Today is the last day of our spending freeze and I’m happy to report that we did incredibly well. You can read more about our month of no spending here, here, here and here. We had another great weekend finding free and outdoor things to do. We visited Red Rocks and climbed the huge amphitheater stairs, which was a total workout.
We visited Lookout Mountain where we stumbled upon a volunteer fair. So we decided to sign up to be trail inspectors in one of the local county’s. We’ll basically visit different trails throughout the spring and summer and report back if we find any maintenance that needs to happen. Simple tasks and a great excuse to get out and hike!
And then there was that wedding show that we stumbled upon. You see, as we were driving up the mountains there were all these signs for free admission to one of the mansions. So we were like sweet, let’s check it out, it’s probably beautiful. It was beautiful and it was also a massive wedding expo with loads of caterers and photographers and florists. But once we were in it was hard to leave. It was so awkward and hilarious at the same time. Needless to say, the food was amazing and there was a cappuccino man mixing up delicious drinks.
I had to fight with the entry way lady on our way out to NOT give me a bag full of goodies. It was so funny. The photo booth guy? He couldn’t believe that we wouldn’t want a photo booth. We finally had to tell him we were married already and didn’t need the damn photo booth.
Anyway, overall for the week we spent $23.12 at the pharmacy, which was unfortunate, but I needed some things for my broken stomach so it was a necessity.
Overall for the entire month we spent $41.40, on things aside from our normal monthly bills. This was amazing for us since we’re usually WAY over that number. We only bought what we absolutely needed. We’ve been out of tissues for 3 weeks, out of paper towels for a week, we’re using free samples of travel sized bars of soap that we had, we’ve bought no beer or wine and we did not eat out. And look at us, we’re still alive and thriving!
I want to think that it was hard, but really, it wasn’t. We meal planned so we bought exactly what we needed at the grocery store and we ate through our freezer and pantry. We found great things to do each weekend that were at no cost to us, and we’re going to continue to explore all the free things the city has to offer. And we’re both really excited for a spring and summer full of hiking, trails and being outdoors from our mini hikes over the past few weeks.
I think we may start to do this a few times a year. Brings you back to reality with what we really need versus want. And not only did we not spend all month which resulted in saving a lot of money, we also brought in some extra income by selling things we no longer needed on Craigslist and eBay and partaking in a local focus group.
Have you guys ever done a spending freeze? Think you might try it? I’ve found that even week-long spending freezes can be incredibly effective for the budget and the bank account. Good luck if you try it out!
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