No Spend Month - Week 1

In order to hold myself accountable for no spend month, I'm going to do a summary at the end of each week. This week was, of course, the easiest because it's exciting and new. I'm sure I'll be over it by the end of the month, but for now, I'm going strong!

There are a few policies Scotty and I put into place for our spending freeze.

First, we are still making purchases for our remodeling project, but the money for that project is completely separate from our normal monthly income. It is money that we have saved and set aside over the course of several months. One of the reasons we wanted to do no spend month was because we'd like to save up some more money to go toward our remodel.

Second, we decided that certain gift cards are okay to use but others are not. I'm not sure how to word this, but it's okay to use gift cards to do things like see a movie or eat at a restaurant, but it's not okay to use a gift card that can purchase groceries or goods. The reason we made this decision is because if we use a gift card to go buy groceries or goods, it keeps us from using what we have and staying within our $10 cushion. It feels a bit like cheating.

Last, we are allowed to roll over our $10 weekly cushion.

Here's how week 1 went:

Productive/Creative Tasks from This Week

• Cleaned out the pantry
• Started sorting through the basement and listing things for sale in the classifieds
• Participated in a medical study and earned $50
• Bartered with a friend - I gave her some food I bottled in exchange for a pot roast and some steak (I can veggies, she buys cows - we make a good team) 
• Got a FREE MEAL from Cafe Rio
• Found a mistinted quart of paint for $5 at Lowe's and renovated the downstairs bathroom
• Returned some things to Sam's Club

Things I Used Up

This month, I'm trying to use up some of the things from  my pantry and freezer that have been there a little too long (as opposed to "a lot too long" like the three bags of sunflower seeds that expired in 2014 that I threw out during my pantry cleaning).

• A box of instant potatoes

Things That are Running Low

With as much prepping as I did for this challenge, it's still inevitable that I will run out of things unexpectedly. These are things I've discovered we are running low on.

• Body wash/soap
• Butter
• Foundation (make-up) 

Temptations

• There is a pair of workout capris at Sam's Club that I really wanted to buy before I started this challenge, but I forgot.  

"Oops!" Moments

• I forgot that I have Nicky scheduled for a haircut next week. I'm hoping to use our $10 cushion for this. 

How I Spent My $10 Cushion

• $3.00 on candy bars. I needed chocolate. 

Things I Learned About Myself

• I tend to spend money to fight boredom 
• There are several times throughout the day that I suddenly get an idea to buy something completely unnecessary

In summary, I would say that we're doing really well so far, but the real challenge will be when we start running out of the "good food," and we have to start getting creative with what to eat.