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There have been lots of writers here on BAD who have utilized a No Spend Month to make progress in their debt payoff journey. Here are just a few of them:

Parents Coming to Visit and No Spend Challenge

Doing it again – No Spend September

How the “No Spend Challenge” Can Help You Get out of Debt

Preparing for a No Spend Month

I have decided to try for 2 months of no spending. Of course, I had decided to try this and then my heat went out. But I do plan to move forward.

Prepared for No Spend

I prepared for this by reviewing my pantry to see if I have the food to last. (And my dad sent me a package from Omaha Steaks as a Christmas gift.)

Reviewed events and needs to make sure there was nothing out of the ordinary on the horizon.

And committed to NOT SPENDING for the next two months.

Setting Myself Up for Success

I believe that starting the year with this mindset accompanied by starting my new part time job are setting myself up for success on the financial front. Between my now 3 part time jobs + any additional project work I can pick up, I should be quite busy. Hopefully.

I am going to take a BAD commenter’s advice and do a weekly post about all spending which should be all bills. This will help hold me accountable.

One Setback

In addition to the heat debacle, I am facing, there has been one additional setback. The project I was to complete this over the new year holiday was put on hold…again! So the payment, a large payment I expected to receive around mid-month has been delayed again. (This has been a constant issue with this client/project that was originally contracted in August, 2023.) The timetable is once again up in the air. Which means, that the bills I anticipated covering easily for the next month-ish may be more challenging than I planned. However, there is another iron in the fire for more work that I am quite hopeful about. I will keep you posted.

Hope

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.

The First Opportunity of 2024 – Heat

by Hope

I can’t remember if I wrote about my heat going out on 12/22, the morning after History Buff arrived for Christmas.

Thankfully things worked out in my favor and we had heat for Christmas.

First, I had been in touch with my trusted HVAC person in the fall to have him check out my AC. He tested it out for me and let me know that he was shutting down his business. Thankfully, I asked them for a referral to a new service. Although, I had yet to contact them.

So when I awoke to no heat, I called them immediately. And gratefully, he came out that day AND I received a check from a client that day.

$180 and we had heat for Christmas.

He did warn me that he wasn’t sure how long it would last. It lasted almost 2 weeks, until this morning. We woke up to 59 degrees in the house and 28 degrees outside.

fire in fireplace — I wish we had a fireplace. Our home is small enough that it would heat the entire thing easily.

Not Going to Panic

My first thought was panic. I have $100 in savings and about $50 cash. No money for a new furnace, let alone another repair bill.

But this is a new year and I’m determined to have a new attitude and outlook. So we are looking at this as an opportunity. Not sure what for, but there’s going to be a lesson and a blessing from this. I just have to watch for them!

I’ve contacted the new HVAC contractor again. (And have gotten additional recommendations for him since I used him last month, so I’m feeling good about being in the right hands.) And they are going to go take a look while I’m at work today. We will see what they have to say.

No More Debt

One of my Not Going to Happens for 2024 is no new debt. What do I do here?

I have a soft estimate for a new furnace at $2,600. Waiting on a firm quote from the contractor. Needless to say, I do not have that.

Here are the options I think I have. I’m happy to hear if you have other thoughts:

Borrow some electric space heaters and save til I have enough for a replacement.
See if they can patch my existing unit and if I can afford that to make it through this year. (I’m not hopeful this is an option, but I have to consider everything.)
Ask a friend/family member to put it on a credit card, giving me 30 days to come up with the money to pay it off. This is too close to more debt in my mind.
See if the contractor offers a payment plan. Again, more debt that I do not want to take on.

I am leaning toward option #1 and plan to start making some calls this afternoon. If we weren’t at the very beginning of winter, we would just make it through, and I would have the year to save for a new one. But this winter is supposed to be a cold one. And nights are in the 20-30’s and days in 40-50’s for the foreseeable future.

But I am grateful…I sleep for 4 big dogs. I am plenty warm at night. And Beauty has a new heated blanked on her bed so she’s cozy as well. Grateful for little things in the face of this.