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No Spend January - Monday Check In


Happy Monday...or is it?  lol...my son says that all the time....

It's Monday which means check in time on the No Spend January!  How are you doing on the #NoSpendChallenge?  We are half way done now!  We had some highs and lows this week...

Highs:


- A friend asked us over Friday night to their Family Night in the Barn.  They have a big screen TV in their barn/garage. Also a ping pong table and a wood stove (toasty!) .  They asked us to join them and they ordered pizza!  Which was a treat since we are not ordering "pizza guy pizza" this money.  Fun and games and fellowship!

- We had to pick up my husband's new car on Saturday and the dealership had a nice area for the kids and I to lounge while we waited for all the paperwork to be signed.  They offered us fresh bagels and cream cheese!  It was a nice treat...again since we are not spending money on these luxuries this month. 

- We received a property tax credit refund check in the mail from the NYS tax department.  It was a nice surprise and went right into our account for our upcoming vacation. 

- I found this new You Tube channel (they also have a FB and Instagram acct) and have been learning a ton on budget cooking. If you have not heard of them you need to check them out!  (warning: they do use some salty language from time to time on their videos).  Brothers Green

Lows:

- On my grocery challenge ($ 100 per week) - I was over this week.  8(   I was at $ 135 for the week.  I needed kids Flintstones vitamins and my hubby's Breathe Right stripes. (both over 
$ 10 each).  They also had organic strawberries, for a change, and my daughter LOVES them so I picked them up and they were not on my original list cost was $ 7.99. So that's pretty much where it put me over.  Still better than my usual $ 150 per week. 

- Hubby went in on a work pool for the Powerball ($ 4) wasted money 8(

- We needed a new battery for our garage door opener.  Not much money but still ...

- The new car cost us a little more per month than I had hoped. Still way less than we have paid on any other new car, but more than I had budgeted for.  (it was nice not having car payments for a while).  At least there was no "out of pocked" money spent from our own savings (insurance from the accident paid for the down payment) and first payment is not due until March!

- My truck went into the shop on Saturday because the back windshield wiper is not working and there is a tire sensor flashing light on the dash. Both need to be fixed before a week from Monday because that is the vehicle we are taking to Vermont on our ski vacation. Not sure how much that will cost us. 

- Disappointed we have had real snow to speak of here in NY. They kids have only used their ski passes one time and if this keeps up it will be a lot of money wasted for this ski season. 8(   

- I did not do well on my planning before January as far as wine goes. I am out (except the two bottles we are bringing on vacation). Which is fine really because if it's not the house, I can't drink it 8) 

We are house hunting today and hoping to see some options that fit our needs and budget.  

How did you do this week?  Any tips or stories to share? 

Until next week - be kind and always have courage! 

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