Welcome to the weekly Spend-Freeze
update. On February 1st 2016 I posted what a Spend-Freeze is
all about. I outlined the rules we will strictly follow for the rest of
the month. The purpose is to stop our needless spending and save
money.
Week Four - The Final Week!
We did it! We lasted four weeks (plus one day) on
our Spend-Freeze! The whole month of
February!! Well, mostly. There were a
couple of bumps in the road. A couple of
cheats. But they were minor. We corrected ourselves, got back on track,
and saved some moola. Woohoo! I'll share the break down of what we were
able to save in a moment. First, how did
we manage in our last week?
We ran out of many things. We ran out of juice for the kids. We ran out of eggs, ketchup, fresh fruit (minus
bananas), fresh veg (minus carrots, potatoes and squash), crackers, baby
wipes and packaged snacks I use for the kid's lunches. We
came precariously close to running out of toilet paper, peanut butter and
diapers (again!). The fridge,
freezer and cupboards were looking bare.
Food
Monday - Macaroni and cheese with ham
and cut carrots and pickles
Tuesday - Chicken with Potato
fries and Squash
Wednesday - Ham and White bean
soup
Thursday - Potato soup
Friday - Pancakes with Sausage and
canned fruit
Saturday - Invited over to eat with
family
Sunday - Chili
Monday - Chicken with macaroni and
cheese, cubed squash and carrots
Not only were we running out of
food (and meal options!) but we also received results from Jackson 's blood test. He
had been suffering from tummy pains for several months. Doctors ruled out appendicitis but not the
cause of the pain. He was sent for blood and stool tests. The results showed a high intolerance for 20 different foods including
wheat, oats, milk, eggs, rice, and legumes (which include peanuts). Not to mention his pre-existing soy allergy. This was difficult news. Poor kid cried when I told him we needed to
cut out many foods he loved. What was I
going to feed him? Thankfully I had a
few cups of dark rye flour on hand. I
was able to make him a loaf of bread and some pancakes. He was happy again once he knew he could have
pancakes. Just two days after cutting
out all intolerances he stopped complaining of tummy troubles. We no longer needed to dose him daily with Tylenol
and Advil. And his anxieties (fear of
the dark and fear of being alone) subsided too.
Though it has been trying, having answers and developing a solution
were far better than the constant pain.
Shopping
In the past I worked in
retail. All forms of retail. Including a grocery store. I know all the tricks of merchandising
products to entice customers. These
tricks are known to most of us. Yet we fall for them all the time. I am as guilty as the next for making impulse
purchases and I knew going to the store
for the first time in a month would make me more vulnerable to doing so. Having done without for a few weeks
strengthened my desire to purchase items, not dampen it as I had thought.
On my first shopping trip (this
morning March 1st!) I didn't want to undo all the hard work we'd done this
month. We'd done without so we could
save money. I didn't want to "make up"
for the lack of spending by going spend-crazy.
The best way to do this was to ease in.
I decided to purchase only a few items that we were out of and really
needed. I wrote out a list and stuck to
the list. I bought apples, juice, ketchup,
toilet paper, more bananas, diapers, wipes and some pharmacy items. I did impulse buy fresh strawberries and
cucumbers. I will grocery shop again on
Saturday (my usual shopping day).
Overall I spent less than $50. I
hope I can maintain this level of spending control for a while yet.
Emotions
This last week was more
emotionally difficult than I expected. Because I felt poor. I really had to work to plan out our meals
with what we had. I knew I couldn't go
to the store. And it made me feel
poor. This week was likely more
difficult for me since I've experienced poverty before.
When I was growing up my family and I lived below the poverty line for a
time. It reminded me of those
times. Of course my current situation
was created by my own limitations. My own imposed rules. We had
money in the bank. I had money I could
spend. This week broke my heart for
those who don't. It broke for those who
are truly struggling to make it to the end of the month on the little income
they have.
I watched the documentary "Kelly and her sisters grow up" on youtube about a Mother in the UK struggling to make ends meet for herself and her kids. I found it very insightful. I've never had to deal with poverty that severe.
When I went to the store this
morning I thought I would feel elated. I
thought I would be so very happy to be able to shop again. Instead I felt pulled to buy as much as I
could. I felt I should stock up on
anything and everything in that store. I
guess I felt as a starving person would feel if they were suddenly put in front
of a buffet. I needed it all! I needed to take it all! Are these survival instincts? Is that what I was feeling? Though I was not starving, I felt deprived
and so had a strong desire to overindulge so I could bring myself back to
balance. It was a very odd feeling. A feeling I had to work hard to keep in check.
Money
So how much did we save? After all that was the point of this
month.
We saved roughly $720!!
This is a rough amount because we
have set our bills up for automatic payment.
That means there is money being pulled out of our account each week of
the month to pay for different services (car insurances, heating bill,
electricity bill, etc.). We saved
more last time we completed a Spend-Freeze because we were spending much more
in a month than we do now. I've worked
hard to lower our grocery bill and other spending.
We'll use the money we saved to
pay for a new bathroom. Read this post for more details on the state of our current bathroom.
In Closing
Yes we saved money! Yes we get a new bathroom! It was worth doing without and sacrificing
for one month to accomplish our goal.
If you are thinking of trying a
Spend-Freeze, I recommend that you do!
If you're a bit nervous, try doing a one week, two week or three week
Spend-Freeze first. Ease yourself in. I do find the best way to do something is to
go all in. Gather courage and jump
in! Pull the band-aid off in one
quick motion! You can do it!! And you'll be glad you
did.
Happy thoughts,
Andrea
What will I do with all the
side benefits and emotions caused by this Spend-Freeze? I don't know.
I'll need some time to think through and contemplate all that I've felt
and learned this month. Is God leading me to something? Somewhere? I don't know. Only He and time will tell. God bless!
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