has been canceled. We just had a nice long visit with them, so we all agreed that we can pass on Thanksgiving. That does mean we will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner for the other side of the family, and paying for that will be a challenge.

Spending less is a big part of this plan, but we're also going to attack the expense side of the balance sheet. In a further effort to beef up our savings, I will also be examining all of our monthly bills and looking for ways to save. I already suspect our telephone and internet service will be changing post haste.

With the challenge about to begin, I thought I would be nervous about limiting our spending, but actually we are quite excited. I think we relish the challenge. And we suspect it might get us closer to the kind of life we'd like to be living. Of course, there's the risk that this could end in a spectacular disaster.

I plan to outline our progress, our failings, our triumphs and all the gory details once a week on this blog. Maybe I can inspire you to set out on your own month of crash dieting. Or, I might just scare you into being a spendthrift. Who can say.  You'll just have to check back here each week to find out how it turns out.