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No Spend Week

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I’ve got a couple big deadlines right now with work that have been eating up my time, so this will have to be a quick update.

Remember how on the toddler birthday post I mentioned that we went over our grocery budget and I had instituted a no-spend week for the last week (really about week and a half) of the month? I wanted to give an update on how its been going.

So far, it hasn’t been too bad. We had a lot of leftover food from the birthday party so I’ve been eating a hot dog every day for lunch (luckily, there are about a million different ways to dress up a hot dog, so it actually hasn’t been too boring). We also have a couple chicken sausages still left that I’m planning to chop up and put into a pasta dish for dinner tonight (they need to get eaten!)

I also had a big pork butt roast in the freezer that I’ve been making into different meals. The first night we had it as a roast (with carrots and potatoes I already had on hand as sides). Then I shredded all the remaining pork and split it into two halves. Half of the remains are destined for pulled BBQ pork sandwiches (we have some hamburger buns in the freezer we can use), and the other half were made into carnitas tacos (I make homemade tortillas).

Perhaps the hardest part has been trying to figure out what to do with the girls all day. It’s so hot that its not safe to be outside playing for more than 5 minutes and I often used “grocery shopping” as a crutch for a thing we could do to fill our time. I don’t want to spend a bunch of money for the children’s museum or other paid events. Instead, we’ve gone to the play area at the mall, story time at the library, and to play at the children’s area at my new gym. We’ve also gone to the pool once (we have a community pool that’s free for us), and had one play date with friends. You may be wondering what’s with all the activities for the toddlers…..I’ve had them for about 2 weeks solid now (no daycare). That’s a whole other story for a whole other post so I won’t got into that here. Hopefully it’s not like this for long, but that’s the current state of affairs.

I’ve got to run but I’d wanted to give this little update.

 

Is anyone else on a no-spend week (or month)? Any tips on how you get by?


15 Comments

  • Reply Tania |

    Well, not so much a tip as it is a cheat… but try just NOT to go to the grocery or other stores for the longest time. Plan mayb 1-2 trips a week, and if you didnt catch it then, dont get it (unless it’s urgent). Also helps to take inventory of what you have, so you can get it during a trip. You’d be surprised how much less you buy when you go a lot less frequently. But sorry, no ideas for the girls… no community pools around or any that you could borrow (like slides, etc?). Good luck on your no spend week!

    • Reply Ashley |

      This is so true! I know I saw this somewhere else (I think Mr. Money Mustache has written about it??) and its absolutely true – the less you go, the less you buy! Even if you think “I just need this 1 thing”…it almost never happens! Much better to space out the trips: go less often, buy less stuff, spend less money! : )

  • Reply Kayla @ Shoeaholicnomore |

    Now that I’m living on a very strict budget, I usually only go to Walmart once/month and to the grocery store every Sunday. This has helped me to not be so tempted to buy unnecessary “impulse” items. I can’t spend money on impulses if I’m not there.

  • Reply mary m |

    Our library has storytime, and also has a “discovery room” that is open certain hours. We spend time there when it’s rainy/wet outside.

    do you have any co-op indoor play places? There are a couple of churches in our town that have it. It’s a small fee (I think the one near us is $30 for 3 months?) and it’s open 2 or 3 days a week in the morning. It’s a co-op because you have to help with clean up and what not on a scheduled basis. Might be worth looking into!

  • Reply Gwen |

    Ashley, as the mother to a 16 month old daughter I can relate to a lot of your struggles. I also live in Phoenix, so I know how hard it is to keep cool and busy during the summer. I recently bought a membership to the Children’s Museum and feel like it was money very, very well spent. There are lots of things for my daughter to do (She is happy entertained for 2+ hours) and it’s air conditioned. I was hard paying the membership upfront but I know we’ll go often enough to make it worth it.

    • Reply Ashley |

      I considered a children’s museum membership last summer but opted against it ultimately. I think the thing I’d be most worried about is the twin aspect (moreso than the cost). I generally do “outings” like this alone since my husband works most days (including weekends). But the girls are always running in opposite directions and, as toddlers, don’t listen very well. I have a hard time finding things to do, for free, where I feel like I could “handle” it by myself. It’s really a safety thing. For example, I would definitely be at the pool more often if I could (its free and only about a couple blocks away), but I only feel comfortable doing that with a 1:1 adult-to-toddler ratio, so I would never do it alone. It can make things tough!

      • Reply Gwen |

        I hear ya! know that our museum has a 3 and under room that is gated and staffed on both sides-meaning toddlers can run around and explore but they are somewhat “contained” and can’t get too far.

  • Reply TPol |

    Making a list and sticking to it helps a lot along with shopping with a full stomach.

  • Reply Den |

    Can you join an informal play group? We did this and met at each others houses each Friday morning for a play date – rotated with 5 other families. It was nice to get out of the house, play with other kids toys, chat with other parents, and low cost or no cost!

    Our library also has free movies on Wednesdays, our local bowling alley has free bowling for kids (not sure on the age), we have splash parks in the neighborhood to keep cool…..or we just turned the sprinkler on for back yard fun. I also remember a lot of Kool-Aid popsicles!!!

    Regarding the no spend week – I have a pet peeve. We’ll do a no grocery shopping/spend week to eat up pantry and freezer food, but then the following week we’ll spend twice as much restocking and getting fresh food again….not sure it’s worth it for us (3 teenagers), but best wishes for you to make it until July 1st.

    • Reply Ashley |

      Spending extra after the “no-spend” week can be tough! I think it requires some strategic planning to make sure you won’t need to stock up on everything the following week. I definitely try to do this, but it can be difficult. Fortunately, our no-spend week this time backs up into our out-of-town trip so I don’t think I’ll be stocking up since we’re about to be leaving.

  • Reply Misti Olszewski |

    Do any local churches host a Moms Day Out? Your girls would get some play time and you would get some adult time.

  • Reply OC Budget |

    those are good ideas. I have a no spend week coming up after fourth of july week also.

  • Reply Sandra |

    Ashley, when we return from the grocery, I pay myself for the coupons and store savings shown on the receipt — ultimately to be used as a Christmas Fund. However, I keep the receipts and coupon money in a Ziplock at home until the following month when it is deposited into savings at the bank. I like having a little I can “borrow” from if need be to get through a tight month and then replace it next month, especially if I find a particularly good sale on something in the current month or we have unexpected company, etc. This is an unbudgeted item made solely of whatever savings I can find during the month. ‘Great to pay cash for some or all of Christmas or just make it a little nicer.

    • Reply Ashley |

      Thats a great idea! I’ve heard of others who say they keep the store savings in an actual savings (because otherwise…what are you really “saving” since you still use up the full budget). I’ve never tried this, but like the idea!

  • Reply Chantal |

    We had become debt-free in time for my husband’s retirement in January 2013. We had spent the two previous years fixihg up our house: Nenew small car (paid for in cash) new air-conditioning and furnace, new roof, outside wall pointing, House painted outside and a big garden shed built.

    This left savings of $14,000 to replace both bathrooms. In the event this cost ca $3,000 more than expected–no surprise but an annoyance. The we replaced our small Hyundai car with a new Honda Pilot-$12,000 trade-in. Because we do a lot of pick-upping and carrying around and away; garden refuse, wood supplies, etc. we realized we needed either an SUV or a pick up truck again –the little car didn’t hack it.

    I mention all this because we were back in debt , including two credit cards for ca $2,500.
    So we’re back on mean living! Now this month our credit cards (AMEX and VIsa) are back to zero and we are paying 2 months’ worth each month on the Honda. Plus we are even enjoying a 1 week no food-buying at the end of every month (since This January) Having a freezer helps, along with a love of home-made soups.

    We hope to start now putting $1,000 in ready savings each month, which we used to do when he was still working–I retired from part-time work 5 years earlier. and keeping up double payments on the car. Our monthly net income is $5,450, made up of two social security checks and my husband’s pension. We are on medicare of course and have supplementary Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance from my husband’s former State employer.

So, what do you think ?