"Well, we were walking home and saw a giant pile of sand and accidentally played in it."I accidentally spent more than I planned to on Christmas this year. Oops!
January is going to be a month of frugality to make up for it.
#1 I asked TopDad for just half of my usual household allowance, with the other half going to pay down the debt I accidentally incurred in December.
#2 I will be creating meals out of what we have in the freezer and pantry. The ONLY food I'll buy is fresh milk, cheese, eggs, vegetables, and fruits. Plus some cat food when theirs runs out, and my vitamins as I run out. I will be making all of our baked goods: bread, cookies, muffins, etc.
#3 I made a list of expected expenses related to birthdays this month and next, including shipping costs.
#4 I typed up a list of ideas for date nights to avoid spending money.
#5 I made a list of things I will not be buying in January: clothing, shoes, books, movies, music, haircut, perm, toiletries, etc. I will use up what I have, do without, make do, etc.
#6 I won't go shopping - no thrift stores, no Etsy, no Amazon Prime, no malls (not that I go there, but wanted to be inclusive), no shopping! No trolling for treasures!
#7 I'll purchase stamps (I'm old-fashioned and like to send cards and letters), and minutes for my phone only if I run out. (Which I'm not anticipating.)
This is what I'm planning for January. Some call it a Spending Fast; others call it a No Spend Month.
What I'm hoping is that I can permanently lower my budget and finish paying off the last of the total credit card debt before the school year is over at the end of May.
I welcome your support and/or suggestions.
Here's a possible suggestion on bringing in money instead of on spending less -- I don't know how well this works where you are. But this might be a good time to declutter through Craigs' List. Even though I try not to accumulate too much stuff, when I do a serious analysis of what lies at the back of my closets, I often find things I no longer need or want -- but I do want the space in my closets! Getting five dollars here and twenty-five dollars there for things that were just sitting around unused, taking up valuable storage capacity, might be an option. ???
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder! I'll be looking for excess to sell.
DeleteI find I am in good company here in the Department of Making Ends Meet.
ReplyDelete