Happy Friday to y'all! It's also a frugal Friday post day! Today I want to discuss a topic that is near to my heart, being frugal by saying no.
No is a negative word, but it's also a necessary one. If we're going to live a frugal lifestyle, and if we want to reach certain financial goals, we need to be able to use this word in proper context. No is useful in that it checks the impulse purchases, the impulse decision making, and the "need it right now" mentality.
The person I say no the most to is me! Over the course of January, I've said no to myself often due to wanting (but not needing) fabric! I've said no to eating out, to frivolous grocery items, and plenty of unnecessary items! Last year, I had a no spend January, but that will have to be February this year. No spend is a simple concept, not spending more than the budget allows for food and necessary things. My husband, Doc and I decided to forgo certain things in order to meet specific and reachable financial goals! This year, many of our financial goals looked like no!
We're choosing not to purchase a used car this year. Because of our children's ages, we've helped each of them find and purchase a used car that would get them back and forth to work. This year, we aren't doing that. We aren't buying for the house except emergencies and paint. We (me) are not buying new fabric unless it's for a commission. We've planned to take a few less trips and activities that would cost money. And we're taking the discretionary funds and putting them into sinking funds for budget items that often get unrepresented, like school costs and car repairs. All of these add up to saying no to some material items so that there are funds for other categories.
I'm looking forward to a no spend February. I'll be saying no a lot this month, and for the best reasons. Hopefully it means we can reach a few goals and pay off debt. I'd love to snowball the debt so we can get some lingering items off our budget! Also, we'll be using the "found" funds to plus up those sinking fund categories!
I hope this concept helps you to budget and rearrange your finances to serve you rather than the other way around! Bless your socks off!
Stacy
No comments:
Post a Comment