Spending Fast Recap

This has been a good month. I didn't feel the stress I felt last year when I did this for the first time. I am already not buying anything new this whole year, so this wasn't all that different other than decreasing my grocery budget and not going to the thrift store. I am really happy I did it but I don't feel like it was as life altering as the first time I did it. Here are the things I've learned. 

• Jason LOVES Spending Fast month. Or at least he loves watching our bank account during the month. He recently said "Can you believe I looked at our Amex bill and there wasn't any charges" Uh, yeah, I can. 
• I can live without saran wrap and sandwich baggies, at least in the short term. I am doing better about using tupperware. I want to make reuseable sandwich baggies, but haven't done it yet. 
• I plan more fun outings when I don't shop.
• I sew more when I don't shop. 
• I re-focus my grocery priorities. I stuck with fresh fruits and veggies this time which meant I really had to skimp elsewhere. I'm glad I did though. I definitely prefer fresh over canned or frozen.  

I spent $44.84 at the grocery store this week, so I was successful in staying under $50 per week! Yay!

I did have a slight lapse in judgment on Thursday and went to a yarn shop and new thrift store. It was really fun to walk around Alexandria and the stores just sucked us in. I bought a skein of yarn for $6.00 and spent $5.00 at the thrift store. Thankfully LuAnn bought the skein of yarn from me when I found very similar yarn at the thrift store. So, yeah, I ended up only spending $5.00 but I still felt guilty about it. 

How did your month go?

Spending Fast Week 3

Okay, I had a cruddy week at the grocery store. I spent $57.15. So, I went over even though I had some saved up. So, that means I have $47.17 to spend at the store this next week. That should be manageable. We'll see. 

Otherwise I did really good. I didn't eat out at all and didn't buy anything but gas, so week three was a success. 

I don't feel like this is as hard because there is so much to do for free here. Calder and I can stay busy without spending money. It is so nice. It also helps the weather has been warmer so we can spend time at parks instead of malls.

How was your THIRD week of the Spending Fast? This next week is your last week! Yay!

Spending Fast Week 2

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

I know I posted the Spending Fast week 1 recap a little late last week. I had a rough week and didn't get to it until the end. So, this is the official recap for week 2. 

Week two was good and bad. I wasn't feeling great so I stayed home a lot. Which is good, it's hard to spend money if you don't leave the house. I also went to the doctor and payed a $20 copay, so there's that. And while I was at the doctor Jason took Calder out to McDonalds. They get such small amounts of time together these days I think it was worth breaking the Spending Fast for. I'm sure they would agree. 

At the grocery store I spent $50.86. Since I had roll-over from last week, it worked out fine. I hurried through and didn't add up as I went, so I was sure it would be more than that, so that's good. 

Okay, tell me about your second week of the Spending Fast!