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I'm not sure what happened really...
I mentioned that hubs and I were both traveling a lot this month. Alex had several tournaments with the team, so he was gone almost every weekend, and I traveled a little bit for work (which is unusual). I thought that us being gone so much would help in the spending department, but honestly, what we didn't spend on food we made up for in gas.
One of the reasons for doing EOM is cleaning out the fridge and the pantry, and using up stuff that has been taking up space for too long. Well, we only cooked dinner a handful of times (due to the traveling), so this was a marginal success.
And budget? We definitely didn't stay within our $225 budget. We nearly spent that much on gas alone. Fail.
Another reason for EOM is to avoid shopping for entertainment, which is what I'm prone to doing, especially when A is gone all weekend and I'm bored. For me, this was a success. I didn't step foot in a TJ Maxx for an entire month - and that, my friends, is willpower. Alex, however, didn't take it quite as seriously as he has in the past. But, come on, this was not his idea, so what can I expect??
The good that came out of this annual exercise that we do? We did save money, if only by drastically reduced grocery costs. Although technically we weren't "supposed" to, we did eat out a few times, but opted for inexpensive places. And with all the gas we burned this month and all the gifts we had to buy for people - baby, wedding, birthday, and hostess - we needed to save in other areas, like un-necessary shopping and food, and that we did.
Essentials Only Month may have technically been a fail this time around, but it's still a good frame of mind to keep for 30 days. It's always a good challenge, and makes me aware of what I'm actually spending on all the extra, unnecessary things in life. And it makes me feel blessed that having an Essentials Only Month is a choice, not a necessity.
Between EOM and Lent (for which I gave up fried food), I'm ready to carelessly spend some money and binge on Chick Fil A fries.
Kidding. Sorta. (Gotta wait until after Easter for the fries, duh.)
One of the reasons for doing EOM is cleaning out the fridge and the pantry, and using up stuff that has been taking up space for too long. Well, we only cooked dinner a handful of times (due to the traveling), so this was a marginal success.
And budget? We definitely didn't stay within our $225 budget. We nearly spent that much on gas alone. Fail.
Another reason for EOM is to avoid shopping for entertainment, which is what I'm prone to doing, especially when A is gone all weekend and I'm bored. For me, this was a success. I didn't step foot in a TJ Maxx for an entire month - and that, my friends, is willpower. Alex, however, didn't take it quite as seriously as he has in the past. But, come on, this was not his idea, so what can I expect??
The good that came out of this annual exercise that we do? We did save money, if only by drastically reduced grocery costs. Although technically we weren't "supposed" to, we did eat out a few times, but opted for inexpensive places. And with all the gas we burned this month and all the gifts we had to buy for people - baby, wedding, birthday, and hostess - we needed to save in other areas, like un-necessary shopping and food, and that we did.
Essentials Only Month may have technically been a fail this time around, but it's still a good frame of mind to keep for 30 days. It's always a good challenge, and makes me aware of what I'm actually spending on all the extra, unnecessary things in life. And it makes me feel blessed that having an Essentials Only Month is a choice, not a necessity.
Between EOM and Lent (for which I gave up fried food), I'm ready to carelessly spend some money and binge on Chick Fil A fries.
Kidding. Sorta. (Gotta wait until after Easter for the fries, duh.)
