365 Day Spending Fast

For the year of 2013, I decided to try my hand at a 365 Day spending fast.  Towards the end of 2010, I happened upon an article about loosening up some money from your budget by going on a 21 Day Financial Fast, and it seemed like a fabulous challenge.  http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/01/31/312044/try-a-21-day-spending-fast.html

In the intervening 2 years, I have done a few 21 day fasts, some 60 day fasts, and two 90 day fasts.  Each time, I have "found" money that was gone through impulse buying at the grocers, convenience food for the kids from drive-thru's on the go, or meeting a friend of mine for a luncheon out.  Oh, and luncheon out means an inexpensive meal with water.  Always as close to 5 bucks as I could keep it.  Even though I have been working on being a frugal by nature person for years now, and it is almost second nature, each time I challenge myself to a spending fast; I always wind up having just a little more money that I otherwise have normally.

I began to wonder at the end of last year "what if".  What if I could do a spending fast for an entire year?  How much improvement could I see?  Would I have enough money to start some of the projects that I want to do?

I would like to make my own soap, salves, and compost.  I would like to start gardening, but when I price it out, it looks like starting a garden is not as easy as simply dropping seeds into a hole in the dirt.  It takes maintenance and stuff, and start up costs.  Beeswax is not the cheapest item in the world either.  It is not terribly expensive, but neither is it cheap.  I have has some trepidation about getting going on some small projects, since I do not want to waste ingredients during my learning curve.   But, with a spending fast, it frees up enough that I can incorporate a little waste into my life without any guilt.  Win/Win in a big way.

Plus, when I am doing projects, Thing1 and Thing2 can get in on the act, and it becomes a form of entertainment.

Word of advice: If you are going to attempt a year long spending fast, you need to have some more liberal ground rules than if you are attempting one for simply 30, 60, or 90 days.  A full year of only buying groceries, paying your normal bills, and maintaining your vehicle in good running order will not cut it.  You have to occasionally replenish your wardrobe basics - and I mean JUST basics. There are obligatory gifts throughout the year, and field trips cost money.  I will not make my kids miss out on things simply because Husband and I have made the decision to tighten the spending belt.  Neither does this mean that we will justify un-necessary expenses in the name of the children.  We have tried to think of all of the things that could come up this year, and have set some money aside for it in the monthly budget.

Since we have 2 children, obviously there will be growth spurts during the year.  Towards that end, $35 has been budgeted per month for clothing for the kids.  I have clothes in a range of sizes, so I should be good.  Unless Paleo works better that I ever could have expected, and I drop more than 10 dress sizes between now and the end of the year; I am good on clothes.  My only foreseeable clothing expense will be a bathing suit for the summer.  My old one is 3 years old, and with the weight loss that I have experienced so far, it really is ill fitting.  I could probably make it work, but I would be afraid of a boob popping out at an inopportune moment.

If one of the girls get asked to a birthday party, the limit on a gift is 20 dollars, including card and wrapping.  For me, though, wrapping means going out and grabbing a Thrifty Nickle and using the free ads as paper.  We have set aside 5 dollars per month for field trips through the school.  That should be more than adequate.

Entertainment costs have been the most surprising to me.  I had thought that the entertainment budget would hurt the most.  I set the line at $20.00 per month for the entertainment for the family, and thought I was being a hardass with that number.  I have been pleasantly surprised to find that $20.00 has been not only adequate so far, but has proved to be generous.  Since our Netflix and Hulu Plus fees come under the "monthly bills" portion of my budget, the 20 dollars is in addition to those expenditures.

We are lucky enough to live in an area of the country where there are loads of free things to do.  We have 2 free museums that are pretty amazing, loads of parks, and in the summer months, there are movies on the square on the first Friday of every month - they are all kid friendly, and they are free.  Bring some water, some home-made snacks, and a blanket to spread on the lawn, and we have a family friendly evening of entertainment once a month.  :-)

Our family also belongs to a gym owned by Husband's employer, and available at a nominal fee which Husband signed up to have taken from his check.  Our gym has indoor pools that Thing1 and Thing2 would love to hit after school every day of the week.  Unfortunately, we can only do it once, maybe twice, per week - but the option is there, and it is lovely to know that.

It has been fun looking these things up.  I started with my local parks and recreation department, and checking out some websites of the local radio stations for things to do for free, and came up with a fairly large number of options.  Try it for yourself, even if you are not planning a spending fast.  You could find fun in your own area that will not break the bank.:-)

The upside is that the money that I am freeing up can go towards paying off debt, buying higher quality foods, and feeling better overall because my body is healthier, and so is my pocketbook!

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