NO-SPEND FEBRUARY RECAP, A LIFE UPDATE, AND A DECLUTTER ASSIGNMENT ALL IN ONE
So, last month was supposed to be a no-spend month at a Life on a Dime. I say “supposed to” because it was in fact a spend a bit more than the usual month instead. This post will serve as a wrap-up on No-Spend February 2022 as well as a bit of a life update.
FIRST A LITTLE LIFE UPDATE
Last month we officially became a one-income family after my husband quit his part-time retail job. So now we will take a couple of months to adjust to this. We aren’t actually sure how it’ll wash since he’ll be working two Saturdays a month at his full-time job earning overtime. Needless to say, our budget will be in flux until we get a better feel for what his monthly income will be.
But we are excited to have more family time on the weekends, especially as sports season kicks into gear. This year we have two kids in sports for the first time and it is going to be a bit hectic schedule-wise. Our daughter is in softball with practice in our school district and our son is in soccer in a neighboring town.
Once Spring Break is over we will have to divide and conquer every Monday evening to get both kids different places for practice. Add girly’s second practice Friday nights and soccer every Saturday morning. At least the soccer schedule won’t change when we switch to games.
Frugal friends should definitely expect simple but healthy-ish meals on practice/game nights on Meal Plan Mondays. Not a Frugal Friend? Subscribe and get notification of new posts as well as a free weekly newsletter with a meal plan every Monday. Best of all, no spam; I do not send out sales emails.
NEW OPPORTUNITIES
In addition to being the webmaster (fancy title for I update simple things on the site), I am also now our church’s volunteer treasurer, which involves learning a new accounting software and processing payroll for the first time ever. I’m excited about this since it’s a great resume filler for a stay-at-home mom like myself.
In February I also started the screening process to be a substitute teacher in our school district. I would like to get a feel for it this year to be sure I want to pursue it next school year. And it’s a good thing I got started early since the background check is proving to be quite time-consuming.
After I pass the background tests I will complete online training and then be eligible to substitute. I would like to do it two to three days a week next school year as it will be a good source of supplemental income and keep me on the same schedule as the kiddos. My baby’s going to start kindergarten in August and I’m not quite sure how I feel about it.
NO-SPEND? NOT QUITE…
We started the month with the intention of spending less than usual dining out and on groceries. We were also not going to purchase clothing for mom or dad, and shop second-hand for the little man some pants. The savings goal was to save an additional $150 over our automated monthly transfers to savings.
Yeah, that did not happen. Resale shops were hit or miss. We found a pair of cleats for our daughter’s upcoming softball season for under $10 but that was literally our only second-hand find. I ended up ordering four pairs of pants identical to what our son had just outgrown to fill in the wardrobe holes for a total of $40.94.
Our goal was to only dine out as a family twice. We didn’t do too terribly here, but we did dine out a total of three times out as a family. I also attended the first UMW circle meeting at a local restaurant. We did our usual Papa Murphy pizza, wine, and beer Valentine’s week.
Then there was the matter of not purchasing clothing for mom and dad. We decided to take advantage of his employee discount while we could. We were both able to fill a few wardrobe holes on sale plus the 40% discount.
No additional money was added to savings since we spent more money than anticipated. We actually used some of our garage savings to pay for the materials needed for the forms. And I’m not even mad about it; a load of gravel is scheduled to be delivered within the next week and we’ll be one step closer to a concrete pad.
So No-Spend February 2022 wasn’t successful by any means, but I’m not going to dwell on it. On to a new monthly challenge it is!
MOVING ON FROM NO-SPEND FEBRUARY 2022
… and into Minimalism in March! Here is your declutter assignment! In the next few days, I want you to go through your paperwork. This includes your household bills/important documents, artwork, and other paper clutter. I personally plan to tackle the shred pile prior to my Monday or Tuesday recycling drop-off trip.
This includes all the kid’s papers from school that they deem precious the day it comes home then ends up buried in their room or under the play table never to be touched again. With two kids bringing home stuff from school and church it adds up fast.
Their stuff also takes longer to sort through since I have to remove staples, sort out pages with glue and stickers on them, and recycle whatever I can. I have to do this while the kids are otherwise distracted. It’s this or I get to explain why their masterpiece of a million stickers on one sheet of construction paper isn’t a keepsake item. I like to pull out the, “it’s a fire hazard,” excuse.
That should keep you (or just me) busy enough until the next post. Happy decluttering! And check out my decluttering and minimalism videos on a Life on a Dime’s YouTube channel for some tips and inspiration to help you get your declutter on.