by Claire
These holiday weekends used to mean spending money! I look back and marvel at how money would just fly out of our hands—starting with eating out Friday night…filling Saturday with shopping for random stuff…buying lots of food for a cookout for lots of friends on Sunday or Monday….maybe taking a day trip somewhere and spend spend spend!!!
This holiday weekend we are looking forward to having no money spending plans. I actually want to rest and catch up on Madmen via Netflix. I think I am a solid 2 seasons behind! We also made plans with another couple that is trying to join the “debt payoff” club. We are going to get together and have a budget driven holiday cookout with the challenged issued of not buying anything new for the get together. We agreed if that means we are eating totally random stuff that doesn’t really “go together” because it is stuff we already have—all the more fun! A financial support group of sorts.
It is so refreshing to be candid about debt. It isn’t easy mind you—but it is so nice to be out in the open about our struggles and to share the excitement of our plan to pay it off. So many people are in a dark place with debt and would die at just the thought of sharing the ugliness of debt out loud. Remember….the truth will set us free! I anticipate we will have so much more fun with our friends as we cut corners on fun and realize we are not alone.
Born and raised in Texas. I’ve at least driven through every state in the US courtesy of a roadtrip loving Dad.
I’m single with two children and a good parenting relationship with their father.
I am a “life is just half full of funny” kinda gal. Humor is my saving grace and I am thankful for it every single day. I have a strong Catholic faith and am thankful for that foundation.
I read a lot for a living but still enjoy a good book. I love biographies but in recent years have found the need for fun fictional books–sadly, for a long time I just didn’t enjoy fiction!
I love live theatre of any kind–from local productions to Broadway.
I love to scrapbook and pride myself in my kids’ albums.
I love being a mom but also love my career. I’m blessed to have found a balance allowing me to be at everything my kids need and want me to be at–while also having a career.
Favorite Quotes: Well behaved women rarely make history.
Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. -James Bryant Conant
It is always great to have support around you, especially since paying off debt is not a quick process for most.
Your meal challenge reminds me of something I do as well. When its near the end of the month and I’m down to very little grocery $, I try to see how long I can go without going to the store. Its kinda fun – it gets your creative juices flowing. Our one rule breaker in this game is that we are allowed to ask my sister down the street for a basic ingredient like milk or an egg or two. But we can’t take more than we need, and we must recipricate when it comes up. Its amazing how much convenience we buy – bread, tortillas, milk even! Most folks have a lot more food in their homes than they realize (you just have to take the effort to make it!).
Have a great, spend-free weekend!
Your weekend cookout with friends sounds really fun. Most people love a challenge, especially one that saves them money! 🙂
I’m a lot like you – looking back on what this type of weekend used to be. It almost makes me sick to think of all the other things I could have been doing with that money. I think we get a sort of entitlement mentality and think we deserve to have all those things, even exorbitant cookouts.
It’s so easy to get sucked into the “Having fun means spending money” mindset. But especially this time of year, there are so many amazing outdoor activities you can do that are free or very inexpensive.