30 Days of Nothing: day 25
With just 5 days to go, I have to admit that I’m a little underwhelmed by our experience so far. Either we didn’t take it far enough, or we’re more frugal than I thought. I just don’t feel like there’s been a huge change. I haven’t battled with overpowering urges to spend. I haven’t felt guilty for telling my children that no, they may not buy themselves candy this month - even with their own money. I haven’t died for lack of chocolate. Not yet, anyway.
On the other hand, I feel quietly ecstatic over the painless change in our grocery expense. We’ve saved hundreds of dollars while eating more nutritious and more delicious food than ever. We’re wasting less food than ever. Desserts have not suffered; fresh fruits and vegetables that used to be strictly rationed are now free for snacking; instead of nervously watching the meat portions at dinner I can generously dish out hearty servings of casseroles. My fridge, pantry and cabinets have never been neater, and grocery shopping has never been easier.
This was a good change. Rather than the radical 30 day lifestyle shift that I expected, I have found this to be a rather comfortable improvement of our lifestyle - while spending less. Wow.
I’ve found myself stopping to analyze every purchase, no matter how small. I hope it’s a habit that will last.
And I’ve seen God’s providential hand in tiny things: the hair ponies that I decided not to buy, and then found a forgotten package at home. The shampoo that I forgot to buy and then found an extra bottle buried in the cabinet. The eggs and milk given to us by a brother-in-law just to say thank you for past favors, though he knew nothing about our 30 Days of spending less. The bounty of leftovers that my sister-in-law left behind after Tuesday’s potluck. The endless packages of diapers and wipes that friends have given Bethany. Each of these was like an encouraging pat on the shoulder.
I know that God is good and that He cares about the small things that are important to us, but these little reminders are so sweet - like hearing “I love you” from someone whose love you never doubted in the first place.
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Filed under: frugal
Don’t you just love when the Lord does that! He shows us how much He loves us with those little things we already know He cares about. I would love to lower our grocery bill.. I feel we are very frugal here, we rarely buy anything that isn’t needed…like right now we are not eating potatos because they are just too expensive and that used to be a staple in our home.. so we have changed to rice or pasta instead. The only time we eat out is on Sunday night and it consists of McDonalds.. and that is a must as we drive 1hour and 45 minutes to church so by Sunday evening it is way too late to eat at home. Sunday afternoon we eat at church as we help with a bus ministry so we are fed at church. I need to go over more cheaper menus that my family will eat.. I think for your next post you should do a menu or something of that nature that has kept your grocery bill so low!
Besides asking to buy candy, did the children complain or even notice a difference during the 30 days of nothing experiment?
I am very curious though how long you could go like this since you will eventually use up everything you had stashed in the pantry. It would be better played out if you started from scratch and then looked to see how much you’ve spent. Personally I am sure I could go for 30 or even 60 days with what I have but the next month would probobly more than take up what money I saved. Make sense???
Hi, I tagged you for a meme!
http://milehimama.blogspot.com/2008/09/me-and-my-first-baby-meme.html
Holly,
Our budding seamstress had to wait to buy fabric for her next project, and a couple of children are waiting for shoe upgrades - but I would have put off buying shoes anyway, so the 30 Days didn’t really affect that. I do think they got a bit tired of hearing, “Not til October, dear,” but it wasn’t so far from the answer they would have heard normally: “Not this week, dear.”
maryjo,
I’m curious about this too, but…
Since we used up all the long-forgotten pantry goods in the first week, I think we could continue eating this way by spending about $160/week. A lot depends on whether hubby wants me to shopping this way or switch back. I’ll certainly be tracking my spending next month!
“I know that God is good and that He cares about the small things that are important to us, but these little reminders are so sweet - like hearing “I love you” from someone whose love you never doubted in the first place.”
Love it! I think too often we get caught up in our daily activities and forget this little fact. Sad really, because it is this very fact that has kept me going on so many occasions. I even kept a notebook for a while just documenting all the little things God provided/did for me on a daily basis.
what a wonderful way of wording it Kim! I am glad your experiment went well.
So, did I miss the post where you explained how you’re eating more fresh fruits and veggies without spending ookoodles?
†
Natalie
I’m buying them wholesale at the produce terminal downtown - we get 8-10 cases of whatever is cheap, and split with 2 other families. You can search our posts for “produce terminal” to find more details.