It’s over!!!!! I’m so glad it’s over. haha! We obviously weren’t totally successful at freezing all spending, but we did pretty well all things considered.
I wanted to share some tips that helped us, or things that we would have done differently.
1. PLAN– I wrote down a skeleton meal plan for the month of February. I was able to make sure we had enough meat and beans for our protein for the month. I bought plenty of canned veggies and pasta, along with a lot of mac and cheese. Be sure to have a lot of the basics on hand. This was key for us, since most of our spending is for groceries.
2. GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION– Last week, Addi spiked a fever. The next day, she laid around, said her neck hurt, and ran a fever. I thought for sure that we were about to wage war with the flu. I ran to the store and picked up more motrin, Oscillo, and the other usual sick family supplies. I was really, really relieved when her fever was gone the next day and no one else caught whatever virus she had. Had I said “no we are not spending anything”, I would have been incredibly overwhelmed with worry that my kids would be sick and miserable because I was stubborn.
3. DECIDE WHAT IS OFF LIMITS– By off limits, I mean what are you not willing to stop buying for the month? What is off limits to freeze spending on? I refuse to not have fresh produce in our house. We allowed ourselves to go to the store once a week to restock on produce, milk, and bread. This helped us be successful in the long run. It was challenging to not pick up other things, but it’s a good test in self control. We also needed to get the girls’ eyes examined again, and did that during February.
4. TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY– You don’t want to be in the middle of a spending freeze and have someone invite you out to lunch. The temptation to say yes will be too much, and you’ll end up spending money.
5. DON’T DO A FULL MONTH– haha! I know I said that it would probably be fine, since February was a short month. But, it was really hard. A month is a long time. The chances of one of your kids getting sick is higher. Some kind of car emergency could come up. There’s a lot that can happen in a month. So, I recommend doing just one or two weeks. You’d be amazed at how much you still save.
Would we do it again? I think yes. I don’t think we would do a full month again, but I definitely would do a one or two week freeze again. It is fun to be challenged.
I am very glad it is over though. I would see really good sales at the store and feel bummed because I couldn’t take advantage of them. There was a one day only sale on cereal this past Saturday, and I bought some. My husband and kids are obsessed with cereal, and I was not about to pass up 99 cent boxes of cereal. #NoRegrets
Would you ever consider a spending freeze? What are your favorite ways to save money? If you have any questions about a spending freeze that I haven’t answered, please let me know!
Also, don’t forget about the giveaway! You can still enter if you haven’t already.
1 Thessalonians 4:11