I think it’s time to say so long…

Categories: Uncategorized | March 18th, 2009 | by happilyfrugal | no comments

If you haven’t noticed I have not posted any updates in like 18 days. Frankly, I don’t even think about this blog anymore. We buy something if we need it - if we don’t need it we don’t buy it. We are paying our bills on time and putting money toward our debt…. the (shortened) nospend was a success and I’m so glad we did it.

I will probably pull the blog in a few days and redirect it to my vegetarian blog or my family blog.

Thanks for going through  this journey with me, everyone I really could not have done it without all the support I have gotten.

March 1st Came Quickly!

Categories: Uncategorized | March 1st, 2009 | by happilyfrugal | 5 comments

February was a very busy month for us, we got a minivan, completed baby step #1 ($1000 in savings) and went vegetarian!

So we are back to the nospend. We needed the break, and I’m glad we got it. We are going to be a little more relaxed this time around. Still no spending money on useless crap, or eating out, but if my rice cooker dies I’m going to replace it (the cheapest way possible) LOL.

February…

Categories: No-Spend Challenge | January 30th, 2009 | by happilyfrugal | 3 comments

We have decided to take a break in February instead of quitting the no-spend entirely… I think.

Reasons for this:
Taxes are due in Feb - we have big plans for them - stuff that cannot wait
We have both admitted that we are getting burned out.
This blog is a lot of pressure. LOL

So I will be back in March!

Okay, so crazy may have been a bit harsh…

Categories: Uncategorized | January 26th, 2009 | by happilyfrugal | 4 comments

But we certainly weren’t totally thinking this one through when we started it.

We ARE going to revamp the no-spend. I know, I know, taking the easy way out… but we have learned a lot along the way.

Depriving yourself for a whole year is just setting yourselves up for a huge explosion a year later. I don’t even know how many times a day/week one of us talked about buying/doing something ‘when the no-spend is over’. Well, if we are just gonna spend a whole ton of money in October, then we didn’t learn a darn thing.

HOWEVER, we certainly aren’t going to start spending money left and right, NO NO NO. We are just giving ourselves a little more wiggle room.

More details to come when we get everything sorted out, stay tuned!!

No-spend year? Maybe we are crazy.

Categories: Uncategorized | January 20th, 2009 | by happilyfrugal | 14 comments

I know… I haven’t posted an update in awhile. To be honest, the no-spend is becoming a major downer. It has shifted from an empowering change in our lives to a thorn in my side. A major one at that.

Over the last 3 (almost four now) months we have learned a LOT about our spending habits. The fact that we don’t NEED to eat out, that we do just fine without garbage bags and more fabric than I know what to do with (and in four months I have barely made a dent in my fabric stash, which is sad with how much I have sewn and traded away).

I guess I’m not sure where to take this. Do we stick with the no-spend for another 8 months just so we aren’t a couple of quitters? Do we change the rules?

We are quite confident in our new found ability to discuss what we want to buy and put it off for a few days now. Which is something we never did before. I mean, there are lots of things I WANT, but still very few I need. But when something comes along that would save me time or money it gets really depressing to be tied to this no-spend.

I don’t know… just thinking out loud here, I guess.

Welcome DS Members!

Categories: Uncategorized | January 15th, 2009 | by happilyfrugal | 3 comments

Please follow the links on the left to our FAQ and our rules.

This blog was originally for internet friends and our families, so if anything is confusing - sorry!

And THAT is why I plan for a month!

Categories: Frugal Tips, Meal Planning | January 5th, 2009 | by happilyfrugal | one comments

Because when I walk into a store and find one of my staple items (for instance my monthly box of tomato soup) on sale for more than half it’s regular price, I can buy 6 of them! When we eat pretty much the same thing every month, it gets to the point where I stock up when something is on sale - I rarely pay full price for anything.

My kids LOVE organic graham crackers, but at $4.79 a box, it’s a rare treat - usually a box every other month or so. Unless of course they have 4 boxes marked down to $1.99 a box!

Three or four months ago they clearanced whole wheat spaghetti down to $0.59 per box - I bought 10 of them.

I also go through the loss leaders for all the local grocery stores every week before I do my fresh weekly fruit & veggie shop. I DO NOT buy things just because they are on sale, I only buy them if they are things we already buy. You are NOT saving money by buying something you wouldn’t have bought anyway.

Clearance sales are not in the paper, so these things are often surprises - find out where they put clearance items at your local grocery store and check them out every time you go - clearance items go fast! Some stores have several different places you can find them. My local store has seasonal clearance (right now candy canes and random candy gift boxes) in the bottle return at the back of the store, baked goods near the dairy, grocery at the end cap of most isles and produce scattered around that department. There are also meats & cheeses marked down with the rest of those items.

1/4 of the way through the no-spend year!

Categories: No-Spend Challenge | January 2nd, 2009 | by happilyfrugal | no comments

Can you believe it? It’s been three months, we are 1/4 of the way through our no-spend year. Nine months to go!

They say hindsight is 20/20. I knew we were a bit behind on our bills. We didn’t have any shut off notices or anything and everyone was fed. But looking back, we were (and really, still are) one paycheck away from financial ruin. It has taken us THREE MONTHS to get to the point where all of our bills are on time. That means that we were more than just ‘a bit behind’.

What a sobering realization! We will be having an awesome month as far as the no-spend goes. Our tax returns will be in at the end of the month and will fully fund our emergency fund and start paying down the credit cards. I CAN NOT WAIT!

I guess the moral of the story is ‘just a bit behind’ can turn into a lot more than that and VERY quickly. I encourage everyone to get their acts together in 2009 with their finances!

Hrmph… Gifts…

Categories: Uncategorized | January 2nd, 2009 | by happilyfrugal | 2 comments

There is an aspect of this website that I hadn’t really considered when making it - people wanting to send me things. I guess I didn’t see this blog becoming as popular as it has, or how interested people are in helping us on our journey.

I’m really struggling with this. On one hand, anyone could do a nospend year if they had people sending them things all the time. But then I think how different is it really from our friends and family helping us out. It isn’t, I guess. I have made several great friends in the last three months from this blog!

I am fielding emails on nearly a daily basis of people asking how they can help - what they can send us - and where to send it. Understandably, I am hesitant to give our home address out to perfect strangers on the internet - and a PO box costs money and is out of the question!

So what I’ve decided is that I will put this little amazon wish list button on the side bar of my website…

I will add everything I would have normally wanted to buy to it. From the $2 nail polish to the $500 camera accessory. I figure it will REALLY show me the kind of money I would otherwise be spending… and well, if some millionaire comes along and wants to buy me a new laptop - I won’t turn it down. LOL

So I’m adding the button, but I won’t be talking about it again - I’m not soliciting here - we would be doing this nospend even if nobody helped us out at all. I just thought this would help me field the ‘what can I send you’ questions. To be honest, they make me uncomfortable

I tried and I tried, but I just can’t do it.

Categories: Uncategorized | December 24th, 2008 | by happilyfrugal | 5 comments

My husband gave me puppy dog eyes this evening about not getting the children presents. I guess it does seem cold and harsh to some people. Me? I figure they will never remember anyway… but it is important to my husband.

So… a new holiday tradition has been born. We still think it’s silly to shower them with gifts knowing full well the rest of the family will spoil them rotten anyway On Christmas morning when we sit down with our cinnamon rolls and milk for breakfast, we will also each wake up to a gift at our place setting. Something small and significant to the moment. This year, I will pick out the gift for my husband and daughter, and my husband will pick out the gift for myself and our son. I am getting our daughter a stuffed cow - she is IN LOVE with cows and moos at them all the time in her books, so I think it is something she will adore.

Had this been something we thought of earlier than December 23rd, I would have insisted the gifts be hand made due to the no-spend, but since I am already past the time limit to start a new project, I am just going to give in without a fight.

I’m feeling kind of guilty that my last few postings have been about spending money. I hope we haven’t let anyone down. I really am still very committed to the nospend.