I am setting a

BIG,

HUGE,

ENORMOUS

goal for myself this month.  I am going to try to go a whole month without buying something that is neither necessary (as in groceries, paper goods, hygiene supplies, holiday related) or food (and yes, eating out and/or Starbucks is included in here for now – Come on, I need my once a week Frapuccino fix!).

Every month I write myself out a budget.  And, I never, ever, ever, ever stick to it.  This month, I am going to try to do so.  With my impending layoff coming up in a few months, as well as some wishy/washy furloughs that may be happening with John, I, and our household in general, really need to tighten our belts.  No more spending $100 on a whim at Target without being legitimately able to rationalize each purchase.  Yes, we have a nice chunk in savings, but I would really like to be able to not use that once my job is gone.  If we can make our lifestyle/budget fit what our income will change to, that would be a really nice thing

So for now, this is my first attempt.  Why did I choose February to start this and not January?  Well, HELLO, February only has 28 days.  That’s three days less than January!  I’ll keep you abreast of my progress throughout the month and hopefully, I’ll be able to get through this without it being too painful and it will lead to easier months ahead.