7/26/17

No Spend Month...A Few Things

I'm having a no spend July and all my blogging this month will be about managing the financial side of home life. I'm sharing what I'm learning and ideas about saving, spending wisely, and generally being responsible with our resources.

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I have a confession. I bought something.


I have been stalking this GAP, 100% cotton open cardigan that has been out of stock for quite some time because it's awesome and everybody wants one.

The other day it popped up in an ad in my sidebar. When I clicked over, my size available in one color - the gray. I had to snag it, on sale for $15. Open cardigans are my favorite, and it's very difficult to find one that's not made out of synthetic materials.

I'm a cotton girl through and through.

This was worth the splurge.
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My goal for groceries this month was to spend only $600. I had a ton in my freezer that needed to get eaten and I wanted to challenge myself to not be so lazy in the kitchen and to really stretch our food supply. I'm so close to the finish line! I have enough food to get us to the end of the month and $40 left in the budget. I think I can...I think I can...


One little tip if you love tomatoes as much as we do, save the little bits and leftovers and freeze them in a plastic bag. Also, if a tomato is mealy or partly bad you can salvage the good part and freeze it. Later you can use them in soups or pasta sauces. Lately I've been making pizza sauce with our freezer tomatoes bits.

Don't waste! Food is $$.

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This month, I evaluated the money we spend on subscriptions. I decided that my Audible subscription of 2 books per month is definitely a keeper. My 8 year old Stephen and I enjoy it the most.


I'm currently listening to and LOVING America's First Daughter.

Stephen is on the second Harry Potter.

A subscription I decided to cancel was to a Pilates site that was costing $13/month. I wasn't using it much any more. It was perfect to jump start my exercise plan when I was struggling with the craziness of school. But lately I have been walking in the evenings and finding great workouts on YouTube.

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Over all I'm loving the no spend month. It's not as hard as I thought it would be, and I find it very freeing to not have to decide or agonize about spending. Of course, it's not sustainable. I have to buy things. But the spending break has brought so much clarity and taught me how to be more disciplined with money.

3 comments:

  1. I'm always thrilled when I see a new post. I LOVE the sweater and am thrilled that Stephen is loving audible (and I have to read/hear "America's First Daughter").

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  2. That's a pretty sweater! But I find myself always tugging and pulling together open cardis! I like buttons - I usually button one or two buttons in the middle. I don't like to keep fidgeting with my clothes - so I'd like to hear more about your love of open cardigans!

    Good tip on tomatoes! I usually use my stick blender to puree them first before I freeze. Another tip I've heard (that I've never actually done) is to freeze whole tomatoes. You can pull the skin right off when you defrost them apparently. I would do this if we were leaving home on a trip and I had fresh tomatoes and no time.

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