Our money-less challenge

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):

1. Obviously our regular monthly bills have to be paid.  The electric company gets grumpy when they don’t get their money.
2. 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.
   
3. If it isn't a necessity, we will do without.  If it is a necessity and we completely run out, see # 5 below.
   
4. The animals (pets and livestock alike) must still eat, so if we run out of whateveritisthattheyeat, more will be bought.
   
5. 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.
   
6. 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.
   
7. 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!