by Hope
We are almost at the end of our first week of our No Spend month. It has been really hard. It’s amazing how much you suddenly crave a candy bar and soda when you have committed to not spending any extra money! I have been very pleasantly surprised at how well the kids have taken to the challenge, especially Gymnast. Three nights a week we are an hour away from home until 9pm or later, I have gotten in the habit of getting him something to eat on the way home. He didn’t even blink when I reminded him about No Spend Month, and contentedly waited until we got home to eat. (I am keeping power bars in the car for him as there are times he really can’t wait to eat.)
We did eat out once, but in my defense, we did not spend any “money”…I had a gift card to Chic Fil A with $23 left on it. We used $18 to eat dinner one night while we were in South Carolina waiting on Sea Cadet to finish his Police Explorer meeting. It was a long day and I just couldn’t wait until 10pm when we got home to eat.
Next Week’s Budget
| 1099 | 10-Oct-17 | 150 |
| Groceries | 10-Oct-17 | -25 |
| Internet | 10-Oct-17 | -65 |
| Auto-Gas | 12-Oct-17 | -35 |
| 1099 | 13-Oct-17 | 850 |
| Savings | 13-Oct-17 | -85 |
| Allowance | 13-Oct-17 | -100 |
| Debt Pymt | 13-Oct-17 | -200 |
| Clothing | 13-Oct-17 | -250 |
| Debt Pymt | 13-Oct-17 | -250 |
Clothes Shopping
We go clothes shopping this weekend. Gymnast is going to wait until next week since he has a full schedule (the $250 in this upcoming week’s budget is part of last week’s $900 I had set aside, not in addition to.) They were all thrilled with their $250 budget, and I was thrilled that it left me with $150 to buy a few things for myself!
Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.
But life has a way of rewriting your plans.
A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.
Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.
Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.
She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.
I get that feeling of being so hungry you want to chew your arm off (or ‘hangry’) and not wanting to wait until 10PM to eat. Since the kids are probably at home before you leave for your evening activities, can they have a snack at home and take something with them to eat on the drive home? It would be fairly easy for them to pack a lunch (or dinner, in this case). Just needs to be something simple. You could even put something in a cooler if needed. You might have to get creative this month, but it’s something that you could plan for in your grocery shopping next month. Cheering you on that you will be able to stick to your no spending and be stronger for it at the end of the month.
Hi Hope
Really enjoying your regular posts .
What’s 1099?
And can you be a little bit more specific what the debt payments are for?
Wishing you all the best for the nö spend month