Could You Go a Month Without Spending?

i’mgame for february no spending. thislast week of january, i have already planned meals for 4-weeks, bought pet foods for a month and my cupboard stocked for a month…. housekeeping supplies included. bought some pocketbooks on bargain too!i’m ready to just read, walk my dog and play with my cat, surf the net and watch tv the whole of february. : )

i can go a month without spend anything but what i have to like rent,utilities ect. thats easy i do it pretty much every month to broke to shop i learned to window shop years ago lol i would love to see my sisters do this though they wouldnt make it a day i bet

Most people already live like this. Food and shelter and insurance on you,or your family and what you drive. Uhhhhh….I wouldn’t forget that auto payment ot mortgage payment,all your utility bills,phone,gas,internet,sat TV.After paying the REQUIRED payments per month…..it doesn’t really leave anything else to splurge upon.

Whatcha’ supposed to do about Valentine’s Day?

Tim –
“most” people already live like this??? Where are you living? Most folks I know live beyond their means every day.

Hi Gina,

You could always make something for Valentines day. Might be a fun challenge.

I think I will use this month to clear out my pantry and freezer. Use up what has been sitting there for awhile.
I also want to start dating the new food I bring in to the house.

I have about 10 lbs of rice so I will be looking up a lot of recipes
Good Luck to all

I do it every month LOL!

I wasn’t raised this way. My family was considered lower middle class, despite the fact that my mother was a K-12 teacher. So, since 2003 I have been cutting back more and more until I finally faced the fact in September 2008 that I need to plan and spend for the month and that I need to return to working 7 days a week. My fulltime job offers free college tuition as a benefit, so I am taking advantage of this, but I probably won’t be able to graduate with a degree until I am at least 90 years old. I am better off than most people in America I guess, by living and working in Amish Country, Pennsylvania. After recieving my Rohror’s seed catalogue I have something to look forward to by planning for my small garden. I really appreciate all of the comments and advice on this website. One day at a time:)

I can do it! my only expenses usually are 60 cent bus fares, 10 cent Raman noodle for lunch and a big dinner that usually last all week. the only other things would be 375 for rent and my electricity is usually low because I generate my own electricity. so effectively, my day to day life my expenses are 70 cents and the weekly dinner & leftovers!

Patrick, In what part of America do you live and how do you simply and easily generate your own electricity. I have read various instructions and can’t make heads or tails out them. Solar is easier at the elementary level. I scattered coffee grounds and tea leaves on the ice on my sidewalk yesterday and let the sun heat the dark specks to melt some of the ice.

For Valentine’s Day, you could make some coupons for your honey, offering to give him or her your time and energy rather than something that costs money. For example, “This coupon entitles you to a massage”; “…a night in complete control of the TV remote”; ‘..a lovely bubble bath that I will draw for you, and during which I will fetch your favourite beverage and keep the kids out of the loo”; “…one evening of Scrabble.”

You can stay “clean” or get as racy as you please, depending on your relationship with the recipient. Kids can make these Valentines for their parents, and vice versa.

Join Yahoo Groups TheCompact. It is all about not spending, not buying new, using what we have, thinking outside the box. I have been a member for almost 1 year and I LOVE it! Right now, one of our challenges is a savings challenge….my goal is to save $40,000 this year, another member has a goal of NOT SPENDING and saving $100,000 and another member is to as much as they can. Come take a look….

I think I shall try this just for fun! I plan on not eating out at all this month, using groceries from the pantry (except for fresh fruit and veg. cannot be without those), read,tv(i would like to cancel the satelite subscription but that would not go over well with hubby!) How does one generate their own electricity?

I live in Texas. I had an electrician (certified by utility company) connect the system to my meterbox. I had him install it in a way that I can expand the system simply by adding the panels to the solar “grid”. he explained everything. I get the excess electricity usually in the “winter” when I dont run the AC as often.

Very interesting Patrick, but how do you GENERATE your own electricity? A generator? Pedaling a stationary bike? How? Backwoods Home Magazine has a lot of self suffiency ideas and on their website as well.

Difficult but yes, I could. I’ve had to before when I didn’t have stable income and may have to again soon. Many people have to where I live, we got hit worse than most of Florida.

Fortunately from these troubling experiences I have learned creative and resourceful strategies to get me by such as not buying citrus, making my own juices with a juicer, and buying almost all of my art supplies at wholesale price. If there is a specific food that grows in abundance in your area, you can simply knock on your neihbor’s door and say “May I have some fruit from your tree?” Often times, people are kind enough to say yes. This can save you a LOT. It saves me about 15 on my grocery bill =]

Gina,
Whoever you are with should show they care everyday. stop being so materialistic

The only way you can really do this is to ABSOLUTELY QUIT spending 8.33% of what you have been spending forever. 8.33% is of course 1/12 of the year>>>>>the month you are referring to “not spend”. In reality….this thread should have read “Could you go a month without unnecessary spending” not counting food,clothing shelter,gas to go to work,insurance and all the other necessities of living.

My question is when you are speaking of living for a month without spending what sort of meals are you planning for families and what about milk for the children? I can see this working on an individual level quite easily, but I am no longer on that level and need to be able to feed my husband and son healthy food (which tends to be the food that is more fresh and not processed with excess amounts of sodium.)

Sorry, I use solar panels to generate electricity. For my shower I have a solar water heater, but I have a tankless water heater too. (just in case) I want to get some artistic wind generators for my garden but havent found a good wind sculpture artist that puts generators in the wind sculpture. that would be awsome!