We are going on a Spending Diet!

It is October 1, 2009 and my husband and I are going on a diet. No, we are not trying to lose weight, we are actually trying to gain weight...to our bottom line.

Last week, I confessed to our excessive spending over the last month or so. I wrote that we needed to put the brakes on. Well the brakes are on and we are at a full stop. As I was entering transactions into Quicken last week I noticed that we have been doing a lot of spending lately, making many unplanned purchases. Some of the purchases were needed, but there were many that were impulsive and hardly necessities. I talked to the hubbs about it and he agreed that we need to take a brake.

The Guidelines of our Spending Diet.
Allowable expenses:

1. Groceries - of course we need to eat, but I'm going to try to eat more from the pantry and freezer to try to reduce this expense.


2. Sign up for swim lessons for our oldest daughter is in October.


3. Her birthday is also coming up and we are going to have a small party with a few of her friends. I haven't planned anything yet, but I will be working on it this month.


4. I received some gift cards for my birthday for restaurants that we will use if we feel the need to eat out this month. But we must stay within the gift card and our only out-of-pocket expense will be for any tip. This might be our most challenging guideline.


5. We will still get our cash allowance for the month. Trust me it isn't much.


6. Our oldest will need a winter coat and I will keep my eye out for a good sale. Although I was planning on avoiding the stores, so I won't be tempted to shop. Let's hope for a warm October!

Disallowed expenses:

7. Everything else.

What are we trying to achieve?

• Self-Control.


• How much more will we have in our account at the end of October?


• What will we do with that overage? How will it best affect our bottom line?


• How creative can we be so that we avoid spending money on things like food, entertainment, clothes?

Do you care to join us on our Spending Diet?

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