7.01.2008

{ NO spend month }


So, July is officially {NO spend month} here in OUR household. This means ME. Since Will never buys anything and Sam can't yet!

I NEVER carry cash (no point in mugging ME) but I decided to experiment and withdraw cash to pay for groceries each week (within my budget) and pay for gas with our business credit card and put my personal Credit Card AWAY. Hide it. Far, far away. And see if I could survive a MONTH with NO CREDIT CARD and no frivolous purchases (lattes, clothes, etsy art, ebay purchases, Target trips, etc). So, here it goes....Wish ME luck. Here is the spreadsheet I will be using to track my purchases.

Others have attempted this before and some do this every July. How much $$ could you SAVE each month if you didn't buy S%&t you don't need? Could you use this $ saved to put towards paying off debt or save for an upcoming vacation?

If you'd like to join in on NO Spend Month, take the button from the sidebar and GO for it. Let ME know how it goes.

** A lot of you have questions about NO Spend Month - I will get back to you in a different post later this week.

13 comments:

Jennifer said...

Hi Jenny! Chris and I have joined Dave Ramsey on daveramsey.com in diong the total money makeover. We will be debt free in about 18 months thanks to this! He is also on Fox Business News at 8 PM EST. It's amazing when you look at all the little things- they do add up. Although the mochas are nice.

LobotoME said...

Hi Jennifer! That is awesome! I just finished reading Dave Ramsey's book - I will do a blog post about what I thought of it sometime this month...

J :)

Anonymous said...

I'm IN TOO!

Wilcox Family said...

I'm in! :)

Wilcox Family said...

p.s. YOU would be so proud of ME, I just put the book from Dave Ramsey on HOLD at the library instead of ordering it - here we GROW!! :)

LobotoME said...

Hi Jana! Great! And while you are waiting for the book to be available Simple Mom (www.simplemom.net) has done an amazing job of outlining the steps to his program. The other book that I just got done reading that you will hear more about this month is Smart Women Finish Rich by David Bach.

J :)

Anonymous said...

Hey Jenny,

I have heard of people freezing their credit cards in a tupperware of water in the freezer. That way if they really want to purchase something they have to wait for it to melt and that gives them time to think about it in the process. Might be a good place to "hide" your card for the month?

xoxo
Ame

Anonymous said...

What a coincidence, our family has No Spend Month every year in July. I won't be seeing my debit card until August.

LobotoME said...

Hi Amy - love that tip, might have to do it - the gods are conspiring against ME, as I just got the new ANTHROPOLOGIE catalog in the mail today. I RESISTED the urge to EVEN LOOK AT IT. Into the recycling bin it went. Much progress made on Day 1!
Small Notebook - that's awesome you do that every July! I read about it on your blog! $250 for food, gas, everything - HOLY COW! HOW DO YOU DO THAT??? I thought $500 was an AMBITIOUS goal...would love to hear more!

J :)

Anonymous said...

I'm In too - what a great idea!

jenna

Blessed said...

This is something I did really good with until June so for July I'll grab your button and join you!

Anonymous said...

i'm in. borrowed your button too.

Unknown said...

oh i need to do this in a bad way. maybe i'll do august as no spend month..