No-Spend Month

I've been looking at our finances again and trying to come up with new ways to shed debt and save for some important steps in our future. My original five year plan may need some extending, as my husband's business is still cyclical and gaining momentum. One month we are scraping by and the next he is being paid for months worth of work. It makes budgeting and planning difficult, and for right now, debt seems to be a part of our lives. In general, here are the steps I've been considering:

1. Lower Fixed Expenses. We've done this as much as humanly possible. We moved into a family owned house and pay no rent or utilities, even our internet is mooched and our cell phones are on the family plan. We sought out public health care options, and now use cheap doctors and clinics when necessary. We don't have cable or other monthly bills. We pay about $100 a month for car, renter's, and life insurance. We have Netflix which my whole family uses and costs about $9 a month. Other than insurance and Netflix, we spend money on gas and food, and have been eating out occasionally, going to the movies once in a while, bought some gifts, and took a couple of road trips this summer. I spend a small amount on the kids' toys and clothes, and of course there are occasional haircuts and pedicures :)

2. Face the Music. I added up everything. Every student loan, credit card, and other debt obligation. It was a lot. We have student loans from law school that are on a long-term repayment plan that is income-based and has a term limit of 25 years. Unless things change dramatically for the better (which would be great) we will probably end up paying only the principal on this loan, so it makes sense to avoid aggressively paying it off. Everything else added up to roughly 62K. This includes our car, my undergrad loans, loans we took out to cover bar expenses, and credit card debt we've acquired this year while Greg's practice was in the starting phase. (The credit card debt was all accumulated for emergency stuff like gas to get to court and health insurance premiums during the slow months.)

Once I had it all laid out in black and white with minimum payment info and interest rates, I made a plan for paying it off. Basically we'll pay 2K a month towards these obligations and have everything, including the car, paid off in less than 3 years. At that point we can ramp up our saving to invest in Greg's practice some more and eventually buy property.

3. Make More Money. Haha, easier said than done. But this has been on my mind quite a bit lately. I have a desire to contribute to our family financially, maybe just because it's been so long since I've had a paying job and I miss it. But the truth is that other than helping Greg out with some writing and editing work, I just don't have time for anything else worthwhile. Two babies are a ton of work and I'm not ready to delegate the childcare just yet.

Lately I've been trying to sneak in some writing time. I know I'm not spending enough time for this to bring in any money yet, but I feel like what I'm doing now will pay off eventually. I may be a one book every five years kind of writer, or maybe even a one book per lifetime writer, I'm not sure. In the past I've let my limited free time keep me from even trying. Lately I've been convicted to throw out my perfectionist tendencies and just do it, even if it's only 20 minutes here and there, even if it's ideas or words written on the backs of envelopes or receipts.

4. And finally, the point of this post... No Spend Month. You've probably heard of this. People take a break from consumerism for a short time and rely on what they have. You stop all discretionary spending for one month in order to reevaluate your spending habits and save a little. Some people just do this with groceries and "eat down" their pantries, using up all the food that would eventually go bad and be wasted. You still pay your bills but don't buy any more crap. I'm thinking this sounds awesome right about now. I'm psyched to try some crazy recipes with the random stuff in our kitchen, and to do projects around the house instead of shopping.

I haven't ok'd it with Greg yet but here are what I think the rules should be:
- set aside cash for next month's bills so we're not tempted to go out and blow a bunch of money as soon as the challenge is over
- have a limited amount of cash for things like gas, milk, and tp (although I do have some great pop fiction lying around, just sayin') this will probably be like $200 - $250
- try to use up stuff around the house and declutter (I'm already eyeing up the pantry and looking for stuff to give away/maybe sell?
- focus on things other than accumulation of stuff. This might mean I'll need a pinterest break, I'm not sure. I'm hoping the shopping break will allow us to do more fun cheap and free things together, and focus on improving ourselves instead of just adding clutter to the house.
- time frame. A month is what most people do, although I'd like start now and go until September 1st. if possible. I am planning on starting preschool with Henry in Sept, and might need some stuff for that, so maybe we'll try to stop the last week in Aug.

Wish me luck and I'll post updates with all of my free time!

Some Words

Stella is 2 months old, and beautiful.

We're trying to potty-train Henry.

I'm going to miss Rachel when she leaves.

I love these kids, but sometimes feel sad about the things I've given up.

I'm an introvert and that's not a character flaw.

God has been quietly calling my name while I've been making lists and doing chores.

I typed this post with one hand.