March into a...Shopping Spree?!

...Or not!!

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  More like... Saving Spree!!  That's right, we're marching into March hoping to SAVE this month.  As in...to the extreme!
Do you ever have those moments where you look at your 'piggy bank' and say "WHERE did it all go!?"
Yeah.  Me too.
So my  hubby and I decided it's time to do something about it.
We say that all the time.
But this time...we mean it! :)
We, as in myself, my husband, AND my boys, are going on a NO Spending Spree! 

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Yeah...pretty much how I'm feeling too!
Basically, as of March 1st, we are not going to spend ANY money other than the necessary.
No...not necessary as in a chocolate fix on a low day.
Necessary as in ONLY bills and required things.
Groceries NOT included(...with the exeption of milk)!!
Ok so that might sound a little extreme.  And maybe it's not quite fair to act like we can live with no groceries or spending of any kind for  31 (eek!!) days.  I guess I should explain that we're the type who like to stock up on things that we can.  We have two full size freezers out in the garage with meat, fruit, plus some things such as butter and cheese.  We also are fans of Costco, so things like diapers, toilet paper, and such are usually stocked up pretty well at our house.  So no, we won't starve...and I THINK I have enough diapers to last through then for both boys.  :)  But we also didn't cheat.  We didn't go stock up on everything we could think of, fill our closets, pantry, freezers, shoe boxes, and bathtubs with things we MIGHT need for our spend-free month!
Basically, on the way to church yesterday we were talking and decided, yeah let's do that! Since I have today still in Feburary I had planned on going one last time and just getting a bit more of the produce and dairy items I know I need.
The challenge is that we have out of town company staying for possibly over a week this month and I am hosting Rystin's baptism at our house this weekend!!!  Because of the weather, (it's been snowing all day and is just above freezing temp...dangerous in the NW!) I haven't made it to the store yet...so I MAY have to a few things tomorrow.  Is that cheating too bad?! I might be able to figure out my dinner for the baptism on what I have on hand.  We shall see.
Of course required payments such as electricity, rent, gas, etc are allowed, as well as any expenses for work and business.  No... I won't be able to justify a $200 shopping trip buying fabric as a 'business expense' unless I need them for orders! :)
And today I AM doing a bit of online stuff that I've been putting off for awhile that I needed to get awhile ago and I know I can't do them after today!

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So no more money burning and needless spending for us (this month anyways!) 
I decided I wanted to blog about it, hoping for some accountability and support from you guys!  Anyone interested in joining me in this challenge?! Of course I realize this isn't completely possible for every family, but you can change up the rules a bit to accomidate what you need.  Maybe you just need to stop spending in a certain area (say...coffee stops?!)  You can start anytime, but don't cheat and go buy a month's worth of stuff and THEN decided! :)  The whole idea is to see if you can get by pretty much on what you have now. I'd love to have others doing it with me and hear how it goes for you! I'll keep you posted off and on throughout the month and let you know how things are going for us.  And yes, I'll be honest!
So keep me accountable and help me out as we start this challenge!!