No Spending--Day 18

Guess what happens when you don't go anywhere to buy anything? The car stays mysteriously full of gas. I can't remember when I last filled my tank. I'm sure it was last week, but I've got a lot of fuel left. We are also eating from our pantry. The pantry is looking bare, but in a good way. I used to have endless cans of pineapple slices and black beans, but I'm using them up to stretch the meals and not go to the grocery store. Our "Thankful Tree" has gone from bare to full, and we have many days left until Thanksgiving. So far my favorite sayings on the tree are "flu shots" and "garlic bread." This is a family that knows its blessings.

I am so excited for tomorrow. I am going to a movie (New Moon) with two of the best girlfriends ever. How shall I pay for my ticket, you ask? Oh, you mean the ticket I ordered back in late September when pre-sales started? Yepper, that one. And since I paid for all the tickets, my two friends are taking me out to dinner afterward. Ka-ching! I am desperate for a girly day out. Very much needed and I'm glad I don't have to sacrifice this day with friends. There will also be a trip to a fab consignment store that we all love (Plato's Closet, Melodie!) and I will restrain myself from buying clothes, but that's no biggie. I will also come clean and admit that if I hadn't pre-ordered my movie tickets, I would SO break this challenge. So I guess I got lucky this time.

Several of you have commented on my challenge and said "I could never do that!" or "That would be impossible for me." but if I can do it, ANYone can. And to be honest, after the first few days, it's not hard at all. You just put off buying what you think you need, and after a while you come to the conclusion that you don't really need it at all. And no, David is not doing this challenge. But he never buys anything anyway. He drops off his dry cleaning once a week and that's about it. No, folks--most of the money that leaves our bank account comes from yours truly. I do all the household shopping, pay all the bills, and balance the budget. The blame/control/power--whatever you want to call it--lies with me.

I highly encourage all of you to give this a try. January and February seem like great months. And if you don't want to go cold turkey, try not eating out for 5 weeks or not buying any clothing item for 7 weeks. Just doing that will make you so much more aware of how often you are able to buy things.

Day 16

Aside from my youngest making odd comments about alcohol and my oldest wanting to go to sleep-away camp, here's the latest on my No Spending Challenge.

Just today, here are the opportunities I've had to spend:

• T-shirt sale at the kids' school.
• Book fair at the kids' school.
• Forgot to eat breakfast and passed a Panera Bread and almost lost my marbles.
• Looking for clearance/sale items to use as stocking stuffers and holiday gifts.
• The car is filthy after our last snow storm, but no car wash for me. (And we've stored our hoses away for winter so I can't do it myself.)
• The inside of the car is filthy (why do Labs shed so much???) and I can't scrounge around for quarters to pay for the car wash vacuums.
• Jayme's suggestion of this, which is pricey but I'd wear it forever and ever and can't imagine a better necklace.
• A much-needed haircut.
• Last chance to see Harry Potter at the dollar theater.
• New pencils that Lily's teacher asked the parents to bring to school because they've already run low.

That last one makes me feel like a heel. But I promised myself I would buy a truckload of pencils come Dec. 1st. But even though I had all those chances to buy, I don't miss anything. Not one bit. The car can stay dirty. Who cares about my hair. The kids already have 50 t-shirts, and I'll ask David to get me the necklace for Christmas. I am astounded at how in control and on top of life I feel these days. I feel like I've taken charge of something (my own consumerism) and whipped it into submission. It's very freeing. And the money we're saving... oiy!

Recently Overheard

David was explaining the concept of multitasking to Zinabu this evening. Zinabu said, "Like when someone is driving and they're also talking on their cell phone and also drinking alcohol?"

David and I laughed long and hard over that one. Where does he get it?

IT CAME!

THE BROCHURE... FOR SLEEP AWAY CAMP. THE CAMP THAT MY OLDEST WANTS TO DO. THIS SUMMER. NOT THE SUMMER OF 2018 OR THE SUMMER OF 2037, BUT THIS SUMMER. HOW IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS HOLY AM I GOING TO HANDLE LETTING HIM GO?

THIS
IS
TOO
HARD!

It's Getting Harder
How long have I been at this? 14 days? Feels like 114. It seems my kids are trying to wear their clothes out at an alarming rate. Do you remember me saying Carver has busted through his pajama bottoms? Lily is close behind with her jeans. Now, whether you care or not, you are going to hear about my philosophy on clothes. About 90% of our clothes are secondhand. We're fortunate to have a great line of thrift stores where we live, they regularly have 50% off sales, and the brands I'm able to find are Gap, Gymboree, Ralph Lauren, REI, Land's End, and Columbia. I rarely pay more than $4 for any item of clothing--including snow gear. For me, clothes are something you put on your body to keep you from getting arrested when you go out in public. Also, my kids play hard, and I don't want to worry about their clothes. Lastly, it reduces our carbon footprint, which is very important to me. I'm not saying that if you buy new clothes for your kids that's bad. Hardly. I'm just telling you what we do.

So Lily has holes in 2 pairs of jeans. I swear this happened overnight. She has 4 pairs total--and I'm not going shopping until December 1st when my no-spending challenge is up. I also have no patches. Patches cost around $5, and I don't want to buy patches for jeans that are $2. Lily doesn't wear skirts or dresses, unless it's a special occasion. Her jeans are her life. So what's a mom to do? I dug around in her hair bows and clips and found some old hair ribbon. I stitched that over the hole as a makeshift patch and am hoping that will last a few more weeks. But I think when I do buy more jeans for Lily, I will hold onto this pair and use the denim for future patches. I felt a little convicted that even though we buy used, I still have a pretty disposable mentality about our clothes. I want to change that.


I am running dangerously low on dishwashing detergent. This scares me because I really hate doing dishes. I found some homemade recipes with baking soda I can try if we run out, but I'm at the rationing stage with the detergent. With the H1N1 going around, we've been blowing through liquid hand soap like candy. I don't know if we'll have enough to make it through the rest of the month. I do have bar soap, but--yuck! Two messy boys and bar soap. Not a combination I want to try.

Buying and replacing items is easy. There's no work involved, except exchanging money for goods. It's harder to stretch things, to make things last longer, to do without, and to patch up holes. We lived many years like that out of necessity. But just because we don't have to live that way anymore doesn't mean we still shouldn't try to get the most out of our dollars. I'm ashamed to admit I've become a convenient spender.

Another book I have to recommend is Nickel And Dimed. I got the audio version (from the library) and listened to it while walking the dog and cleaning house. It's one woman's attempt to live on minimum wage and not become homeless in the process. It was absolutely fascinating, and it was a great motivator in my decision to try this challenge. The author has a bit of a potty mouth, so don't say I didn't warn you.

By the way, my kids have not even noticed the challenge.

Zinabu Is Six!!!
What a sweetie pie I have. He woke up before the crack of dawn, so I spent some time snuggling with him in bed. He could hardly wait for the sun to come up. Being 6 is, apparently, a big deal. We had a fantastic day together, and I was able to do it all without spending a dime. But I don't want that to take away from the fact that I would do anything for him.

Zinabu helped me by licking the beaters, and Buddy helped Zinabu by keeping him on task.

Homemade cake. I love my bundt pan. LOVE it!!! We always make bundt cakes. Maybe because they remind me of donuts???

I have a box with party/gift wrap supplies. There were plenty of streamers and balloons, and even though red and yellow may not have been Zinabu's first color choice, he didn't care.

Goodie bags. I, personally, hate the birthday party goodie bag. Who started this? We've always been ones to have a birthday party at home, until just last year--when we moved and were showing the house and had to have Lily's party at the rollerskating rink. We reminded Z that when Carver and Lily were both in kindergarten, they had a small party (with family) to celebrate their birthdays. He was just fine with keeping it low key. I used tissue paper and string to "bag up" random treats I found around the house--unused glow sticks from Halloween, candy, a pack of gum--and voila! Goodie Bag. What kid would really complain when they get a whole pack of gum????

Silver-spray painted Burger King crown we picked up. Yes, I have silver spray paint. He wore it most of the day. He wanted a cake with green frosting, so I delivered. I freaked out when I realize I had only 5 birthday candles, so my brother cut one in half and saved me from having to light a matchstick and stick that in the cake. Note candles are pink and green. That's what I had so that's what I used. I've always felt Miami Vice was a good look for a cake.

This happy kid after opening his presents. I bought ALL of them in September when Target was putting things on clearance. I found several things on his wish list and have been hiding them in my closet. Pretty neat, don't you think? Zinabu and I both had a fantastic day. No stress for me, we kept it simple, and all Zinabu knew was that we were happy and excited for him.

What else was free? This birthday song from the cuties in Chicago. I am beyond blessed.

Day 10 (yesterday) Day 11 (today)

A very dear friend of ours is staying with us for a couple days. Silly me--I thought he was coming on Saturday. When he called yesterday morning and said "I'm on my way" I laughed long and hard at my stupidity and thanked my neat-freak personality for keeping the house clean. I was proud of me, because it would have been way too easy to run to the store and grab fancy ingredients for supper to have on hand during his stay. But I stuck to my meal plan and we ate a nice simple meal together. He later thanked me and said it had been a while since he'd had a home cooked dinner. Now that warmed my heart!!! I spent a little more time in the kitchen than I would have liked, with dinner, dessert, and getting homemade cinnamon rolls ready for the morning, but it showed me once again that not spending money really comes down to planning ahead. I had all the ingredients on hand for everything we needed--I just took the time to make it all come together.

This morning I was at the kids' school library volunteering, and the librarian (who is a close friend of mine now... she anticipated Zinabu's arrival almost as much as we did) broke the news to me that she has to go on a long medical leave. It's possible she may not be able to return to her job at all. I'm devastated and sad and sick about it. I'll see her again next week, but I want to give her a gigantic, enormous going-away present. I want to shower her with flowers and gift cards and books. But I can't. I can't spend the money. So I'm going to have to be very creative (note to self: what can I make out of pine cones?) and write her an extra long note in a card and hope that's enough. Of course, I know it's enough--she's not asking me to give her presents for Pete's sake. But the fact that I want to give her presents but can't stings a bit. Then again, maybe she'll really understand how much she means to me because I'll tell her with words and not with "things."

Tomorrow is Zinabu's birthday. He will be 6. I have cried about 50 times already that I will never have a 5 year old again.... it's killing me. I told David I want more--more kids, more boys, twins, triplets, everything. He pretended not to hear me. I'll post tomorrow about Z's "free" party.

Day 9

Guess what we did today? Stood in line with the masses and got our H1N1 vaccines. Such a glorious family moment. Shall I recap the day for you? Our county had its first swine flu clinic--there are several more to follow this week but this was the first. They opened at 10 am, so I dressed in my warm clothes and got in line at 8 am. I bet I was around the 200th person. By 10 am, when the clinic opened, there were a thousand people in line. It was a great opportunity to people-watch. Like the man 5 yards from me who could sleep standing up. Or the woman smoking with an oxygen tank. Or the woman with 7 children. She gets the gold medal for the day. I was very happy to be standing next to two other moms who wanted to discuss the Twilight saga with me. The time passes rather fast when you've got Edward on the brain. David brought our kids right at 10 and found me in line. It was perfect. The line moved quickly and the Health Department staff were all incredible. I had prepared myself that only the kids could get shots, but they asked David and I if we wanted them too so we said "Sure!" Lily is our brave one--but Carver and Zinabu were hyperventilating as they waited in line. As we got closer and closer, Zinabu's tears became more intense. When it came time for his shot, I put him on my lap and held him. I was trying to soothe him as the nurse got the needle ready, but then he screamed, "POISON DART... NOOOOOOO!" and I began laughing so hard I wasn't much help anymore. Carver was white as a sheet after his shot and I think in the future he may be a fainter. A nurse insisted he drink juice and sit in a chair for a while. Mostly, I'm incredibly grateful that we had the chance to get vaccinated. I don't take it for granted.

Best of all? The Health Department clinic was F--R--E--E!