The spending freeze is done! We made it to the end of the month! Whew. Talk about a challenge! But the truth is, I’m so glad we did this. I tracked every single penny this month. Aside from our “blow money” that we allow each other for each pay period, we really nipped frivolous spending in the bud.
So how’d we come out? I’m not going to reveal actual numbers but we have a significant amount of money leftover. This is even after we had some unplanned expenses.
#1. We ended up having to replace my brakes. My car is eight-years-old and it needed them. So we were out that expense.
#2. I totally forgot about personal property taxes. This was a big expense that had to come out of January’s budget. Oops.
#3. We had to put a down payment on our lodging for our Colorado trip. Really, this expense was supposed to go through in December. But they did not cash the check until January.
So, three big expenses that I hadn’t factored in for the month. But that’s just life, right? Still, I can’t imagine how much we would have had leftover had it not been for those costs.
Would I recommend a spending freeze? ABSO-FRIGGIN-LUTELY!
I thought it would be more difficult than it actually was. But if you stay away from stores there won’t be the temptation to buy things.
You may be thinking that there is no way you could do this. Well, I’m here to tell you that you can! You would be amazed what you find out when you see every dollar come and go in one month. It’s worth it to see how you’re spending and where you can cut costs. I did the math about a thousand times this month to try to guesstimate where we would come out at the end. My calculations were right on target. If you don’t track expenses then you have no idea where you’ll be when month-end arrives.
The spending freeze went so well that I am definitely on board to try this again. February will be interesting what with our trip expenses. But I am willing to give the spending freeze another go in February.
Overall, this was a great way to kick off the year. Naaman and I are so dedicated to getting rid of credit card debt this year once and for all. I know it will happen. And when it does I will come back here screaming that WE DID IT!
I can’t wait. This is such a freeing feeling!
Twitter: Kyleyleger
says:
Way to go, Molly! It really is amazing once you start looking at your numbers. When you’re faced with deciding if money should help get you out of debt or go towards new clothes, you start picking debt every time. Before you know it, you’ve created a new routine and it isn’t painful. Good luck on your financial journey!
Woo hoo! We’re hard at work handling our credit card debt too. Your no-spend month has inspired me to cut back even more. Great job!
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We are doing a spending freeze in February. We have crunched our numbers and I am so excited for the amount of money we will have saved during the month as long as we stay on track.
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So awesome! What a freeing feeling, congrats on making it a month!
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