Spending Fast 2011!!!

Sedona: A possible vacation destination

A friend did a spending fast last year and documented it on her blog. I thought it was brilliant. Although I didn't read about her experience until a month after she did it, I knew I wanted to do it in 2011. The time is now. I originally planned to do this in March, but she preempted my slight procrastination by initiating a challenge in February, so I am rising to the occasion.

What is a spending fast? Simply put: don't spend money. ever. You can pay your bills, fuel your car, and feed your family but that's it. As for feeding your family, you are on a tight budget. My friend sets a limit of $50 a week in groceries and no fast food. I am setting a slightly tighter budget of $160 for the month. Ben and I already lead a relatively frugal existence, so the $160 presents more of a challenge and that is what this is about: The challenge. I'm not going to lie, I'm hoping to add a little more money to our pre-deployment vacation fund, but I also want to push myself to get creative and think outside of the box when it comes to dealing with our budget. As far as gas, we are hoping to use our gas conservatively.

Valentine's will be our only outside expense. I certainly considered not really celebrating V-day, but Ben will be deployed during V-day next year, so I feel comfortable making a reasonable exception. This exception will most likely include homemade cards, dinner paid for with gift cards, and an exchange of thoughtful gifts that fall within a $15 price limit.

I will post updates on our progress as well as savings tips that I already employ along with new ones I learn throughout my journey. If you want to join in, please leave a comment so we can keep up with each other. I will probably do this until the middle of March.