No spend update - day 16

Money has been spent ... expensive things have been purchased.... My car went in the shop and $600 later, came out with various new and shiny internal parts.......Plane tickets were purchased for our once a year, big vacation occurring in less than six weeks. But, I have a concrete, measurable goal- the goal of the large savings deposit- and it is looking attainable, even with the "extra" money spent. That is what a successful "no spend month" looks like in my house.

Half way through, I have spent about half of everything allotted in each of my various categories. $135 of the $200 grocery budget, and $33 of the $75 lunch money.

It has been neither terribly difficult nor terribly easy. The abundance of fresh, cheap fruit is helpful, as is already having a stocked freezer and pantry. But, its so much easier for me to run into the store, get whatever I want, and run out, but now impossible with a $200 budget. Now, grocery shopping requires me to take an inventory of the pantry and freezer, review sale ads and coupons, ask the honey what he has been missing, make lists of meals for the week (including lunch to take to work), a list of groceries, and then spending way too much time in the store comparing prices, seeing whats looks fresh and/or is on sale, and mentally adding and re-adding my purchases. I could not do it without operating on cash only and using coupons, which I only half-heartily did before this little no spend limited spend torture adventure.

Were still eating unbelievably well. This week I've made BBQ roast sandwiches, tuna sandwiches, white beans and ham, and peanut butter cookies. This weekend cooking plans include fig cookies (from this fig tree), baked chicken with corn on the cob, real mashed potatoes and corn bread, spaghetti, sloppy joes and baked oatmeal. I am a little concerned about blowing the grocery budget.... the last week of the month may not find such glorious offerings.

The real news is I have managed to avoid all estate sales, yard sales, shoe sales, white sales, plant sales, paint sales, clothes sales, Fourth of July sales, book sales, the Outlet Mall, Target, Ann Taylor, J.C. Pennys and Home Depot. Although I've thought long and hard about it, wanted to go, looked through catalogs, and even picked out things to get, I have not bought a thing (except that box of hair color I snuck into the grocery budget).