No spend month- the takeaway

Sliding into the end of the month with $0 left in spending budget, but a fatter savings account and airplane tickets (to vacation here), a rental car (to go here) and the unexpected car repairs all taken care of.

First thing my husband wants to do on August 1:
Get to Maria's with a basket of chips, white cheese dip, guacamole and burritos between us and plot our next home projects. Next home projects will include painting master bedroom, finishing trim on new French doors, new counter tops in kitchen, shoring up foundation under garage, building a boat port and a large back patio, rug and drapes for dining room, a swing for the front porch, new fall clothes at Talbots... (OK, so maybe some of them are just my projects).

First thing I want to do on August 1:
After multiple baskets of chips at Maria's, a big trip to Home Depot to get gardenia plants and mulch for the empty planter box by kitchen door.

Some things did not work for us and will not be repeated, like buying cheap laundry detergent, not accepting lunch invitations out with friends, making Butch go without a chew toy and our own deprivation of not going out to eat a couple of times each week.

Some things that did work for us and will be kept like sitting down on Thursday night with coupons, the sales ad, a review of the pantry contents and new stack of recipes to try. Grocery shopping on Fridays slowly with cash only (although with a larger weekly amount). Entertaining ourself with walks around Bass Pro Shop ending with free samples of fudge. Bringing lunch to work.

Takeaway:
The pantry is not empty. The freeze is not empty. My fear of being stuck eating a can of pears for dinner did not materialize. I was still able to try new recipes, participate in the food ministry and bake. This has been not terribly difficult and worth it to see the bank account jump. We are currently in discussions about our next attempt. Maybe November?