How does one save a bunch of money really fast? Don’t spend any!
I’ve been revisiting the idea of a spending freeze. I did a successful one for the month of February several years ago. And I saved a bit of money. But as I was perusing the internet, I found one person doing an arbitrary 4-month spending freeze. Hmmm. If I want to save a lot of money fast, why not do more than a month, perhaps a 3-month spending freeze?
We are about to enter my least favorite months of the year Jan/Feb/Mar- which I affectionately call winter suck. Why not do something productive to get ready for spring?
This spending freeze will be about giving up wants. After all, I’m already living with abundance and more than enough. I certainly can go for 90 days without purchasing any more.
THE RULES:
The following items are off limits for 90 days: (Every one of these items is a trigger for me.)
- Clothes, shoes
- Books, cds, dvds
- Household decor
- Wine (I may or may not stock up in December)
- K-cups
- Purses/wallets
- Jewelry/clothing accessories
- Planners, stickers, pens (yes, they are a thing)
- Trips (other than NY to see my parents)
- Eating out
- Travel items/accessories
- Manicures/Pedicures
- No online spending (unless it can’t be purchased in a brick/mortar store)
Things I can spend money on:
- Groceries (within a budget of $100/week)
- Medications/Medicine/Drs. appts.
- Anything that Ben (my sweet, sweet boy) needs
- Replacement products (i.e. toothpaste, toilet paper, shampoo, conditioner, make up) * Find the cheapest way to replace through coupons, sales
- Bills (utilities, mortgage, etc.)
- Gasoline (but only one fill up a month for me)
- EZ Pass for my husband to go to work
- Date night (2x) No need to punish my sweet husband. 🙂
- Travel to my parents in NY (a necessity)
- Gifts (3 to be exact – 2 birthdays and an anniversary)
- Hair cut and color 1x (absolutely, positively necessary.)
If anything else should come up that I didn’t account for, I will update this list. In the meantime, I will work on coming up with at least 100 things to do for free to keep me from spending.
This freeze will officially start January 1st.
I’m actually excited. A challenge that will bear fruit at the end. Money fruit, that is. 😉
Anyone with me?
JOURNEY TO RETIREMENT 
I’m joining you. But not all on the same months. I need to give my spending a break. It’s tiring.
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I have some big goals, so it will be exactly what I need. Glad you will be joining me! 😉
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Good idea, Sharon. I will be interested to see how this goes for you, hoping I can pick up some tips. It is a good time of the year to do a spending challenge.
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I have to take a breather in the middle for my sister’s big 60.
After that, I will be joining you on the bench. We are taking “the kids” to my mom’s for her big 90 in July. That will rob every penny I will save. 🙂
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It goes fast, right? BUT, at least you will be saving for it. 🙂
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