No Spend Month – Update # 2

Time for a quick update for how our No Spend Month is going.

I don’t know that it can necessarily be classified as a “No Spend Month” anymore. I would say that we are still succeeding pretty well in the eating out area. We have only eaten at restaurants 6 times in June compared to 14 for the same timeframe in May. We are down over 50%.

We went to Yorktown this past weekend for a wedding that I was in. This was also something that was planned before the No Spend Month was established so there were some expenses that went along with it like getting my hair done, dress alterations, and suit alterations for Brian that were unavoidable. I mean I guess if I was super committed I could have done my own hair but…I wasn’t. Maybe next time.

Our Wins for June 9 – 20

Jen – Yesterday morning we were out of coffee and I didn’t even want to stop at Starbucks. I just drove right by it and had a diet coke instead and avoided the caffeine headache I usually get.

Brian – He really wanted to buy a cigar a few times and used self control. Someone at work ended up giving him one out of the blue which was exciting.

Our Wins

We have successfully eaten the food we bought the grocery store for dinner instead of going out to eat b/c we didn’t feel like cooking.

Our Rooms for Improvement

Brian – Brian went out with the boys for tacos one Thursday night. Originally he was supposed to use a gift card that ended up being totally confusing and unusable (NOTE: Restaurant.com gift cards are not the greatest gifts). So my expectations were pretty high. I thought maybe he would spend like $20 and $25 max but hopefully closer to $15. The bill ended up getting split equally and Brian paid twice as much as I thought he would. To say I was upset is putting it very lightly. Livid, About to Cry, Wanting to Gnash my teeth and heap iniquities upon him is more accurate.

This leads us to…

Jen – The same week of the Taco Night Debacle, I ended up spending $14 for a foam roller for running, $25 for Bible Study snacks that I hadn’t planned on, and $8 for something else that I can’t even remember now. As I was getting angry enough to cry at Brian about what he spent at dinner, I was convicted that I had spent literally the exact same amount on unplanned things that I didn’t need to. It was a glaring reminder of how hypocritical I can be – holding Brian to a higher standard than I ever set for myself. I give him a hard time while he gives me grace every time I mess up.

We have had a few other areas for improvement this week but I don’t need to go into all the gritty details. I think we are learning how hard it can be to delay gratification, to not get what we want when we want it, and to spend conservatively for things like gifts and times with friends.

I am thankful for grace. We don’t have to be perfect. And if all we do is get our eating out at restaurants under control, I will call this month a success.

But we still have 9 days to go and I am hoping we will finish well!