Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Spending Freeze

Getting children ready for a new school year requires a lot.

Completing enrollment forms;

Paying enrollment fees;

New PE Uniforms;

School supplies;

New shoes;

New clothes;

Sports equipment;

Appointments for Physicals, Eye Check, Dental check-ups;

What did I forget?


Lawman and I have taken care of all of the above. It requires lots of time. Lots of dollars. $ Cha-Ching $


I did the last of the school supply purchasing on Sunday. When I got home I announced that I was instituting a spending freeze. I'm tired of the money just flowing out of our checkbook. So, we agreed that for the rest of the week we would write no checks and only spend the cash that was in our wallets.


We ran out of milk tonight. Lawman is taking a debit rebate card that has just enough left on it to buy 1 gallon. Ok, I thought. We can do this.


Maybe not. One of our toilets just broke. It's not the kind that you can just run to the hardware store and buy replacement parts for.....it's a power-assist. Requires a plumber. I don't think I have enough cash in my wallet to take care of that. We have 2 other bathrooms that are in working order....do we put it off until next week?

7 comments:

Lisa said...

I'm not hardcore thrifty by any means, but we've been without a microwave for about 6 weeks now because of our spending freeze, so I'd say yes.

Michelle @ Give a Girl a Fig said...

This is reminding me of all the people doing the "no spend month" challenge. No spending for a MONTH. I don't think I could do it!

Anonymous said...

I say wait until next week, as it feels great when you complete a spend freeze.

Wren said...

I vote to wait too! It's not going anywhere! Good for you on the spending freeze. I think it is a wonderful idea. Thanks too for the comment about the potatoes on screens. I may have to try this. We have them in milk crates, covered in dark fabric, but if one goes bad it makes a huge mess in the crate. Thanks!!

Anonymous said...

wait it out. it will show the girls, your commitment to the spending freeze. interesting in that yesterday I picked up a book from the library titled "i'm not buying it" - it is about a couple who decides not to buy any extra beyond food for one year.

Jenny said...

I was just thinking about a version of this last night. I've heard of people who put a certain amount of cash aside for specific things and spend only that amount say each week or month. Groceries seems to be my downfall. I would have to do it weekly or my family would probably starve at the end of the month...ha.

Anonymous said...

have you been over to Beauty That Moves and seen her post on her Cash Envelope System?

That's the way it always seems to be, I had unexpected car repairs this week (UUUGGGHHH).

I think a toilet is kind of a necessity?

Good for you though. I'm thinking of starting a stringent budget next month (after all the back-to-school)