I did a no spending month on anything extra and this is what I learned. I spent no money on things other than main bills such as rent/mortgage, phone, insurance, car, gas, utilities, and food only if we desperately needed it (and I mean desperately needed the food). I forced myself to get creative and not give up.
To Much Food
I owned WAY more food than I thought. I was able to feed my family of 4 on what we already owned and didn’t spend any money that whole 30 days. It blew my mind and forever changed the way I spend money on groceries. I used to throw food away on a regular basis. I just envisioned my kids eating way more fresh fruit and veggies than what reality is. Before this experiment, I would make larger meals and plan on my family eating all the extras but what was actually happening is we hardly ever ate it and all that food went in the trash. I started making much smaller meals that fed us for one meal and if there was extras, force myself to make our family eat them and now I hardly ever throw food away. However, I do have to grocery shop more often and we don’t have a ton of variety but I cut our grocery spending down by a few hundred dollars every month. I also learned that I need to be better at weekly meal planning. If I plan ahead and only buy what is needed, then we don’t have extra items that could possibly get wasted. I am serious when I say, this lesson alone was worth the whole experiment.
To Much Product
I owned more product than a family of 4 needed or could possibly use on a regular basis. This 30 day experiment sent me on a journey of refusing to buy another product for my house or family till every single one of that particular item was used. If we think about it, most of us have multiple bottles of shampoo in our shower alone, let alone the pile under the sink. I even forced my family to use every single travel size bottle I had in our house. I did this with body wash, conditioner, vitamins, cleaners, candles, perfume, chapstick, hand soap, deodorant, tooth paste, and much more. Before, I had an overflowing linen closet full of stuff that I bought in bulk as well as each cupboard in every bathroom full. It took us over a year to use most of these products up. I also had a problem with buying way to much toilet paper. It looked like I was prepping for the end of the world by the amount of toilet paper we owned. It took us many months to use it all up. This part of the experiment blew my mind as well. I immediately got rid of my subscription to that certain store where you can buy everything in bulk and realized how much money and my precious space I was wasting. At some point in my life, I was lead to believe that we needed multiple of everything because we might run out. It’s an unhealthy way to go about it. Stop giving in to the buy, buy, buy mentality and truly evaluate what you and your family use and need. It will save you so much money and you will have a lot more space in your house. The goal is every item has a home.
I Am Resourceful
It came as a shock to me on how many clever ways I could come up with to not spend money. I made a game out of it and almost got addicted to the results. In fact, I sold a lot of items around our home that month & made money. I was able to pay a pesky bill with the money from the sold items and what we saved. Some of our meals were not usual and we definitely ate a few made up recipes from the random ingredients I had around the house but the kids hardly noticed and the benefits way out weighed the changes being made.
Free Activities
I found so many activities to do with my kids that didn’t require money. It did required me to think outside the box, get creative, and ask friends for advise. We made play dough from a few ingredients we had in the house, we learned of a few local businesses that do a free craft one time a month. We also found a few museums and parks that have a free admission day each month. We even went to a free concert and loved every second of it. Look in your area and if its anything life my town, there are loads of free things to do.
Change Bad Habits
I saved so much money that month by not spending on mindless things. Many of my bad spending habits were revealed and I was able to put plans in place to start changing them. I loved the results so much that I challenged myself to keep going on many of the items till my house had only the essentials. Most daily needs are at our finger tips so bulk supply isn’t a necessity to me any more. I also started changing the way I think about household/furniture items that we stored for years because of that irritating “might need it one day” mindset just isn’t helpful these days. Many years ago when items weren’t readily available it made sense to store and keep items, but today you can sell an item at a garage sale or on an online sale site and buy it again in a year for the same price if you find you need it again. During that year, you didn’t have to store it & take up precious space in your life. There are very few items I feel are worth storing and most of those are family heirlooms. Get serious about your priorities and start changing your bad habits to align.
Our Legacy
I realized how many bad habits I was passing on to my children. I was not leading by example. Yes I was keeping our house clean but I was hardly ever getting rid of things, I was buying and buying even though we hadn’t used what we already owned, and I wasn’t appreciating the items we did have because I was overwhelmed by it all. I observed my kids and would see the signs of my bad habits. They had a mindset of always needing more, wanting more and once they had it, they hardly paid any attention to it. I want to live a life of gratitude and I want my children to as well. Tackling our bad habits head on changes future generations. What legacy are you leaving behind to your children and grandchildren?
Well said! ❤️
thank you! 😊