Matt and I agreed on a shopping and spending hiatus for February. With our move in October, then the holidays and Harper’s birthday it has felt like money was flying out the door. I always forget about those little expenses of setting up a house that seem to add right up. We have a big family wedding in New Jersey this summer and lots of little trips planned around that so we decided to button it on up for February. We are also really really wanting to get a second car this year and being the Dave Ramsey aficionados that we are, have some aggressive savings goals. We’ve done a no-spend month before and it is so simple but so effective. Although, the last time we did one Matt was still in school, we didn’t have kids and things were a little more shoestring on the budget front with my tiny income. Now that we’ve paid off the last of our grad school loans we’ve gotten a little lax with the budget.
I laid out the plan at the beginning of the month and Matt cleverly dubbed it Fun-Free February. It’s pretty simple but surprisingly challenging: no spending on clothes, accessories, home, dining out, random Amazon purchases and other non-necessities. With this month’s meal plan I’m really trying to use what we have in the fridge and freezer to limit our grocery budget. I’ve gotten really lazy just popping by Trader Joe’s after the gym if nothing sounded that great to me on the menu for the day.
The first week was not super fun, as it seems like Target decided to roll out all of their cute summer décor and patio stuff out in tandem with our spending hiatus. Of course BabyGap and all of the other places were having sales too but I stayed strong! I realize this all sounds very much like first world problems (which, hello, they are!) and there are people who are just trying to make ends meet but it’s been enlightening to see how I’ve gotten in a cycle of just buying whatever I want whenever, not really thinking it through. Thinking back, I can’t even remember what romper or little thing from Target that I wanted.
I’ve also been using this month to go through the last of our unpacked moving boxes and toss, donate or put away the stuff. If we haven’t even seen it or used it in the last three months, it’s probably time to part with it. I’m just trying to organize and use what we already have before bringing in more stuff. I’ve really been enjoying the declutter series from a Handmade Home. They have a little bigger home than us but it’s a nice reminder that I don’t have to sell all the things or do all the rooms at once, just a little each week makes a huge difference (especially in our small-ish space).
So that’s what’s happening around our place. I’d love to hear about your no-spend adventures or decluttering and organizing tips!
