DAY 44 +45 +46

Lizzy - Oh man  I am getting behind on this. I wanted to make sure every day was accounted for so I have to back track. Monday was a normal day. No outings to spend money on. Just work and home. Tuesday Gracie had school and I had no car. It has to be fixed so Ryan took it to work with him to have it looked at. It left me at the house which was fine. We ate over at a Christella and Dans and she made the BEST wonton/chicken/rice meal ever..we loved it. And its always fun to get out and visit. Her daughter is Gracies age and its so fun watching and listening to them play. It amazes me how alike they are. Cute and quirky:) We had to stop by Sams club that night and exchange our detergent and get Jack some formula. It amazes me how we are in and out of a store now in no time. No wandering around and picking up random items. We said what we needed and only got what we needed. It was great.
So today we are all feeling a little tired. Both kids have been sleeping and I myself feel like dozing off. I wonder if we are going to get sick or if its just the weather? I don't know but whatever it is I am enjoying the quiet afternoon...I wont complain:) I think since Ryan works again tonight I may take the kids up to the library and get some new movies/books. I was invited to go to Jumping Jacks today with a friend.

So yes another outing that's not too far and "cheap" but doesn't fit the bill this year. Next year I am sure the kids will still love it. If you haven't noticed most of our days are not out and about now...we sometimes spend all day at home. And I am actually liking it:) I feel less stressed and getting more personal things done than I would have had I continued to fill my days with outings and shopping:) But still....those days will still hit where I may lose it hahaha!

Ryan - I've been so busy and tired this week, I have really slacked on entering my blogs. Sorry for the short entries.
Monday - Worked on a roof. It's getting late in the season, so this will be my last one this year. I'm hoping to finish in a week and a half. I'll probably take a day off at work to get is done before the weather turns bad. Took the Passat to Mike and he said it should cost too much to fix. We were estimating $1000 worst case scenario. I may be around $300.
Tuesday - Pretty uneventful money spending day.
Wednesday - Was sick most of the day so didn't feel like doing much, but it doesn't matter. We can't spend money, so we'd be home anyways or on a walk.

TODAY'S WANTED ITEM:Jumping Jacks

COST: $5

TOTAL $ SAVED YTD: $2984.56

L

DAY 42+43

Saturday
Lizzy- Today was another free lunch at Sams Club and tonight I am attending the womens conference and dinner before hand. I will offer my services to clean up tonight as well so that I feel accepting of the free meals lately. Although there was no urge to buy something specific I am starting to see all the Halloween decoration out on display. This is my favorite holiday so to not purchase a little something to add to my decoration collection will be dificult. But wont count any money saved for those until I see something that is hard to walk away from.
Ryan - I spent the day working at Chad's as part of our trade out work. I building a retaining wall for his trampoline. Watched the kids while Lizzy went to a RS dinner. The kids fell asleep early and I worked on my lesson for Sunday. Pretty uneventful financially.




Friday
Lizzy- Friday was a special treat for us. After the typical work day ended my mom wanted to let Gracie spend the night at her place. Great for everyone all around although from what I heard Gracie never really slept which means grandma didn't sleep. But that's the excitement of sleepovers for kids. You forget as an adult that staying up late is fun and exciting! After we dropped her off we headed over to Rafael's (now don't panic...no money was spent) A neighbor (who doesn't know about our plan by the way in case you think we are moochers) gave us a gift card to Rafael's. I'm not sure if they just had extra or they don't like the place or just couldn't go before it expired but in any case he gave it to us and we were very excited. Of course it was only $20 so we had to be very careful. The card also said that we could not use it as a tip for the waiter so we first thought "well...then I guess we can't go" Until Ryan came up with a better idea. His friend Chad was coming with us so we decided to let him use $5 of our ticket (that we would have given the waiter) towards his purchase if he would use his cash to pay for the tip. It worked out perfect. So for $20 we got the free

chips and salsa that kept coming to the table, a pina colada, an all you can eat salad bar and a chile verde burrito which I must say both the burrito and the pina colada were HUGE. The portion sizes could have fed 3 people. However I am sure we each would have chosen our own entree and drink. So $12 more dollars would have been spent that night. So both of us walked away very full. After Chad wanted to treat us to frozen yogurt  (he was the one who came with us before all those times) So we were hesitant but he insisted and Ryan is always doing some work for him on the side free of charge so we accepted his offer. Normally we would have used our own money or even bought his yogurt on our next outing. It felt so wonderful to sit in a restaurant and enjoy the weekend experience. Now that there are few  we are cherishing every moment!!!
Ryan - I'm just trying to catchup here, unfortunately this usually results in a subpar entry. Since I work all day I'm not dealing much in finances other than earning a paycheck.

TODAY'S WANTED ITEM:Rafael's (separate meals) / Yogurts

COST: $12/$10

TOTAL $ SAVED YTD: $2979.56

DAY 40 + 41

Lizzy- Yesterday was a busy day. I woke up early to go to my spin class which I missed on Monday. Its very hard getting up at 5:45 to workout when your up twice a night with a baby. But each time I am in the class I feel good about myself and about the day ahead of me and think "why do I struggle to get here....when I am here  I love it" So that will be my mental challenge in the mornings. Then it was off to work and spent the rest of the day with the family watching movies playing games and relaxing. Today I sent Gracie off to school and then she went to a friends house. Its given me much needed time to catch up on the cleaning and spend time with Jack. I also got a call this morning from a hotel that wanted to hire me for weekends as an attendant. I have been looking for part time work but it seems that nothing is matching up to my schedule. This one was perfect in that it started from 5am and went till 12 or 1. It was only Sat and Sun which at first seems IDEAL so that it wouldn't interfere with my family's schedule and it would bring in and extra $650 a month. Which is great now that winter is coming and Ryans side work will slow down. The struggle was Sundays. How can I miss every Sunday morning and church service with my family and what does that teach Gracie? She struggles herself right now wanting to go but I think this would be a terrible message to her as well as to myself. I feel blessed I was offered the job when I wanted it but don't feel right compromising the seriousness of the issue. We are told only to work Sundays if we have to. And for many there is a half to which is unfortunate. But for me its not and I have to be honest with that. So I called and offered any other day but I am not sure they will accept that. I am hoping better things come of this decision.

As for money I am going to do the big update with the phones. So here we go. We have decided to cancel our cell phone service with Verizon.

Two main reason are 1. Ryan has had another cell phone and free service since he started his new job. They provide him with this at no cost to us so for him. He carries around 2 phones all day so why not just use 1 and not have to pay for it. 2. Of course it would save money this year for our challenge. Now here are the concerns we had as we were making this decision. Ryan does lots of side work so for him to lose his number would be a great loss to us because of contact that have his number from YEARS ago that still get in touch .It would not be an easy task to reach everyone nor would we be able to. So it was vital that he was able to keep his number. But then by switching his number to his work phone how would that go over with his company? Well...it worked out perfect. His boss is an amazing guy who is very open and supportive of this and said it would be no problem to have Ryan use his work for personal and to switch the number. So we called cricket (who they go through) and had it done a couple days ago! So he still has the same number...no loss contacts...no extra money spent...easy. Now the next concern was my phone.

Since we are getting a land line (ever heard of these?) I wont be able to have the same number. But really...my contacts can easily be notified and when we look back how often did I ever answer my cell phone? maybe 20% of the time. I can't hear the ringer...I can't hear my text messages...I often am busy with the kids and don't want to answer the phone in which case I call back....and lets face it...how many times have I lost my phone??? A LOT!!!! I don't do well with cell phones. I leave them in the car...let the battery run out and just plain don't want to be glued to it. So my change is going to be an advantage for everyone. My home phone will be a lot easier to locate and use. The next concern was for myself again not having one for emergencies. Another reality check here. How often am I in an emergency? Almost never. Have I classified things as urgent? Sure but never EMERGENCY. I do remember having to pull into a gas station and call Ryan to come put oil in the car because it kept beeping at me. So it was handy however I am sure that wherever I am going I could EASILY find someone with a cell or even "heaven forbid" use a payphone or store phone. I don't think communication is hard to find nowadays. So I think I am good on this one. I also find this not only money saving but important for my kids safety while I am driving. Law or not I have been more than guilty of answering the phone or making a quick call while on the road. I don't think its right, I dont think its safe and I dont think its worth it for such a short time to use the phone and put anyone at risk. So I feel good about not having that temptation in front of me anymore. Another and last concern was that Ryans dad is on our plan. He had already paid in advance for the service so we felt bad that he would no longer be able to use his phone. But just as we hoped he was more than ok with it saying he never really used it anyway and told us not to worry about the difference in $. So that all fell into place. Now comes down to the pros and the big money saver. I called around to different services asking what the package deals were for the internet and land line.

After talking with a few places I called comcast one evening and the guy over the phone quoted me a plan for 1 year of $35 a month. Now, when I called back to start that service they told me that was a mistake in pricing and was only if you had cable that we would get that price. Well if you know me you know how much I love working with call centers (sarcastic smile)

I was ready for the fight. Whether or not he told me the wrong price he knew I didn't have cable and still offered that price to me. The best offer they could now give me was $40 a month for only 6 months then it would go up to $60. Ooohhhhh NOOOOo my friends...that was NOT acceptable to me. Just because he did something wrong didnt mean  I was going to be punished. I told them I wont accept anything but the $35 for 12 month as quoted...they said "only a supervisor can arrange that" Ok well...get him on the PHONE. Then the supervisor said "I would have to listen to your phone call and see how everything was said" OK well....LISTEN to the call. Dont tell me you can't do something. I have worked in call centers long enough to know you CAN do it. So it took 3 days....6 phone calls and me not giving in to their "games" and what happened? I GOT THE DEAL! Dont like how I had to get it but if your going to train these employees and offer great customer service then I expect it. And had he told me the $40 at 6 months first I would have taken it. But that was not my doing. So let me break down what we are spending now;what we would have spent had I given in to their chastisement and taken the 2nd offer and what we will be paying now that we fought for what we were offered in the first place.
Right Now : Verizon $110/month  and Comcast internet $45/month
Total : $155 month / $1860 for the year
Canceling cells and what they were trying to get us to take : Verizon $0/month Comcast $40*6month/$60*6months
Total : $600.00 for the year
What we will be paying : Comcast $35/month for 12 months
Total: $420.00
WWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWW
We just went from paying $1860 for phone and internet down to $420. Thats $1440 we just saved this year WAY COOL!!
Ok that was a very long entry and explanation but really I had to share. Its a huge deal. I will be updating on how things go with just a land line. Im sure the challenge will be harder some days than others but overall I feel really good about it.

Ryan - I love Lizzy's determination, it definitely helps in cases like these, but when it turns on me that's a completely different story, but I'll leave that for my personal journal :).

This is also a tip, but my boss told me that when we disconnect our cells phones, we shouldn't just throw them a way, but we can still use them for emergencies. All cell phones have the 911 feature available whether you have a service or not. This is a requirement by the government or FCC or somebody like that. So Lizzy keep your cell phone in the car and keep your  charger too. If you're ever  in an accident or any type of emergency, you can use your cell phone to call 911.

TODAY'S WANTED ITEM: phone and internet service (no change in what we have now)

COST: $1860

TOTAL $ SAVED YTD: $2957.56

DAY 39

Lizzy: So things are already falling apart "literally". My sandals snapped the other day when I was out for a walk. These were great sandals and I only have 1 pair. This is very disappointing because I don't have anything to wear with my capri's. The one good side is that its fall and I can start just wearing pants and shoes. The bad part is come spring this will be VERY hard. I also use them for church and don't have any other shoes that go with a brown skirt. So the dilemma was trying to figure out if I should just go get another pair. But of course I can do without for now. And when the time comes to wear summer attire my mother offered to let me borrow hers that she doesn't wear anymore. So we will see how this goes. I am also going to try and see on KSL if anyone is giving away shoes..maybe I can snatch them before they get dumped at the DI. So my quest for free sandals begins and money saved is about $15 for a new pair.   And the phone savings is coming soon. I will have more details in the days ahead. I will get my calculations in order and do the math. I can already tell you though that by getting rid of the cell's it is at LEAST $1000.00 for the year. Its very exciting and I did get a killer deal when dealing with comcast. I had to be a bit of stubborn customer but in the end it worked out to our benefit. So I will tell the story tomorrow. 


Ryan - This week I was going to eat soup for lunch. So on Monday I packed the soup can, a bowl, spoon, and crackers. Lunch time hits and the stupid can needs to be opened with a can opener. That's what you get when you don't buy Campbell's. So I starved today. Wasn't too bad, since I was really busy at work. My sister-in-law (who I won't name) says she doesn't agree with the starving. That may be true if I were dying, but missing a lunch here or there won't kill me. This is just an incentive to remember a can opener. I weigh less now too, so that's a bonus I guess.

TODAY'S WANTED ITEM: Sandals + Lunch

COST: $15 + $6

TOTAL $ SAVED YTD: $1103.56

DAY 38

Lizzy- Ok...HUGE setback. I just about ruined this whole thing on Sat. Luckily with my husbands reprimand and my own acknowledgment I saved everything. So I have only 1 pair of pants that fit me and I have been wearing them to the point that on Sat I got a big hole right where you don't want one. There is no way to patch this up so it only left me with the option to go get new ones. Instead of the mall and spending 40+ on a pair I run over to Kohls (where you "expect great things"...and I did:)...used a coupon to get %20 off and got the jeans marked down to $10. Great deal! But with that deal I got consumed in wanting to buy a couple more things. I ended up walking out of there with this really nice sweater for $22. I get home and the first thing Ryan does is grill me on what I bought. So right there I was called out on the sweater. Only were the jeans needed so of course I put up a defense because I like the sweater and in my closet I have 'nothing to wear' (at least that's what I tell myself regardless of the 20+ shirts hanging there) Its not that I didn't have a shirt its just that its winter and I have no new winter clothes so I "needed" it. Well...slap in the face. No I don't need it. I can wear last years clothes...even though some are a bit bigger because I was pregnant. But still we are putting aside fashion for this challenge and its a sacrifice we agreed to make. So today...I take back the sweater, get my $22 back and have to be honest here I am NOT happy about it, but this is what I asked for (I am learning self control and budgeting and its hard as rocks but still possible. So goodbye sweater and hello $$$).

Ryan - Let me first say, I didn't enjoy talking to Lizzy about the sweater. I was concerned we were slipping into justifying our actions, which is a trait that things are coming apart. Honestly, even the pants I still wonder, but I never had to wear a skirt or dress either, so I won't judge too harshly.When Lizzy came home with the shirt, I felt that crossed the line. I am proud she took it back. I sense the line is getting a little blurred (groceries and clothing) and when we take offense that is usually a sign we've crossed over it or are tempted to do so. I'm glad we have each other to give a different perspective.
When talking tonight about this issue with family, it was interesting to get differing opinions of wants and needs. One person thought that foregoing medical insurance for two months was too extreme. Or that buying  clothes was a necessity. This is a debate that I suppose will go on while we are doing this goal, but like most things, the heart is the deciding factor for me and hopefully for our family. I wouldn't want to put my family's health in jeopardy, but it's a calculated risk, since we have done all the visits and we are not scheduled for a visit for six more months. I could honestly reason the with the family member who wouldn't chance it. The insurance we are picking up in a month isn't much better than going with out insurance. It's a high deductible ($5000) and only "in" and "out" patient visits are paid with a copay. everything else is out of pocket. We may switch to a more traditional medical plan. We will need to put money into a Health Savings Plan (HSA). Money we put there is tax exempt and can only be used for medical related bills or purchases.

To end on a positive note, we took a big step to saving a lot of money. I was able to transfer my phone number from Verizon to my Cricket work phone. I still have a mobile phone, but it's paid by my employer. It has unlimited minutes, long distance, text messaging and voice-mail. It's just a crappy phone, but it's "phree." The total saving will take place when we cancel our service completely on October 10th (the end of the billing cycle). When you cancel Verizon won't prorate the bill. In place of Lizzy's mobile phone, we are getting a land line and I'll let Lizzy explain the details on how she basically got us a huge savings from what we are paying now for internet. She's a great bargain hunter.

TODAY'S WANTED ITEM: Beautiful green sweater

COST: $22

TOTAL $ SAVED YTD: $1082.56

DAY 36 + 37

Lizzy-Last night was a ward BB-Q and camp fire. Everyone played games and sang and ate dinner. It was fun! And this morning Gracie went to a friends birthday party up at Silver Lake. I wanted to go but Jack is still feeling bad so I didn't want to take him up the mountains this morning. So it was just Ryan and Gracie. Then we did our shopping and finishing some errands. We did end up spending more money than normal on groceries but we thought by saving time driving to Winco was that same as just shopping closer at walmart....big mistake. For what we were buying it was a lot more expensive. Lesson learned. We did have a huge decision about our phones though and I will have more info to come next week when we finalize everything its going to be a big money saver:)

Ryan - We went grocery shopping and we initially thought that if we did our shopping and Sam's Club and Wal-Mart (since both were next to each other), we'd save some money. Wrong. We spent more that expected. We learned we need to shop with purpose.

DAY 35

Lizzy- Today we stayed home so no money spent. Jack has not been feeling well for a couple days and today was the worst.  But I think with some more rest tonight he should be better soon. Gracie had another great day at school and silly mom forgot that it was picture day until we were packing her bag. I did not get to fix her hair nice at all but oh well. It adds character right? Ryan and I discussed the possibility of getting a home phone and getting rid of the cell phones. He has a free one from work anyway and I can never find my phone and always seem to forget it so why bother with it when I am home and can check messages here. It would save us over $100 a month so I think tomorrow or sometime soon the decision will be made.

Ryan - As we consider eliminating unnecessary expense, these decisions don't seem as drastic now as would have been 3-4 months ago. It's funny how a shift in our mindset has devalued the use of things in our lives we thought were essential. It just turns out they were a convenience. I don't know why we didn't think of the mobile phones sooner. The savings would be great. We'll see what happens.

DAY 34

Lizzy-I've been taking a spinning class at the gym. My only reasoning for taking is it that its free since I work there. I was spending $24 a month for 24 hour fitness when we lived in sugarhouse but now that we are back home that has saved us quite a lot. In fact I even considered getting a membership at the one here in Sandy but

could not justify it since I have a free membership already. But in any case now that its getting colder I dont think I will be jogging outside anymore plus I am getting bored with myself so taking a class is a lot more fun and motivating. I wont count this as $ saved since I'm sure I wouldn't have paid for a membership on my own this year if I had to. However I will count Ryans. We had discussed paying for his (half price) 2 months ago and we have done it every year since we were married so this year it is saving us $176.00. I feel bad he can't come join us in the gym to play or workout but right now and most months he is busy with side construction work and that keeps him fit enough...plus we have our own workout dvds if he gets that into it:) Tonight was fun.

We were invited up to Millcreek where a friends cabin is to spend the evening. They live in Michigan so we rarely get to see them but whenever they come in town we try and get together. We are planing next year a trip out to see them. Once our year of no spending is over with of course:) I made dinner and brought it to Ryans work so we could eat before we headed up. Always a little more effort into it since it would have been easier to just drive through somewhere but since we had it planned it wasn't difficult at all to make it work. In any case it was a great evening and wish they lived closer:( We really miss them but its the kind of friends that we always stay in touch and will make it work somehow. We are already planning our Disney Cruise with our families. Maybe in 10 years it will all work out right? If not Katie and I are planning another European excursion ourselves:).

Ryan - Since we went to the mountains, I had Steve drive me to work. So there was a savings in gas, but not really, since Lizzy came up to get me, the gas was used up, but since that was going to happen anyways, it is a savings of maybe 1.50. Katie P. was always someone I admired about finances. She was always seemed wise with her funds and put them to good use. Of course, the minute I say that, she probably goes to Vegas and puts it all on "red". Just kidding.

ITEM WANTED: Ryans gym membership, Fuel
COST: $176.00+1.50

TOTAL $ SAVED YTD: $1061.56

DAY 33

Lizzy- Today's money saved is a hard choice. I normally would be getting a check ready to send to Ryan's old work to pay for medical insurance. We were on a cobra plan since he has switched jobs and the new job doesn't offer medical.  Our Cobra plan was finally over with in August and we were told we had 64 days to roll it over into a new medical plan. Jack had just finished his 9 month appointment and all of us are pretty healthy so we took the risk of choosing to start the plan next month. So for this month that has saved us a total of $380 we
would have spent on insurance. It is a very risky move and one that I would never really recommend but it was a personal choice for us and we feel that it will work out. So as long as we all stay healthy and we are now half way through the month so things are looking good:) And it just doubled our money saved!

On a side note, my mother-in-law had asked us to print her a picture of Jack and put it in this frame that has a space for his foot prints as well. I copied the feet and printed them out on my computer but I looked around the whole house for a printed picture of Jack. The only photos I have of him are on the computer so I thought "oh great I can't go pay to print his pictures out" But then I noticed in his room I have 1 small photo of him in a frame on his shelf. I debated about using it because that now leaves me with no pictures of him in his room and I wont be able to print them out for a year. So I ended up taking it out of the frame and giving it to her. The cost would have been only $0.18. Not much but still a cost unnecessary. He's better to look at in person anyways:)

Ryan - What a great looking kid! Pretty uneventful day as far as finances are concerned. One thing I'll mention that I noticed today. Everyday I drive into work and there is a pastry shop next door to our office building. I love pastries. I used to go there once or twice a week. I had a change jar at work where i would pull out the changed to get 3-4 dollars worth of pastries. Well when I pull in to work I always check to see if the shop is open. I do this every day I work. So there is a savings of $10-$12 a week. So far now it's been $48 ($4 x 4 weeks).

ITEM WANTED: Medical Insurance (for Sept) / Printed picture of Jack

COST: $380.00 / $0.18/$48

TOTAL $ SAVED YTD: $884.06

DAY 32

Lizzy- Last night Ryan and I spent forever staring at our backyard and coming up with some fun plans for it. A new deck/basketball court/ trampoline/ outdoor kitchen/fire pit and jacuzzi. I was pricing out things online and found some great deals for the stone and some materials for the deck. Its going to be so hard to pass up some really great deals for the year. But realizing that spending no money is the best deal of all will help. I was talking to a lady at work and she kept questioning me about the no spending. We started talking about movies and she stopped "you wont even go see a movie?" Then later we were talking about places to eat and she stopped again. "You wont even go through another drive through?" Its kind of funny how the more we talk about it sounds like life is ending and this is an eternal plan. I just laugh because its already been a month and it seems second nature now to just use alternate means. We even pulled out our water filter from the fridge and realized its done for unless we got another filter. As we talked about it we first suggested health reasons....but really is that an excuse? How many of us use filtered water?
I agree tap is so disgusting but its not "unsafe" though it may taste that way. By law it has to be drinkable so why not get used to it. Besides for a pack of filters would have cost us $39 on Sat. So right there is another chunk of money. I think we will still use the container and chill the water in the fridge...that may take away the taste a bit too. So for two days now we have been on tap water and still alive somehow. (granted once this year is over this may be the first thing I run back to:)

Ryan - Sandy water doesn't have any bad taste at all. Sugarhouse on the other hand is not good at all. That prompted us to get the filter. But Sandy actually taste just fine and I can't tell the difference. We had friends over and had a lot of fun. We told them about our goal and they were interested in trying it. It is becoming second nature as Lizzy said to resist.

ITEM WANTED: Pack of water filters

COST: $39

TOTAL $ SAVED YTD: $455.88

DA 30

Lizzy- Busy day grocery shopping and cleaning, cooking and mowing the lawn. Gracie had her friend over all day to play which was perfect. Kept her entertained while I got most of the cooking done. Its 7pm and we still have the night to go do something but I think we are all very tired. I am just going to let Gracie keep playing in her sandbox
and then we may go for a walk, take baths, read books and put the kids to bed so we can watch some movies. No desire to spend money for me today:) And Ryan I like your idea about Sundays. Lets just skip writing on those days since we have no need to go out and shop anyways. So we will just pick up on Mondays. And I also read that you think this might be boring for people and I agree,,,however I said in the beginning this is  for us. We don't keep regular journals so for once it would be nice to have this for ourselves later on. So I am not too worried about what anyone else thinks:)

Ryan - Worked in the afternoon and I then came home and worked, then worked, and worked again. That's the secret to saving a lot of money. relax or give yourself time to spend or even think about spending. Today I actually had an evening to spend with the family and I felt very restricted in what we could do because of our goal. I guess, I was just feeling lazy and not wanting to spend time to be creative. Sometimes it take a lot of effort to be creative. Lizzy and I went on a long walk and the kids fell asleep so we took them on a very long walk and really enjoyed it.

DAY 29

Lizzy- I took the kids to Wheeler Farm today. How could you pass up such great weather?!!

It was free to get in and we brought our own snacks and water. After touring around the farm we saw the tractor rides taking off right in front of us. Gracie BEGGED me to go for a ride. I asked the price and they said $2 (so $4 total since Jack would be free) . It killed me to say no...its so cheap and would have been so fun. However I stuck to my guns and tried to distract her by suggesting we feed the ducks. She got excited about that so it worked out. But it wasn't Gracie that was disappointed it was me. I really wanted to ride it. It would have made a great ending to our trip. Oh well. I had fun watching Gracie freak out when the geese started chasing her for the crackers lol!!

There was also another close call purchase. A friend of ours is in a local play and we missed her last one (sorry:) So when she told me about it I instantly wanted to say "Sure we will be there" But caught myself.

The tickets were $12pp Its those moments I hate and will be hard, not only did we want to go and enjoy a night out but we also wanted to support her. She understood and I hope next year she will take on more plays:) We only have 11 more months to go:)

Ryan -It would have been great to go to Wheeler with the family. Lizzy is really doing a great job on finding creative activities for herself and the kids. I think she has the greatest challenge with the kids.

ITEM WANTED: Tractor Ride / Theater Tickets

COST: $4 / $24

TOTAL $ SAVED YTD: $416.88

DAY 27 +28

 DAY 28
Lizzy- Today at work I was looking into Gracie sports class that was supposed to start this Sat. I signed her up and paid for it  in April this year and they bumped her time to September. So we were really looking forward to having her go to this class on Saturday, however, when I asked about it today they said only 3 people signed up for the class and may cancel. They offered to switch me to Wednesday mornings but of course that conflicts with my work schedule so I ended up having to cancel. Very disappointing. They did refund my money. So today's money saved does not seem like a victory won but sad that we can't sign her up for something else. Oh well. She did enjoy preschool today and at least we have her involved in that. So I guess Sat mornings we will go to the park and have our own family sports day. Which I kind of like better:)

Ryan - I went to fix myself dinner and I couldn't see anything appealing in the cupboards and fridge. So I BBQ some chicken and made some instant mashed potatoes for the second day in a row. How many times do we look for something to eat and think "There's nothing to eat", but in reality, we are just being lazy and we don't want to eat what we have that is less desirable. We've been doing great on shopping once a week. When the milk runs out, we drink water.When cereal runs out we eat toast, oatmeal, or eggs. When we run out of ice cream, I eat the Otter Pops (they've been in our freezer for about 6 months-they last forever). I don't know how much we've spent on groceries over this last month, but I bets we've saved $200-300 or more with our new attitude. Lizzy would call me atleast once a week to pick up this or that or we would go shopping 2-3 times a week for little things we were craving.

ITEM WANTED: Mighty Tikes Program

COST: $22

TOTAL $ SAVED YTD: $388.88


 DAY 27
Lizzy-  Our days are limited for walking to work. Its starting to get cold but I think we can push another month.
This evening we spent at the library getting new movies and books. We found out we were late 1 day on a movie and they are charging us $1.00. I swear this is the oldest movie you could find at DI for 25 cents. It kills me how much they are charging for just one morning off. But I will pay my dues and learn my lesson. It's funny how before I would not have worried about $1 but now that we have been watching every dime $1 seems like a lot to just pull out of my wallet. Its a great feeling to want to be in control of my own money. Even when it comes to mere penny's.
Then we went for a walk with Ryan's parents and had dinner up there. His mom has to go in for an MRI tomorrow and hopefully things go well. When we got home the kids went straight to bed and I was able to catch up on some reading. So another day of no spending.

Ryan -  I can't remember the last time I had cash in my pocket. It's been 4 weeks now and time is passing by normal now. I heard that something becomes a habit after 30 days so two more days and we'll be cured of our financial disease. I think the late fee from the library is a refining moment. Once you make the big decision to cutback on spending and commit to it, the small things start to come into focus and you start analyzing all aspects of your life. So the late fee is actually a blessing that will save us money in the future. We will adjust things so that we can eliminate late fees. I wonder how much we pay a year in late fees and unnecessary finance charges. It would be interesting to estimate. Off the top of my head I would guess $100-$200. Take this for example. I use a Discover card to charge material for side jobs. Well Lizzy took over finances and made a payment to Discover from an old account. Well there was no funds there, so we were charged a overdraft fee twice, totaling $40. Ouch. So that's $41 dollars in less than one month. I can also remember returning Redbox movies late almost every time and we would get 2-3 a week.

DAY 26

Lizzy- Today was Gracie's first day of Preschool. Very mixed emotions. I am  happy that she gets this social learning time and that I get time with Jack alone. Both of us need this! But I can't deny I got a little misty eyed as I watched her walk in. Her school is in my neighborhood a little further than my moms but still I could not justify to drive. Its so nice with the September mornings. A bit cold so we bundled up but as long as I can we will still walk. I was at Sam's again buying Jacks food and saw all the decorations sitting out. This is my favorite time of year and it will be very hard not to buy any. I always buy decorations for each holiday so when I see something that would strike me I will have to mark it down as saved because its a total given that I would have bought it. But for today we cleaned the house and pulled out the Fall bin. It was fun having Gracie help pull out all the decorations we have and she remembers them from last year. Jack of course got into everything too and was loving the new "toys". Will have to keep everything off the floors this year:)

Ryan - I packed PB sandwiches today,  because I forgot to cook my pasta the night before. Left early for work today so I could drop off the library books and avoid a late fee and deposit some checks so they would cover some bills Lizzy paid. So I didn't get to wish an "awake" Gracie my blessings for preschool. I would have been great to see her. I got home and Lizzy had the Halloween decorations out already! Unbelievable. It's barely September. But I admit it's fun to see the house take a change.
Worked at Chad's to payback some tradeout he's done for me. So I guess we can mark that down as a savings of $60-70 for labor.

DAY 25 (Monday)

Lizzy- Great day today. I did have to work in the morning but so did Ryan we were both off around noon and spent the day in our yard cleaning out the weeds. Normally that would not sound like fun but the whole family was outside and it was a beautiful September day.  Today was also my sisters open house out in Toole. So we decided instead of driving out for a 3rd time in a month we found a way to carpool. Its an hour drive one way so it takes a beating on the gas tank. It was a nice evening spent with friends and family and good food:) No extra money spent today. This is getting pretty routine now:)

Ryan - I agree with Lizzy. It was a great day for yard work and hanging out with the family on a Monday. She didn't mention that the car ride included me sitting between two screaming children on the way out to Tooele. Because of the car seats I had no elbow room and then Gracie fell asleep on my arm, so I was stuck in one position for most of the way. Saving gas money has it's price I guess. We did buy hamburgers for the party, but I guess it falls under the we were going to eat anyways, and we took the remaining hamburgers home with us, so that we will have meals this coming week.

Day 24 (Sunday)

Lizzy- Another Sunday and another day of rest! No spending:)

Ryan - I'm contemplating, because of our belief of not spending on Sunday, to not post anything on this day if there is nothing to report or I have no insight to give. Still thinking on that. No decision just yet.

Lizzy- Another Sunday and another day of rest! No spending:)

DAY 23 (Saturday)

Lizzy- Today was interesting. After getting our normal chores done and kids bathed and side work we decided to take advantage of something we got in the mail. It was a flier for the Tent Event for Larry H Miller used car dealers. On the flier it said that free hot dogs drinks and ice cream were available along with complimentary movie tickets. So we think "Cool free movie tickets....lets go!" Total waste. I wont complain too much because we did get all the food so it was a great free lunch. But no movie tickets they were "all out" of course. BUMMER. Our one shot of a movie this year now gone:( Oh well it was worth a try. Gracie also got a toy slinky and we have this pocket book with paper and pens. So for listening to a dealer talk our ears off for an hour it was worth our free stuff.!! Then off to Sams club where we enjoyed samples and once again stuck around to listen to this guys 10 min presentation on knives. It was worth the wait again because  we got 2 new knives along with 2 juicers!!! So a day full of free stuff not to shabby!

Ryan - Worked all morning and then me and the fam went to Sam's club to do our grocery shopping and eat lunch (samples :)). We spent 10 minutes listening to a sales guy trying to get us to buy the Forever Sharp knife kit (for only 30.83). We somehow resisted to buy and took our free gift (2 paring knives and two juicers for the kids). I could tell I wasn't fully out of my spending mentality, a part of me wanted to actually get the knives because it was a good deal. But the point was, I didn't need a knife I never had to sharpen. I don't even worry about sharpening the ones I have. Besides I have a table saw to cut any tough meat I encounter or metal can or phone book.

Tip: Never buy out of guilt or pressure. Spending money on something is like finding true love. You'll know when you know. If I get the impulse to buy something expensive while shopping, I don't buy it and go home and I think about that item I desired and determine if it was something I need or really could afford. Usually I found it was something I could do without and I feel relieved that I didn't make the big purchase.

ITEM WANTED: Knives set with chopper +2 juicers

COST: $30.83 

TOTAL $ SAVED YTD: $366.88

DAY 22

 Lizzy- Almost Torture. I have to admit this was my hardest day yet. Last night was a blast and this morning very relaxing. I woke up and headed down to the complimentary breakfast, then hit the hot tub. Had the place all to myself it was lovely. After relaxing a bit we headed out into town and walked up and down the shops.
 I can't even tell you how many things I had in my hands at different times to purchase. Store after store I would pick something up and kept thinking since I could spend money I should just get it. But even though we decided our preplanned trips were ok to spend money I couldn't stop feeling guilty. I wanted so desperately to buy something and at one point had a $15 oil lamp and $6 box of these soy beads that melt. I was dead set on buying them but just thought to myself "you don't really NEED these do you?" So as we walked out I put them back on the shelf.  And the other item I kept going back to was at the Celtic bookstore was this $30 sword.

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It was beautiful and goes perfectly with my passion for anything Celtic/Irish/Mid-evil.  I found that I am more aware of my spending even on vacation now when I have the option to spend I just don't have the passion.....or at least I am starting to feel guilty for spending.

Because its our tradition to get our kids a little surprise on every trip I was is the market for something for them. So after putting back multiple expensive items at the boutiques,  

I had my mom stop at the local family dollar store down the street.

No fancy smells or pretty things to look at there but what I did find was a $2 toy which I bought 2 of them one for Jack and one for Gracie. I pulled out the only cash I had left in the wallet and was able to use it. So now sitting back at home I love that I went and enjoyed my time, came home and my kids LOVED what I got them, I feel good about the sacrifice and have no charges that will show up on my bank statement this month. Total Success!!!

Ryan - I was thinking, I'm glad Lizzy is adding the other stuff than just our comments. Otherwise this would be very boring to look back on.
It was nice to see Lizzy back and I'm glad she had fun time. I got not toy though. I know we are making sacrifices, but not getting a toy was very tough to handle :), so I just played with Jack's toy.
Worked from home today (2nd time this week) so that saved about 7-8 in gas.

 Item Wanted: Oil Lamp/ Soy Candles/ Sword/Gifts for kids
Total: $70 (at least)


Savings
Fuel  $7


YTD TOTAL: $336.05

Day 21

Ryan -Lizzy left for Cedar City today, so I guess it's my responsibility that we log in a post today. I picked up the kids from Blair & Julies house. Ate dinner at my parents. For entertainment I played with Gracie outside and we ate ice cream on the steps. We then went to a park with some friends. One of them questioned me about our goal. She said she could never do what we were doing and questioned me if we could last a year. I know it's hard to understand, but this really isn't as hard as it seemed when I first thought about doing this. I compare it to a project I had to complete for work. It was my responsibility to find, edit and transcribe over  80 hours of audio files. It took me over 60 days. It was very monotonous and sometimes boring. I just plugged through. Somewhere along the way I found myself completing the work and feeling very fulfilled on having completed a very time consuming project. Even though I was getting paid, I still had to convince my mind that it was possible and that I had to work diligently to get it done by our deadline. This is how I feel about this project. The first week seemed very long, but now it seems the time is flying by and the last two weeks seem to have passed by faster than the first week. Next time I look back 6 months will have passed and I'll wonder how it passed so quickly.

Lizzy- Today was a great day! Thanks to my mother I enjoyed a much needed mini vacation. She had invited me to go to the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City a couple months ago. I spent the day packing and getting ready. I dropped the kids in the afternoon and we headed down.



We got there just in time to get settled in the hotel then head over to the green show that starts before the actual play.
 We had great seats and everything was fantastic!!! I would love to go again next year and this was perfect time of year to do it. Its an outdoor theater and SO beautiful.

 We saw 'Much ado about nothing" 

VERY funny and great casting. So yes I am on vacation however my mom wanted to treat me and again as stated in our official "rules" this was a preplanned event so even if I spent money its not counted against our challenge. But for today I haven't paid for anything yet:)

H

DAY 19 & 20

Day 19 (Tuesday August 31, 2010)
Lizzy - Today was SUCH a crazy day. Had to open at work 7:40am. Gracie had her orientation for preschool which she loved and we are all so excited for her. Then Jack had his 9 month appointment right after No shots on this one luckily,but he did measure off the charts for his head. Poor kid. Ryan had a dentist apt which I heard he got a $30 gift card for. ( he will have to explain) I also had to go get Jacks perscription for his cheeks which happens to be in the grocery store. I dropped it off and you have to wait 10 to 15 min so we just wandered around the store tempted to just buy something. But luckily I knew from the past that Harmons and most bakeries in the stores offer FREE cookies. So without a minute to lose I headed straight for the bakery before Gracie started asking for something. We all got a giant chocolate chip cookie (she even gave Jack one though he can't really eat it right now but she said to take it anyway) It kept us from the desire to put anything in the basket while we waited and roamed the isles. HOWEVER. As I reachd the baby isle I saw packages of those plastic baby spoons. It hit me that I only have one left and have been washing it over again for Jack. I saw the price of just 2.99 for a pack of 10. "I really need these in case I lose the one I have" I thought. But as I stood there debating over this I remembered seeing a handful at my inlaws house the day before and figured I should just go ask them instead if I could use a couple. Surely they didn't need 5 of them sitting in their drawer. So right after I walked out with the RX I headed straight up there and asked for 2 of them. Now I have 3 to use and another 2.99 in my pocket. Good Day.

Ryan - Just so Lizzy knows, I fed Jack yesterday with a regular small spoon, so if we lose all three spoons, we can use our silverware. As Lizzy said, it was a very busy day. After taking Gracie to her Pre-School orientation and the dentist, I decided to work from home instead of finishing the rest of the work day in Sandy. I figured why drive to work for 3 hours of work. I'm sure that save us some gas money.

TIP: At the stores they usually give you slices of deli meat or samples of all their salads and like Harmon's a free cookie of the day. So if you find yourself hungry at the grocery store try going over and munching on the free samples first. I am SURE it will save you from putting things in your cart had you not been so hungry.

YTD TOTAL: $266.05 

Day 20 (Wednesday September 1, 2010)

Ryan - Pretty uneventful day. Worked all day and then Lizzy and I cleaned the kitchen a little bit. When we went for a walk, had a big desire to go to Frogurts, but I just let out a sigh.