My husband and I were talking the other day about how we seem to have become a little lax when it comes to our spending. It’s summer and I am sure that plays into the spontaneous Slurpees and frosty’s and other fun splurges.
It’s all adding up and we are feeling a little out of control with our spending again.
Have you ever had what I like to think of as a Come to Jesus moment?
Well, that’s exactly what we had the other day and it is not the kind of thing you just ignore.
Okay well, maybe you do for a while because I am thinking that still, small voice was gently trying to make us realize that we were being irresponsible with our money again but we were choosing to ignore it for that other, a much louder voice telling us things like…
You deserve it, you worked all week.
You have to work. You do it because it is just something you have to do. I mean we expect our kids to do their chores, be honest and respectful, and get good grades even if they aren’t getting paid. You don’t work so you can have fun all the time, you work so you won’t always have to work.
THEN you can have LOTS of fun!
All work and no fun makes us dull, or something like that so you HAVE TO have fun.
There is some truth to this.
But that doesn’t give you an excuse to suddenly become irresponsible with your fun. Plan an outing and save until you can afford the fun. Look for ways to have fun without breaking the budget. You can find lots of great Summer Staycation ideas to have fun in your city without spending too much.
It’s just a little splurge, it’s no big deal.
The reality is that this is the lie that will set you up for failure if you allow it to. Having that kind of mindset can be very dangerous and sneaky too. A little here and a little there adds up a lot faster than you might think.
I’m not saying you can never splurge. Just make sure you aren’t slowly sliding into this Personal Finance Trap that I have witnessed so many others falling for.
We have worked very hard in the past to change our financial legacy, but I would be lying if I pretended that we have it all together.
Since buying this house I have shared that we’ve been a bit relaxed in following a budget. We had started slipping back into old habits of spending. But since it was only a dollar here and a dollar there it didn’t seem like a big deal, but let me tell you those dollars all add up to a lot of waste!
The reality is that we have some areas that we have completely overcome and found victory where our finances are concerned.
But we still have those hidden areas where bad money habits try to hide.
The neat thing is that I can noticeably see a difference in the fact that when we catch a glimpse of them hiding out in the shadows, we deal with them a lot faster than we ever did.
So we have begun the Summer Spending Freeze!
I realize summer may be the most difficult time to attempt this which is exactly why we are!
A couple of weeks ago we came to the conclusion that we needed to get back on track if we were going to reach our financial goals for the year. We have started from the beginning of looking for the areas where we can cut back the fat and save a little more.
NOTE: Some of the best areas are cable, insurances, and phone service.
My husband and I have decided to use this week as the jump start we need and turn it into a challenge to see how little we can live on.
We already have some groceries, toiletries, and water. I am pretty sure it will be easy to go for a week without buying ANY extras. But there are a couple of things that we will need to spend on such as gas.
We are challenging ourselves to spend the bare minimum possible for the next 2 months straight.
I would love to see us go for a whole month only spending on gas!
What does this mean? Well, basically we are going back to the basics that we used to get out of debt the first time and using them once again to get back on track to reach our financial goals this year.
We are setting aside a set amount of “fun” money each week and that is it! No more pulling out the debit card to grab ice cream cones.
I will look for creative ways to have fun while spending as little as possible this summer. Of course, I will also share what I find with you here so that you can take advantage of some frugal summer fun too!
We have several vacations planned in a couple of months so my goal is to make sure we have more than enough money put aside for them.
Have you ever voluntarily participated in a Spending Freeze?
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