My family and I are kicking off the new year with a 31 days of nothing challenge. This will be our 4th year doing this type of challenge. You can read all about our first year here. This was what really kicked off our frugal lifestyle and made me change the way we live. You can also read about lasts years adventure here.This 31 days of nothing isn't just about not spending any money. It's also about being more aware of how we are living. Not being wasteful by leaving lights on or keeping the water running. Being more earth friendly by composting, recycling and making our own cleaners.
My family and I have sat down and planned out some rules. Here are the rules we have set for our family for the month of January.
1. The ultimate goal is to spend NO money except for necessities. For my family I consider necessities to be gas for work and appointments, monthly prescription medications, groceries (although very minimal, more on this later) and our basic bills and utilities. Necessities may mean something different for your family.
2. There will be no consumerism. My hope is to stay out of the stores completely. No new clothes, books, or any other impulse buys. No shopping the deals!
3. Groceries. I am allowing $25 per week for grocery shopping or $100 per month. I really just want to stick with eating from the pantry and freezers as much as possible. We will need milk for the baby, as well as fresh produce so I am setting money aside for those things. We should be good on most other items because our freezers and pantry are very full. I usually budget $500 for the month.
4. Zero money spent on entertainment. No eating out, we will cook from scratch and eat at home each day. No money spent on movies or impromptu ice cream cones. We usually budget $150 each month for entertainment.
5. Allowance. Everyone is giving up their allowance for the month. There will be no money in our pockets tempting us to spend it.
6. My gas budget is up in the air right now. I need to actually keep track of what we are spending so I can get a more accurate number. For this month though, I want to just try and stay home as much as possible. Combine our errands so that we aren't making multiple trips each week.
7. Get back composting, recycling, and shutting off. Our compost bin has been missing so scraps have been being tossed in the trash which makes me crazy. We are great at recycling but the bins need to be cleaned up. My family has gotten extremely lazy about shutting off lights and unplugging items when not in use. This is going to be enforced more.
8. Cutting back on water usage. Our water bill has done nothing but climb. We use alot of water. Mainly because of long showers and children playing in the sinks. Showers will be timed and sink time monitored to make sure we aren't being wasteful.
I will add to this list if I think of anything else.
So what do you think? Want to join me on this 31 days of nothing challenge? You can make up your own set of rules for your family. You can join for 1, 2, 3 weeks or the entire month. It is a great way to kick off your savings or even pay off some of that Christmas debt.
I will be hosting a weekly linky each Friday. I will be giving my weekly report and will post a linky here for anyone who wants to join in and link up their blog. I only ask that you make sure you link back to Learning the Frugal Life or display this great little button. Just copy the html code and add it to your post. Don't have a blog and still want to join? Leave a comment letting us know how your family is doing.
I am really looking forward to this challenge. I encourage you to join in with me. It could really open your eyes to how you spend your money. It is a great way to start living more frugally and learning to be content with what you have. Who knows, it may change your way of living forever.
I am in I hope my family will be in with me.
ReplyDeleteLOVE this idea! But...I may have to wait until February to try it! Looking forward to following your progress!
ReplyDeleteYou have me intrigued...might make a set of rules for my family!
ReplyDeleteI am so in on this!!
ReplyDeleteHave made a post on my blog about this :)
I really need to do this too! I am going to talk to dh and set some parameters around what we can spend money on and what we can't. Regardless, I need to stop spending money!
ReplyDeleteGreat! Glad to see so many of you wanting to join in. I will be posting the first link up on Sunday the first. Would love for you all to come back over and link your blogs so we can all follow each others progress.
ReplyDeleteLoving this idea! I am going to try this and keep you posted. Yolanda
ReplyDeleteOk, I'm on board and I'm dragging my readers along for the ride! http://fakeitfrugal.blogspot.com/2011/12/31-days-of-nothing-challenge.html
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting and we might try it, I'll have to talk to my hubby. :)
ReplyDeleteI want to give it a shot. Im keeping my twin nephews for a few weeks this month, so it may be alittler harder. But Im willing to give it a try. Cant wait to keep reading your blog!
ReplyDeleteI'm looking foward to this. Count me in!
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I are there, too. We're finally getting our vacation in and would like to set aside a bit more money to make that happen! We'll have to come up with some rules, too! :-)
ReplyDeleteWe're typically fairly frugal to begin with, but we *HAVE* been eating out more lately than usual, so that will have to go!
ReplyDeleteWe are in, we finished Christmas with 2.37 in our bank account after groceries and a very frugal Christmas. Something needs to change.
ReplyDeleteMy family is doing this. We love eating out at fast food places so it will be a challenge but we will be healthier in the long run cooking from scratch. I love shopping the deals too so I will have to stay far, far away from the stores. (Thanks for all your HyVee deal info. I have used your list when I have grocery shopped this past year and it has been helpful!)
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
Chris
Rochester, MN
This sounds like a great idea. I will be talking with the family and joining in the challenge. I am sure there are things we can learn by doing this type of challenge. Especially my teens.
ReplyDeleteI am committing to this challange. I don't have a blog, but I will continue to check in to see what others are up to. I am just barely getting into being more "green" around the home. I will be making my own cleaners and laundry soap this year as I run out of my stockpile. This challenge excites me because I know there are many ways to be frugal or just make do with less and I need to be doing as many of them as possible. I don't want to be in debt forever.
ReplyDeleteI dont know if I am ready for this long of a challege but I think its great, I am looking forward to reading your posts.
ReplyDeleteAs far as my son and I go, we are in! i'm not sure on our set of rules yet, and my husband won't count because his work schedule is dictated by concert schedules. He eats when he can and where he can, but if that is included in the budget for the month, then I guess it's ok! Our pantry and freezers are full, and aside from milk and produce, there is nothing else we need. We are aiming for Vegas in March, so this will be a great jump start to saving. This is a wonderful idea!
ReplyDeleteI would love to do love to do something like this. My resistance to it would be solely because I am the biggest offender. This would probably be good for me as a mother and a person! I'm going to ponder this and maybe you will see me linking up with you!
ReplyDeleteI am joining the challenge. Day two and I've only spent $20 cash on gasoline for my car.
ReplyDeleteI do this about once a month or every other month for two week periods. It's a great way to keep consumerism under control and to be constantly on your toes about all sorts of waste. This kind of challenge also inspires creative entertainment and an appreciation for the simple things in life. Good luck and have fun with it!
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I are saving up $10,000 this year to buy 10 acres from his grandparents to start our farm. However, we only make $27,000 a year after taxes. But, I did the math and it's still possible. So.... we are in!
ReplyDeleteIm joining, this week was great! Didnt go to store at all. But will need milk for the new week. This really opened my eyes as to the anount of wasted money on junk food and impluse buying.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about this until today. Not sure how I missed it since I subscribe to your blog but somehow I did! Anyway, it sort of follows along with this challenge I'm doing:
ReplyDeletehttp://frugallysustainable.com/2011/11/23-day-frugal-living-challenge-join-us/
I started doing what's in that challenge before reading about it and so far I'm doing well. I like yours, too.
Thanks for sharing your life with us all as you do! :)
I'm doing this for February! Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteThis is how we live our lives! It's the little things that add up every day! Just be mindful of your surroundings! Yesterday, we took our 23 month old daughter out into the woods to look for antler sheds. FUN!! My husband and I cook together almost every night. We laugh, talk about our days and enjoy quality time together! It's pretty great!!! xo Happy days!
ReplyDeleteI have been doing WAY too much impulse spending of late! My lovely long suffering hubby will be thrilled that I am taking this on!
ReplyDeleteAugust, here we come :)
Will you be doing the challenge again this year? I'm starting today! http://fakeitfrugal.blogspot.com/2013/01/31-days-of-nothing-take-2.html
ReplyDeleteI really want to try this - thanks for the inspiration and I will be blogging about the challenge this week. Grabbed your button and will be back.
ReplyDeleteJust found this challenge and am definitely up for it. Thanks for the inspiration. Grabbed your button and will be blogging about this tomorrow. Excited about joining in!
ReplyDeleteThanks Alison. It was a great challenge for our family. We did it last year. Wanted to do it again this year and we sorta are but I didn't get any blog posts up in time to have group participation. Good luck. Looking forward to hearing how it goes!!
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