A Month of Spending on Necessities Only... Wish Me Luck

I was reading my friend Molly's blog this past week and was completely inspired by her post documenting her month long journey in not spending excess money. Her goal, to sum it up, was to spend money only on food for an entire month, then document what she wanted to spend on and then what she actually did. I think it was a great exercise and so obvi, had to take a go at it myself. Imitation is the best form of flattery, right Mol? Starting today, and continuing through the month of April, I will be doing my darndest to put money in the bank and keep it there and this ain't no April Fools Joke!

I'm laying out the rules as follows:

• I can only buy food (including pre-arranged meals out), gas, necessities for baby such as diapers, wipes, bum cream etc. 
• I can pay set monthly bills- Car pmt, Internet, Cell etc
• I cannot ask my husband to pick up anything besides food, though we are on the 21 day fix so I do most of the shopping anyhow.
• Trips to Dunks, Starbucks, Fast Food etc should not be considered food purchases

Things I had already pre-paid for/have on the books in the month of April:

• Local class on making your own natural body care products
• Easter Brunch at Nashoba Valley Winery
• Saturday Matinee to see Cinderella. In my defense, this was originally scheduled for March but was moved out due to conflicts.

I will keep track of the following:

• What I wanted to buy but didn't
• What I wanted to buy and did/didn't for the baby
• How often I wanted to shop out of boredom, if I could pinpoint the feeling
• When did I succumb to the urge to purchase for something unnecessary and did I put thought into this purchase before pulling the trigger.

I think this is an exciting challenge/exercise to become more aware of what I am spending and where I am spending it. My end goal is to make more mindful purchases and far fewer impulse ones. At the very least, I can make it through a few weeks keeping my shopping urges under control! *crosses fingers* Catch me on the flip and I'll let you know how I did!

What do you think? If Molly can do it, so can I!