if you’ve been around these parts for long, you know that luke & i are very intentional about budgeting (find out more on how we budget here). we have monthly budget meetings & plan ahead so that we’re spending below our means each month.
of course, despite our very best efforts, sometimes incidentals & unexpected expenses come up, leaving us spending much more than we planned. over the last two months, we have repaired two vehicles & purchased a large amount of farm supplies for the summer months.
in an effort to build back up our savings, we have adjusted our monthly budget for may & agreed to a spending freeze.
what does a spending freeze look like for our family?
during the month of may, we are only going to spend money in the absolutely necessary categories of our budget.
our may budget does include:
– bills
– food
– date night (yes it’s a necessity for our sanity, but we’ve reduced this category by 25%)
– individual allowance
– medicine
– animal care
– personal care (haircuts, etc.)
our may budget does not include:
– clothing
– house projects
– home supplies
– gifts
– anything “extra,” including non-budgeted wants
our biggest challenges:
– using up our storage food from the freezer
– using only what we have to create gifts for friends & family (including mother’s day!)
– limiting our date nights to only inexpensive dates
– not purchasing home improvement supplies including plants, diy project supplies & general pretties
– finding contentment in what we already own, use & have
i’ve got a ton of blog post ideas i plan to share with you during the month of may from healthy meals on a limited budget & gifting with what you already own.
if you’re craving a spending freeze, join my family during the month of may! i plan to update our journey here in full detail, but join me on instagram @nataliecreates & use the hashtag #mayspendingfreeze!
do you have ideas for saving money & spending less? please share!
love,
natalie