No Spend Month

I may have put the cart in front of the horse slightly when I started this blog. I was already on my journey to frugal living before I journaled my journey. Anyway, the first step for me was a no spend month for January.
This means only essential items can be purchased-

• groceries
• gas
• bills
• my boyfriends stupid cigarettes (thats a seperate battle!)

Some things that can't be purchased-

• no eating out
• no alcohol
• no purchases (clothes, toys, etc)
• no movie rentals

Things that make this SUPER hard for me-

• I shop when I'm bored
• I shop when I'm mad
• I shop when I'm sad
• I love finding good deals and there are LOTS of good after Christmas sales
• I love eating out
• We eat out when I don't feel like cooking
• If I don't remember my lunch- I don't have time on my lunch at work to run home
• Oh yeah, I shop on my lunch because I have a mandatory hour lunch and usually eat at my desk

As I write this, I'm five days into the challenge and we have been successful so far. Five days is almost a sixth of the way done but I haven't left the house for most of this time except for to go to work. I get paid this week- we'll see how I do then.

Breaking the cycle

Many many people live paycheck to paycheck.
Confession: Thats me on a good day. Sometimes I live paycheck to paycheck but often I am further behind than that. Many of my bills are paid late and I have mounting medical bills. I gave birth to my daughter in March 2009 and all of my financials have been downhill from there. My boyfriend lost his job and stays home with her but he has bills building up to.
Its not that I don't make enough money to pay for our lifestyle- its all the extras. We spend too much eating out, going out, little purchases, unplanned purchases. I am determined to stop this cycle.
This blog is documentation of my journey to debt free living. This blog is designed to keep me honest about my efforts. I'm not a frugal person but I'm going to try. Join me- free yourself.