Financial Abundance Frugal Living

NO SPEND: Week One Recap

A strong start!

Total spending this week: $55

Unplanned Spending:
Parking: $2

Budgeted Spending:
Grocery (my half of shared expense): $40
Exercise Classes: $13
(4 classpass credits – roughly equals $8, Aerobics donation- $5)

Highlights of this week:

  • I just finished the last (published) book of the Expanse Series, and was craving something a little different. I learned about Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, and was very pleased to see that it was free with Kindle Reader + Amazon Prime. I finished the book and am now on the sequel, Parable of the Talents, which I rented for free on Hoopla. If you don’t have Hoopla or Overdrive, I can’t recommend it enough – FREE ebooks and audiobooks just for having a library card!
  • We got a very nondescript mailing from our mortgage bank, and I almost threw it away, but inside there was a check for $630. Something about an escrow account refund?! We don’t really know why it happened yet but it is awesome to know we have a bit more cash in the shared account.
  • I started the onboarding process for a new bartending side gig, and it is in walking distance from my house!

Daily Recap

DAY 0 (Tuesday)
I’ll admit, it was a little distorted thinking, but I wanted to get any good deals out of my system. With $50 of Old Navy Supercash expiring within the first week of my challenge, I stopped by one of the stores ready to get the camo leggings I’ve been wanting for free. See, I though it was like the Kohl’s Cash deal where it is face value … but it is not. It is a graduated discount based on what you spend. I’d have to have a $125 bill to use all of the “$50” off. Not interested! So I walked out empty handed!

DAY 1 (Wednesday)
Felt mentally prepared and ready to get started! Finished prepping a bulk wild-rice salad the night before and brought all the components in the office fridge so I’ll have lunch ingredients for the next 3 days.
Simon had run out to get espresso in the morning, but returned empty-handed as the machine was broken. I said it must have been a sign that he isn’t supposed to spend unnecessary money either. He did not find the universe’s joke funny.

DAY 2 (Thursday)
Bowling night on a league I paid for in January. For the past few games, I’ve spent $10-15 on drinks. I decided to bring a thermos of mint tea and sip on that for the duration of the game. I did pay $2 for street parking because I was running late.
I had an Instacart coupon ($10 off) and decided to order a very basic re-stock of essentials – fruits and veggies, soy milk, some condiments we ran out of, and coffee to bring to work. With the coupon and then adding on tax and tip, it was $46 from our shared account.
Have you tried Instacart? If not, here’s my referral code! What I like about using the service is that I avoid impulse spending by not physically being in the store, and I can “shop” while I’m at work and have it scheduled to arrive when I get home.

DAY 3 (Friday)
I woke up knowing that I really wanted sushi for dinner, but I also knew I wouldn’t be enjoying unless I made it at home. We had everything needed (veggies, nori, seasonings), except enough of the short grain rice, so I stopped at a grocery store on the way home from a workout class (2 ClassPass credits). I had a small specific list – I was also planning to make pizza this weekend based on the ingredients I knew we also already had like a big block of cheese, and canned tomatoes.
Outside of the sushi and pizza supplies, I impulse bought blueberry protein muffin mix, a mango, and a new beer that caught my eye for Simon. All in all, I spent another $34 from our shared account. Still a lot cheaper than what I’d spend alone at a sushi spot.
We made 5 delicious rolls plus a leftover container of the unrolled contents. And there’s still plenty of uncooked rice for next time.

DAY 4 (Saturday)
After yoga class (2 CP credits), I prepped the pizza ingredients for later, and also made the muffins (they have protein so its ok…right?). I used this Greek yogurt recipe for the dough, made a marinara from memory with canned tomatoes and spices I had on hand, and then added lots of veggies and cheese. I spent a lot of the day reading and staying in. Our date-night-in consisted of competitively stretching the dough and assembling pizzas, and then playing a few rounds of tabletop games.

DAY 5 (Sunday)
We got up early and headed to the park with the dog. There was still quite a bit of snow, but the sun was shining and it was very recharging mentally and physically.
Flipping through a Bon Appetit magazine at home, I found a recipe that would use up so many ingredients that have been lingering in our pantry and fridge. This Cod Chowder utilized some wimpy celery, frozen cod, lumpy potatoes, and coconut milk containers to become a magical warming stew. I substituted quite a few spices but kept the curry vibe going, and used shallots instead of leeks.

DAY 6 (Monday)
As much as I try to eat leftovers and shop my pantry first, quite a bit went to the garbage today. Several Japanese eggplant from the discount rack got too squishy and moldy in the fridge, as well as some leftover soup and rice that was going on two weeks old. Throwing out food is throwing away money! Ugh, better attention next time.
I needed to pick up some papers from my parents, so they met me sort of half-way which saved some time and gas. Rather than sit in a parking lot alone, or go into a cafe or a bar and spend money, I decided to wander the “general store” of Cracker Barrel til they got there. I’ll be honest, some stuff was surprisingly cute, but nothing I could use or needed. My mom on the other hand, could have bought armfuls of stuff if I didn’t keep swatting her hand. I very much inherited the “shopping for fun” gene from her. My dad just laughed at the puns on magnets til I convinced them to get out of the store and we chatted a bit outside while it was still sunny.

DAY 7 (Tuesday)
Y’all, I did NOT know there were actually 46 days in Lent. Sundays are not observed for fasting as it is a feast day… But I’ve never been a model ex-Catholic so let’s keep the momentum going all the way through. The only spending was in cash for my workout today. I always try to give at least $5 for a friend’s donation-based aerobics class.

Everyone please wash their hands and hug their loved ones often.
Til next week, happy no-spending.

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