Spending Freeze

Yesterday afternoon I finally got around to totalling up last year's expenses and income. We've been careful lately about spending money. The economy's getting tighter, we're searching for a new home, and my sweetie's workplace may be considering salary cuts. With our recent frugality in mind, it was a bit of a shock to see how much money we spent last year.

As I showed my sweetie the spreadsheet, I expressed frustration that we had spent more money than I realized. He calmly reminded me that it had been intentional. When the dollar was looking so grim last year, we decided to stock up on a few things and buy some equipment that we wanted. Our thinking was that these goods would hold their value better than the dollar.

Oh yeah. Now I remember.

In the kitchen and pantry, we looked at ways to increase our food security. I bought some vodka and made tasty liqueurs. I took advantage of a sale on dehydrated food for our emergency supplies. I bought enough coffee substitutes to last me until 2012, just so that I could do a thorough comparison of them for the blog. I picked up more canning jars and lids, and got a pressure canner. I got the Tulsi solar oven, which I enjoyed cooking with through the summer and fall.

Our transportation expenses increased, partly unexpectedly. My sweetie built the frame for my new Xtracycle but we still had to pay for the Xtracycle kit itself. We drove out of town more often to support my mother-in-law through her mother's final days and death, and then to prepare the house for sale.

Our medical expenses were pretty high for good and bad reasons. My sweetie and I both took classes on First Aid, and then put together First Aid kits for home and vehicle. I started treatment for TMJ, including a fairly expensive custom mouth guard to wear at night. Angel needed a small malignant growth removed.

Turns out it was a year with unusual expenses, most of which will hopefully not be necessary again. Now it's time for a Spending Freeze!

Because we are now looking at moving out of the immediate area, we have essentially stopped shopping. I'm trying to use up all of the food in the freezer as well as the various condiments and preserved vegetables in the refrigerator. We get fresh produce weekly at the CSA, along with occasional dried beans and grains. Cleaning myself and the house is done with simple supplies such as baking soda and vinegar, so there's no need to buy cleaning supplies or toiletries. I'm working hard to get rid of stuff now rather than buy anything new.

However, there is one problem with this plan...

This is my 500th Blog Post!

Don't you think that deserves something a little special? Surely I can go shopping to celebrate. Well, actually I can and I can do it without breaking the spending freeze. You see, Rob was nice enough to hold a drawing for a $25 Sears gift card and guess who won. I'm off to Sears today to look for an electric blanket. We've decided that preheating the bed, and then turning the blanket off, will allow us to turn the thermostat down further at night. It should reduce our total energy use. Thanks, Rob!