My No Spend Month

While reading through some homesteader discussion sites I came across a group of people who decided to have a No Spend Month last January.  I have no idea how their month went, but I decided I would have my own No Spend Month starting that day, and lasting until Easter.  My husband pointed out that we had to eat, and even though I am not Catholic, I was was doing a great version of Lent. 

So I altered my guidelines and changed to  a No Spend (Except What We Really Need) Month.  I am also attempting to buy whole food rather than any prepared food.  I am now 3 weeks into it, and have done great, in my opinion, except for one cave when I was REALLY hungry and I bought a sandwich... shh, don't tell.  All of this came on the heels of a discovery that we had an extra bill to pay and we didn't know it until they phoned.  It seemed a logical thing to do, and (as my dear husband pointed out) something we should have been doing all along.  Well then.

 Some reasons to have a No Spend Month:

1. You have more money in the bank for bills and other fun things like that.
2. You aren't buying anything made in China.  (Or anywhere else for that matter).
3. It makes you realize how much money you spend on unnecessary things (like coffee, eating out, impulse purchases etc.). 
4. You are doing the first step of the REDUCE-REUSE-RECYCLE motto.  First you should reduce.  If you can't reduce, then reuse.  If you can't reuse, then recycle. I love it!   By not buying, you are reducing the amount of junk that would be in the landfills in the future.
5. You use up what you already have.
6. Last but not least!  you are paying no sales tax.  

Now, if you are like me, you like to get new things.  It just makes you feel good.  I started getting urges to get something new early on in my No Spend Month.  I ended up on Craigslist Free section pressing refresh every few hours.  I scored (get this) a greenhouse, a cedar swing set, a shed for the new chicken coop, a door and window also for the coop, fencing for the new goat pasture, canning jars for Healthy Green Mama, and I ALMOST got a kick wheel for my sister-in-law who is currently borrowing my wheel.  Almost!  She was next in line but someone else got there first.  And my month isn't over yet!  Excuse me a second while I click the refresh button. 

Using up what you already have is a wonderful side effect of a No Spend Month.  The free shed arrived painted a boring beige color and so I used paint from a house that was torn down eight years ago.  (Yes, we have some pack rat in us!)  It cost nothing, there was nothing wrong with it, and now the chicken coop is green, which matches the old chicken coop and blends in better with the trees.  I also dug into my freezer to pull out the seeds I had saved over the last few years.  (Did you know that if you freeze your garden seeds you can replant them the next year?)  I started 2 flats of tomato plants and discovered that I could plant a HUGE garden with the amount of seeds I have collected over the last few years.  I am not sure if the germination will be as successful, but I have planted frozen seeds in the past and have had no trouble. 

So, on a No Spend Month, you can still do fun things!  Check out Craigslist free section for your city, or Freecycle.  I am having a great time shopping for free.  My husband isn't so impressed since he has to go and get the things I "buy".  But the kids love it, (the swing set for example) and I am not feeling deprived in the slightest.  I am using up things that I would have otherwise bought (paint, seeds).  And best of all, I feel like I am getting the sweetest deal out of the whole thing!  Think you can do it?  If not a month, a week?  A day?  Let me know how it goes.

This post has been linked up to Homestead Barn Hop #37 and Frugally Sustainable's Frugal Ways, Sustainable Days Blog Hop.

stock photo provided by: www.dreamstime.com