31 Days of Nothing: Kick Off Time!!!!

OK, tomorrow officially starts my 31 days of nothing challenge.  Super excited to see how things go!  The past few days I've been coming up with my dollar amounts and here's what I've come up with:

#1- Grocery budget = $100.  Should be doable since we have a fairly well stocked pantry.  Bread, fresh fruits/veggies, milk, cheese and that's about it for the month.  Meals may be interesting to say the least. :)  I didn't even do a pre-challenge pantry stocking party although I really wanted to!

#2- Gas budget = $125.  With gas prices being as high as they are and the fact I work 5 days per week (out of town) I'm hoping this will be all I need.

#3- Entertainment budget = $250.  I would have set this budget to zero but Jayden and Todd both have birthdays this month.  Normally Jayden's birthday consists of a large party, whether it be swimming at King's Pointe or bowling followed by supper out but we will be doing a much smaller party this year.  This budget includes presents, food and entertainment for both parties.

#4- Being less wasteful.  My family is phenomenal for leaving the lights turned on all over the house.  We are going to work harder to shut lights off, reduce water usage and keep the thermostat a little cooler.  I'm even foregoing my nightly "hide in the bathtub and read a magazine" routine to help conserve on water usage.

#5- I will not be eating at work anymore.  All meals will have to be brought from home.  It is all too easy to eat at work 5 days a week and spend almost $100 per month on lunch alone.  If I forget to bring lunch I always have a jar of peanut butter in my locker.

If I think of any additional rules I will add to this list but for now this is my plan.  Here goes nothing!

Decision to be frugal

Back in November, I started couponing.  It has been great fun, but I quickly realized a few things:
#1- I wasn't saving any money because I was still shopping just as much as I was before.
#2- My family was eating a LOT of processed foods because quite honestly, what are most coupons for?  Lots of processed foods.

So I decided it was time for a change.  My family has agreed to eat less processed food and more wholesome meals.  I also decided it was time to be more financially free....hence the reason for the blog.  I've read several blogs and have been quite inspired to make better life choices, starting with finances.

My goal for the month of March is to acclimate to our new lifestyle and try to save as much as possible while following the '31 day no-spend challenge'.  It will be interesting to see exactly how much we save. I created a cute little sign and hung it on the fridge to write down every time I go to the store and how much I spend.  Seeing it directly will hopefully change my spending habits.  We have a nice stockpile of meat and rice, so hopefully shopping for the next month will only require perishable items.  March 1 will officially start the 'no spend' challenge.  Here's to saving!!