Oh yeah. Refuse.
I have spent the last 30+ years living pretty modestly. Well, modestly in my opinion anyway. My parents lived modestly and taught me the value of good planning and saving. My husband and I certainly live within our means. We have a modest home with a not so modest mortgage, two cars that we own outright, a credit card we pay off monthly, and money in the bank. We even have money left over for vacations and special treats. I keep track of our budget in spreadsheets.
Sounds good, right?
Well, it looked good to me until I really started to analyze our budget. Not that husband and I are doing poorly. Far from it in fact. I just happen to notice that we have been very wasteful with our income. We are wasting a whopping $800.00/month on junk or miscellaneous gifts. I really have no clue where the $$ went. Ouch! I have secretly prided myself on my lack of waste. We recycle, compost, reuse or buy used all the time. But, I forgot a very key point-Refuse. So, I am going to look into this black hole and find out not only where the $$ are going, but also reduce my spending.
Goal: To reduce spending by 50% over next 3 months
How I plan to accomplish that goal
1. Stop shopping online-oh how I love Etsy.
2. Stop buying things I do not need-used, or not if I don't need it, I don't need it.3. Keep a spending journal. I'll do this online.
4. Use cash only-my allowance.
Obsticals to goal
1. DH's spending cannot really be contolled as he is currently deployed with the US Military overseas. He really cannot get a lot of free entertainment.
2. Shopping for gifts for others puts in front of temptation. I have a lot of birthdays coming up too.3. Laziness
I plan to blog about my daily spending as well as some of my challenges. Maybe this will keep me accountable? Let's hope so.
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