A Project of the Mr & Mrs
From 8 August to 5 September, the Husband and I will officially have a "No Going Out, No Spending Month". Last year, we hibernated for three weeks right after our parents left for Manila. We called it "hibernation" but in actuality, we avoided going out and rested our pockets from spending. It was the first time that we were able to observe not going out for three weeks. In earlier years, we have tried this project for a week...then two weeks...then last year, three weeks. This year, we are officially tagging this as one our household projects and we're leveling up to four weeks (!!!).
From 8 August to 5 September, the Husband and I will officially have a "No Going Out, No Spending Month". Last year, we hibernated for three weeks right after our parents left for Manila. We called it "hibernation" but in actuality, we avoided going out and rested our pockets from spending. It was the first time that we were able to observe not going out for three weeks. In earlier years, we have tried this project for a week...then two weeks...then last year, three weeks. This year, we are officially tagging this as one our household projects and we're leveling up to four weeks (!!!).
Let's Define Things, Shall We?
No Going Out means no parties, no eating out, no dinner out with friends, no road trips, no movie dates. We will still go to work (just had to clear that hehe) but we will avoid hanging out at restaurants and shopping malls after work. Also, no overstaying in supermarkets. My Husband and I sometimes have dates inside Woolworths on Friday nights and before we knew it, we find ourselves at the counter paying for stuff we don't need yet.
No Spending means we will only spend for the usual monthly expenditures like groceries, bills and maintenance/repairs in the home (if ever something does come up). It is very critical that we stick to our budget for four weeks so we have both agreed that we won't shop for unnecessary things (read: things we DON'T REALLY NEED) and we won't give in to sales (which is usually the culprit--those freakin' tempting sales).
Reasons That Turn Into Goals
We want physical rest. Initially, we planned this project for the whole month of June because we thought it would be great to re-charge in the middle of year and at the same time get ourselves ready for the 2nd half of 2010. However we had to postpone it because my mom arrived in June for a short vacation.
We want rest from eating out. We want to stay away from restaurants for awhile and just observe eating in. Sort of like a detox.
Exercise the discipline of not spending for unnecessary things. Last year, one of the things that we learned from not going out and spending for three weeks was the things we have are the things we need and there is no need to buy things just because it is on sale. Sometimes we want a certain item is one and found out that it is on sale, we immediately think "We've got to buy this, it's on sale already!" But the truth is, we don't really need it. This doesn't happen all the time but this project is a good reminder to my Husband and I to always count our blessings and always ask ourselves "Do we really need this?" before purchasing stuff.
We want to de-clutter our home. We have the usual weekly de-cluttering at home but we'd like to do more de-cluttering in the next four weeks. We plan to sort out our clothes and shoes, pack up some of the things we don't wear or doesn't fit and give them to church. We want to box up some things that we don't use in the meantime and store it properly.
We want to finish up on our photography projects. We will take this opportunity to finish up on two events we've covered.
A Bit of Preparation
1. We checked our calendar and made sure we don't have family or friends who will be having parties.
2. We informed friends about it. We also announced the project via twitter and FB. It is of great help when people around you know that you have a project like this. We really appreciate all the positive reactions and support we got from friends (thank you!).
A Little Provision
The Husband and I are still entitled to a little breather and small pleasures. The last thing we want is to splurge and pig out as soon as the project is over. So we have agreed:
To have dinner at least once a week ---take note: with a budget. The dinner should not be more than AUD$20.00, and that covers both of us (so that's AUD$10.00 per person).
That I'll still have my weekly coffee "me" time. I will work on a budget of AUD$10.00 or less per coffee date with myself.
That the Husband is also entitled to coffee "me" times when at work. His coffee at work is only AUD$2.00-3.00 a cup so in a week, he will only spend about AUD$10-15.00, which is about the same cost as my weekly coffee time.
A Feeling of Excitement
The moment we decided to make this project official for four weeks, we had a bit of nerves about it. Who wouldn't, right? Four weeks of avoiding temptations seems kind of overwhelming. But we are really excited about this project. We have faith in each other (teamwork to the max!) and in this project. We are very positive that we can do it because we really want to rest most of all.
Wish us luck! Since this is an official project, I will be taking notes and will share on how things turned out for us.
Thanks the Husband for the very cute logo he created for this project.
No Going Out means no parties, no eating out, no dinner out with friends, no road trips, no movie dates. We will still go to work (just had to clear that hehe) but we will avoid hanging out at restaurants and shopping malls after work. Also, no overstaying in supermarkets. My Husband and I sometimes have dates inside Woolworths on Friday nights and before we knew it, we find ourselves at the counter paying for stuff we don't need yet.
No Spending means we will only spend for the usual monthly expenditures like groceries, bills and maintenance/repairs in the home (if ever something does come up). It is very critical that we stick to our budget for four weeks so we have both agreed that we won't shop for unnecessary things (read: things we DON'T REALLY NEED) and we won't give in to sales (which is usually the culprit--those freakin' tempting sales).
Reasons That Turn Into Goals
We want physical rest. Initially, we planned this project for the whole month of June because we thought it would be great to re-charge in the middle of year and at the same time get ourselves ready for the 2nd half of 2010. However we had to postpone it because my mom arrived in June for a short vacation.
We want rest from eating out. We want to stay away from restaurants for awhile and just observe eating in. Sort of like a detox.
Exercise the discipline of not spending for unnecessary things. Last year, one of the things that we learned from not going out and spending for three weeks was the things we have are the things we need and there is no need to buy things just because it is on sale. Sometimes we want a certain item is one and found out that it is on sale, we immediately think "We've got to buy this, it's on sale already!" But the truth is, we don't really need it. This doesn't happen all the time but this project is a good reminder to my Husband and I to always count our blessings and always ask ourselves "Do we really need this?" before purchasing stuff.
We want to de-clutter our home. We have the usual weekly de-cluttering at home but we'd like to do more de-cluttering in the next four weeks. We plan to sort out our clothes and shoes, pack up some of the things we don't wear or doesn't fit and give them to church. We want to box up some things that we don't use in the meantime and store it properly.
We want to finish up on our photography projects. We will take this opportunity to finish up on two events we've covered.
A Bit of Preparation
1. We checked our calendar and made sure we don't have family or friends who will be having parties.
2. We informed friends about it. We also announced the project via twitter and FB. It is of great help when people around you know that you have a project like this. We really appreciate all the positive reactions and support we got from friends (thank you!).
A Little Provision
The Husband and I are still entitled to a little breather and small pleasures. The last thing we want is to splurge and pig out as soon as the project is over. So we have agreed:
To have dinner at least once a week ---take note: with a budget. The dinner should not be more than AUD$20.00, and that covers both of us (so that's AUD$10.00 per person).
That I'll still have my weekly coffee "me" time. I will work on a budget of AUD$10.00 or less per coffee date with myself.
That the Husband is also entitled to coffee "me" times when at work. His coffee at work is only AUD$2.00-3.00 a cup so in a week, he will only spend about AUD$10-15.00, which is about the same cost as my weekly coffee time.
A Feeling of Excitement
The moment we decided to make this project official for four weeks, we had a bit of nerves about it. Who wouldn't, right? Four weeks of avoiding temptations seems kind of overwhelming. But we are really excited about this project. We have faith in each other (teamwork to the max!) and in this project. We are very positive that we can do it because we really want to rest most of all.
Wish us luck! Since this is an official project, I will be taking notes and will share on how things turned out for us.
Thanks the Husband for the very cute logo he created for this project.
Edited (6 September 2010): IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE RESULTS OF THIS PROJECT, click here.
