Being Frugal 101

I have been wanting to do this post for some time now but wasn't quite ready to announce it/be held accountable. With Blake leaving in 2 days I have been thinking about my summer plans without him. Blake built Bailey a swing set to keep her occupied in the summer and away from the TV. My girl LOVES TV and I am right there too, but I know it isn't good to be so attached so this summer I am getting rid of cable! Yes, all 900+ channels. Now before you think I am going Amish on you - I will watch my 4 or 5 favorite shows on the Internet. I do that anyway or I record it on my DVR so really there will not be a difference except an extra $85 a month we will be saving. Plus Bailey has like 30+ DVD's so the girl won't go without her shows/movies.

So I was looking on the internet and found a blogger who posted this article:
http://www.blogher.com/year-not-shopping

I LOVE IT! I think I am a simplistic person. I don't buy trendy items that are only 'HOT' for the month. Every now and then I find a trend that I like but usually I back out of it or only spend a few bucks on it after researching sales. Plus I like to be a leader - not a follower and I don't like looking like everyone else. So I have decided that I am going to go through my closet and make up new outfits that I have not tried before to make my wardrobe stretch. Also, I am going to go through my pantry and make up meals with things I already have instead of buying randoms at the grocery store. I can do all this because Blake will not be here. I get half of my closet back so I can see all my clothes again instead of it all squeezed together. And since I don't have but myself and Bailey to feed I can make up new concoctions for dinner - if it fails then we can have cereal. Also when I find clothes that I truly do not wear I can donate it, have a swap party with the girls, or put it in my mom's yard sale later this month. I love having a yard sale twice a year because it keeps me from hoarding things that do not matter and it makes me think twice about buying 'stuff ' throughout the year because I like my house to be clutter free.

So starting May 7th - May 21st I am going to put a halt on spending. I know that is only 2 weeks, but that is pretty good considering I LOVE TO SHOP! I will find things in my house to do instead of watching TV and shopping. My birthday is May 22nd so I kind of want to buy a nice lounge chair for the back yard to lay out it while Bailey plays in her fort all summer. After these two weeks I will post how I did and see if I can do it again and even stretch it out. I just really want to save a lot of money this summer while he is gone so when he comes back we will have (1) down payment for a truck, (2) more $$ in savings, and (3) money to repair anything around the house before we sell it next year.