The Coupon Project

Results and reflections of my "No-Spend Challenge"

Today ends my 15-day, self-imposed "No-Spend Challenge," and I thought I would take a few minutes to share with you how I did and what I learned.

First off, I have to admit I ended up spending some money.  I'm not going to sugar coat this, so let me just tell you what happened.  Here's what I spent:

$2.99 on Fred Meyer to buy 1 loaf of bread, 1 gallon of milk
$15 on babysitting
$36 on baby shower gifts (I forgot this was coming and had specific gift I was planning on getting)
$11.99 one can of baby formula (growth spurt, perhaps?)
$65.98 total

However, I also received some money during this time that offset the above:

$3 from good ol' Mom and Dad (to "buy" diapers and oatmeal from my stockpile)
$16.49 Rite Aid rebate
$19.49

So all things being equal, we spent $46.49 over the course of 15 days.  But before I write off this entire challenge, I must give myself credit for what did go right:

1. We did not spend money on fast food or eating out.
2. We did not spend money at the grocery store (other than that $2.99 trip).
3. I was AMAZED at the amount of gas we saved.  Two weeks after filling up my car, it's STILL mostly full!)
4. We got creative and found lots of fun free things to do and get.
5. We ate a lot of home-cooked meals and home-baked goodies.
6. We ended the month with money in the bank and even hawked a little extra away in our savings!
7. I didn't have to worry about balancing our checkbook.

So while it didn't go 100% perfect, there were many benefits for trying and doing a mostly good job.  So I'm glad for the experience! 

If I were to do this next time, I'd start small.  Instead of two weeks, I might try a weekend or a week.  I'd also take the time to anticipate what's coming down the pike so I can plan better.  For instance, I should've seen the baby shower coming and should've realized that one loaf of bread was not going to suffice.

Will I ever do this again?  You bet!  In fact, I hope to make it a regular part of our family's "financial diet."  I hope I've encouraged you to try doing this challenge or some variation of it yourself.  Be sure to drop a comment or leave me an email to share your own "no spend" story.

Photo credit Sanja Gjenero

No-spend challenge: day 8 of 15

Now that we're officially at the halfway mark of our "no-spend challenge," I'd thought I'd give a little update.

As a reminder, I did one final grocery shop just before going on this challenge.  Then I said I'd buy one tank of gas and my two Sunday papers each week, and leave it at that.  (Oh, but I did have to pay my bills this week - unfortunately, they weren't exempt from this challenge.  Don't think my phone company would be any too pleased if I said, "sorry, we're not spending any money right now.  You'll just have to wait.")

While there have been a few tempting sales and deals this week, I am proud to say we've stuck to our plan!  It's been nice letting our checking account have a break - it's enabled us to get caught up on some things and even hawk a little extra away in our savings account.

However, looking ahead to the next week I think we are going to have to rely on a little creativity to get us through.  I apparently didn't buy enough milk, bread, or cheese (we're major cheese fiends over here) to make it through 15 full days.  So I might have to change up our planned menu a bit.  For instance, we might eat quesadillas when we run out of bread.  And when we run out of cheese, well, I guess we'll make tortilla chips!  I'm not much of a baker, but I was thinking for times like these, it might be nice to have some yeast on hand.  (Incidentally, does anyone know of a good bread recipe where you don't need yeast?  Or will I just end up with crackers?)

Incidentally, Money Saving Mom has been on an Eating from the Pantry Challenge the last few days.  I've been inspired to see what sort of yummy recipes she concocts all from what she already has at home.  (I do think she stocks up on yeast though...and knows what to actually do with it!)  She's currently managed to avoid grocery shopping for going on two weeks now.  She's my hero.

Photo courtesy stock.xchng

No-spend challenge update: day 6 of 15

You might recall I am on a self-imposed no-spend challenge for the 15 days that my husband is off on a mission trip in Africa. 

I wanted to update everyone and let them know that I'm starting day 6 of the challenge without having spent a cent! (Caveat - I did buy the tank of gas and my normal two newspapers I decided were the OK exceptions.)

We've actually been eating well, following our menu plan and we sure haven't been bored!  My son got a free Thomas train last week, and we have friends visiting us for a playdate today.  I've also been keeping busy with my writing business, so that's helped minimize the desire to want to hit the sales.

Yesterday, my husband called me and I was able to share with him how successful we've been on this challenge and how helpful it's been in having us get caught up on a few bills and made it easier to balance the checkbook.  I suggested we might try regularly instituting "no-spend" weeks from time to time in our family. 

If anyone else is participating in this challenge or has in the past, you are encouraged to share your tips and comments.

More to come!

Planning my menu for the "no-spend" challenge

In order to ensure the success of my "no spend" challenge, I decided to take stock of what I had in the pantry, fridge, and freezer and then come up with a menu.  Because it's just me and the kids, I figure if I make a casserole it'll last me at least 2 days, probably 3.  So here is what I came up with:

 

Tomorrow I'm going to do my one and only grocery shop and just purchase the ingredients I need to complete these meals.  I'll be sure to keep you posted on my progress!

My two week "no-spend challenge"

Some of you may know that my husband is going to be leaving on a medical mission trip tomorrow and will be gone through the 3rd of April.  This means it's me and the kids (an almost 3-yr old and a 10-mo old) for 15 days.  (Wish me luck!)

I was thinking today that this is a perfect opportunity to put my stockpile, frugality, and creativity to the test.  So I've decided to challenge myself to a "no-spend challenge" until my hubby returns.  Here's how it's going to work:

• I'll do one small grocery trip sometime in the next couple days to ensure we have the basics (say $25 or less).
• I'll also continue to purchase my paper for the coupons each weekend.
• No eating out, ordering in pizza, or take out.
• No money on entertainment or needless shopping.
• OK stuff will include any bills that come due and a tank of gas.

This is going to be an interesting challenge for me and I hope to learn a thing or two in the process that I can share with you.  If anyone would like to join me, you are welcome and encouraged to do so!  I will be sure to keep you posted on my progress.