The Zero Spend Challenge 2018

December, Christmas, New Years, parties, gatherings, gifts, food, restaurants.  December is one of those months in which the finances take a beating.  In December 2017 my husband and I spent a lot of money dining out with friends and family, not to mention Christmas.  When New Year's rolled around we took a hard look at our spending and decided we needed to reel it in.   In order to do that we took a zero spend challenge for January, which we later extended into February.  This is not our first go at a zero spend challenge.  We did one in October of 2015,  I blogged the entire process starting with "My October Challenge." http://cincynurse.blogspot.com/2015/09/  We are zero spend pros.  I did not invent the challenge, although I wish I had.  It is a really great way to assess what your spending habits are and what is really necessary to get by.

Someone asked me about the rules of a zero spend challenge.  I will list some below, although keep in mind that this can be as loose or as strict as one chooses it to be.  We were a lot more flexible this time around and our main focus was on dining out and entertainment.

The "rules"

1- Pay bills, mortgage, insurance, gas and electric, phone, TV, etc.
(Now would be a good time to evaluate these things.  Ask yourself, "Do I really need those premium channels?  I could go to the library for movie rentals. Am I paying to much for insurance, or perhaps not enough?  Can I get by with a cheaper phone plan, or ditch the land line?")

2- No dining out.  (We made an exception to this rule for our trip to West Virginia, where our daughter goes to college.  We also allowed our Sunday brunches. Mine is with my dad and I enjoy this time with him).

3-  We can buy limited groceries.  This is limited to fresh foods and dairy.  We allowed for healthy items, and decreased our bill quite a lot.

4-  Medical care and medicine is allowed no question!

5- Needed auto repairs and gas. (You need your car to be reliable.)

6- Entertainment.  We did go out some, but we strictly limited it to free, or already paid for.  This was tough because January and February are cold, long and boring.  ( I read a lot)

OUR SPENDING:
Our largest expenses; (green) for January was our daughter's tuition. (we list her expenses and accounts in quicken also, it is easier for her to track and balance in quicken)  In February, it was a major and necessary car repair.

Our utilities (orange) weren't too bad, $611 in January, and only $503 in February.  Pretty good considering this is electric too and it was cold.

Our dining (red) in January was only $303 and Feb. was only $232.  Much better considering our dining in December was almost $600.  (Our dining was $6975 in 2017!!!!!! This is one big reason we elected a zero spend.  This averages to almost $600 per month!!! This is why tracking your spending is so important.  It helps to see where your money is going so you can improve your habits.)

Our Entertainment was a mere $26 for all of January and February.  This doesn't mean we didn't do anything.  We had some wonderful experiences.  We saw Jeff Dunham, in Dayton, OH, with the tickets I bought my husband for Christmas.  We also did a mystery dinner with some great friends, which we bought at our get together in December through Groupon.  It was a corny great time!  In 2017 we spent nearly $160 per month,  $1928 for the year!!

Our groceries in 2017 totaled a whopping $9662 that's $878 per month.  In January our groceries were $533 and Feb. were $677.   Better, but up again in March as we made our trip to a wholesale club to buy paper products, which we find cheaper to buy in bulk.

We are really pleased about our low overall spending in the months of January and February and feel compelled to continue this trend.  I read about a couple who actually did a "no" spend year.  They didn't purchase anything unnecessary for a year.  They would stop before every purchase and ask themselves " is this a want or a need?"  They managed to pay off tens of thousands of debt.  I think this is key when trying to pay down debt or save.  Ask yourself that same thing whenever you're tempted to buy something.

I recently lost a lot of weight and I was going through the clothes I had, getting rid of all the things that no longer fit.  I was so ashamed of all the jeans I had, probably 12 pair in all that I hardly even wore.  Who needs that many pairs of jeans??  I had so many clothes, it was a sin.  I have decided that I won't do that again.  I will live with the bare minimum of what I need.  One of my co workers did a mission trip recently, to where I cannot recall, but she stated, " I loved it there.  I could live there.  They have very little, but they are so happy.  The people communicate with one another, they don't have cell phones.  They play together."

I think we get lost in the need for consumption and we forget what is really important. Also, I think we isolate ourselves from one another with the overuse of technology.  For me, it's my faith, family, friends, health, freedom, and experiences that I value most!  I don't regret only working part time most years when my kids were little, because that time was very short and I enjoyed so many experiences with them.  We could have had more money, a bigger house, a better car, nicer clothes, better vacations, but when all is said and done, how are those things more valuable than watching your child pet sharks at the aquarium, hitting a home run, going to school dances,  or being there when they come home from school with exciting news or bad news?

  Moving forward, I choose to "live simply, so that others may simply live".( Mother Teresa)  Who knows, maybe one day, I will take a mission trip like my co worker, it would certainly be a worthwhile experience.

How has your January, February and now March been?  What things can you cut back on and how can this improve your life and possibly the life of another?  What do you value?  Comment here!

Thanks for reading!