naughty list
sourdough french toast for another snowy day

I’ve been hounded by my husband to divulge every last discretion when it comes to our Do-Without Month of January. & we’re also contemplating what commitment we will make for our One Small Change in February. Ideas?

So, here is a list of each failure along with a humble explanation (not–mind you–an excuse). And something i said in an earlier post keeps ringing in my mind, life IS to short to be rigid, keep mind before judging ;)!
  • A Coffee run–friends of ours stayed over & we didn’t have enough beans on hand to make coffee for everyone, a real emergency.
  • Camera–although we technically bought it this month, it’s been in the works for a while & it finally came down to it…
  • Eating out–this ONLY happened during our visit to Asheville & really couldn’t be avoided. I guess we could have packed food, or bought groceries while there but it was Asheville…
  • Pizza–we had pizza on Friday night. We had plans to go have dinner with friends (I have the rolls to prove it!) but on the drive there we decided it seemed unwise. Perhaps you’ve heard about the snow in the S.E.?
  • Sausage Stuffer Attachment–this I found while killing time at Macy’s during Naomi’s music class on the clearance table. We need it to make some deer sausage & i have a hard time passing up a sale as it is. You should know, there were several other items i tried to justify but couldn’t…
  • Felting needles–these were another thing on my ‘need’ list & i think stifling creativity would also fall under the ‘rigid’ category. Plus, i bought them at our local yarn store so that counteracts some of the crime.
But what did this month accomplish for us? We learned SO much about conserving & how expensive convenience is. I don’t know the numbers, but in talking finances my husband will point out–most of our charges are under $20 which indicates a lot about what they are–generally unnecessary. i.e. coffee shops, snacks, movie rentals, movies, random shopping sales…not only that, but we are trying to clear out now in the hopes of making our home look spacious & clean, so this practice in restraint is really great. Not only that, but we had some really terrific meals & spent even more time around the dinner table where our crazy children entertain us to no end.
the old crazy shake
is popular with every one
unless coffee is an option.
Can I tell you what I did pass up that i might regret?
Handmade Home was at the Mall Bookshop for 65% off. As was this Amy Karol book. sigh…do i need a library in my home when i can easily visit the one down the street?

and another riddle:
what room can you never go into?
answer to last post’s: cheetah…

4 Comments

  • cabin + cub Posted February 1, 2010 5:16 pm

    We are trying to cut down on our small spending too.. those coffees can sure add up fast!!

  • Melissa Posted February 1, 2010 9:40 pm

    You've got me with the riddles– I'm too dumb.

    We switched to cash payment for everything but bills last month– and it's amazing how much "stuff" we did without when we didn't have cash on hand–even when there was money in the bank to buy it, the idea of the cash leaving me had was very, very hard. And with the leftover $ I'm able to make some nice changes around the house!

  • school house oils Posted February 1, 2010 10:20 pm

    I think we're totally switching to that method from now on…now to determine how much cash we're "entitled". & we saved approx. $2k. that's right…2,000 dollars. of course, this is a rough total–but even remotely close to 2k is RIDICULOUS! I didn't think we were THAT bad. embarrassing.

  • Sunny Posted February 7, 2010 6:02 pm

    I thought the old crazy shake was something that Edward invented… looks like it's a pretty popular move, though 🙂
    Congrats on January- that's some pretty amazing savings!

Add Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *