Week 2 - NO SPEND MONTH

We have made it through another week of our NO spend month. However, this week was kind of tough. Grant was sick with Hand, Foot and Mouth. He didn't really want to eat anything that we offered. So Mike and I both made a trip to the grocery store to find items that he might eat. I bought jello cups, yogurt, applesauce, and strawberry applesauce and Mike got some bagles, mac & cheese, and a bunch of other things hoping Grant would eat them. We were going to try anything to get him to at least eat a little bit to keep him hydrated.

Well, we pretty much blew our grocery budget this week between the snack items and a couple of bottles of medicine for Grant. We spend a total of $49 just at the grocery store. Mike also filled up his car this week which was $30. Since it was also Valentines day I made dinner at home and then we went to the movies. We did have passes to the movies and a coupon for free popcorn. I did end up buying a drink at the movies which was crazy.

So it looks like we spent a total of $83 this week. It was definitely more than I wanted to spend, but we just have to be really carefully the next two weeks.

Total spend for 2 weeks $150 - remainder for the month $100.

Week 1 - NO Spend Month

We are through our first week of our STRICT budget. I think it went pretty well this week. However, we did spend $67. Now don't freak out because $40 of that was diapers. I did look into buying a smaller pack of diapers but couldn't justify buying them because the cost per diaper is so much more. I had Mike make the dreaded trip to Costco just to buy diapers. I wasn't sure if he could resist the muffins or the other great things Costco sales. However, to my surprise he just bought diapers and grapes.

I did go out with some friends for dinner this week but I made sure that I bought the cheapest item on the menu which was just the soup and salad which is what I wanted in the first place.

We did pretty good on our meals this week. I had quite a few vegetables left over that I didn't use the week before. I already had meat and some frozen vegetables in the freezer that were part of my normal buying for January. We have lettuce in our garden right now and we should be getting some peas and some beets later this month.

Once we decided that we should try this our first instinct was to stock up on items. I tried really hard not to stock up on items when I went to the grocery store. I bought the way I would normally buy. I always buy my meat and chicken in bulk so I usually have enough to last me a month or longer thanks to our second freezer.

Week 2 I think might be harder because it is almost time to fill the cars with gas and I may feel the need to do a big grocery store trip even though I don't need it.

Stay tunned for more adventures.

MONEY MONEY MONEY...

Lately I juts feel like we spend spend spend. Well several months ago I found a blog that gave the idea of a "No spend Month". The blog is about a family's journey living on a very strict budget for 31 days. I thought it was such a great idea and decided that I needed to try it some time.

Well the time has finally come to try it. However, Mike and I are only going to try it for 28 days since that is how many days are in February. Basically we are going to be living off $250 for the entire month. The $250 is going to cover: food, household items, gas, entertainment, and other basic needs. Don't get me wrong it is going to be tough, but I think we will learn something about our spending habits and hopefully change some of those spending habits.

The blog I was reading gave some really good tips on eating healthy on a budget and trying not to buy the excess things that we buy. I am totally guilty of looking for things that will help improve my life when I am at the store, but do I really need those things.

I already know it is going to be tough. I know there are somethings that I won't compromise on. But hopefully it will make me more creative in my thinking and in my meal preparation.

Here is the blog is you would like more information: http://smallnotebook.org/2008/07/01/july-is-no-spend-month-whats-it-about/

I think everybody should try it just to see if you can do it, but you may have to change some of the rules to fit your family needs.

Happy Birthday to you....

I can't believe that it has been a full year since Grant became a part of our family. He has been such a great blessing and has brought such a joy to our home. Mike and I just can't believe that he is ours to keep. We just love him so much.


Today we celebrated by having some family and friends over for cake and ice cream. I attempted to make a Lego cake. We gave Grant his very own Lego cake and he loved it. He was so funny about eating it.

Happy Birthday Grant. Grant showing off his balloons and his Birthday hat.

Why did we get him presents when he just wanted to play with the balloons.

Thanks Mom & Dad, I love my present.

The attempt at the Lego cake.

Yummy, yummy, I love cake.

The final result before clean up.

Singing Happy Birthday

Grant trying to eat the cake with NO hands. This is a frequent thing that he does, he just decides that he doesn't need hands when you have a mouth that you can use for everything even picking up toys and cakes.

"Twas the Season"

December has been a whirlwind of a month.  It first started out with my birthday followed by Christmas and a trip to Utah to ring in the New Year. 

Christmas was great with Grant.  He loved it.  We just decided to get Grant just 2 presents and he loved both of them.  He played and played while Mike and I opened the rest of our presents.  After we opened up our presents we went to the Kellis’ house for brunch and some family time.  It is great to have family so close. 

The day after Christmas we drove to Utah to visit my family.  It was a long drive with Grant and the roads were so bad because of all the snow, but we made is safe and sound. 

Our week in Utah was filled with lots of events like hanging out with family, sledding, roller skating, New Year’s Eve at First Night in Provo, and much much more. 

Here are a few pictures of all the events from the month.