Skip to Content

The Conclusion of our Spending Freeze

Guess what?!

We have an offer on our house. Don’t get too excited yet, we have to wait for financing to go through. Once that is set then we can let out the squeal of delight.

11 weeks we haven’t spent money on anything unnecessary. Before we started this spending freeze we looked at our budget for paying two mortgages, and two sets of utility bills along with our groceries and we were left with $25 a month.

If you are new to this series catch up with- Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7. Week 8. Week 9.

So we put into place a spending freeze. How could we not- we weren’t going to have any money.

Of course when we went non contingent on the sale of our house we knew we could dip into our savings account.  We will have 3 more weeks to go making our total spending freeze 14 weeks or 98 days. Not once did we have to use money from our savings account.

We were determined not to.

We had both of our daughters birthdays during the spending freeze.

Christmas.

Valentine’s Day.

and  soon Easter. 

Guess what? We haven’t touched our savings account once.

EVEN WITH all those Holidays.

Nope my husband didn’t get a raise. Did you know he works in construction?! We are not a wealthy family by America’s standards.

I stay home- my income comes from my blogs- but it’s minimal.

So what’s the secret? 

We thought once, twice, and three times about each item.

We didn’t buy unnecessary things.

Three years ago our first daughter Riley was 2 and we saw a boys bike on the side of the road for free. We grabbed it. Silly right she is only two.

On her 5th birthday we bought training wheels, spray paint, and a frozen basket with streamers all for $30.

On our youngests daughter’s birthday we gave her a Disney Princess bike that I bought at Kmart before Christmas for $20.

Planning. 

See the importance.

For Christmas we set a budget.

We didn’t go crazy.

All the cute things I knew my girls would love we said no.

Five items each. That’s how we did it.

Valentine’s day. We didn’t justify that we needed to celebrate all fancy because America says so.

I didn’t need pictures on Facebook of fancy dinners we’re having to justify how I should be treated by my husband. I rested in the love that we have.

The house that we just bought. I let the money we had that week went to Eric continuing the tradition of getting the girls something sweet- a stuffed animal.

I haven’t bought anything new for myself.

No new shoes- even if they were $10.

No new shirts even if it was on clearance at Peebles for $6 ( ya’ll know that’s my spot!)

If you have looked through your closet and laughed at a shirt you have had for 8 years or more and then thought wait- I’ve had this shirt for 8 years and felt embarrassed.

Why?

Whose standard are you living up to?

Do most people care that you always are polished looking by your clothes? Does your family care how you look or your closest friends?

Of course it FEELS amazing when we have a nice outfit to wear for that special outing. And if we aren’t buying new clothes every week we can probably fit that one new outfit in and it makes it even more SPECIAL.

The truth of the matter is:  Whose standards are you living up to and why?

The spending freeze had me reflect on how in just one more month we will have what I feel like is a good chunk of extra money. A new house- new decorations new, new, new.

Then I stopped. We are redoing our dining room. My husband’s time goes there after work and on the weekends.

My 5 year old tells me how much she misses her daddy.

The renovations can wait. Needing everything now can wait. The deals they come and go.

You know what there isn’t? Time to go back.

Time to wish you spent with your kids when they were younger.

When you are surrounded by the right people in your life they won’t be loving you based on your brand new kitchen appliances.

They will be loving you for you.

So I conclude my spending freeze series with a huge lesson learned and I hope you have too.

I just don’t really need stuff. Even if it’s an amazing deal. Asl yourself three times.  Do I need this? Why do I need this? When I get home how will this benefit me?  I encourage you as you follow the blog to not get caught up in deals. All of us are on different paths but we all can benefit from the lesson I learned. If you want to get inspired on saving money be sure to check out my posts here.

What do you need in life? 

Love it? Pin It! 

spending freeze survival how to

 

 

Click here to cancel reply.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Robin Pack

Monday 21st of March 2016

You are so very right! By who's standards are we comparing ourselves to? Kudos to you for doing what is best for your family and spending time with your precious children!

Tasia

Monday 21st of March 2016

Thanks Robin! The temptation is there but a greater understanding of our place in this world and prayer has made this spending freeze a huge blessing!

Mihaela Echols

Monday 21st of March 2016

This is what me and my husband do too. We dont buy new things, dont eat out, and we also set a Christmas budget.

Tasia

Monday 21st of March 2016

Make life easier right?! Thanks for stopping by Mihaela!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.