How We Spend

So, before I begin I want to go over a couple of things that I think are important. First of all, I am human thus this could go horribly wrong. I know there will be times that I totally miss it and there will be times I am tempted to become legalistic in my approach. That being said, I am allowing myself to mess up. I know things will come up in the next 7 months that wont bode well with the month I am on so I am giving myself some wiggle room. My prayer is that in my wiggle, the spirit to which I am doing this won't get lost. I also know that Randy won't always want to abide by the ground rules and that is okay too. This is my journey and even though we are on a journey together, this one is my adventure. I will gladly have him along but I dont expect him to be as willing - even though I know he will be perfectly willing to help me stick to my month. And speaking of month, each month will run from the 1st to the 28th. Stopping it on the 28th will give me a day or two each month to process the previous month and prepare for the next. Month One is Spending and Buying, which I think is going to be the most interesting of all the marriages in this process. On the spending side, the original concept is to only spend in 7 places. I written out my ideas and different avenues I can take this and I have decided to only spend in 7 areas. As I mentioned in my last post, we recently moved and our spending habits have already changed. I only spend in 5 or 6 places on a regular basis but by spending in 7 areas, I will also be saying no to 7 unnecessary areas as well. My 7 Spending areas are: Work, Bills, Gas, Groceries, Pets, Date Night and Household (TP, PT, Deo, etc). My 7 unnecessary are: Fast Food, Coffeehouses, KKD (Yes. Seriously. I pass it twice a day, every day), Books, Thrift Stores, Clothes and Car (gas and necessary maintenance not included). Any money saved will go into savings and not be spent. As for the spending side of this month, this is what I will be doing: Indulge in a Modest Spurge: making sure we have a date night once a week (don't think Randy will have a problem with this one); Buy Needful Things: only buying what I actually need (I won't be stocking up at WalMart just because it is on sale); Spend Out: use what I have for a rainy day - I also won't be stocking up on food items, focusing on using what is already in my pantry; Give Something Up: making a trade by not buying the little unnecessary things (thrift store) so that we can save up for something bigger - vacation, iPad, House, etc. Each month I will also be reading a book that is focusing on the next month. This week I am reading, "The Treasure Principle" by Randy Alcorn. It's little so I have time to get it in before the first. In preparation for April and Month Two, I will be reading, "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan. I have actually started this one and tried reading it before bed. Not a good idea. My first two hours of "sleep" was all about the food industry and needing to eating more fruit and vegetables. I will be reserving this book for the after school pick-up line. It will keep me from McD's and KKD. That is all for now. Keep coming back for more updates. TTFN