- It was nice to clean out my pantry - some of the things in there I was thinking, "did I actually buy this?"
- Helped me with meal planning and I was more aware of the total on all those grocery receipts
- Gained a lot of weight this month. Yeah, I know I'm pregnant, but I really popped this month and I felt like it was because my choices were less healthy. Isn't it the worst that the healthy stuff is more expensive it seems?
- Thought I could do without candy. Nope. Managed to fit it in the budget. But it was certainly limited. Also thought I could do without string cheese. Nope, didn't succeed on that either. I steered clear of juice though, which is something that we (mostly Brandon) go through so quickly in our house.
- Spent a lot of time thinking about gift-giving family "policies" because May had a lot of birthdays. I felt like doing handmade gifts for everyone, but why punish the May birthdays just because I'm doing a spending fast?! I feel like they expect me to spend the amount they're going to spend on me. So I stuck with our normal budget, but I got to thinking that we spend a LOT of money on gifts. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being generous - I just figure that a gift should be more about thought and effort and less about the amount spent. And my solution is that I am proposing a new gift-giving "policy/budget" for next year where the focus will be more on the kids and less on the adults. Also, if I am not required to spend a certain amount, then I can shop the sales and hopefully I can make it more thoughtful and not just about spending a certain amount.
- I realized I go through a lot of ziploc bags, but they make me happy because it means less tupperware dishes and I can throw a half cut up tomato in there and actually see it the next time I open the fridge (colored tupperware was not a smart idea for me because if I can't see it, then I won't likely come back to it).
- Went over on my cell phone minutes. I guess less shopping meant more time to call and chat with family and friends. But there was also a lot to talk about this month!
- Found activities with Rachel that were free - we got a lot of library, park and pool time this month (nice to have friends with community pools - just one of the benefits of living in the desert). And I did better at not buying things for her at the store as a reward/bribe for being good. It's hard to help a toddler understand why they can't get something at every store when they are watching us fill up the cart with items to buy.
- The only eating out spending happened at Little Caesar's (sometimes it's just too hot to cook and heat up the house) and it's our favorite $5 pizza. And we also went to Wendy's to celebrate the last day of Rachel's binky right after she gave it away.
5 comments:
I am 100% with you on the gift thing. Scott's family has SOOOO many people that it is impossible to do big gifts. With all Scott's siblings we do cards and phone calls to each other to show we're thinking of the birthday person, one sister always makes a homemade treat for locals which is super thoughtful and sweet. We spend less than 5 dollars for kiddo gifts. It's great. I think we need to adopt something similar for our family. Good job on your spending fast. Looking back on my spending for May it would probably be a good idea for me to follow your example.
Bravo! You did great! I'm impressed!
good. so glad you updated on this. i've pretty much done the grocery spending fast since april and i love it. seriously, i've spent less than $220/month on groceries and it feels great. really, the thing that makes the difference is planning out my menu and only going to the store on mondays. that's it. it has helped. i'm going to do my own spending fast post, but it will definitely be inspired by yours. thanks for sharing!
Way to go! I'm also with you on the gift thing. It's a tricky thing because no one wants to be the first to say they want to spend less money, but I think a lot of people feel the same way.
Eva recommended a book called "Hundred Dollar Christmas". It's about moving away from worrying about how much money you're spending on gifts and moving toward more meaningful gift-giving. It's geared toward Christmas, but it applies to any gift-giving situation. It's a super quick read if you want to look into it.
Way to go! I'm so proud of you. I agree about the weight gain. It just stinks that the healthier stuff is more expensive. I gained during my spending fast as well.
I also agree about the gift giving. Thankfully Jason and his siblings have an agreement that they don't exchange gifts, ever. It is quite nice. My siblings and I give gifts if we happen to find something they will really love but I don't feel obligated to give a gift that cost a certain amount. I agree with Danielle that it's hard to be the first one to suggest it.
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