No Spend March Update
by Katy on March 13, 2025 · 83 comments
We’re a few days off from the halfway mark for No Spend March and although I’ve been blogging updates here and there, I thought it would be good to write a dedicated post. How’s my “no spend” month going so far? Actually pretty good. Mostly because I don’t have many impulsive spending patterns to reverse, but also because I have The Non-Consumer Advocate community for accountability.
We’ve spent $139.59 on groceries/food so far this month, which is less than normal because A) There have been zero restaurant meals; and B) Fewer grocery trips = fewer impulse purchases. Keep in mind that we often feed our adult kids and that I continue to stock up when I come across sale items.
You may notice that “Fred Meyer” (Kroger) is on this list, even though they’re part of my boycott. This was a late night trip that my husband made to pick up supplies for his work lunches. Trader Joe’s is also a store I’m trying to avoid due to their anti-union lobbying at the federal level, but all I bought were ten of their their 24¢ bananas. (My husband eats a lot of bananas!) I consider walking out of Trader Joe’s for under $2.50 to be an exercise in self control. <– I’m aware that this is a full on rationalization.
I haven’t bought any non-food items beyond some Dollar Tree bar soap and unavoidable expenses such as gasoline, utilities, car insurance, etc.
My adult niece will be staying us next week and that’ll be a challenge, as we normally dine out here and there when hosting out of town family. I’ll have to figure out how this’ll effect the challenge, as I can’t let it interfere with being a generous and kind hostess.
Are you participating in No Spend March or are maybe just racheting down your spending due to rising food prices and the general state of the economy? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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I would have loved to, but I had to replace some of the wooden handled/silicone utensils in the guest cottage as the puppies had chewed them up. sigh. I also needed some hardware for pictures as my organization lady insisted on hanging many of my pictures with command strips, with predictable consequences.
However I am passing on some very nice Eileen Fisher silk tops and dresses to a friend of mine who needs a nice outfit for some award her son is getting.
Oh, I also bought some more dog chew toys to distract the puppies from my househol items.
And the crabapple for my garden and some seeds.
Basically: FAIL! but I’m OK with that.
Rose,
Go easy on yourself, lady! All those purchases sound like they’re necessary, and I didn’t read that you went to the mall and spent money like crazy. That’s in keeping with the spirit of no-spend month; it can also be a low-spend month.
Very generous of you to pass along those silk blouses; you sound like a marvelous, true blue friend!
Living in the back of nowhere, I am not at all sure where the nearest mall is!
Yes–I’ve been staying off an on in the guest cottage to reinforce housebreaking, and the puppies went to town, sigh. I will probably have guests for March 31-ish as that’s our local St Patrick’s Day parade, which people love. Apparently 40,000 people show up, I have no idea why. Not a parade person. The chamber of commerce does have a soup contest beforehand which is fun: buy a commemorative mug and then sample as many local soups/chowders you like from local restaurants.
So I need to buy more stuff to replace the chewed up stuff. Also, sigh, a TV remote, which went the way of all flesh a few months ago in the puppies’ mouths. Good thing they’re cute.
There is nothing I wouldn’t do for this friend. Ha, 12 years ago she scooped up her dog’s poop from her yard and mailed it to my husband’s mistress. She lives in Chicago so plausible deniability!
I get rid of my too many clothes, she gets some nice things, we are good.
A good friend knows where the bodies are buried.
A true friend will help you bury the bodies.
Sounds like your husband’s gf got her just rewards! What a perfect gift for her! ROTFL!
Oh, that’s brilliant! I like your friend! 🙂
Seems like the husband is the one deserving of the postal poo!
Oh, they’re getting divorced now. Of course she cheated on him like crazy. I knew she was trash and informed my ex my kids were never, ever going to meet her, and they didn’t.
I SO love this for the “mistress!”
Between three mystery shops that each required $10 of purchases, and some amazing left behinds (like eggs) that volunteers were free to take, we have spent exactly $15.00 out of pocket on milk since March 1. (Husband drinks milk with nearly every meal and I love it too.) Oh, yes, I forgot last Friday when I did get a Filet ‘o Fish from McDonalds. It was a very bad day and I didn’t care about anyone or anything else. We have been eating from freezer and cupboards, eating things that have been lingering in there too long, so this is a really good exercise for cleaning out corners often ignored while I am looking in the freezer for inspiration.
We all have bad days, and if a Filet-O-Fish can make things a little better then it’s worth every penny!
I think the no-spend is to make you think and plan before spending. None of use can spend zero in a month even if you live off the grid. There are trade-offs as well as not cutting your nose off to spite your face. Buying an item or two at a great price but *nothing* else at what I am calling un-American businesses is fine.
Mental health is important and a Filet’o Fish is far more inexpensive than other choices (and in some cases healthier).
I’m trying to be more mindful about purchasing items. Instead of going to the regular supermarkets, yesterday I bought my food for the week at a small grocery store. It is locally owned and operated by a Christian mission serving disadvantaged people. Yes, I paid a bit more for the groceries, but I also supported a good cause. Supporting them helps revitalize their inner city neighborhood. The mission administrators say that if folks from other neighborhoods would shop there once a month, they could much better financially stay afloat. (Due to “outside” money coming in; many of their regulars have to use food stamps.)
Alas, they were out of milk and they don’t sell everything I needed (only about 3 or 4 things), so I bopped into Aldi for those items. Better Aldi than Walmart, correct?
One possible no-no: As I’ve previously mentioned, I got my floors installed. (Technically, I ordered this done in February, so…) I need some other items including electrical outlet covers (prior to flooring, the room was repainted and the painters carelessly got paint on the outlet covers bc they didn’t remove them, just hit-and-miss taped them). I wanted decorative electrical outlet plates and they are hard to find. Habitat Re-store didn’t have any and that would’ve been in keeping with our boycott, IMO. Neither did the Mom and Pop hardware stores around town. But instead of going to Walmart or using Amazon, I got some via Wayfair, which I hope is not a “bad” company. Their covers are about $5 each instead of $27 or so, which is what a lot of other online places charged, and I have 9 plug outlets in that room. (I didn’t wait until April bc it’s easier/better to put them in before we move the huge china cabinets back into the room; my bad!) If I don’t have things around the house that I need, I’m hitting the charity thrift stores for stuff.
Meanwhile, I am waiting with baited breath to see if the Social Security check comes through. Please pray for everyone on SS and Medicaid and Medicare and VA benefits, that we don’t get shafted by the great orange monster and his sidekick.
Continued rationalize for Trader Joes:
I live in Asheville, NC and serve at a local church that has a weekly food pantry. For the past year or so TJs has supplied significant donations to our weekly pantry. Because of our downtown location, we were one of the first places for electricity to be restored after Hurricane Helene, so our weekly food pantry quickly became a daily Free Market and was able to be one of the first relief sites in the city.
Because of our existing relationship with Trader Joes, they sent us vanloads of food (literally, 2-3 cargo vans stacked high each day) that we were able to pass along to individuals and organizations in the area. Because of TJ’s generosity, we were one of the few places able to supply fresh produce and meat to folks, many of whom ended up being without power for weeks.
Our congregation has committed to shopping at TJs as much as possible as a thank you for their abundant generosity and TJs continues to donate to our weekly pantry. In February, they supplied us with 641 pounds of food!
That is very good information to have, thank you so much for sharing it!
Thank you so much for commenting regarding your experience with Trader Joe’s. It is so encouraging to read TJ’s continued response to the needs in Asheville. And of your congregations response to shop there as a thank you for their continued support.
I volunteer at a food pantry in SE Wisconsin where we get donations from lots of stores and, like Laura from NC noted, we get good donations most weeks from Trader Joe’s.. plus their produce tends to be in better condition.
Not participating in No-Spend March because we are in the middle of having our kitchen remodeled (there was a slow leak that started all this) so we have no workable kitchen. But we are surprised at how little we want to eat out. The calmest path through this is peanut butter and bananas and ordinary comestibles. And the same old same old coffee pot.
I volunteered with a Fair Trade / woman artisan supporting organization for many years. What I learned (I got to meet many of the Maya weavers) is that if we can afford to spend a little extra to get $5-10 more into the pocket of a poor woman, that $ generally goes to the betterment of her kids. So maybe you can take your niece to a local woman-owned eatery?? Or buy her Fair Trade treats? I know you mention that sometimes.
I have to re-balance my retirement savings, made some errors and have a *tight* budget while the dust settles. Property taxes due at the end of the month. Sooo, I am shopping the pantry. I did buy 6 pairs of thrift shop jeans last month and all but 2 pair worked out. 1 pair is too large and 1 pair needs to be hemmed. I will buy sausage and kale to make soup of my abundance of black beans and lentils because I am somehow out of them and lentil soup with veg is so good.
MB, do you have a specific recipe you follow for the lentil soup?
Great job on your No Spend March goals! You are definitely inspiring me. We are living more frugally over here lately too, due to the economy + inflated food prices + the impacts of cancer. In particular we are focused on eating more meals at home, making sure to consume any leftovers and general fridge items we might have, making cheaper menu plans, and doing more frugal outings/activities.
I’m currently ratcheting down our spending month by month. My fiancé loves to shop, and going cold turkey would trigger his need to spend money. This month, we were aiming for 15 no-spend days, next month we will aim for 17 no-spend days, etc. I did this when I was single with HUGE success.
I’ve been planting the seeds of working together towards debt freedom once we are married this summer. My fiancé doesn’t have a comprehensive knowledge of personal finance, and rudimentary budgeting skills. I was able to convince him to open a retirement account this past year. Our next steps will be to get a Roth IRA going for him, and reinvigorate my own account. We are trying to break generational cycles of poverty in our families by becoming educated, owning our own home, and carrying no debt.
Wishing you all the best in your endeavor!
Autumn, those are some impressive goals! Good luck!
What a great way to work together!
That is so wonderful. Good luck.
Think about a couples book study reading The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins. Takes away the scary parts of investing. Once the fundamentals are in place, the plan runs itself. Now’s a good time to start as the market is down… everything is on SALE! Perhaps read a chapter at a time and discuss until you both are clear on what is being discussed. Then move forward to the next chapter and continue. It’s truly a life changing book written for “regular” people, not investment nerds!
Congratulations on your efforts and may they bear fruit! What you are doing is one of the hardest things out there (changing behavior), and so so worth the efforts!
Also, best wishes on your upcoming marriage. 🙂
Ramit Sethi’s podcast Money for Couples might be great for you for communication (and different approaches by both parties) toward money.
Living below your means is a great first step.
We are not attempting a no/low spend month but are attempting to only buy necessary items and to support local businesses. We have not eaten out. I don’t want to deprive hard working locals of employment when we can afford to spend.
I think this is a really helpful example that shows it is not all or nothing! Unless you are 100% off the grid there is no way to eat, power, or manage our lives without spending some level of money. I appreciate this so much.
On my end, I’m focused on growing my savings and eliminating debt this year to better absorb any economic uncertainty. This month I’ve focused on not over-buying groceries and reorienting my food budget to be more in line with our post-pandemic lifestyle. I spent a lot of money on groceries in bulk during COVID to avoid going to the store frequently and I am working to break those habits, whether while at home or while traveling (we spend up to 50% of every month on the road, either for business or pleasure). Otherwise, I am trying my best to avoid unnecessary spending (bars, coffees, treats) to support those goals. I wouldn’t say I am doing a full no-spend March, but this overall reduction has done wonders to open my eyes to where my money was going before.
No spend March is definitely not going well. We celebrate two birthdays. My oldest daughter was visiting for a week. The girl loves to eat out and I love to spoil my kids. I haven’t made any major purchases. I am trying to eat in now that the oldest has gone home. I’m more trying to be mindful of where I’m purchasing what I do buy.
Appreciate you keeping it real, Katy!
I have made the long-overdue switch to buying produce at a local farm store.
I’m making effort to grow more food in my garden.
Decreased shopping at Trader Joe’s-they do have some specialty items that are hard to find other places and their return policy is very generous.
Focused on doing projects at home, for which I have the supplies as I’m good at squirreling useful things away in a manner in which I can find them when needed.
Giving more time to the community garden and fresh produce food bank.
And buying as little as I can. Today I spent 5o cents at the thrift store for a new egg dyeing kit for my grandson.
Thank you for your frequent posts!
1. Received $22 for a few items sold at a consignment store.
2. DH switched our internet/TV provider, cancelled cable, and did a few other tweaks to save us around $120/month.
3. Put my Dad on our cell phone plan, saving him around $50 per month.
4. DH has almost finished building us a new pantry cabinet for our kitchen in an area that once housed a useless empty space that filled up with shoes, coats and reusable shopping bags and looked messy. He has saved us thousands, as I did have it priced by a cabinet maker, and it was very expensive.
5. Booked a 4 day getaway at my cousin’s beautiful house on a nearby island, while he is out of the country, in April. It’s not far to go, has a beautiful view and our dogs are welcome. He likes us to go and stay and check on the property, and feels like he pays us back as we have helped with various projects on the property.
I just added up our month to date, too.
Tomorrow we are leaving on a long trip to drive my MIL to a sibling reunion in AZ. My husband is a very good son. We are picking up her two sisters on the way!
I will keep a ” vacation expenses” log, but it sure puts a dent in my low spend month.
That’s the best reason to break a no spend month though! My husband did something similar without me for my parents.
I have been reducing spending since November in preparation for a low-spend 2025. Buying as little as possible this month, and am on track to have cut our grocery spending by 33%.
I am doing the best I can on a tight budget to support good stores, but did have to buy a few items and gas at Walmart. In the great balancing act of frugal/ecological, Walmart is the only local store that stocks powdered laundry and dishwasher detergents packed in recyclable cardboard.
We’re doing OK on no spend. Certainly there has been no shopping, clothing or shoes, retail purchases, not even books. However, I have spent on garden supplies and some secondhand thrift scores for my home, using local thrift and the dollar store.
We were sick so we have been staying home in general, and canceled our trip to AZ. (So disappointing!)
However, my husband, who is half Irish and named Patrick, absolutely loves St. Patrick’s Day, so we went to Smart and final and got good prices on Guinness, Irish whiskey, and corned beef. I already have cabbage, carrots, and potatoes from previous bulk purchases. We are not having a party this year, but our daughter and son-in-law and friends may be coming over. The beer will never go to waste.
I have not had my haircut for three months and I do have an appointment next week, but I’m not getting the color, just a basic cut. So it should be about half the usual price.
And I’m hosting a girls weekend, but we are all going to cook and my three girlfriends and I will go to the farmers market, take some walks and just gab. It will be a fun three days. My husband will hide in his own space while we talk all night.
Other than that, I think we are on track. I just have to watch my groceries for the rest of the month.
Had to come back to say that we had a $50 amazon gift card for completing a wellness check. I carefully put together an order that came to $50.26. I wanted to use ALL of the $50 and also pay as little as possible over. It’s the only Amazon order for us this year so far. And I hope the last, unless we get gift cards. I will make sure I use those.
I like that you only spent 26 cents. That’s all they deserve. I’m only using Amazon for my library kindle books. I’m hoping they don’t receive much in the way of profit from that.
I am doing pretty good with no/low spend. I have been “practicing” for this since November.
I have spent only on groceries that were needed and used my insurance benefits card to do so. It is only accepted in my town/area in Kroger or their affiliates. But I only spend the amount on the card.
Doing all of my own yard work and garden plowed today. Staying busy but also trying to enjoy my simple life.
I would suggest that if anyone is buying garden seeds , get them soon as I do believe there is going to be a run on them….
I don’t eat out unless I am out with family…I can make better food at home.
I really wish I could convince my kids to not use amazon but so far no luck. But when they say they can order something for me from amazon I tell them please don’t but thank you any way.
I am a little worried about his threats to SS, Medicare and other programs. I will be in so deep doo-doo, as will so many others.
JC
A recent lucky break is that I found an airtight box full of packets of garden seeds in a free pile! With a desiccant inside! I’m having such a good time deciding which things to grow.
JC–
As I’ve said before, the orange putz and his ward Elon think it’s OK to cut whatever they feel like, buuuuut–
Seniors vote. More than any other cohort. And those of us too young to collect SS know our older relatives rely on it.
They’re playing with fire here. Also, I tend to think their plans are not legal anyway.
So—try not to worry too much.
I’m doing the no spend thing. Well, there are exceptions. I returned something to IKEA today, and spent the credit on something new. I felt OK about it, since they were announcing their commitment to diversity and inclusion over the loudspeaker, I didn’t see any cyber trucks in the parking lot, and the employee who checked me out was using nonbinary pronouns. They know how to get my business. I used to love Target, but I haven’t set foot inside one since the inauguration. We have some Home Depot credit that we won’t leave on the table.
It’s tough because I feel like every corporation probably has some objectionable traits. Even local businesses are suspect. My (deplorable) sister-in-law owns a Portland business, and I’m sure her customers would be horrified to know some of the things she’s said about Kamala Harris, people with tattoos, poor people, etc. It makes me wonder which other local businesses are run by people who don’t deserve my money.
I guess I need to live my life and not worry so much. At least the free piles are safe!
1. Went to Ikea w/ 2 friends. They bought things. I did not. I had a free blue plastic Ikea tote on my account so I got this. Ate in the cafe. I got a kid’s meal & gave my free coffee to one of my one of the friends.
2. Got 2 new pair of jeans (NWT) from my bestie. A relative died & the husband gave away many of his late wife’s clothing.
3. Will pick up a 1L bottle of Starbuck’s cinnamon syrup tomorrow from Next door neighbor post. (Kinda like Buy Nothing groups.) Also a queen size blanket.
4. Got a free bean burrito w/ my Taco Bell reward points.
5. Gave away 3 bathroom rugs to one of my friends. When something new comes in the house I try to get rid of something.
6. Misplaced my new workout shorts at the gym. The housekeeper looked for them & brought them to me. I gave her a 2$ tip. Does that count for spending money? (The big smile on her face was worth it.)
You bring up a great point about not knowing the ideology of small business owners. I figure it’s all baby steps in changing our consumer habits and making intentional financial choices. I had vehicle maintenance done this month and my partner set up the appointment with a small local shop that we have used in the past (very nice, affordable and they do great work). BUT, when I went to pick up my car, I had a quick flashback of possibly seeing Trump signs in front of the business this past fall. I am not sure. They are not still up, if they did. I told myself I will try to be more aware and make notes going forward.
Getting out of TJ’s with only bananas is an intense display of will-power. I seriously am in awe. However, you may have to loosen up a bit for the visitor, you have shown great fortitude this far!
Supporting your local food carts is a great way to help the locals while treating your niece
So far I’m doing OK with no/low-spend March, if for no other reason than that a broken rib provides additional incentive not to go out and spend money. The only major exception I’ve made, as noted in an earlier comment, is that I did hire the oldest son of a good friend (my eventual DPOA/executor) to do three hours of yard cleanup today. He did an excellent job and was a delight to talk with as well.
@A. Marie – I have found that over the past ten years or so, so many younger people struggle to engage in in-person conversation. Kudos to your DPOA/executor parenting skills.
I am opting for a change my spending March: I have cut out spending at Target, Amazon and TJ Maxx, and have spent time researching all the things I used to buy as subscribe and save items from amazon. Turns out almost all are available at a lower price from costco and they can be delivered free. I have cancelled a few subscriptions we held and I have found a cheaper way to buy dog food,,and it turns out the dog food is better quality. I am going to downgrade our netflix account to basic.. Next I plan on doing an audit of our spending to see just how much we have been wasting on eating out – my husband dearly loves to eat out and get takeout, but I am going to trim that amount. Bit by bit I am chipping away because I would like to pad our savings account in these uncertain times.
1. My printer stopped printing because one of the toner cartridges was completely empty. I though I had replacements already, and unfortunately they are for the OTHER printer, which I rarely use. So, I went online – and just about fainted at what Xerox wanted for the cartridge.
Got clever and looked up a local office supply company, they had the exact one I needed on 85% discount (!!!). It is now on order – I saved shipping by having it sent to the local store. I can wait to get my papers printed until the cartridge comes in. They didn’t have the other two cartridge colours that are perilously low, and so I did more research and found some off-brand at deep discount at yet another store, they too are on order.
In the end I am getting all three cartridges for less than one new would have cost me. THANK YOU KATY and crew, because you are all reminding me that a bit of effort can reap big dividends.
2. #2 son asked for more black beans and rice. So I sorted more black beans, soaked them overnight and cooked in the Instant Pot today with some onion, spices, chopped ends of cilantro, a sad tomato. Cooked up a batch of rice. Still have corn from my discount corn cobs. #2 son had a BIG smile when he walked in after a long drive, today. Go me!
3. Avoiding some of the not-so-good hardware stores, I have been visiting the good one – yesterday I bought what I THOUGHT were the right self tapping screws for my greenhouse project, however they didn’t have the concrete I needed.
Today I took back the wrong sized screws and got concrete, however I had to place an order for the correct sized screws as they didn’t have them in the store. I will go back next week.
I feel just like I would if I were repairing a toilet = the job takes no time to do, but the trips to the hardware store can eat up days… Even at this rate, I will have all the materials and parts ready in time for the greenhouse re-covering day, which is happening the weekend after this.
4. Stopped at the ‘dinky’ ‘dollar(and a bit)’ store (not a huge chain, and a bit tattered, but cheaper and friendlier. I need some ziplock bags for my upcoming trip to Turkey – and I wanted to pick up more $0.38 spinach seed packets. Success on both counts, I figure everything I bought there was ¼ the cost of anywhere else (and the seeds were 1/10th the cost)
5. I’ve been reading library books but many of them are not appealing. So wonderful to be able to put them down without even a pang of guilt, no money spent!
Just a little time saver for you on the beans- The beauty of the IP is you don’t have to soak beans overnight (although you can shorten cooking time by about 10 min)- Just sort and rinse and put in IP…. Turns out perfect.
@Karen Lee, yes, that is often my go-to for the IP and black beans.
This batch of beans, however, is unfortunately OLD and TOUGH – I bought them this fall, but they must have been in the back of a warehouse.
As a result, even with long soak times, they are 40 min (!!!) in the IP before they get soft. (I was cooking them and then re-cooking them, twice, before I just bit the bullet and added the more time up front. Luckily, we are done with this batch… but I am now dubious about some others I have on the shelf, also from this year….)
I do often do the fast cook with IP- magic when I need them fast. I think, however, that the soaking time does improve the final texture. So, like everything, the beans can be done so many ways!
$12 for groceries so far this month, but this is a fluke. For one, I shopped on February 28 so had a head start, and for two, I had a lot of food on hand. So tomorrow I’ll go to the store and end the streak. Still, it was instructive to refrain from purchases so well for two weeks.
As I wrote before, this has made me aware of how much spending I can’t control, and how much that comes to. Car repair, vet visit, propane, gas, pet food… It has been a VERY expensive no-spend March so far!
And tonight I’m having dinner with a friend at a local restaurant. First time I will have eaten out since before Thanksgiving. We are going to be holding signs at a resistance event and rewarding ourselves afterward with food and friendship.
On another note: I’ve gone three weeks without buying a hard copy or digital book. That is a real record for me. I had given up Amazon except for books and videos over the past year, but this last bite was one I didn’t want to take. But I cancelled Prime as well as Kindle Unlimited and am slowly getting used to the new order.
I was already staying away from Walmart and Target so no change noticed there.
I too am doing a no spend March, however, I did have a heck of a day and chose to purchase dinner for my family. I chose a local food truck and paid with cash (as to not support the Credit card company) Got some fantastic burritos supported my local peeps and had a fast quick and easy dinner on a crazy busy kids sports night. I consider this a win. 🙂
I’ll have 110 hours for this 2 wk pay period. 2 of those were graveyard shifts, so I’m ready for a break. There was left overs from a safety meeting on shift and we celebrated one guys birthday by bringing in BBQ burgers and dogs.
Heat is off, clothes are Line drying. Take that foil fuels.
A friend is getting married in May. She is wearing my (real) pearls for her ‘something borrowed’. I’m so excited to share with her!
Dh tuned up the tiller. The Cole crops and tomatoes are started in flats. Hopefully I’ll buy some seed potatoes today while batching trips for chicken feed and hay.
I succumbed and bought a sharing bag of m&m’s from dollar general. I figured it was better than stopping at the locally owned liquor store! I’ve got to try and train a newly promoted coworker and I don’t think they have the sense to perform the job safely or effectively. I’m not looking forward to it at all but I resolved to try and teach them as well as I can. Inability to trouble shoot even the tiniest of problems independently and instant and over the top anxiety are the biggest red flags. My job requires a cool.head under pressure, trouble shooting on the fly, and the ability to make things work under less than ideal conditions. I.e., jump in there and get stuff done (in that regard, it’s a lot like farming. ) I have expressed my concerns to my boss but his supervisor is blind to the problem. We’ll see, I’m afraid more chocolate therapy is in my future.
were leftovers
and
Guy’s birthday
Darn big fingers
I had decided not to buy anything from Amazon, Walmart, or Target for a while, and so far, I’ve kept to my resolve. I’m generally trying to spend as little as possible and not buy anything unnecessary, which is what I always try to do. But I have been too reliant on these giant corporations in the past.
I have only bought needed groceries and a prepaid card for my phone so far this month. I normally buy my phone cards from Target and use my Target card that gives me 5% off. This time I ordered directly from the phone company and signed up for auto-refill, which gives me 10% off. An unexpected benefit.
As for the groceries, I have spent a little more than usual, but that’s because we just moved and I needed to restock my fridge, freezer and pantry. I’m slowly stocking up on things when I find good deals.
I dug out my old Tightwad Gazette and made a casserole using Amy’s Universal Casserole Recipe. It is so good! I usually eyeball casseroles but this recipe has a really good proportion of ingredients for both taste and texture. It helped that I had some leftover blended kale soup to use for the liquid. I was so tired of that soup but it was fantastic in a casserole with chicken, green beans, farro, and the last of the parmesan I had on hand. Recommend the Universal Casserole!
Amy did not invent that. It’s been around since the 40s or 50s.
Noted.
Could you share that? The recipe?
Julia, you bet!
1 cup main ingredient (meat, chicken tuna, tofu, etc.)
1 cup second ingredient (vegetable usually)
1-2 cup starchy ingredient (rice, potato, noodles, etc.)
1 1/2 cups binder (soup, sauce, gravy…)
1/4 cup goodies, optional (nuts, seeds, olives…)
seasoning to taste
topping (cheese, chips, bread crumbs…)
Mix all but topping. Add milk or stock if dry. Add topping. Bake in buttered* casserole @ 350 for 30-45 minutes.
*I didn’t butter the casserole.
I’ve started a low buy for the rest of the year hopefully after a couple of big spend months on necessary things and home improvements to increase our comfort. One of the exceptions I made was for small treats for fun with family. Had a young granddaughter for part of the day so we bought a mini-pie at a pie pop up spot in honor of Pi day. We also had hot chocolates but then home for sandwiches for lunch and later popcorn and a movie at home too.
That is how I hope to continue the rest of the year. Stopped Amazon and Target purchases and looking for local places to support when possible.
I had a no-spend week, other than gas and a mystery shop at a grocery store, which means other than bird seed, I’ve only purchased groceries and gas, or 2 mystery shops at restaurants where I had no out-of-pocket expense.
Next weekend, a good friend is coming into town for a milestone birthday for her (although we share the same birthdate) but our birthday dinner at a swank restaurant will be covered by a gift certificate and (as I like to put it) my mom is “sponsoring” a brunch. Two dinners will be eaten in, based around ingredients that I have gotten from mystery shops, and we’ll have outings, but the cost will be minimal.
Noted.
1. I’m not going through a no spend March, but I am cutting down how much I spend per month. So far this month, I have spent $113. Half of that was food, the rest were things I’ve run out of. (Aluminum foil, wax paper, Dish detergent, etc.).
2. I’m meeting my women’s group tomorrow mid morning, and although we’re meeting at Panera, I will have already eaten my breakfast and have my coffee at home. I won’t stay the full two hours, so I don’t feel bad about not buying anything.
3. Sunday, I signed up for a free watercolor class (all supplies included) but I’m doing with a friend.
4. I went through the grocery flyers and I only have three things listed that are on sale that I might buy. I really only need perishables like cucumbers and lettuce. One of the stores has frozen fruit on sale, and since I put a lot of frozen fruit in my yogurt or refrigerator oatmeal, I may take advantage of that.
5. Because of the political stuff I’ve been posting on IG (partially to wake some people up, partially to see who thinks the same way I do) a very old friend of mine, we met in diapers, reached out to me. We had a 2 1/2 hour conversation today, which included her talking about having cancer her mom passing this week and the fact that she doesn’t talk to her Trumper brother. So I brought her up on the fact that I don’t talk to my Trump or family either. We are definitely going to talk more and next month I had already planned a vacation day to do nothing, and I might take the 2 1/2 hour drive to go and visit her for the day. It’s always good to chat with an old friend.
I belong to my town Democratic committee and plan on being more vocal, despite our state having senators who work for their constituents, I may even consider being a delegate and going to the convention in September.
GO NANCY!
Nancy, I am also in the not talking to Trumper family club too. I just grew too weary hearing them defend their racist, sexist, selfish, homophobic, etc. positions. It’s gross. I tried to discuss it rationally in the past and they believe in the stuff fed to them. I want to forgive them for voting against the best interest of their daughters, sisters, granddaughters, grandsons, neighbors, colleagues, friends, Americans because they are ignorant and can’t help it, but I am not ready. I am angry and feel betrayed. Likewise, I have not heard a peep from them either even with all the news about Feds being traumatized. So, I made a personal decision to put my energy where it matters.
Two of my three siblings are on Social Security and one is on state Medicaid, the other on Medicare. Neither of them have cable TV so I don’t think they are following anything that’s going on in the world.
We’ll see what happens with them. I’m definitely not going to reach out and see if they know.
I’m in the same boat wrt Trumper family members. How they could’ve voted for a convicted abuser, especially given our family’s history, is unfathomable. We can’t save everyone, and have to put our energy and other limited resources where they’re effective. Imho.
I am going strong with March No Spend and boycotts. I also did a little shop at TJs and then heard about their issues a couple of days later (*palm in face*). I only bought a few essential produce items and one unnecessary bag of chips. I have successfully not gone into Walmart, Target, any chain restaurants, Starbucks or even Dunkin Donuts (I’m in the NE). I did shop at the thrift store once and bought a few groceries at a local international market. My one fail was CVS because it is the only pharmacy (outside the big box stores) in my neighborhood, and I was feeling crappy with bronchitis and wanted meds. I also had some vehicle work done and I used a local mechanic for the work.
Oh, and Amazon is in my rearview mirror! I do not miss them. I canceled my membership back in early Feb after being a good little consumer for YEARS. I also have not watched Prime (my partner’s account on our TV), shopped at Wholefoods or any other Amazon affiliate (I was shocked to learn Amazon grabbed up Goodreads! Who knew?)
I am going to extend this No spend and Boycott into April as well and maybe as long as I can muster it. I already have my garden planned out and soon the farmers markets will be going again (upstate NY). I need nothing. I actually need to let go of stuff, and this is the direction I am steering my life ship at this point.
I remembered that there was an alternative to Goodreads! and so just went searching for you – it is called Storygraph and has good reviews. Just saying! Apparently (I think) you can transfer your Goodreads! info into Storygraph, too!
Thanks! I did not know about Storygraph!
I have cooked a pot of dried pinto beans made with garlic, chicken broth, tomatoes, carrots, shreds cabbage added towards the end. I also made Appalachian bucket bread in a cast iron skillet. We are supposed to have tornadoes today so I wanted something, cheap, and filling to eat in case the power is off for a significant time. Beans are better hot but can be eaten cold. I do have strawberries bought on sale, grapes, coleslaw mix, cheese, peanut butter etc I can eat if power stays off.
Biscuit bread. Two cups self rising flour. One cup milk, half cup oil. Mix and then put in greased cast iron skillet and brush butter on top, if you wish. Cook in oven at 400 for 18 to 20 minutes. I cook at 375 bc of my oven being catywampus.
I have been trying to buy less and use up what we have since the beginning of the year.
1. Hair products, lotions and potions, cleaning products… I didn’t think I had an excess of these things in the first place but now I realize how many PRODUCTS I DO have just sitting around! I am using up before buying new again.
2. I am telling my girlfriends as the months pass that I no longer want to exchange birthday gifts. (No one needs a thing and this obviously saves money.)
3. Trying to focus on eating the food we have bought and not buying stuff we realistically won’t eat! Sounds obvious but this is now made a lot easier for us because we are now empty-nesters. I make a habit of looking at what I have before going shopping.
4. Have been walking the indoor track at our high school. It is very inexpensive, a healthy activity and a great way to spend time together.
5. When we are eating out, which is a huge source of our entertainment and most common way to see friends, we always eat at locally owned restaurants. This is something we are happy to do…keeping our downtown area vibrant and socializing.
So far, only spent extra on sewing machine tune-up, hearing aid repair and FOOD!
Doing my best to keep to the plan!
We began limiting our purchases to only the strictly necessary late last year, when DH’s somewhat seasonal (home repair and renovation) work dropped off. We’ve continued with spending only on food, gas, utilities, repair parts, and healthcare essentials as his work – which normally would’ve picked up in late January – is much much less busy than usual. Several of his clients who had jobs scheduled for Spring have put them on hold, out of concerns over economic instability.