No Buy January? What's that?

Have you ever tried to budget? To limit your spending? Save money? Get on track financially?

I used to be really good with money. Like, really really good. I could squeeze pennies out of a rock. Couponing, putting money in savings, living on spaghetti noodles and pinto beans without minding a bit.

But then life got hard. And harder. And a lot lot lot harder. After my Emma went to Heaven, I found it hard to care about anything. So what if it cost too much money? So what if I *should* get back in the habit of saving? Who cared when life was so fleeting?

But I knew living on a budget was a truly better way to live, and so I looked for help in getting myself back on track. Should I try Dave Ramsey? What could I do? My help came in the form of a "no buy" month.

The idea behind a no buy month is that you can only buy necessities. Food, gas, etc. No shopping trips to the mall. No eating out because you just want to. No buying your kids a toy at the grocery store because they're begging for it and you want to keep them calm.

My first no buy month was in October 2017. I did fairly well. It was hard, but I was determined. I had Christmas to save for, and I knew it needed to be done. I tracked everything I *would* have bought if I hadn't stopped myself, and I ended up saving almost $300.

After Christmas I decided to try it again. I've done a "no buy January." It's been hard, I admit. I haven't been perfect, (I bought clothes once. Yikes.) but I've managed to NOT buy a lot of things that I knew I didn't need. I haven't kept up with things I would have purchased, but honestly it's probably comparable to October.

I have other money saving projects lined up for the coming months, and don't worry. I'm going to tell you all about them 😛. But today I want to hear your money saving tips. Got any?