No Spend November

http://www.rd.com/advice-and-know-how/hochman-family-cuts-spending/article99718.html

This month, we decided to try something out that we read in a Reader's Digest article. It's about a family who tried going a month without buying ANY non-necessities. They went as far as getting rid of their Internet, clothing budget, and even gas...must have been from a small town or something. They only had $100 for the month for fresh milk and fruit, and ate mostly out of their freezer and pantry, like most of us could do.

We changed the plan a bit, but the idea is still the same. Food is more expensive here, so we have to spend more to get enough fruits and veggies. We've cut out going out for coffee (very hard to do when I work downtown and have about FIVE Starbucks around my building), and no eating out...which can also be hard to do downtown. Besides this, we haven't spent any money on toys or clothes or anything else that we don't need. It's almost the end of the month, and the result is that we've saved HUNDREDS of dollars!!!! It helps that we never went to Costco all month too!

What we've learned from this experience is how easy it is to spend money on things we don't need. It seems like such a waste when we think about how much money we throw away on just stuff! After seeing the results, it's motivated us to keep doing it. What a great way to either get out of debt or have more to give to others who actually need it.