Category: Money Less Challenge

Money-less challenge day 3

7/9/2014

Day 3
Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Well, not much has changed so far. This will probably be the last daily update that I write, but I will definitely update ya’ll periodically, especially if something significant happens. I do know that I will have to spend some this weekend to buy critter food, canning supplies, and gas for the car, but hopefully nothing more than that, and hopefully not much. I’ll break it down for you after it happens.

Today’s meals:
Breakfast - Homemade iced coffee again! Seriously, it’s not that we don’t have breakfast foods, but I like to sleep so something has to give.
Lunch - David had leftover pasta from Monday night. I had green beans, fresh cucumbers, and a peach. I swear I could eat enough fresh green beans to make myself sick, but then there wouldn’t be any for later!
Supper - A stir fry of beef, cabbage, red bell pepper, and yellow squash, served over vinegared rice.

Total $ spent on day 3 = $0
Total $ spent so far during the challenge = $0

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Money-less challenge day 2

7/8/2014

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Day 2:
Monday, July 7th, 2014

I overslept this morning, so breakfast was toasted english muffins (leftover from yesterday) with butter and jelly, and a glass of milk. It was something I could carry out the door with me and eat in the car.

Because I overslept, I left my house 7 minutes late. All notions of improving gas mileage flew out the window as my only concern was just (safely) getting to work on time. Whew! Made it with 2 minutes to spare...go me! (Thank you, Jesus, for no tractors or cops). According to my MPG gauge however, I only dropped to 21.4 MPG so not a huge loss. I made up for it by driving slowly to the goats and home after work. The MPG actually improved to 22.5 by the time I got home, so no irreparable harm done. Whenever I fill the tank, I reset the avg. MPG gauge so I can see how I'm doing with each tank. For some reason, it always starts off with a low number but gradually improves throughout the life of that tank of gas. I expect it to get better before I have to refuel, and since it is an average, the number is more realistic when the tank has been used anyway.

Lunch was leftover fried zucchini and green tomatoes. Man I love this stuff! It’s a good thing too because we have a lot of zucchini and yellow squash at the moment. No complaints here though - it’s good to have plenty to eat when you’re trying to spend no money.

Supper was pasta with ground turkey and sauteed veggies, dressed with a little olive oil and cheese. So yummy!

Total $ spent on day 2 = $0
Total $ spent so far during the challenge = $0 (we’re on a roll!)

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Our money-less challenge

7/7/2014

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Some of my craziest (best?) ideas come to me in the strangest moments. Take Saturday evening for instance. I was in the shower, getting ready for church and minding my own business, when an idea came to me. Before I even finished washing my hair, I yelled out to DH: “DEAR! I JUST HAD A THOUGHT!” No...it’s not because I rarely have thoughts (geez don’t be so mean!). It was because I rarely remember things if I don’t say them out loud while I’m thinking about them. After explaining my idea, DH agreed that it wasn't the craziest thing I've ever come up with, so we're going to give it a shot.

We had to establish a few guidelines, but the basic challenge is that we are going to attempt to go money free for a month. It would have been a grand idea to start on July 1st, but it didn't occur to me until the 5th...but I digress. It won't truly be money free, because some expenses just cannot be avoided. So maybe "money-less" is a better term? Erm...maybe not...but you get my point I hope!

Here are the basic guidelines (subject to clarification later if necessary):

Obviously our regular monthly bills have to be paid. The electric company gets grumpy when they don’t get their money.
No groceries will be purchased. Period. No veggies, no meat, no processed, packaged, anything. Well, except for # 5 below - but only if we can’t do without.
If it isn't a necessity, we will do without. If it is a necessity and we completely run out, see # 5 below.
The animals (pets and livestock alike) must still eat, so if we run out of whateveritisthattheyeat, more will be bought.
Some staples just can’t be made at home. I’m sorry, but my postage stamp city lot is just a smidge too small for growing our own wheat, and I do not yet have a grain mill - so flour I must buy. However, we will try to use less of these things so that they stretch farther.
Preservation supplies (canning lids, freezer bags, pickling salt, etc.) can still be purchased, to allow for preserving the bounty from our garden. When “not spending” is a priority, it just wouldn't make sense to waste food.
Fuel for the car must still be purchased - just until I strike oil in the back yard.

I think all of that sounds fair. The biggest challenge really is going to be fighting the urge to run out to the store every time I think of something we need. I think we handle our money (what little of it there is) pretty well already, but how many times do you go into a store for “just one thing” and come out with five things? This will be an exercise in patience, planning, and frugality. I’ll let ya’ll know how it works out!

Day 1:
Sunday, July 6th, 2014

We rarely eat breakfast anyway (bad habit, I know!), but I made a large blender full of iced coffee for us. Caffeine - breakfast of champions!
I had to work, so I drove there and kept my foot off the gas in an attempt to increase my car’s average gas mileage for this tank of fuel. The digital gauge on the dash will actually tell me what the average MPG is, and after going from work, to the goats, to home, back to the goats and back home again, I managed to increase the average from 21 mpg to 22.2 mpg. Not bad for the first day, huh?
While at work, I kept thinking of things we “needed” and I nearly convinced myself to stop by Wal-mart on my way home - but I fought the urge and decided to make a list instead. I didn’t need any of those items today so I wrote them down to remember them for another day when I actually do need them.
For lunch (brunch? - it was 2pm by the time I got home), I made homemade english muffins (topped with butter and honeysuckle jelly - yum!) and scrambled eggs with yellow squash and banana peppers.
Supper was bratwurst with fried zucchini and green tomatoes. Oh, and ice cream!

Total $ spent on day 1 = $0...SUCCESS!

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Hi, my name is Nicole and my friends think I'm crazy. I love farming, and my methods can be non-traditional at times, but I love simple living, I love playing in the dirt, and I love life.

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Money-less challenge day 3

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