The NO Spending Spree is OVER!

Well we made it through! 
It's finally April! :)
The No Spending Spree can get kicked out the door...haha!
No, it would probably be smart to stick with it to some extent as time goes on.  I did learn a lot though, and although we saved a bit more than we typically do, I don' think it was quite the best way to go about it.  We don't have enough saved to do this...

photo credit
...but I had to laugh when I saw this pic! :)
As of my last post about this, we still hadn't spent anything extra beyond what was necessary (or so I thought!).
I found out later that my hubby had paid the typical few dollars for renting a gym to play basketball every week.  He went a couple times before we realized...HELLO...that's part of the spending! No wonder he said that it wasn't affecting him much! :)
I did end up breaking down and buying some diapers for the boys as well.  I did some cloth diapers on Rystin for awhile but my stash wasn't quite equipped enough to just start in and stick with it.  I need a few more of them to last more than a few days.  And I wasn't about to start trying them on Skyler, though maybe that would have motivated him to use the potty instead! I switched to cloth nursing pads since I ran out of my others! I also had to buy some vitamins and things because the cold bug hit both our boys and we were trying to make them better! That was pretty important and necessary in my mind!  Unfortunately, our yearly dental checkups ended up being during March too, which is always a bigger expense. We both bought a few things related to work, but nothing major. Right now I can't think of anything else until yesterday (yes...it was the last day of March) and went and finally went grocery shopping to fill my empty fridge and fruit bowl!  We had supper company and I decided I couldn't wait until April 1st to go!

So here are a few things I learned about this type of 'fast':
1. It's not the best way!
2. You miss out on sales for things you know you'll have to buy at some point either way
3. You end up spending MORE than normal when you go and restock at the end of your planned time
4. You make others feel like they have to have you stay for meals because they know you'd have to go all the way home to eat otherwise! ;)
5. You can't go to garage sales...ahh! :(
6.  A lot of it turns out to be just stubbornness and pride that keeps you going!
But some positives are:
1. You DO end up saving more
2. You create better spending habits (or lack thereof)
3. It is a good teacher of self-discipline

So like I said, I wouldn't say this was the best way overall, but I would recommend every family to do something like this occasionally.  I would say to change the rules a little to something more along the lines of not spending anything 'extra'.  Things like food (within reason), and regular needs should be okay.  That way, if you see sales on something you know you would normally need, you CAN go out and stock up!
I did enjoy my day stocking up again yesterday and hitting garage sales today, though!  Did I buy anything I didn't need you ask?!  Well... um... ok, maybe a little!  :)  Did you make any financial goals recently?  How is it going for you?
I always love your comments and input...share with me!