alancleaver_2000/Flickr

After first struggling with her spending fast, Emily convinced her boyfriend that coupons are sexy and came to an unexpected conclusion. She writes:

I just wanted to thank you for your inspiration for a spending fast this past Lenten season. All in all, I only cheated twice, once when left with  little choice after a long day away from home, and once after my boyfriend got laid off earlier this month, and I took him out for dinner and a movie to raise his spirits.

I have decided to extend my fast (although I AM including ALL basics now) through Memorial Day if I can, although who knows how that will work out. I have, however, introduced my boyfriend to matching up his coupons to sale items, and convinced him that it is in fact sexy to

coupon when shopping (of COURSE shopping smart is sexy!)

So of course I wrote back:

I’m glad to hear the rest of your spending fast went so well. Best of luck holding onto Memorial Day. Has fasting changed the way you think about money?

Emily replied:

As a teacher, I often spend way too much on supplies for my classroom and for my students. Following this fast, I am reminded that my paycheck is in fact, my paycheck. I was always frugal with money, but I guess in the last year or so, I had started to slide a bit, paying for school supplies, work clothes, and other things because “they were important!” I needed to be reminded of those former values. I even (broke fast, I guess) ordered a local coupon book for the area, so that when I do go out, at least I can use the book. The fast, was in fact, just the thing I needed to get the saving started.

It’s amazing how not spending really changes your perspective! Have you ever considered going on a no-spend month?

Got a question or savings tip? Email me and you could be featured on BargainBabe.com!

Alan_D/Flickr

Like me, Emily is having a hard time with her spending moratorium during Lent. She emailed:

My spending moratorium (for March) got rescheduled after some unexpected costs came up last month, so I decided to give it up for Lent instead. So far so good. Aside from my weekly co-pay at the dr’s for allergy shots, occasional gas refills, and the rare but much needed grocery replenishment (milk, eggs) it’s been so far so good.

Until Monday. I was at work and then grad school longer than intended, so my boyfriend and I wound up going out to dinner rather than cooking at home. HOWEVER, being that it was Jersey Shore restaurant week, we were able to get the $30.11 deal for a 3 course meal. Then, they also allowed us to use a buy-one-get-one-entree-free coupon that had come in the mail.

I’m going to keep going, but I am also glad that Lent is only two more weeks. Some things like school supplies are dwindling quickly, and will need to be replaced!

I feel your pain, Emily. It’s very difficult to cut out spending entirely, but even with slip ups it’s an important exercise. What a privilege it is to be able to buy!

I gave up all spending last July and ended up breaking it three times. I’m also have a hard time giving up my car for Lent this year. I’ve gotten so used to driving moderate distances (3-12 miles) instead of riding my bike that I have not been able to adjust my schedule to create time for my slower, two-wheeled form of transportation. Some habits are hard to break, and there has not been a huge financial incentive for me to put down the car keys.

Got a story about saving money? I want to hear it!

jwalsh/Flickr

I’m having second thoughts about giving up my car for Lent. Not because of my business trip to Los Angeles that will pose a particular public transportation challenge, but because a video shoot I’m doing that was moved from today to next week and the location is three hours away!

Three hours by car, that is. By bus, train, and foot I’m guessing it will take me five hours to get there. I need to be on location by 10 a.m. Yikes! It’s an all day shoot so I won’t start my trek home 5 p.m. Double yikes!

Also, it’s supposed to snow Thursday. Yikes, yikes, yikes.

I can throw in the towel, brace myself for a long commute and stick to my pledge, or exempt myself from autolessness for work. Thoughts?

Jeff Keen/Flickr

Emily emailed me with plans to save money this month starting on Tuesday. She wrote:

I have decided to make your spending Moratorium an annual adventure, and this time, I have decided to include my new boyfriend (his choice, not mine!) Of course, we will still pay for essentials (including my allergy shots) but only what is absolutely necessary. I just wanted to let you know, and thank you for your inspiration.

Best of luck Emily! I admire your boyfriend for joining in and really glad you didn’t push it on him. Forcing your spending decisions on another person is a recipe for breakups and a big difference between being frugal and being cheap! He must be quite a catch, at least financially!

Is anyone else going on a spending moratorium? Or maybe a spending spree?

Since my July spending moratorium is done, I’ve been spending a LOT. In just four days I’ve racked up a $230. 23 tab for coffee, lunch out, postage, cash, candy, beer, gas, groceries, and tips. But some of my moratorium habits have stuck with me.

• One of the most challenging things about the moratorium was eating on the go. Not being able to buy a quick meal, I started packing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which don’t have to be refrigerated for a few hours. This saved me so much money – and time – that I still pack pb & j when I’m going to need a meal on the road.
• Go the distance for free/cheap parking. I popped into a parking garage yesterday and gagged at the rates – $2.50 for 12 minutes. IN. SANE. I drove two blocks and found meters for $1 an hour. It’s almost silly how close free/cheap parking is from overpriced garages. Drive a few blocks towards the outskirts – don’t circle the main drag – and you’ll be surprised at your options. It’s worth the walk.

If you joined me in the moratorium, how did you do?

If you missed my previous posts about my spending moratorium, here’s a blow by blow account of my experiment.

Going on a spending moratorium?

Votes are in! Bargain Babe goes on a spending moratorium

Spending moratorium starts Wednesday

Spending moratorium Day 1

Moratorium meet up: happy hour on $0?

Moratorium happy hour: an update

Moratorium broken for a third time

I’m not spending. Hubby is. Is our total spending any less?

My library card expired and to get it out of hock I had to pay my $3.50 fine that I incurred last time I checked out a book. Theoretically libraries are free. In practice, they never are.

But I really wanted to check out The Wait by Frank Turner Hollon because the first graph hooked me.

My father almost never got drunk. When he did, it was usually a happy, goofy drunk. But one night when I was nine years old, after a Christmas party, for reasons still unknown, he told me the story of my conception. This is how I remember it.

While standing in line I realized, sadly, that the book was not going to be as good as the first paragraph. But I was already in line. So I paid the fine and endured the indignity of settling my $3.50 debt with a credit card. Charging less than $10 always makes me feel poor. I’m convinced the cashier, or in this case, wannabe librarian, is thinking to herself, “This girl doesn’t have three dollars and fifty cents on her? She probably eats cat food.”

Oh, the injustice of not carrying cash. Perhaps this was the price for breaking my moratorium.

Related:

Happy hour on $0

Purchase list come Aug. 1

Spending moratorium Day 1