Just like last year, we learned a few things about our spending habits by taking a month off and buying nothing that wasn't needed. Food, gas, bills. That's it.
We learned that we could stretch out groceries. We usually meal plan for a week, go shopping on a Sunday, and then meal plan for the next week. By adding three "stretch" days to the end and beginning of our meal plan, we found that we could essentially feed our family for two weeks on the groceries we buy for one week. By adding these stretch days to the beginning and the end, we like we weren't missing out on much. Taking the three days no only helps us save money, it also helps us really clean out our pantry before stocking up on more groceries.
We also learned what we really need vs. what we really want. I really really wanted a new water bottle. We have tons of sports bottles around the house, but I really really want a fancy one that won't leave water rings everywhere. They aren't too expensive, but it is more of a want than a need. However, Mr. Mouse really needed a new pair of running shoes, as we discovered when we ran the Virginia is for Lovers 6K this month. He's been putting it off, but after evaluating them after our race, it's clear he really needed new shoes. Especially with how active
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| Yes - It was cold! |
Now that February is essentially over, we will go back to our allowance system where we each get a set amount of money a pay period. We've done this in the past, but usually start dropping the habit in the middle of the year because keeping track of cash and online purchases was getting daunting. This year, I've set it up so we each have our own debit cards and our allowance is directly deposited into our accounts each pay period. Hopefully this will help us keep on track.
