Comments on: Going on a spending moratorium

By: Bargain Babe » Spending moratorium Day 1

Bargain Babe » Spending moratorium Day 1 — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:12:01 +0000

[...] BB considers going on a spending moratorium [...]

By: Bargain Babe » Spending moratorium starts Wednesday

Bargain Babe » Spending moratorium starts Wednesday — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:52:45 +0000

[...] spending moratorium that I argued against but was persuaded by readers to embrace starts Wednesday. Thanks, guys! But seriously, I think this [...]

By: Bargain Babe » Page not found

Bargain Babe » Page not found — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:00:06 +0000

[...] Recent Comments bargainbabe on Readers vote: Trader Joe’s gift card is tops! Email subscriber drive launches today!bargainbabe on Introducing…intern Alex!bargainbabe on How to make coupon clipping work for youbargainbabe on Introducing…intern Alex!bargainbabe on Going on a spending moratorium [...]

By: bargainbabe

bargainbabe — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:41:43 +0000

Nancy, sounds like you and your family have adapted very well to the moratorium!

By: bargainbabe

bargainbabe — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:22:24 +0000

The attitude you describe is the best possible one, in my opinion: only buying the things you really need and then getting the best possible price. The tricky part is defining need. My hope is that going on a spending moratorium will help me further define needs v. wants.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 07:19:16 +0000

What’s important is not what you do short term, but how you plan for the long term. If you don’t need something, you shouldn’t buy it, moritorium or not. If you need something (or at least want it a lot), you should buy it at the best possible price. If you miss the best sale of the year because of a self-imposed moritorium on spending, you’ve just hurt yourself for no good reason.

By: sarah

sarah — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:29:48 +0000

I’m doing this in June. It’s a really interesting experience. I’m still buying food, gas, and other things I consider necessities (like a new filter for my PUR–though I stretched the old one farther than I thought possible). I’m also have a budget plan but this really is making me consider and evaluate every single purchase. What’s fun is how other people respond: I’ve had more offers to buy me lunch than ever before!

By: Jenni Porter

Jenni Porter — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:42:18 +0000

Doing this “on your own” will be difficult; for me, doing it on my own would be impossible, 4 ravenous kids home for the summer! I don’t have enough storage for a month of food for them! But the “not buying THINGS for a month” is really do-able; cut herbs and flowers from your garden and put into jars (repurposing!) as gifts for people; re-use gift bags and make gifts to put in them; free museum days as outings:… etc!

By: bargainbabe

bargainbabe — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:53:47 +0000

Good idea, I need to get Hubby on board. But I may have to do this myself. He’s already changed his spending habits a lot at my request, namely that he writes down each penny he spends.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:33:19 +0000

We have been cutting back since Jan. We are going for a full year. No extras, just food & gas. It is tough, since we have 3 kids that always want something “new”. So they are learning to save, recycle, reuse. I’m learning also you can do so much more with out a lot. I’m teaching my kids to find things to do that are “free”, so my 6yr old said that the park down the street has free movie and popcorn night on Saturdays. So we will go. The plus is we can walk!

By: Jan

Jan — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:16:18 +0000

I try to do this during the week–bringing my own refilled water bottles, lunches and all; using up lots of food my hubby buys and stuffs in our freezer and pantry. I’m limiting myself to buying fresh fruits, veggies and milk. If I use the mind set of week to week–before I know it, it’s been a month! Extra motivation is when I have a trip planned and know I’ll need extra cash in a couple of weeks.

By: Kristin

Kristin — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:09:45 +0000

I think that if your hubby is willing, you should do it jointly if you are going to do it at all. Kind of like a diet, it’s easier with support.

I think it’s a very worthwhile experiment that anyone who does it will benefit from because it will save you a ton of money as well as force you to be content with things you already have. By not spending, you focus your efforts on other parts of your life and can make those things better. Heck, if I could stay out of Walgreens I might get more done.

By: bn

bn — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 03:54:52 +0000

It’s summer, income is down and I’m already on a discretionary moratorium – no clothes purchases, no movies (I did treat myself to “UP” in 3D when it came out, otherwise it’s library checkouts and Netflix), Gas on the credit card, cash only on other purchases. Today I bought a battery for my conked-out watch ($5) and groceries at Trader Joe’s ($6.50).

As for eating out, cut that way down…instead of sit-down dining, it’s brown-bag snacks and/or the dollar menu at the fast-food on the days I find myself out at dinnertime.

I can tell my checking account is benefiting from the frugality, but BofA just raised its no-fee bar…

By: SpendLessTV

SpendLessTV — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:32:43 +0000

Great idea – may filter through to future life in general…which wouldn’t be so bad, right?
As for dining out…maybe order half what you typically would be ordering…that way you’ve not spent “your” half. Orno dinner out, but maybe just have ice cream out…or maybe better yet: have ice cream – IN! Other’s comments about using pantry items first is good…I play games like how long can I go before HAVING to go to market? Develops Creative Cooking!
Have fun, and Good Luck!

By: Kelly

Kelly — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:05:53 +0000

We practiced this 2 times last year and are in for a 3rd round in for 28 days starting on June 25th. (we are paid bi-weekly so the 28 day thing works for us)

I call it a No Spend Month and first read about it on the blog, Small Notebook. Rachel herself does a no spend month every July. They limit their spending for gas, groceries and other things.

You may find it is easier to eat from your pantry for the first week or two and then purchase groceries for the remainder of the month.

I found that setting a spending limit was key since it meant we could spend a little on some things (like coffee out for a date night) without going overboard.

I think it’s a worthy experiment since it helps you see your triggers, and can really change your spending habits over the long haul. Good luck!