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No-Spend Month Series

October No-Spend Challenge Day 7: Week 1 Reflections (How We Saved $238.38)

Hello again, savvy savers! For today’s October No-Spend Daily Challenge, as part of the #31DayLWSZ Challenge, I want to discuss my experience with today’s prompt, reflecting on this past weeks savings victories, challenges, and learning curves. 

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So, thus far this month I was able to save a total of $238.38, and some of the ways I did this were by:

  • Pantry Organization
  • Utilizing On Hand Food Options To Help Make Weekly Menu Ideas Sheets
  • Learning Home to “Dine Out At Home”
  • Working on a personal #Choose30 Challenge to be more positive daily.
  • Rain-Check Shopping for next months needed coupon staples and groceries from this last weekend.
  • I clean off my Counter-tops

I did have a few set backs this week though. My husband needed to take the entire $80.00 cushion I set aside for this months produce and incidentals budget for an impromptu school robotics club he is the sponsor of, as well as the funds needed for an oil change (for his car that was suppose to have previously been taken care of). Mind you I was a little taken back to find my home stripped of cash, sodas, and my pre-purchased Halloween candy (candy and sodas to help supplement our family and his 14 students going with him on this trip). My saving grace? Three hours after he left for his day-trip, I received not one, but four ETSY shop orders (that I already had the materials on hand for, score!), which not only reimbursed my budget, but paid for the missing household staples, and set my savings goal ahead by $27.00!

So, all’s well that ends well here is the Roberts household. 

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As well here are a few ways I have been able to accomplish my no-spend goals this past week: 

  1. I woke up at 6:25 daily, walked my fur babies, showered, & dressed to my shoes. (Thanks, Flylady!)
  2. Worked on my daily Motivated Moms Planner.
  3. I read three review books. 
  4. I finished today’s Day 1-7 No-Spend Challenges!
  5. I enjoyed a free Chik-fil-a- frozen latte!
  6. I cooked from my pantry, eleven times.
  7. I walked for three miles every other day!
  8. I finished all of my daily blog posts on time!
  9. Read my daily devotional.
  10. I cleaned out my coupon cabinet, paper files for my ETSY business, and recycled numerous bins of random scraps of fabric around my craft room, too! 

My tally of last weeks savings are:

  • I was able to procure 16 new rain-checks savings $54.00 in savings.
  • I completed 2 surveys online via Ipsos-iSay, and earned a $1.00 towards my next Amazon gift code.
  • I eat at home thirteen times, saving our family $77.93. 
  • I recycled, upcycled, and composted one bins of deluge, and saved $1.20, the cost of 6 trash bags. 
  • I enjoyed a free Chik-fil-a frozen latte, for free, a savings of $2.99!
  • I received $32.98 worth of product review items, which can be placed in my home gift closet!
  • My family drank water for one, and saved $7.30, the cost of a five 2-liters of soda.
  • We made DIY fireplace starters, savings $12.98 over commercial pricing. 
  • We used earned gift card dollars at Sam’s Club to buy gas, saving us $20.04.
  • We made DIY hand sanitizer bottles, saving our family $7.98.
  • We made DIY wet dog food, saving out family $19.98 over a case of pet food cans. 

So, overall my family saved $238.38

This months savings goal remaining: $561.62 of our $800.00 goal for this month. 

All-in-all, I am pleased with this past weeks progress and will be thinking of new and better ways to save come the next three weeks ahead! Mind you this progress is in part due to my families use of earned and gifted survey cards; I’ve read a lot of people state that they will not be using them on the challenge, but for me and mine, we love them. I legitimize these cards as ALL were earned from taking surveys, using savings apps, or by wining contest, paid affiliate campaigns, and giveaways. Free money is just that, free

I’m excited to note that these funds will be able to be allocated for last-minute holiday gifts, holiday donations, and Angle Tree presents this holiday season. As well, a fourth of the funds from this challenge went towards my yearly savings goal for acquiring a rental property/tax sale in the year and a half to come.  I am proud of myself, and so proud of you all as well.

If you were able to follow along with this past weeks #31DayLWSZ challenge, I’d love to hear about it!

Here’s to Saving,

mbnlogosm

 

October No-Spend Month Day 6: 1-Hour Freezer Cooking Meals!

Hello again, savvy savers! For today’s October No-Spend Daily Challenge, as part of the #31DayLWSZ Challenge, I want to discuss my experience with today’s prompt, freezer cooking meals. 

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So, to begin. I’ve been making freezer cooking meals for several years. 

Here’s how it started – After a few year of being married I  began to become both a work-from-home legal position, as well as a full-time caretaker for my grandmother. This new season of life turned my ordinary world, my ordinary life into a busy chaotic whirlwind of facsimiles, schedule medicine sessions, cleaning, care-taking, all while trying to cook dinner for my family. Often times, when I had an especially busy exhausting day I would turn to fast food, or home cooked fast food for dinner like boxed Mac n Cheese, hot dogs, or dare I say cold cereal.

In my heart, I knew this wasn’t the food I wanted myself or my family to eat, but because of being mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted I took the proverbial  easy way out. It was during this time I heard about easy freezer meals, meal plans where in under a few hours I could cook, prep, and freezer crock-pot ready meals in under an hour, which would yield a months meals. I decided to try it out.

My first experience: I cooked for a whole morning in my kitchen, finished 30 meals, and was no worse the wear for having done so. I felt so wonderful and the rest of that month I didn’t dread the dinner hour. The biggest change? My husband was so happy to have real cooking again, he began requesting freezer-ready meals be placed onto our month menu planning sessions; this in turn spurned my love of freezer cooking. So, you may be thinking, are freezer-ready meals great for my family?

Make ahead freezer meals for a month are great for people:

  • Who have busy lives and don’t always have time to cook a nice meal.
  • People who eat at fast food a lot but want better healthy meals quick.
  • Brand new mothers who just had a baby and need to rest or enjoy every precious minute of a new one.
  • Folks who are sick, elderly or injured and cannot cook.
  • People on a limited budget.

What can be frozen and what cannot:

  • There are a few items that don’t freeze well: Lettuce, cucumbers, bean sprouts, and raw potatoes .
  • Egg-based products: Hard boiled eggs & Egg based sauces like mayonnaise will separate and curdle.

What containers are good to use for easy freezer meals:

  • Gallon or quart sized plastic or re-usable freezer safe bags.
  • Aluminum pans, with crimp lids.
  • Lidded plastic containers. 

Here is a list of my favorite freezer meals:

So, everyone I cannot tell you all how highly I recommend freezer cooking meals! So, if anyone has other great tips for freezer cooking, I’d love to hear about it.

Here’s to saving,

niki-name-design

 

 

October No-Spend Challenge Day 5: Stockpile Shop With Rain Checks!

Hello again, savvy savers! Can you believe it, we are almost a week into this no spending challenge! As I have already mentioned “meal swapping,” and “eating out at home on my Day 3 post for this months #31DayLWSZ challenge, I though I would have a different turn today. 

Today, I want to share with you one of my favorite ways to continue to “shop” for deals, particularly my weekend drugstore deals for my weekly scenarios, especially during my no-spend periods, and that is with rains-checks! Yes, rain-checks, a couponers best friend! 

So, why rain-checks?

For me, participating in this months #31DayLWSZ challenge was so potentially difficult is that while a spending freeze helps me put needed funds into other planned savings ventures for my husband and I, it does pose the problem of not allowing me to continually add to my home coupon stockpile. 

I do not buy groceries and goods on a weekly basis, instead I elect to buy goods below my price point, coupon shop on weekends, and use those staples to plan my weekly cleaning schedule, meal planning, and lunch preparations. I did not want to have to over budget for goods in November on missed deals in October, so with the help of rain checks and paired coupons, I can reserve my stockpile shopping trips until the end of this coming month, at my working, seasonal price points. 

As well, not only is requesting a rain-check, for not-currently-in stock items a handy way to save money on much needed household and pantry goods, but when you are in the midst of a no spending month, rain-checks can help you lock in deeply discounted items to use in spending weeks, too!

It’s like shopping for goods on an extended time line; you can lock-in your savings, and shop later, on your schedule!

A few general tips on rain-checks:

  • Make sure that the coupons you are using on the item you need a rain check for won’t expire before the store gets the items back in stock. 
  • Most stores allow you to use a rain check at a different location of the same store.
  • Rain checks are not redeemable at a different store.
  • You cannot get a rain check on Clearance Prices, at most stores.
  • When redeeming your rain check, be courteous of the checker and let them know you will be using one–BEFORE they start to ring you up; they are going to need to manually enter in the amount.

So, here is what I do:

1) As I live in a small town, I wait until the last day of the current sale week, or in my case, the end of the week when the hottest weekly deals, freebies, and offers are sure to be sold out during no-spend months, and then go to each store and ask for rain-checks for each and every one of the offers that I will still be able to redeem later; this means your rain-check window of opportunity is generally Friday-Saturday for drugstores, Saturday afternoons for grocery store deals which sale cycles renew on Sunday’s, and Tuesday evenings for stores that have new Wednesday sale cycles.

2) I ask for offers where I will be able to later pair with a coupon; if your paired coupon will expire by the end of your no-spend month period, skip that deal!

3) I then file my rain-checks by store!

4) At the end of my no-spend challenges, I will use earned store rewards, as most will last a full month before expiration, and then will go to the stores when able, and buy goods at my convenience! 

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When requesting rain-checks I keep the following guides in mind:

  • Nationally, most grocery and market chains will offer rain-checks, without limit of goods.
  • Grocery and market chain store rain-checks will normally have only a 30-day window to redeem rain-checks; this applies to stores such as Vowell’s Fresh Market, The Fresh Market, Publix, Kroger, and Winn-Dixie.
  • Walgreens rain-checks will also have only a 30-day window to redeem rain-checks.
  • Rite Aid and CVS do not have redemption windows, and their rain-checks can be tucked into your coupon binder, for use as “filler deals” as needed!
  • Catalina Deals cannot be combined with rain-checks.
  • Sam’s Club, Target, and Walmart do not offer rain-checks! 

So today, I challenge you to look online at your local stores sales guides and weekly fliers, compile a list, and head out to your favorite stores and “rain-check shop” for savings deals today!

Here’s to saving,

mbnlogosm

October 31-Day No Spend Challenge Day 3: Pantry Clean-up Recap & Monthly Meal Planning Menu!

Good morning, savvy savers! I hope you are all well rested and ready for a new No-Spend Month daily challenge! 

Yesterday I focused on my kitchen pantry, cupboards, and stockpile as part of the #31DaysLWSZ Challenge. I clean my kitchen pantry is under two hours. While I discarded two boxes of goods, I still had two boxes of donations, and found enough quality food to last my family three #31DayLWSZ challenges! 

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I also focused on one of the most neglected areas in my home, and perhaps yours, my couponed stockpile. Yes, the cave of Frugal Wonders! My stockpile, housed in my homes basement, though it’s well lit, houses many built-in shelving features, the area still seems to always be in need of rearranging, sorting, and cleaning! The one saving grace of this area, the exhilarating feeling I get each time I am able to gaze over my shelves, from the bins filled with shampoo to the well stocked baskets of paper products, and then proceed to “shop from my home!”  

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My stockpile, though hard earned, is an immense blessing to my home. And as they say, to whom much is given, much is asked, and this rule equally applies to my stockpile!

While stockpile saves my family thousands of dollars a year, and allows me to give generously to my local food pantry and women’s shelter, I must admit it is one of the most neglected area in my home. So, in order for me to be able to adequately access all that I have within in my home, singling out what I will not need to purchase this month, I will be giving my stockpile a much needed Fall Cleaning this afternoon. 

Here are a few tips to get you started, for those who have not finished yesterday’s challenge:

1) Rotate your stockpile. “Rotating your stockpile” means rotating your stockpile per season. You will need to place goods in order of expiration date, my seasonal usage, as well as keeping climate into consideration; you may need to start storing it in one location for summer and another location for winter, in terms of baking tools, cans, chemicals, etc.

2) Long Term Storage: If you plan to store any item for longer than a week or two, you need to know its long-term storage requirements. Some items will only last months or longer if stored in a cool, dry place. Some items must be stored in a refrigerated or frozen environment in order to last longer. Make lists, and create sub-areas in your stockpile; examples are canned goods, cosmetics, paper products, etc.

3) Take Note of Patterns: Start a list of your product usage, this will allow you to see what you need, will use in a years time, and what should be donated accordingly. Unused goods are cash wasted.

4) Last Forever Items: Nothing lasts forever. Even goods such as bottled water, start to have an altered taste after a decade, so keep this in mind.

5) Canned and Preserved Goods: Keep inventory and note the dates of home-preserved items; a rule of thumbs is to only keep items no longer than two years. 

6) Pests: Pests love your stockpile, almost as much as you do! Be sure to check goods monthly, especially in Summer, and any goods that look altered, chuck immediately! 

7) Dehumidifier: Humidity can alter and mold many goods, so consider running a dehumidifier twice weekly. 

Mind you, part of deep yesterday’s challenge was to clean out my home freezer and deep freeze. I am still working on this task today. I plan to be done with this task this afternoon as the entire family, sans me, has gone to a robotics workshop today which leaves me plenty of time to KonMari my freezer into shape!

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Onto today’s challenge! Starting earlier this morning, I utilized the #31DayLWSZ Pantry and Freezer Inventory Sheets to help me compile a month of meals, using the discovered on-hand goods logged on my inventory sheets. 

So, aside from this challenge, why menu plan? I generally consider menu planning a staple in my home budgeting arsenal, but for those who may now, here are three key points to keep in mind, in terms of both this challenge, and going forward:

1) Your Health: Your health should be one of your main concerns, as with most people,  and one way to ensure your health and well being is in good working balance, is healthful food preparation. Having a menu plan in place helps you avoid sodium and fat-laden take out and fast food, and instead opt for a more balanced and nutritious diet.

2) Budgeting: Groceries cost a lot, period.  Even with coupon shopping and app rebate deals, constantly going to the store can negate all of your best budgeting plans. Save yourself some financial stress by planning your meals in reverse; shop for cyclical deals, plan meals around what you have on hand, and essentially plan “pantry-ready meals.”  By shopping in reverse, I generally spend $30.00 or less per week, for a family of four on groceries.  

3) Time Management: Your time is important. Whether you work outside the home, from a home office, are a busy entrepreneur, or you’re a stay-at-home parent, we all juggle an endless task sheet on a daily basis.  While planning a menu in the first place takes a bit of time, it will save you double that amount of time in the end. For when you have planned, purposed meal lists and ingredients on hand, you essentially eliminate the need to run to the store for a last minute item, saving you both time and money in the process.

With a plan in place, all you have to do is to look at your proposed weekly menu, prep, and serve! 

So, today I came up with:

  • 13 Breakfasts
  • 13 Lunches
  • 13 Snacks
  • 13 Dinner Options
  • 13 Desserts

Here are a few tips I used to plan my monthly menu:

1.Each option will be eaten twice for the remainder of the month, as the entire month will be rotated bi-weekly. 

2. No-spend months are a great time for 5-can soups, dump cakes, casseroles, and pot pies. 

3. This is also a great time to consider “Food Swapping,” with family, friends, and neighbors, where you will prep meals and then exchange the meals accordingly. 

4. This is also the time to consider menu streamlining; eating the proper amount of meals, as well as small snacks throughout the day, as well as cutting your dependency on carbonated beverages, and instead eating healthier options all around, will not only fill you up more, stave off food cravings, which will ultimately end up costing you less the month over. 

5. Consider using “Meatless Monday,”  food options; you can save up to $240.00 annually using this method once a week!

6. If you have saved gift cards to local restaurants, calendar cards (such as from Chick-fil-a), or the like, this is the time to use those cards. I’ve planned dinner on Saturday’s out, which will be free including tax and gratuity, using gift cards (and coupons if applicable) I’ve earned from Viggle, surveys, or calendars. 

7. My best tip for today’s challenge? Use “Rollable Meals,” or meals that leftovers can be made into different meals using the same ingredients; for example on day 1 you make double the amount of hamburgers and a pan of brownies for dessert. On day two, you can take one patty, broken up and make breakfast tacos, and as a beef topped salad(s) for lunch, and using your additional reserved patties, make crock pot beef patties and gravy for dinner, and using your leftover brownies you can make two additional desserts to last the remainder of the week, brownie parfait cups, brownie flurries, or brownie and berry trifle!

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To get started:

  • Make a boxed grid; 11″x 8″, divide into a calendar, with seven boxes across, and four boxes down, and there you go!
  • I also list our families meals on a meal plan chalkboard, in our kitchen, so everyone will know what to expect for dinner, and when. 
  • I also use my home recipe binder, with index, to browse through clipped, copied, and stowed away recipes I’ve put back for rainy days. 
  •  Have odds and ends you aren’t sure how to combine into meals? Check out sites like SuperCook, where you can add the ingredients you have on hand to their database, to find recipes to suit your stockpile of goods!

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And for anyone curious, here’s what we will be having:

Monday
Breakfast: Meatless Monday low-fat Mozzarella and Spinach Omelette, with Green Tea.
Lunch: Almonds, Cheese Crackers, Cheese rounds, with celery, and Crystal Light.
Snack: Almonds, and Gala Apple Slices.
Dinner: Crockpot Three Bean Chili, cooked with Boca Crumbles, with Diet Cola.
Dessert: Sugar-Free Dulce de Leche Cups.

Tuesday
Breakfast: Green Tea, Coconut Milk, and Strawberry Smoothie; made with Truvia.
Lunch: Freezer Cooking Chicken and Dumplings, and Crystal Light.
Snack: Frozen/Thawed Strawberries and String Cheese.
Dinner: Taco Roll-ups; in lieu of taco shells I use Romaine Lettuce Sheets.
Dessert: Gluten-Free Brownies.

Wednesday
Breakfast: Baked Frittata Cups, with Unsweetened Almond Milk.
Lunch: Taco Salads, with crystal light.
Snack: Grapes and apple slices.
Dinner: Crockpot Chicken Curry, steamed peas, and crystal light.
Dessert: Homemade Gluten-Free  Truvia brownies.

Thursday
Breakfast: Homemade Greek Yogurt, with fruit cup, and Unsweetened Almond milk.
Lunch: Tossed Salad with Turkey, light vinaigrette, and Crystal Light.
Snack: Grapes and apple slices.
Dinner: Grilled Turkey Burger Patties, sweet Potato Fries, with Crystal Light.
Dessert: Brownie flurries with leftover brownies; we use Edy’s Sugar-Free Ice Cream.

Friday
Breakfast: Homemade Greek Yogurt, with fruit cup, and Unsweetened Almond milk.
Lunch: Tossed salad, with homemade Greek Yogurt dressing, and Crystal Light.
Snack: Strawberries and two pieces of Sugar Free Chocolate; candy is used as melted drizzle for berries.
Dinner: Barbecue Pork, Steamed Green Beans, and Crystal Light.
Dessert: Diet Coca-Cola slushies.

Saturday
Breakfast: Homemade Greek Yogurt, with fruit cup, and Unsweetened Almond milk.
Lunch: Chicken Salad, and Crystal Light.
Snacks: String Cheese and grapes.
Dinner: Gift Card to local restaurant.
Dessert: Sugar-Free Dulce de Leche Cups.

Sunday
Breakfast: Bacon, Eggs, and Toast, with Unsweetened Almond Milk.
Lunch: Grilled Sausages, Steamed Broccoli, Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese, with Crystal Light.
Snack: Grapes and walnuts.
Dinner: Crockpot Orange Chicken with Almonds, Steamed Peas, and crystal light.
Dessert: Sugar-Free Dulce de Leche Cups.

Looking for meal ideas for this months #31DayLWSZ challenge? Be sure to check out my Weekly Menu Section and Pinterest Menu Idea Boards!

Be sure to check Instagram tonight for today’s review!

 

Here’s to saving,

mbnlogosm

October No-Spend Challenge Day 2: Pantry Organization

Hello again, savvy savers! As many of my readers and online friends may know, I am always juggling several projects, business opportunities, scholastic goals, and home projects at any given time. With so much constantly going on, it’s sometimes easy to forget one of my main passions, and antithesis for this blog, the ability to save money, while live a better live, in hopes of having a “whole living blog,” to help me have a better run life. So, for 2015 I have decided to take an old-school approach to spending, and so for every other month this year, for the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December I will be participating in a NO SPENDING month cycles! 

Why this crazy idea? Well, a month of NO spending is an awesome way to both reset your spending patterns, as well as to either kick-start your budget or revamp and make changes to any existing budget you or your family may have. This is also a great challenge for personal responsibility; you can track what you have been spending your hard earned funds, and keep yourself on track, in terms of responsible spending thereafter. 

I will be blogging daily about my NO SPEND struggles, victories, and suggestions from the previous day, and will be posting easy-to-follow daily challenges for my readers during my no-spend months. As well, each Sunday will share what I’ve learned, saved, and gained from this challenge as part of my Weekly Goals & Reflections Posts. I hope that many of you will join me in this challenge, as we can all you use more ways to save around the home.

 

The rules are pretty simple:  

  • No spending on anything  beyond absolute necessities.
  • Eat from your pantry & freezer as often as you are able.
  • And make changes to the way you purchase and consume goods, services, and commodities in your home. 
  • The idea of the challenge is to keep up with your daily activities,, but the main goal is simply to stop spending.  
  • This challenge can be a life changing experience, as you may just be amazed at how your mindset and perspective will change after just a month of seeing how you can enrich your life, without spending more!

So today’s challenge centers on my home kitchen, and specifically my pantry and food inventory. I should warn you from the get-go:  my challenge is going to be geared around a lot of cleaning, organizing, self-and home inventorying this month! This is done in an attempt to re-wire our spending habits to include less conspicuous consumption, and finding more contentment is the ability to live off of what we currently have, and moreover, can afford! This is a spend less, dig deeper kind of month!

So today, we are going to start by taking stock of exactly what we have on hand. And if  you are a couponer/stockpiler like me,  you probably have more than a few forgotten packages hidden in the recesses of your pantry, and it’s time they come out to play!

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Here’s a few tips for cleaning up your home pantry:

  1. Clear your kitchen counters, kitchen islands, and table before you begin to allow you so you have adequate work space. 
  2. Empty your pantry.
  3. Put like items together; all like items should be grouped separately into piles.
  4. All open containers need to be grouped separately.
  5. Any items that you will not be eating in the next six months, discard.
  6. Any items that will expire in the next three months, that you will not eat, group separately and donate. 
  7. Wipe down and sanitize cleared shelves.
  8. Take a sheet of paper and create an inventory of what you currently have in your home pantry.
  9. Keep in mind, when placing items back into your pantry, arrange items closest to expiration, nearest to the front of your shelf, and those items farthest from expiration towards the back of each shelf.

A few additional tips to keep in mind:

  • All shelved goods should be checked and rotated seasonally, and this is a task that should be placed on your calendars accordingly. 
  • Place all unopened containers in your pantry in like areas; cans with cans, boxes with boxes, jars with jars.
  • Open snacks, cookies, and candy should be taken out of the pantry and placed in other areas of the kitchen so that they can be easily consumed.
  • Be sure to wipe down the front of your pantry; this includes cabinets, panels, knobs, etc.
  • Take a well needed break, for a job well done!

Stay tuned for my end of day report updates, which will be reported to Instagram!

Here’s to saving.

niki-name-design

October 31-Day No-Spend Challenge Day 1: Commitment

Hello again, savvy savers! As many of my readers and online friends may know, I am always juggling several projects, business opportunities, scholastic goals, and home projects at any given time. With so much constantly going on, it’s sometimes easy to forget one of my main passions, and antithesis for this blog, the ability to save money, while live a better live, in hopes of having a “whole living blog,” to help me have a better run life.

So, for 2015 I have decided to take an old-school approach to spending, and so for every other month this year, for the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December I will be participating in a NO SPENDING month cycles! 

Why this crazy idea? Well, a month of NO spending is an awesome way to both reset your spending patterns, as well as to either kick-start your budget or revamp and make changes to any existing budget you or your family may have. This is also a great challenge for personal responsibility; you can track what you have been spending your hard earned funds, and keep yourself on track, in terms of responsible spending thereafter. 

I will be blogging daily about my NO SPEND struggles, victories, and suggestions from the previous day, and will be posting easy-to-follow daily challenges for my readers during my no-spend months. As well, each Sunday will share what I’ve learned, saved, and gained from this challenge as part of my Weekly Goals & Reflections Posts. I hope that many of you will join me in this challenge, as we can all you use more ways to save around the home.

The rules are pretty simple:  

  • No spending on anything  beyond absolute necessities.
  • Eat from your pantry & freezer as often as you are able.
  • And make changes to the way you purchase and consume goods, services, and commodities in your home. 
  • The idea of the challenge is to keep up with your daily activities,, but the main goal is simply to stop spending.  
  • This challenge can be a life changing experience, as you may just be amazed at how your mindset and perspective will change after just a month of seeing how you can enrich your life, without spending more!

Challenge 1: Part 1, Commitment

This first challenge has two parts. The first part of the first challenge is committing to the challenge itself. Knowing that starting any personal challenge, starts with following through with the challenge itself, and this no-spend month is no exception! 

Also knowing that this October is not just about not spending, although that will be our main goal.  I always challenge each of you to find ways to live well, live better, find new sources of joy, will spending less. You may just find out just how much we already have, and how little more we really need.  And hopefully, by the end of them month, a life rich with family, friends, and creative planning, secured by fiscally responsible measures, will be who we truly are. In addition, I hope to make my posts comments section a place of encouragement and accountability for us all, too!

I’m not gonna lie, there presumably will be tough moments, and for that reason, with one week remaining, stock-up on any items you currently feel you cannot do without. But the biggest reason for following through with this month daily challenges? In the month of February, I was able to save $1,456.87

This month is not about thinking what you won’t be spending and economizing on, but what you are saving for!

The second part of this challenge? To physically take a few  minutes to make a list for this month, to include the following:

  • How much you plan to save this month.
  • What are your long-term financial goals.
  • What activities will you plan this month, to take the place of your spending.

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Also, for those following the Living Well Spend Month No-Spend Challenge, you will have received your spending commitment sheet this morning in your inbox. I’ve already filled mine out, and will have hubby sign our pledge this evening as well. For those who have signed their pledge, be sure to post a picture of your pledge to Instagram with the hashtag #LWSZ. It’s always easier when savers help to keep one another accountable! 

Stay tuned for my end of day report updates on Instagram!

Here’s to saving.

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Join Me Tomorrow for the No-Spend October Challenge!

Hello again, savvy savers! Tomorrow starts a new No-Spend Month Challenge on The LadyPrefers2Save! So, here is a re-cap of last months start, the ground-rules, and the basics for this coming month:

As many of my readers know, I am always juggling several projects, business opportunities, scholastic goals, and home projects at any given time. With so much constantly going on, it’s sometimes easy to forget one of my main passions, and antithesis for this blog, the ability to save money, while live a better live, in hopes of having a “whole living blog,” to help me have a better, more organized life.

So, for 2015 I have decided to take an old-school approach to spending, and so for every other month this year, for the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December I will be participating in a NO SPEND month cycles! 

Why this crazy idea? Well, a month of NO spending is an awesome way to both reset your spending patterns, as well as to either kick-start your budget or revamp and make changes to any existing budget you or your family may have. This is also a great challenge for personal responsibility; you can track what you have been spending your hard earned funds, and keep yourself on track, in terms of responsible spending thereafter. 

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(Photo credit, LivingWellSpendingLess.com)

In addition to my own daily blogging challenges, I have also signed-up for the challenge Ruth Soukup, from Living Well Spending Less, Spend Zero Challenge for the month of October as well. I encourage you all to sign-up for her challenge, as you will be emailed with a free, printable no-spend challenge guide, and on her site daily she will post on her own spending freeze recaps too! For those not sign-up, there is still plenty of time before tomorrow’s challenge starts to sign-up! 

Also, be sure to follow Ruth on Instagram  @RUTHSOUKUP, and those in the challenge will be using hashtag#31DaysLWSZ to share tips, thoughts, & ideas regarding the challenge, and every time you share your own photo using that hashtag, you’ll be automatically entered to win a daily prize from LWSL site!

And while you at it, and in the throws of downloading new apps, be sure to install Periscope, then search for and follow me @LDYPrefers2Save, RuthSoukup @RuthSoukup, and another awesome new scope buddy, Brittney from Pennies into Pearls, who will not only be blogging and scoping along with this months challenge, she is hosting a free craft scope on October 17th that you won’t want to miss; she is also on periscope @PenniesintoPearls

So again, I’ll be broadcasting live every morning to talk about the day’s challenge, answer questions, and share tips and ideas at 8am CST on Periscope,  my daily blog challenge will post each morning at 6am CST,  and a picture of my daily recap will be posted to instgram after five pm CST daily. 

I’m totally excited about this challenge! I am looking forward to blogging daily about my NO SPEND struggles, victories, and suggestions from the previous day, and will be posting easy-to-follow daily challenges for my readers during my no-spend months, as well as using Periscope and Instagram to show my victories for the day. As well, each Sunday will share what I’ve learned, saved, and gained from this challenge as part of my Weekly Goals & Reflections Posts. I hope that many of you will join me in this challenge, as we can all you use more ways to save around the home.

So, for those still on the fence here are a few guidelines to keep in mind about my challenge:

The rules are pretty simple:  

  • No pre-purchasing, stockpiling, or hoarding of goods, perishable or commodity. 
  • No spending on anything  beyond absolute necessities.
  • Eat from your pantry & freezer as often as you are able.
  • And make changes to the way you purchase and consume goods, services, and commodities in your home. 
  • The idea of the challenge is to keep up with your daily activities,, but the main goal is simply to stop spending.  
  • This challenge can be a life changing experience, as you may just be amazed at how your mindset and perspective will change after just a month of seeing how you can enrich your life, without spending more!

There are a few exceptions to the rule as follows:

  1. Unavoidable expenses related to employment, such as gas, are okay.
  2. Unavoidable school related expenses.
  3. Doctors appointments, veterinarian appointments, co-payments, family/pet prescriptions, and therapy sessions are okay.
  4. Do keep existing service and repair appointments that can’t be rescheduled to “Spending” months, such as hair appointments, lawn care services, trash removal, in-home repair services, etc.
  5. Do keep existing tithing and charitable giving.
  6. Do have an adequate stockpile of necessities prior to beginning this challenge, such as pet food, bedding, litter, laundry detergent, dish soap, snow salts, bottled water and emergency staples (if you live in areas frequently affected by seasonal weather), etc. 
  7. Do keep up with healthy living habits. I will continue to use my envelope saving system to fund app purchase rebates (iBotta, Shopmium, Snap by Groupon) for fresh produce and milk, which will inevitably pop-up during my no-spend months; due to my PCOS I need several servings of fruits and veggies daily, and these app savings help keep my freezer stocked on a budget. 
  8. As a business owner and blogger, I always keep ink in the printer, and recommend budgeting for at least one cartridge for the challenge, to ensure you can print any printables, charts, or freebies that may pop-up!
  9. And it goes without saying, please do pay all of our monthly obligations; rent, mortgage, insurance, utility payments, banking fees,  student/financial/business loans, medical expenses, and assumed or credit card debt. 

This months spending freeze is not just about not the overall act of not spending, although that will be our main goal, it is about so much more!

By not spending we seek to find out:

  1. Better ways to revamp our monthly budgets.
  2. Analyze unnecessary spending patterns.
  3. Minimizing clutter and chaos as a means to give more freely to out communities. 

So, this month I will challenge each of you to find ways to live well, live better, find new sources of joy, will spending less. You may just find out just how much we already have, and how little more we really need.  And hopefully, by the end of them month, a life rich with family, friends, and creative planning, secured by fiscally responsible measures, will be who we truly are. In addition, I hope to make my posts comments section a place of encouragement and accountability for us all, too!

I’m not gonna lie, there will be tough moments, and by day fifteen you may be second guessing this month long challenge as a whole. But having done this challenge now four times, it’s beyond worth the trouble.

I’m not sure how many of you are on board for this month’s challenge but the gauntlet has been passed, and I am calling on all of you all to try this challenge, in your own way, with your own rules, and just to do this with me. Right here, right now let’s both commit to a whole month of no spending, starting tomorrow!

Here’s to the challenge,

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