take 2

Last May I decided to try my hand at a spending strike. All monies for unnecessary items were to be not spent.
I did fairly well, did manage to save a good chunk of money, but was disappointed in my tendency to rationalize the extra spending I did squeeze out.

I'm ready to try again. It's been heavy on my mind lately how overindulged so many of us in our country are. Maybe it's all this financial crisis stuff, maybe it's the fact that gas and groceries are not getting cheaper anytime soon, maybe it's just that my pockets are empty. Whatever it is, it's just been more and more disturbing to me that we are so constantly bombarded with all the things out there... things we need, things we think we need, things we want, things to make life more convenient.

And we so often (at least I do) take it all for granted. It's too easy to swipe the card, write the check, run to the store for any little thing we "need". It's just been unsettling to me lately.
But of course I still I do it.

Not that I expect myself and my family to switch to a severely minimal lifestyle. I just want to definitely be more mindful of where our money is going and more intentional about the money we spend. To jump start that habit and make that a more regular way of thinking. And of course being kinder to our budget is a plus too!

Anyway, I'm challenging myself to the challenge again. And I'm going to do better than last time. For the month of October our money will only be spent on groceries, medications, bills and utilities and the like. NOT on cute fall clothes, deviations from the grocery list (especially in the non-grocery parts of the store), unplanned outings or purchases, or dangerous perusals of clearance tags at Target.

Anyone care to join me in the challenge for a little accountability and encouragement??