I went on a MMM reading binge a few weeks ago which turned into a personal no spending challenge. My goal was really to eat out of the pantry/freezer but eat well and to not eat any meals at restaurants. I take my lunch to work every night (one benefit of working night shift, nothing is open!) so that's not an issue but on my days off I tend to slack off a bit.
The no-restaurant part went fine, but of course there were other expenses. We took our dog to the vet to be seen and it was not cheap (but worth it of course!) and I had a planned expense coming up that hit during this spending holiday. So the total numbers kind of sucked for the 2 week period, but the lessons learned were valuable. They are...
1. I'm addicted to convenient food. The cafeteria at my hospital is way too convenient (and good) it can be difficult to say no when my shift is over (and the cafeteria is now open). If when I eat there, I have decided to focus more on the cream of wheat which is cheap, healthy and filling instead of potatoes and a sausage which has been my norm in the past.
2. Man oh man do we have a LOT of food in our house. I hit the freezer hard and it seems like I barely made a dent. Going forward, I'd honestly like to focus more meals on fresher foods than on shelf stable foods. Budget Bytes is fantastic and I'll be using that as an eating reference in the future.
3. Man, I wish it wasn't so hot. I do not want to use the oven when it is 100 degrees outside. It's been blazing hot for weeks now, and I could really use a break.
4. I don't have a lot of urge to just spend money for the sake of spending money. I spend on my hobby (metal detecting) and food and the un-avoidable costs and that's about it. If I want to cut down spending, we need to eat at restaurants less.
Experiences like these are great for learning more about yourself and your spending habits. I recommend a spending holiday today!!