Last year I talked my sweetie into a spending freeze for the whole month of February. I pitched it as a way to help out the budget and pointed out that it was the shortest month of the year. Rent, utilities, insurance, and gasoline were approved expenses. We agreed to one meal out per week only as long as it was under $15 (for both of us). Any other expenditures had to be absolutely necessary and approved by both of us. The month went surprisingly easily and we got used to really examining our urge to buy.
Well, it's been a year full of changes but I'm once again feeling the need to go through this intense examination period again. I approached my sweetie once again with the idea of a spending freeze and he was okay with it, even though there is an extra day in February this year. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that I wanted to apply the need-versus-want criteria to a broader spectrum than just purchases. How about food and the way I spend my time? I still choose to eat more for enjoyment at times than for need and I'll admit to wasting a fair amount of time each day that could be spent more productively.
I want to pay attention to these things for the next month.
When I feel the urge to buy something, I will force myself to examine whether I really need it. Do I have something already that will do the job? Can I make do without it? Can I put off buying it until March?
When I head to the kitchen, I'll try to keep in mind that it is a better policy to 'eat to live' than to 'live to eat'. Do I really need juice to quench my thirst or will water suffice? Am I still hungry enough to warrant seconds or does the food just taste so good that I want another serving? Do I really need something sweet after dinner?
When I spend time online, am I spending it the best way that I can or just postponing doing some chore that I don't feel like tackling? The trick to examining how best to spend my time will be remember that time to relax and reflect is a necessary part of my health. Choosing how to do that will be interesting.
If you want to join me, leave me a comment and please blog about it occasionally. If you are not a blogger and want to join in, just leave comments now and then to let us know how you're doing with it.
I'm attempting again to do the whole banner thing so expect technical disruptions to the blog. Ha! I've cut and pasted my previous instructions but if you can't get it to work, just put a regular ol' link on your blog back to this post. Here, supposedly, is a way you can post the logo on the sidebar to your blog.
Select and copy this handy html. In your blog, from the Template settings, click on Add a Page Element. Choose the text option. Paste the copied html into the message space in a Text Page Element. It will show the button and include the link.
<a href="http://chilechews.blogspot.com/2008/01/trim-fat-challenge.html"> <img src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_2H3G4C5T6s0/R6CYk6SFLMI/AAAAAAAAAfc/cQOGsQO9tQw/s200/trim+the+fat+mini.jpg"/></a>
33 comments:
Sounds awesome to me! I've already added it to my blog!
I am up for that challenge, I spend far to much money on food. I reckon if I shop less we could afford to eat out twice a month and spend about $30 each time. It will help me clear out my food cupboards and of course I have all my chillies. So we can make lots of curries, Indian lemon rice, Mexican bean dishes, Spanish rice and Pancakes,Pizza and chilli cornbread.
With all that we wont need to eat out at all.
Welcome, welcome.
Not surprisingly, I screwed up the link to the image. It's fixed now, if you don't mind redoing it, Hippie Girl. (Or you can just go in and edit the a href= part to take out the word "the" from trim-fat-challenge. *sigh*
I've given up most shopping for the year, but I do think I really need to trim the fat when it comes to all the time I spend procrastinating in front of the computer! So I'm game.
If you think there are big limitations to how much you can cut back and be self-sufficient while living in an urban area, read this. It’s a fascinating story about a guy who lives on $600 a year in the city. He owns his home but has turned off all his utilities. His sole source of income is from selling wheat he grows on a vacant lot. There’s absolutely no way this would work in our household, but it’s a good reminder to me that there’s always more that can be done.
Great article, DC. Sad to read the negativity in many of the comments on it, though.
Yeah, Chile, it is sad to see people who have such negative reactions to someone trying to live in a sustainable way. That sort of thing used to make me mad, but now I just feel sorry for people who feel that way. We just need to be strong and do what we believe is right. If Gandhi and MLK had waited for blessings from the mainstream to start their work, India would probably still be a British colony, and the U.S. would probably still not have any civil rights legislation.
Count me in!
I'm especially interested in seeing how I 'spend' my time.
I'd love to join you, but I'll have to pass on this one. As we have the house on the market, we're buying all sorts of stuff that I would normally consider unnecessary, such as potted plants, new quilt covers for our bedroom, cut flowers etc. All in the name of hopefully getting a good price :-)
So if you'd done the challenge in a month or two I would have been right with you, but not right now.
Welcome arduous and Jenn! Daharja - I completely understand. Been there, done that, and it's not fun. Good luck.
DC, are you in,too? If not, that's fine. We need a cheerleading section! ;-)
Chile, I love this one. Argh. I'm going away for two weeks (see my post today). But this is something that I've been doing and thinking about a lot lately, and I'd love to have the reminder of a challenge.
I will be taking part, even while I'm gone, and will write about it and be more active about it when I get back.
Yep, Melinda, there's no reason you can't be doing this while you're away. The whole point of challenges is to think about our everyday actions and habits. Have a great trip and we'll look forward to reading about how you trimmed the fat away from home. :)
Hey, count me in, too! I was thinking of doing something like this anyway, it'll be nice to have the company and support.
I'm in. Need to be in, even. My husband is hopefully starting grad school this summer, and we need a jumpstart to tightening the proverbial bootstraps!
I will allow myself to buy things for NECESSARY home improvements... like weatherstripping, new doors to prevent heat loss out the back and front, etc. BUT.. they have to be USED and CHEAP. NOTHING new.
I will try to NOT waste food, to eat when bored or to just fill up time.
Our current eating out budget is $100 a month. I will attempt to cut it to $50 (or to $0 if I can get my husband on board).
Hmmm... I should just finish this train of thought on my blog!
I will try to spend MORE time on my home and LESS time in front of my computer "researching" my home.
Yes, Chile, I am in. Our family has actually already been doing something like this since the beginning of 2008. We're trying to go a year without buying anything new, with a few exceptions: We'll still buy new birthday and Christmas presents for our son, new clothing when necessary -- provided that it's organic and fair trade, and "essential" items like laundry detergent, food, etc. It's sort of a modified version of the Compact.
Other things we're doing: We've limited our eating out budget to $20 a month for our family, I'm cutting my own hair, we've gotten rid of one of our cell phones (the other is prepaid and costs $80 a year), and we're going to eliminate satellite TV as soon as our contract expires this spring. We've also been participating in Crunchy's "no waste" challenge and are trying to reduce the amount of food that ends up in our compost bin.
Our goal is to pay off our car by the end of the year and to pay off our house by the time our six year old reaches college age.
As far as using time wisely goes, we've been trying to spend more "family time" together and to organize our lives so we don't have to rush around anymore than necessary.
Thanks for the challenge. It will be motivating to hear about others trying to live in a similar way.
Awesome challenge! I'm new to your blog, came here from Tiny Old House, and the funny thing is that just last night I posted something so similar to your challenge! It's great to see that more people are thinking this way and are trying to make a difference. :)
I am going to have to visit your blog again to see what else you are up to!
Welcome, Debbie, Jennifer, and DC to the challenge! I'm glad to see everyone is lining up what criteria will work for their situation. It's definitely not a "one size fits all" challenge. Figure out what fat you can trim from your life.
Aimee, you're right. Your post is right up the same alley. Want to join in here as well for the next month along with your own year-long plan?
Okay, after much hemming and hawing, I'm in. Here's my dilemma. We buy virtually nothing (well, especially new). We only eat out once a week or so and I'm not willing to change that. I am going away for a girl's weekend (my first ever since the kids were born) and plan to shop up a storm! Just kidding. ;-) I do plan to indulge in a good bottle of wine, a nice dinner out and maybe even a massage.
That said, I'm in. I'll focus on the money thing to a degree but even more so on my personal Achilles heel(s): frittering away time online (as opposed to not frittering it away) and food (eating TOO much when I don't need to). Those latter two are where I personally need to trim the fat (pun intended).
Glad to have you at the party, Green Bean. I, too, fritter time away and hope to examine this month why I do that. I know I need some time for relaxing activities, but is being online the best way to achieve that? Probably not. Going outside for a walk or a bike ride would probably be better for me physically and mentally!
OK, I'm in. I still need to have the talk with my husband to set the ground rules. I think we'll focus on time and grocery money. We have such a hard time sticking to our budget and what better time than the beginning of the year to start on the right path, right?!
Once we have the talk I'll post the ground rules on our blog.
Hi Amber, glad to have you join in!
I saw your challenge mentioned by Jennifer at Tiny Old House. It couldn't come at a better time. I'm going to focus on getting back into the kitchen and how I spend my time.
Thanks for coming over, Monica. I look forward to seeing what changes you make!
I'm in, but I need to think about how the challenge will look in our house. It will definately involve buying less food. We have enough in the house so I will work more on making due with what we have and making substitutions to recipes so I don't have to go to the store to get the "right" ingredient. I'm also going to look at how I'm spending my time, I also fritter away time online and other things don't get done. I will be buying things this month, but they are all planned purchases I've been saving up for and they are all garden related. I won't buy any clothes, fabric or yarn this month (big for me). I'll work on using up the stashes I have here.
I'm here from Monica's blog, and I'm in. I buy very little new, but I am terrible about buying coffee while I'm out and about and impulse buying while grocery shopping. I do not stick to the list. Some days, I'll call my husband to bring home a pizza just because I didn't take anything out earlier for dinner or I just plain don't feel like cooking. All places for improvement!
I've added you both to the list. Wow, we're up to 15 including me. Somehow, though, there is no representation from the second half of the alphabet. Strange... ;-)
would it be ok if i try this in March? this month is going to be full of random travels for me, so I had to plan on money spending that I wouldn't usually do.
well, it will count for me next month when I try it! thanks for the idea.
Sure thing, Erikka!
This is a terrific idea!
I think our family spends at least $50 on coffee-- fairtrade organic- every month. Also sometimes buy snacks (Miserably unhealthy snacks!)on the way home from work. I'll have to figure out where the rest of the fat is. We spend about $50 eating out per month-- special Friday night take-out treat.
Just the "basics" for a family of 5 with two cars, 10 sheep and two dogs is waaaay more than I'd have imagined!
this is a truly wonderful idea
Perri
Chile, I'm still participating - but I am so swamped trying to catch up after two weeks away... I'm going to write up a post at the conclusion of the month, listing all the things I've been up to for the challenge. Sorry I couldn't do more this time around!!!!!!!
Sounds like a whole lotta critters there, Perri!
Melinda, an end-of-the-month wrap-up is just fine. Good luck catching up on everything. You're own challenge has taken on a life of its own!
Sure has, Chile! (She says wiping sweat from her brow...) I believe we hit 70 today.
I just read about this challenge and have started it for the month of march. Our goal is to purchase grocery supplies twice this month and have 14 no spend days...if not more. I've been alarmed at the number of times we've been making grocery runs. All due to poor planning. Additionally, all meals will be home made.
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