An early end to no spend

Yes, you are reading correctly. I’m calling an end to my no spend challenge. I made it 22 days, and of that I’m pretty proud. I wish I could have said I made it to the first of March, but I didn’t, and I don’t like to be deceitful, even in an online blog (I think it’s my strict German upbringing. Think Dwight on the office). Even though I did not make the full 28 days, I’m happy with how the month went, and here are the first 3 of the top 7 things I learned. Look for the rest in a future post.

1.Being creative with resources can actually increase and improve your quality time with family.

I have said over and over again that I am not a crafty person. I might have to amend that a little now. Although I don’t do crafts often, and when I do my efforts look more kindergarten then Martha Stewart, I realized that I can be “crafty.” Taking the time to plan activities and implement them allowed me to do a lot of fun stuff with my daughter, things I would have said I couldn’t do before.
I cannot believe how excited Olivia was about these special moments, and how proud she was of our finished products. I hope to take this lesson into the rest of the year and remember it’s not about the “stuff” we buy together, but instead the time we have. It’s a truth I thought I knew but actually needed reminding of.

2.There will always be another sale

As my friends and readers, you know I have a small weakness for a certain children’s clothing store. My hardest moments this month came when said store sent me rewards, coupons, and emails regarding their sale. I was tempted. So tempted. I had a merchandise credit, and I tried to rationalize that it wouldn’t count if I spent that and not cash. In the end, I held off, and guess what? The next week I got another sale notice and coupon, and the next week, and the next. I learned that I don’t need to buy something at every sale, and if I miss one, or three, my kids will still be well dressed.

3.Sometimes, you will look ridiculous.

Yes, it’s true, I and my children had some pretty silly moments this month. Sometimes no one saw me. Like when I had a catastrophic vacuum hose failure and used duct tape to get through until March. Sometimes, it felt like everyone saw me, like when Clara outgrew her winter coat and I had the bright idea to pull out next year’s coat. Only problem? It’s 2T/3T, and she needs a 2T even. The arms were so long I couldn’t even roll them high enough to see her arms! Of course, the positive of that is that she didn’t need gloves :) In actuality, I probably felt sillier then I needed to. I’m pretty sure people don’t notice, or if they do don’t care too much when your kids coat is long, etc. And you know what? I still think it’s ridiculous to spend money on a coat for 1 month, so we’ll make do with layers until the spring hits.