It's always motivating to see a big ol' savings. When I started my 30 day challenge over four years ago (ha!), that is what made me stick with the challenge. It wasn't just that I was spending less on food. It was that I actually transferred the "savings" from that week to a separate account and then watched that grow.
This past December we traveled over 1,700 miles round trip. You can't put a price tag on spending the holidays with family. However, watch me do just that....
Our trip costed us around $75. I know, I know. You spent WHAT to travel that far?? Let me break it down. This past summer the Army had us move again. We spent quite a bit of time in hotel living while we waited for renters to move out of our house. Are you in a hotel loyalty program? You should be. We earned two nights stay for free. Ok, so now that our hotel will be covered, how did I get away with food and gas for so little money?
We paid to eat at restaurants seven times. We also paid for our family and friends that came with us (9 extra meals). This doesn't count the one meal that our family took care of for us. And we all know that gas isn't cheap (especially when your route takes you through Canada). So, how did we do it?
My challenge. The money that we had "saved" from shopping smarter for food almost completely covered our vacation. We paid about $75 out of our regular budget.
If you are trying to save up for something, you need to try this challenge. If you would like a little extra cushion in your budget, you need to try this challenge.
Find the average of what you spend at the grocery store. I shop weekly. I added up four shopping trips, divided by four, and that is what I used as my average. I did the same with restaurant spending. Now your challenge is to spend less this next week. Compare brands, clip coupons, give in less to impulse buys, meal plan, eat at home, get creative with leftovers. Do what you can to make it work.
Then unlike just couponing, when you tally up the week and see that you "saved" $50, actually move that $50 to a separate account (or envelope or whatever). Seeing a savings account grow versus just knowing you spent less is so much more motivating to keep it going. You won't believe how fast that account will grow! If you spend more than your average one week, just count it as a zero. Don't take away from your savings.
We've used it to pay our mortgage (military moved us and we had to pay for two homes for over a year), vacations, a puppy, etc. The new year is a perfect time to start a new challenge. Even if you think you are already careful with spending. Even if you think you wouldn't be able to cut back. You'll be surprised when you start comparing and paying attention to what you spend, just how easy it is to cut back somewhere. How could your family benefit from having a little extra money each month?!
