On our thread I do a Question of the Week. This week my question was "How has this thread changed your habits? What tangible benefits have you seen by being a member? I know we occassionally get someone on here that just doesn't get the concept of no spend is so much more then no spending 10 days to blow everything on day 11."
Honeylioness had a wonderful answer I think really defines WHAT we are about:
"I will admit that during my first two months of lurking, I wondered just how in the WORLD someone could not spend any money at ALL for 25 days? Did they just pay all their bills one day a month, and that same day do the food shopping for the month? Like many new to the concept I saw it as horribly, and restrictively, black or white – an opinion first based merely on the name of the thread.
But once I came to understand that it was not so totalitarian and was more about finding a way that worked for you to track your spending and any “leaks” in the wallet, it has felt more like a tool and less like a punishment. I wish I could say that I have paid off five extra years from the mortgage, or now have an EF of six months take home – but alas that would not be true.
What I do have however is a better awareness of where my “leaks” are, what are my hot buttons that make me want to spend on things I really don’t need or really cannot afford right now. And an awareness of the fact when I AM spending money. I think that awareness is key to learning a new behavior or paradigm. Just like lumberlady, some of us have had to look hard in the mirror and acknowledge that we had a problem. Until people can do that, be it an addiction to alcohol or drugs or credit cards ….. they will never really GET it."
Thanks Honeylioness!
A Slow Cooker Thanksgiving
4 weeks ago
1 comment:
My Two Cents
I am just going to give my perspective on my utilization of this thread, including the comments/support/truth given out. Everyone comes to this thread with different goals and reasons to obtain controlled/no spend days. I joined to get a handle on my spending and to get out of debt. In the beginning I was flooded with ideas on how things should be done in regards to budgets, debt pay off, etc. I was a bit overwhelmed. So I started by writing out all of our debt and tracking all of our money. It was a big eye opener for me, especially how fast the under $5 purchases add up. Anyhow, although there are smarter/faster ways to do things in regards to budgeting and debt pay off, I had to balance that with real life living. So for me, I am utilizing the snowball method. Every month, my outgoing expenses are as follow, tithe, basic living expenses (rent and utilities), debt payments (which is the same monthly payment even after a cc is paid off because we snowball it to the next cc on the list), food/gas, savings, and fun money (very minimal). We keep our EF at $1,000 and if there is any left over we discuss it. Ideally, it should go to paying off debt but it doesn’t always. We use this money to fund different parts of our budget that one day we hope to have fully funded on a yearly basis like clothes, b-days, vacations (yes, even with debt), car maintenance, doctor visits, Christmas, etc. If we do not have anything pending or come up with a big chunk we put that toward debt. I know that the wisest choice is to get our debt paid off as fast as possible but for us we have chosen to balance that with a certain quality of life, in the most responsible budget friendly kind of way. I know others would disagree with this but I’m just being honest. We do not use cc anymore and we make responsible decisions regarding needs and wants. Yes, on occasion we do buy wants but we do it with saved cash and we put a great deal of thought into the purchase, unless said purchase is a Pepsi or a magazine at the check out line, that is just me blowing my $20 in fun money without thinking.
However, I do agree that we need to be responsible for our poor choices. When I first started I had way too many “unexpected needs” but the truth is if I had a plan they wouldn’t have been unexpected and if I was really honest the majority of them were not even needs. The first few months were learning experiences with the realization that I must actually implement what I am learning and not laugh it off as an oops. I would plan a monthly budget and set a goal for a certain number of NSD but then forget to include doctors appointments, school picture money, gifts, diapers, etc. but the next month I would include them so they weren’t unexpected and this is something that I will have to continue to do because life is every changing. Now I look at my calendar months in advance and plan for everything that I know is happening in that month and make sure I make a list of all things I need to buy so I can do it all in one trip and make a fund with our “extra” money.
Life is life and even with the most detailed list and plans I could still be a flake or better yet just get plain lazy, overwhelmed, sick, or whatever and do what is easy. Like I tell my kids, “We don’t do what is easy, we do what is right.” even so, none of us our perfect. I think the root of matter comes down to attitude. The majority of us who are here willingly admit to our mistakes as mistakes. We are here to be held accountable and keep others accountable in order to meet their goals. The truth, no matter if it is said outright or if it is wrapped in flowers, is something we all need or needed to be told to take a step in the right direction. It’s not about justifying spending a few dollars, it’s about an attitude and a lifestyle change. It is about being real and honest with yourself because if you are not you will never accomplish what you are suppose to accomplish.
azmomxthree
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