How to Successfully Freeze Your Spending

February's Spend-Freeze

This month our family is not spending ANY money!!!

Well.. almost.

We're on a spend-freeze.  Ever heard of one?  I had heard of several through different websites and different people in my Facebook feed attempting them.  It was an idea that really appealed to me.

The idea:  An entire family/household will freeze all spending for an entire month in order to save money.

I LOVE this idea!  After the overspending of Christmas, not spending anything always has great appeal.  The luring idea of balance.  If I overspend in December, I will balance it by under spending in a different month. 

In 2014 I brought this crazy idea to my husband.  To my surprise he was good with it!   Of course my husband didn't realize that I was completely serious when I told him this plan.  He only agreed to make me happy.  Ha ha!  He thought I'd figure this idea was too difficult and abandon the whole idea.  I didn't.  So I decided that January last year (2015) was going to be a Spend-Freeze month.   I laid down some ground rules, planned ahead in a few areas and we did it!

The month was tough.  Especially by the end.  But we prevailed!  And had an extra $1500 in our account to show for it!!  So with the success of a one month Spend-Freeze in 2015, I announced to my husband that we would do THREE months of Spend-Freeze in 2016.  And shockingly he said yes!  I think for him the bottom line is the bottom line.  He liked that our spending was reigned in (perhaps more specifically MY spending.  But I digress...) and I enjoyed the thrill of finding creative solutions instead of spending money. 

All credit cards and debit cards...into the freezer!

The Rules

Any good plan has rules or guidelines to help keep you focused on the goal ahead.  Our goal:  Save money by not spending it!  (Crazy eh?)  Now, we can't COMPLETELY stop spending.  We do have responsibilities of course. 

First, we have bills, such as water, heat, electricity, etc.  We cannot avoid paying those.  Well, technically we could, but we don't want to.  We like indoor plumbing and we like being able to cook with the oven.  So those things MUST still be paid for. 

Second, there are costs incurred with having a job.  My husband must drive to work and pay for parking.  Of course we will limit driving as much as possible (and perhaps walk or bike instead) but getting to work is necessary!  So those costs MUST still be paid for.

Third, we need food.  This is where you and your family will differ from mine or others who participate in a Spend-Freeze.  When we completed our first Spend-Freeze, the only money we spent on food was for milk and bananas.  The rest of the food we ate was from our pantry.  And for me it was a wonderful glimpse into how life would have been for pioneers.  They only had their larder to last them through the winter.  They did not import their fruits and veg.   But back to the rule at hand; we will limit what we spend on food.  For the first two weeks we will buy only milk and bananas.  For the last two weeks a maximum of $20 will be allocated for fresh fruit and veg.  This allocation is mainly to help with the kids' lunches for school.

Edit: We changed the rules slightly after being on our Spend-Freeze for one week.  We opted to buy milk, bananas and yogurt once a week.  This is less than $20 per week for groceries.  Our fresh fruit and veg lasted three weeks!  So we ate canned fruit and veg for the last week. 

Planning Ahead

We didn't just leap into this Spend-Freeze month without looking.  I make sure we're stocked up on the basics.  I check facial tissue and toilet paper levels to be sure we won't run out.   I fill our pantry whenever an item we frequently eat goes on sale.  So I work at filling our pantry within our regular monthly budget.  That means that any money saved during our spend-freeze really is money saved not just money owed to the budget from the month previous.

Stocking up on essentials.

The cupboards are not bare.... until the end of the month.

Added Benefits of a Spend-Freeze

Having done this once before, I am familiar with some of the added benefits of not spending.  These are the benefits that we easily miss when we run to the store to solve our problems instead of taking time to figure out an alternate solution.  Don't know what I mean?  Here are some examples:

Problem: A piece from this toy set is missing or broken!

Solution: Throw it out and buy a new one.

Problem: All of Jackson's pant knees have holes! 

Solution: Thrown them out and buy new ones.

Problem: The fridge is overrun with leftovers!  

Solution:  Throw them out and buy more food.

Sadly, in our consumer-built society, the solution is often "throw it out and buy a new one".  I hate that.  But if you're in a spend-freeze you need to find a creative solution.  And a FREE creative solution at that!

(Many of the choices I make on a daily basis are to prevent items going in the trash.  I'll elaborate on these choices in April - the 22nd is Earth Day!  I know that all things are finite and that this is the only Earth we're going to get.  So let's take care of her!)

Here is short list of added benefits I've experienced:

1. Being creative. 

2. Being proud of self-accomplishments.  Not just of completing an experiences few attempt to do but also of all the creative solving I will have done.

3. Being content.  I no longer looked without for happiness.  I make do with what I had.

4. Feelings of gratitude.  A few times friends helped out by donating a head of lettuce or a pair of pants.  I was so thankful for those small items where normally I wouldn't have thought much of it.

5. Making room for God to provide.  Our God has richly blessed our nation.  Anything I want I can purchase.  Albeit on credit, but still, I don't need to wait. I can have it now!  That leaves very little room for witnessing God's provision.  But if you are longing for fresh fruit, and a friend provides a fresh fruit snack during a visit, it is an answer to prayer.  Truly! You will see the hands of God moving to provide for you and your family.  It really is amazing.

So what do you think? 

Join us on this fun journey!  

There are so many benefits to a Spend-Freeze.  More than I've listed above.  I'll be journaling our experiences once a week for this month so be sure to check back.  If you're still unsure of this whole thing, then follow along with us this month and try it for yourself in future months.  Our future spend-freeze months (planned for as of today) are the months of July and September.  These months should be easier/cheaper as our garden should be yielding vegetables by then.

Happy thoughts!

Andrea


Please leave any questions/comments below in the comments sections or on my Facebook page here.

Links
How To Freeze your Spending - Week 1
How To Freeze your Spending - Week 2
How To Freeze your Spending - Week 3
How To Freeze your Spending - Final Week