Recovering Consumer

I am a recovering consumer. I used to to clip coupons and then go and buy things that we didn't really need because I was "saving" money on them. I guess it isn't really saving when you are spending and don't need it.  OK I wasn't super crazy (I don't have my showers filled to the brim with toilet paper and toothpaste). The month of March we tried not to buy anything new. We purchased a few small things but nothing too extreme. At the beginning of April or very end or March we bought a Roomba vacuum (which is keeping my floors clean). Then a few days later we bought a SodaStream maker. Two nights ago I bought a slip cover for my couch. I didn't need any of it. But I wanted it all.

Last night we went out for supper since my husband wanted to and we had a few dollars in the "entertainment" fund. That lead to a trip to the liquor store because we are going to a party tonight and  our friends asked to bring something "fun" to drink. We then went to Walmart and spent another 30 dollars on stuff. Most of the stuff with the exception of food we didn't really need.

I am so frustrated with myself. We are trying to get rid of clutter and stop spending mindlessly. But every time we need something we buy some wants as well. I usually talk about my want purchases with my husband. He is such a pushover and says sure go ahead. I want him to talk to me about why we "need" something or what benefit it will bring us before he says yes.

So I declare today that I am not using my credit card anymore once it is paid off for anything other than my Consumer Supported Aggriculture (CSA) payment. I am not going to buy any more wants this month. I am a recovering consumer... I went on a binge but I am back on the program.

Almost a no spend month

In the month of March my family and I decided to try a no spend month meaning only buying things that were "needs" not "wants" from our checking account. We almost made it. We only had a few indiscretions I bought a pair of pants and a cookbook at Savers for 8 dollars and bought some waterproof fabric to make a water proof pad for my daughters bed. We also spend 1 dollar on a pair of shoes for my son. So we only spent 20 dollars on wants and not needs this month.  


The reason we decided to have an almost no spend month was because I felt like our finances where getting behind. We turned our other house into a rental in January. So we had to buy a new washing machine for it... that was 300 dollars, then my husbands computer broke and we bought a new one and it was 900 dollars. We usually try not to use our credit cards but since December we have had a bill of 500+ dollars on it every month. We decided that March would be the month where we get caught up on our budget and made a course correction. Luckily my husband has 3 paychecks this month so we are able to pay our final credit card payment off and not put anything new on it. 


Being a one income household of 4 our finances don't have a lot of wiggle room. We have been nickled and dimed to death this past year having 2 houses. We purchased budget software this year that have us being proactive with our money instead of reactive. By being proactive I mean we set aside a certain amount of money into categories such as groceries, gas, insurance, fun money, etc. Our goal is to only spend what we have set aside in a category and not borrow from other categories or use our credit card. We want to live a life where we have cash in hand before buy anything. 


What I have learned this month by not buying stuff is that we have a lot of stuff already that we should use up before buying. I had a gallon bag of travel sized soaps and toiletries from various trips over the years. Why do I let them sit in a cupboard and never use them? So we are using them up and then we are actually going to stop buying shampoo and conditioner. (A few months ago I did an experiment using only baking soda and vinegar to clean my hair. My hair has never looked or felt better.)


It is nice to look in my cupboard and see I have more space for things (if I need it). I have felt like we were drowning in all of the stuff that we have. Slowly but surely by not buying things we will evaluate our needs for each and every item in our house and decide if it deserves a place to stay or if someone else could use it. Clearing out junk from our house is an spirituality uplifting activity. It just puts me in a better mood all around. 


I guess this is all about how we live a simpler life. We buy less stuff, we have less stuff in our house so we have more money for the things we need or want later. Not to mention I have less stuff to clean so I have more time to do things I love. Makes sense to me.