No Spend January

OK.

Due to the influence of my middle daughter , I am having a No Spend January. 

And yes I am of a ‘certain generation’ that was taught a variety of behavior rules about these things- as in you don’t ever talk about money-

or swim after eating,

or run crossing the street,

or put your elbows on the table,

or wear white after Labor Day.


In a single word that sums it up- ‘whatever’.


And so, what does a no spend month look like here?

Anything that does not fall into the category of food, gasoline, or monthly bills is off limits.

My daughter succinctly described it like this,

after I asked her a million questions- seeking loopholes,

as in-

“what about caladium bulbs at Sam’s that are a great price and I need to get them in the ground and what if there is the perfect round dining table at the flea market just waiting for me after all of these years and what if I need to buy samples of white paint because I now want to paint all of my yellow walls white?”

Daughter:  “Mother, just stay out of Ross (Dress for Less).”

Oh.

And so I am in the midst of only spending money this month on what we need, and it has been a real eye opener.

This is what I have learned.


1.  We don’t need anything.

2.  Being a good shopper and ‘finder’ is not a reason for shopping or finding.

3.  I may be, albeit a mild mannered one,  a rule breaker at heart.

4.  I come from humble, hard working stock. They had no spending years.

5.  I already knew the benefits of doing this, but I got mixed up.
 
6.   This has made me look around my home and garage and see more things I do not need.


And yes, I still want the caladium bulbs and the rose bushes at WalMart, but I want to do this too.

I really did know about this.

In fact I wrote about it here in my post on Foolproof Financial Advice.

But again, in my favorite words of Steve Martin,

“I got mixed up.”