31 Days of Nothing--Week 4 Update

It has officially been 4 weeks now since we have set out to spend no extra money.  It's been easy and hard, all at the same time.  Most of all, it has allowed us to appreciate what God has given us.  It has also made us realize how much unnecessary purchasing we do.  We don't go out and buy fancy new cars or lavish things, but we do squander money often. 

Here is how we did this week:

1.  I spent 25.57 on Groceries this week topping out our grocery budget at just over $100.  $101.xx is what our Mint account says in the grocery category.  I COULD be done with groceries for the month since we only have 4 days left to survive on what we have but I am going to go get a few things today.  Mainly because our Hy-Vee is having a pretty good 3 days sale with DOUBLE coupons.  Doubles are rare in my area so when they have it, I have to take advantage.  Also, when I budgeted for $100, I forgot to take into consideration that I needed a few non-grocery items (diapers, detergent, etc.) so I'll be happy if I can keep it around $125.

2.  We spent 0 in gas this week and we still have 1/4 of a tank left.  Other than driving 20 miles for groceries, I don't have any plans to drive anywhere so this should last keeping us at $70 even for the month.  We are blessed to have less than a mile (round trip) to drive our son to daycare and to work and home everyday so we don't need a lot of gas for everyday use.  This was one of the major attractions to us relocating from city to small town because we were spending over $400 a month on gas alone with our city commutes.

3.  I didn't sell much this week but J did find a check in his desk at work for $50 that had been there since November.  Who forgets about a $50 check?  My husband. :)  I did have one lady pick up something for $7 so with this + the found money....puts at $607 for the month going into the get-out-of-the-trailer-fund.  Yippee!

4. We did go out to eat on Wednesday but my brother picked up the tab.  J helped him with a couple of his online math classes so he was paying us back for that.  It was really a treat to be able to eat out.  I def. appreciated it more than I usually do when I eat out.  :)

 I will have to do a little bit of spending this weekend to prepare for Austin's birthday.  I think I'm going to attempt to make the cake myself.  I've budgeted $100 for his party and since his birthday is in February, that is when I will categorize this spending.


That is it.  Other than our normal bills and tithing at church, we haven't spent "extra" money this week. I can't wait to see how everyone else who is doing the challenge did this week!