Reflections on freezing

We are almost done with our spending freeze. I can’t believe how fast this month has gone!

Tonight we got sandwiches for dinner because we had a pre-planned thing. We were doing a “bring your own sandwich” get together with family to talk about my brother’s upcoming wedding this summer in Minnesota. It was nice when talking about how expensive that weekend is going to be, to know how much power we really have over our own spending. There is something really empowering about not giving into every want need and desire that comes across our minds. To not allow the constant marketing to fuel inside of us a burning pit of discontentment. Every dollar we don’t spend we value even more then the dollars previously. I hope that we can become even more frugal in the future.

That brings up something that has been rolling around in my head. I’ve always been somewhat frugal.  Even from a young age I had a natural impulse to save money. While my brother and sister spent their allowances, I was naturally inclined to stock it away until I saw something I really wanted. I’ve always had the urge implanted in me to seek out sale items, and things discounted. I’ve always taken a sense of pride in finding the best deal possible. And yet while I hand over a stack of .50 cent coupons there are times that I have $5.00 lattes in my hand. I realize now that I have a false sense of being frugal. How can I value pennies while throwing away dollars?  

I’m not saying that every second of my life needs to be a fiscal tight rope walk, but maybe the times that I should splurge should be further apart than the way we have been living? What if instead of all of those lattes I saved my dollars for something really special, like a tropical vacation? Or never having to make another credit card payment? I’ve long felt my quality of life go down when I did not allow myself things like lattes, or new shoes but my quality of life should not be built around things. Instead I should seek out memories, experiences, and financial freedom! With this my life will truly be what I would like it to be.

Would you like a little whine with your coffee?

We are coming up on about a week of our spending freeze. The hardest day was a day without enough coffee. I was so tired! I sat at my desk thinking about the coffee cup that sat just a few feet away. I kept envisioning myself taking a dollar out of my wallet and walking downstairs. Who would know, except me with a little extra pep in my step? After sending a very whiny text to my husband about not liking it when I don’t get what I want (okay about 15 texts about not getting what I want.) I was done dreaming of dark roast and sucked it up. A Few hours later I did happen across an expired thing of Starbucks Via in my desk drawer that I consumed with only a little bit of complaining.

Reflecting on this week, it makes me realize how self-indulgent I am. Not getting enough coffee can spoil my day when there are people not only far off, who are not getting enough food. I am sure they have more grace then I exhibited complaining about my coffee during a self-imposed fast on our spending. What would it be like to really go without? To have a sense of want, not because of greed, or being accustomed to more, but to want because I don’t have the basic things that sustain life? I have a slight pain in my stomach thinking about this situation and to experience that kind of hardship. Honestly it’s something I pray we never have to go through. It has made me realize though, how much I take for granted and how much we are truly blessed with every day.  

I will continue on with our spending freeze, with a lot more grace and gratitude than I’ve exhibited in this past week, and can hopefully extend that past the spending freeze into my daily life.

Spending freeze! Day 1!

After last month’s failure in couponing we decided to take even more drastic measures. Instead of allowing ourselves the gray matter of discounting and couponing it’s time for a spending freeze! A spending freeze in our house is a time period set aside by us, where we do not take money out of our checking accounts unless it’s vital, or preplanned. Gasoline to get to work for example would be considered a vital expense.  A bill like our daughters preschool is preplanned or something we already expected to pay. The rest of it we are not allowed to buy!

Why do we do it? It allows us to really reflect on our spending habits, and reset them. We have a few leaks in our budget. I’m guilty of spending money at coffee shop right down stairs from my office without thinking about it. Other things we are guilty of are quick meals out and about due to poor planning, or because I’m too tired to cook after a long day. And of course there are the impulse buys, and retail therapy we are all guilty of.

Tonight I kicked off the spending freeze by looking at what we have in the fridge and mentally planning some meals based on those items. It’s about making do with what we have, and hopefully at the end of this developing a better sense of gratitude for the things we are provided instead of always wanting something else, or something extra. I’m going to try to update my blog at least once a week so you can follow along in our success, failures, and attempts to better account for the way we spend our money.

In the spirit of being a shameless self-promoter you can also check out the food I make during our freeze at http://laurasmaking.blogspot.com/ to learn how I make do with what we have on hand, or make a recipe when I don’t have everything I need to do it.