No Spend Month....the first week.

Our goal starting this week is for the whole family to spend $70 or less, which is about 20% of our month long budget.  Hubby got a $50 allowance for the week.  I got the remaining $20. Wish us luck.  Here we go!

Day 1:  I woke up this morning with that awesome feeling that comes with every new adventure.  That unwarranted pride and false sense of hope.  It is just like the first day on an awesome new diet that you just know is going to work. 

For breakfast, we all had leftover cupcakes (I know, mother of the year).

Lunch and supper consisted of leftover party food.  (get ready to hear that a few more times)

Day 2:  Still feeling unwarranted accomplishment.  Energized and ready to do this!

For breakfast, the kids had scrambled eggs and fresh strawberries left from the monster party.  Eggs are always an awesome cheap/free option at our house because we own our own chickens.  Eggs are always just a chicken coop away.

 

 

I had a cup of coffee and a little fresh fruit.

I had to run a couple of errands today, but I stayed as close to home as possible to keep my gas consumption down.  I had to run to my daughter's school, the pharmacy, and the grocery store.  Of course, the grocery store means I had to spend a little of our budget.  Luckily all we needed was milk.  Unluckily, the milk cost $4, bringing us down to $66 left for the week, $16 left for me.  Technically, the milk was $4.28 after tax, but I had change rolling around in my wallet to cover the tax.  Is that cheating?

Side Note: I spoke to my friend in California today....apparently their milk only costs $2...super jealous.  I guess California really is where happy cows live.

For lunch, the kids grabbed some meat, cheese, crackers, and carrots while I had some carrots and celery and a turkey wrap.

Had to burn a teeny bit more gas bringing the star athlete to soccer practice.

Supper consisted of leftover croissant sandwiches from the birthday party with veggies, chips, and fruit as sides and cupcakes for dessert.

Day 3: Still feeling pretty great about our decision to have no spend month.  I know this feeling will be traded for misery and panic in a few weeks, but I'm enjoying it now.

Kids had cereal and fruit for breakfast while I had fruit and...you guessed it...coffee.

Lunch consisted of leftover croissant sandwiches, chips, and veggies. I think we MIGHT have bought a few too many.  Oh well, it is helping out with week one of no spend month.

Very near being burned at the stake, we had MORE leftover sandwiches for supper.  Last time, I promise!

The only gas I had to burn today was to go to a monthly training meeting for my personal business.  Since the gym is on the way home, I went by there so that they wouldn't forget my name.

Side note: I think I am going to quickly grow frustrated with how fast we burn through a gallon of milk around here...probably going to have to pick up another gallon tomorrow or Thursday.

Day 4: Found out hubby didn't fill the tank up before we started our adventure.  He had to drop $20 into his gas tank.  Looks like I'm "winning" for now.

Kids had toast with homemade jelly for breakfast.  I just grabbed a cup of coffee.

Lunch consisted of a box of organic mac n cheese shaped like bugs.  Had it lurking in the back of the pantry.  Ironically the organic mac n cheese is cheaper overall and per ounce than the blue box.

To avoid murder, I prepared chicken tortellini from supplies we had on hand.

I had to run into town for a business meeting, but had a friend headed the same place.  I just met her up the street and we rode together to the meeting as well as to the gym.

Day 5:  Still trying to be as on top of things as possible.  It has been kind of a rough day, so it is a little tough to be excited about sticking to the plan.

Breakfast for the kids was the last of the cereal.  I had....wait for it...coffee!

For lunch, we had cheese and crackers and apple slices.

Supper consisted of barbeque pork chops, whole kernel corn, and butterbeans...all of which we had stored up in the freezer.

Hubby had to stop on the way home to pick up more milk, so we took another $4.28 hit and are now  down to $41.72 for the week and 321.72 for the month.

Day 6: Still feeling pretty good about the no spending concept overall, but definitely ready for a weekend.

Breakfast was cheesy scrambled eggs for everyone.

Lunch was a box of jambalaya rice we had stored in the pantry.  My kids LOVE jambalaya without meat in it, so this was actually a nice treat for them.

For supper, we had leftover pork chops and veggies from the day before.

After supper, I had to run a few business related errands....my gas tank is in tears, but I got a lot accomplished.

Stopped by the store for bread, cereal, dry pinto beans, chicken, and refried beans.  Ended up spending $9.34 total.  That would have left us with $32.38 for the week, but hubby's group did their employee of the month event today, which set him back a whopping $20.  Still, we have 12.38 left!

Day 7: Feeling tired.  Glad it is the weekend for sure.

Breakfast was cereal.  After breakfast, the boys headed to work on vehicles while the girls hit the soccer fields.

Had to stop at the dollar store for a small pack of pullups.  They set us back $8.29, leaving us with a whole entire $4.09 left in our weekly budget!

Lunch consisted of cheese, crackers, and veggies.

For supper, we went over to my inlaws for catfish, potato salad, okra, and hushpuppies...mmmm...good food and good company.

WE SURVIVED OUR FIRST WEEK! 

Not only did we survive, but we had $4.09 left in the budget despite hubby's rule breaking!  That gets me all pumped up and ready to go for another week.

Next week's budget is 25% of the monthly budget, which is $87.50.  I considered rolling the $4.09 into the next week, but I think I'll hang onto it in case we need it at the end.  I would hate to get the urge to splurge. 

I cant wait to share our next update with you.  Hopefully the next time I post, we'll still be on track!