Quite a while ago, I read an article about a family that didn't buy anything new for an entire year. They had kids and the entire family decided to see if they could do it. It has stuck with me as an interesting idea. It crops up every time the Amex bill comes in the mail. So Ducky and I have decided to that we are going to do our own version of this experiment. Oddly, this has nothing to do with the economy, but more to do with our impulse purchases and opting for the easy out (meals, etc.).
We have decided that for the months of January and February, we are going to follow a few simple rules and see how much money we can save. Then we are going to put that amount of money aside for home projects or a trip.
The Rules:
Consumable items may be purchased - groceries, cleaning products, utilities, auto expenses, printer paper/office supplies
Necessary repairs will be taken care of
Eat out not more than once a week - only when life requires it
Any purchase must fill a need - a need being a must have, cannot live without it, not gosh that would be great to have
Shop from lists
We get a monthly allowance of $20 (a girl cannot give up coffee completely)
We will have a monthly family activity allowance of $100
Use coupons when I find them
There was a time when we did not have any extra money and we were really conscious of where our money went. Now that our budget is not as tight, we don't think before we spend. We hope to become mindful of our spending, allowing us to save up to do more expensive projects or vacations more frequently. To stop frittering away our extra money and instead use it reach our goals. Anyone want to experiment with us?
5 comments:
I would! I'd already been thinking about doing something similar in January, a sort of see how-little-money I can spend, since Peter will be gone the whole month. I need to think up my rules.
i did something similar in 2008. it worked really well until late fall, when christmas shopping rolled around.... then i went a little nuts and spend more money than i should have, some of which was, um, on myself.
but i really did save like a squirrel for ten months. and then of course lost it all in the stock market....
I've started a blog to track my spending habits. Fascinating reading, to be sure. :) But maybe, just maybe, if I know I'm going to have to account for it in a public forum, I might be better able to resist things like new pajamas, books, and junk food. :)
http://wheresdoesitgo.blogspot.com/
I think everyone is on the same page with this economy-try to save where you can. We read Dave Ramsey's book and started our new budget Jan. 1st. We have never had a budget, just spend less than we make. We decided that we can do better than that. We will see how it goes! Good luck with yours!
I liked the year when you were in college and you and Ducky had the contest to see who could give the other the most Christmas presents for, what was it? $70? Fun AND economical. You were both so clever and creative.
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