No Spend February Update

I am a little more than halfway through my month of no spending.  To remind you of the rules, I am paying required bills like utilities but am not going to the grocery store and have tried to eliminate discretionary spending.  I am not eating out without a gift certificate.  No haircut or manicures.  Gym membership, Audible membership and some premium cable channels cancelled.  (The kids threatened a revolt if certain channels were removed.)  I am trying to keep driving to a minimum.  Here is a summary of the first 14 days.  Notes from the editor/Paul are in red.

Exceptions I have made so far:

• My nephew was on homecoming court (Congrats Aidan!) so I paid admission

into a high school basketball game                                                                                           $5

• My niece played in the IHSAA Girls Basketball

Regional (Go Adi and the NE Dubois Jeeps!).  I

drove to and from the game, two hours away,

which meant extra gas.                                                                                  Approximately $20

• I bought Turbo Tax to do our tax return                                                                      $70

 

• Paul bought hamburger patties to take to a family event                                           $18

(She caught me at the grocery store.  I never knew grocery shopping could cause so much shame!)

Things we are out of:

• Seasoning salt (How is a guy supposed to cook without spices??!!)
• Lipton Onion Soup Mix (The roast was a disappointment)
• Fresh fruit
• Bread
• Milk expires tomorrow (Thank goodness I like my coffee black)

 

Things I miss:

• Fresh vegetables
• The church fish fry
• Chips (Thank you Ryan and Ali for the emergency bag of corn chips)
• Bananas and grapes

 

Things I am doing on March 1:

• Taking my car to the car wash
• Getting a manicure
• Grocery shopping
• Eating sushi

As you can see, the refrigerator is starting to look a little bare.  We have made a slight dent in the supply of canned goods in the pantry.

Cooking dinner is a little less exciting but conversations about what to make have certainly been interesting.  “Why and when did we buy stove top stuffing?”  “Is the expiration date on the can a suggestion or a hard deadline?”  “Why do we have 6 different kinds of vinegar?” 

Next weekend is going to be a bit of a challenge as we are attending a family carry in.  We spent 15 minutes brainstorming what we might have to take along.  (Dear family, we hope you like beer bread and pasta salad.)

So far I would say it has been kind of fun to limit ourselves.  But is it also not that difficult to make sacrifices when you know something only lasts 28 days.  (I am bored with saltine crackers and popcorn for snacks.  Something stronger than beer may be necessary to get me through!)  We are over half way through…hoping for a very clean pantry on the 28^th.

At last inventory  I still have two onions left. I have been rationing them like they were my last cup of water, while walking across death valley, in a parka and mukluks, in the middle of August!