"No Spending" Update

Well, the month is half over and here is the run down for how it's going with not spending any money. So far, so good.

*I had to buy some children's tylenol when we ran out last week when Britton was sick.
* I was completely unprepared for Valentine's Day at school. This is the first year I've had a kid in school, so it's not something I really think about. When I planned for the month, I actually did think about it, but more in the context of me and Jason and I figured I could make a special dinner and we could do something at home or something free. But, I didn't want to make Britton not have something to take to school. My original intentions were to have him MAKE valentines and treats so that we still didn't have to spend money, but my week was too crazy and that didn't happen. So, last night at about 10:00 I ran to the store for valentines.

And that is all the money we've spent so far. I'm pretty pleased.

However, I think the next two weeks will be harder. I'm to the point where I really have to conserve on gas if I'm going to make it through the month. So, I'll probably be starting to walk a lot more often. We have plenty of food, but we are getting low on some of our favorites, mostly the snacky treaty types of food. So, I'm going to have to be more organized about planning out meals and cooking ahead since most of the easy-to-grab-at-the-last-minute things are gone. I will have to buy milk soon too, but that is something that I planned because I really didn't know what to do about that. I thought about trying to freeze milk or use powdered milk which both probably would've worked. But, in the end, we just decided milk was the one thing we would buy midway through the month.

I've been really happy with this experiment so far. The first few days, it seemed like every time I was in the car, I thought about grabbing some food or a treat or something or running to the store. So, I had to subconsciously remind myself that I couldn't spend money. But, it really only lasted a few days. Now I rarely even think about spending money. I am really surprised how quickly my thought habits have changed.
Another thing that I have noticed is how much food my kids waste. I guess I knew they did before but now, knowing that I can't just run to the store when we're out of something, it bothers me more. Seeing the half a cup of milk on the table or the bowl of uneaten cereal didn't really phase me before. Now it seems like I'm always saying, "Don't ask for food unless you're actually going to eat it!" I don't know if this is a good or a bad thing. I think it's good for my kids to be more aware of what they are wasting and try not to do it, but I don't want to always be nagging them either.
I am amazed at how dedicated my kids are about this too. They will ask for things, out of habit, and I will just say, "We can't get that right now, it's February." And they are just fine with that. No fits. No tantrums. They don't even complain or say that they can't wait until February is over. The other night, I had planned to take Haley with me to the BYU basketball game. At the last minute Britton decided he wanted to go too, but we only had 2 tickets. He really wanted to go. I said that maybe we could make an exception and buy him a ticket, but he didn't want me to do that. He ran into his room, got his wallet, and pulled out all his money. We counted it up and he had enough to buy a ticket. He still had some change leftover so he wanted to buy a brownie at the game. I offered to take his change and just pay for his brownie so they wouldn't have to count it all out, but he said, "No, you can't spend any money, I'll just buy it." It was so cute. We had such a fun time at the game. The whole way home he kept saying, "I'm sure glad I had enough money to go."
Last week I had to buy some things for some church stuff (things that would be reimbursed). When I got out my wallet to pay for it, Britton practically yelled, "Mom, but you can't spend any money." It was kind of embarrassing. I explained to him that it was okay because it was for church and I would be getting the money back. I'm just so happy that he is so dedicated to helping us do this.
I have had to say "no" to a lot of things already. Things that I normally would say "yes" to. Some are things that I really like to be able to do, but most of the things are things I say "yes" to but don't really need to (and probably really shouldn't). Even though I've said "no" to things, I really don't feel like I've missed out on anything. I think this is a really good thing for me to realize. I am not a huge spender as far as shopping goes, but I do love to get out and do things like go to movies and out to eat. But, it's good for me to see that I can have really fun times with my friends and family without spending money.
Well, I will post more updates and more things that I have learned/realized as they come. I think the next two weeks will be more challenging, so wish us luck!