#Squadgoals

August is almost here!  If you've followed along with our family's musings at all in the past then you might remember that last August we tried our very first no spend month!

We called it our No Spend August.  This past January, we attempted another no spend month and we called it our New Year No Spend Challenge. 

Our overarching #squadgoals during a no spend month are these:

• No impulse spending
• To purge excess of spending, household items, clothes, toys, books etc...
• No eating out unless using a gift card (& be intentional not to go over the card amount)
• Be creative and utilize resources ... for example: make a birthday gift if you forget to buy one ahead of time, borrow sugar from a neighbor if you run out prior to the end of the month... you get the idea)
• Know your necessities and stick to them.  Paying bills and filling your car with gas are necessities.  Your mani/pedi however, can wait until September

In all honestly, our New Year No Spend challenge was a bit of a flop.  We didn't plan well enough ahead of time in terms of food and groceries.  And.... we bought a puppy.

... who is now a very large puppy. 

But I digress...

We learned a few things during our New Year No Spend flop.  We learned that first and foremost, you can't go into a no spend month without showing yourself grace. 

The goal behind a no spend month is not to do it perfect.  The goal is to embark on a family challenge -- to try as a family to live outside of our comfort zones, to get by with less and to discover fun, creative ways to do so!

So for this particular August we plan to tackle our #Squadgoals by doing the following:

• We planned 10 dinner meals and bought double the ingredients.  So 10 x 2 = 20 meals for the month of August with the goal of eating leftovers for lunches.  Last night a friend graciously watched Mack & Levi so we went out for one last date night and we did some MAJOR grocery shopping.  The idea behind doing our grocery shopping prior to August is that we are well planned and won't be making any sporadic Target trips that will have us leaving with a cart full of unbudgeted extras. 

• As a family, will spend the month purging extra-- whether that's through donating, recycling or selling on Facebook Yard Sale sites.  If you haven't heard of these, search for one on Facebook for one in or near your city.  Yard Sale sites are brilliant. 

• We will be resourceful.  We will be hitting up the Denver splash pads instead of paying to go swimming.  We will swap our garden produce for any food that we run out of.  We've already got a swap going where we regularly trade our garden veggies for farm fresh eggs!  Last summer we swapped for fresh dairy and locally made jam! 

• We will try our best not to waste.  We know from trying this in the past that we tend to be low on food towards the end of the month.  Because of this we will do our best to eat all of the leftovers and to go straight to our pantry when we are low on food instead of defaulting to an unplanned grocery store run.

• We MAY do a mid month produce run to our local fruit market.  We will go in with a list and we will stick STRICTLY to it.  We've discovered that it is near impossible to do a no spend month without fresh fruit.  Otherwise, our kids end up snacking on cookies and junk food from the pantry.

• We will stay OUT OF TARGET.  It's just a slippery slope friends.  You walk in for butter and you end up with a cute mug and a cart full of dollar section finds to the tune of an extra $27.50.  We're just going to say no to Target this month. 

• We will have fun!  We try our best to include Mack and Levi and to make this a family adventure!  We want our kids to realize that trying new, hard things can be exciting! 

I will end by saying that in the past we have had several friends try this with us and they have done their own modified versions of a no spend month.  There are no set rules.  You get to make your own!

If you are intrigued and you don't know that you can do a whole month of no spending, then maybe just try it for two weeks. 

Or, sit down as a family and write out a ways that you can embrace a no spend month without going so drastic.  Figure out ways to cut spending from your budget.  Plan to cut the excess and donate what you don't need.  Take a look at your city's event calendar and try out some free events instead of spending money on family outings.  The sky really is the limit.

We hope you'll follow along with us for the month of August!

#Squadgoals

To read about our how our other no spend challenges have gone you can check out these past posts:

New Year No Spend Recap, No Spend August Recap

That's a Wrap!

For those of you who have been faithfully following along over the past month, you know that our family ventured into the New Year with a #Newyearnospend challenge.  And good heavens, what a challenge this was.  I'll keep this post short & sweet with 5 things I'm taking away from this January No Spend attempt. 

 

 

1. Plan Ahead

For our No Spend August last summer did a lot of intentional pre-planning.  We created a month long meal plan and we did our grocery shopping prior to the end of July.  I won't lie, it was a lot of work but it was what made our month a success. 

THIS time around, we were coming right off of the holidays and a Christmas trip home to see family.  We returned to real life with good intentions but truthfully, we were 3 steps behind.  The first two weeks of January were spent limping to the start line of the #Newyearnospend challenge.  

My advice to anyone who would like to try a No Spend Month in the future - Be intentional about your meal planning.  Plan two weeks at a time and do a STRICT mid month run for the second half of the month. 

2. Know Your Weaknesses

 

You are like a toxic boyfriend that I continue to swoon over. And really, your dollar spot section makes me want to become a hoarder. Stepping into your store during a No Spend Month is my biggest weakness.  I'm sorry, but we're heading for Splitsville...

 

No, but seriously.  A No Spend Month is all about knowing your weaknesses and making good choices.  A good choice for me is to just stay far away from Target.  You'll realize early on into your No Spend challenge that you'll have certain weaknesses.  Mine just happens to be the giant red bulls eye located at every 10th stop light. 
Lord, help me.

 

3. Will Cave for Puppies

 

 

 

Okay.  So we bought a puppy.  A really cute, fairly well behaved puppy.  Does that make it an appropriate exception?  Ehhh, maybe...maybe not.  Now, in our defense, she wasn't entirely an impulse purchase (which as stated in the rules, was not allowed). We've been looking for a black lab puppy for quite a while now and when we heard of a litter being practically given away, we just couldn't pass her up. Of course, along with a puppy comes lots of new puppy expenses.  So there's that.

 

 

 

Truthfully, we don't regret for one second adding Boston to our family.  She was a great investment and she's been the perfect addition to the Mack & Levi duo... now make that a trio! Sometimes, you have to go with your gut and know when spending money is okay.  This time, we just knew it was right. I'm so glad we chose to go with our hearts over saving a little bit of money. 

 

4. Make New Friends but Keep the Old

So, I'll admit, we didn't do so great at our #newyearnospend challenge.  With that said, THIS time around, the challenge was done with friends.  And that part, was a blast!  As it turns out, doing hard things can be really fun when you've got a group of girlfriends who have your back!

 

Along with my friends Emily, Adriane and Rebekah, we made a new friend Fiona.  Fiona lives in the UK and she uses adorable phrases like "merry wanderings" (take a walk) and "donning our wellingtons".  Now truly, I had to look up wellingtons in the dictionary -- a fun British word for rain boots! 

 

Oh, and we have similar tastes in scarves so that seals the deal for our long distance, frugal friendship.  So happy to have met you on this adventure Fiona!

 

 

5. Grace, All the Cool Girls Are Doing It

 

And finally, but certainly not last, grace. In Adriane's words, "All the cool girls are doing it." Just saying the word grace relieves a whole lot of pressure off of the back of a girl who just didn't do it perfectly this time. 

 

Grace is the ability to show kindness and forgiveness to myself when I fall flat on my face.  Which is basically what I did this month.  Seriously, my girlfriends should be pulling me out of a figurative mud pit right  now. 

 

I went into our #newyearnospend challenge with such great hopes and intentions. The beauty of doing this challenge with such wonderful friends was that I had a constant cheering section rooting me on, reminding me that I didn't have to do it perfectly.

 

 

We will do another No Spend Month down the road and I'll have new goals but without a doubt, grace will continue to remain one of the expectations. 

I'm so happy you followed along! 

 

For a look back at my August No Spend Month check out these past posts -- No Spend August, National S'mores Day and Happy September.