Spending Hiatus: Making It Official

I've decided to go on hiatus, well a Spending Hiatus that is. You guys have heard me talk (more like, go on and on and on) about budgeting and cutting back and economic stress and, and, and... Well, when I read about the Spending Hiatus 2, I thought, "Hey, I'm pretty much doing this already and I could really use the support," so I'm joining in.

If you haven't heard, it's just that: A pledge to not spend thoughtlessly, excessively, or frequently, now through the end of the year. It sounds a bit daunting, but I keep on telling myself that I'm going to try to continue with this simplified plan that we're on at the moment, even when the money flow kicks back in. This will be good practice. And we even get an exclusions list. I've thought through it and here's my exclusions list for the first half of the hiatus. (I plan to reassess in August. I just can't seem to wrap my mind around what we'll be needing when the new school year begins.)

Exclusions:

Grocery/Eating Budget: $800/month. Includes grocery items, eating out, diapers, toiletries, etc.

Make-up: Just the necessities (ex: I’m almost out of my Clinique powder… I know, I know. It’s a splurge, but I could risk and buy a new brand from the drug store for $8 and then it be the wrong shade/break my skin out/etc and I’d have wasted money. Can you detect my guilt?)

Birthday Presents: We're actually only buying for children's birthdays for now. My goal is to use my PayPal account for as much as possible. If not, I will do my best to pull from our pre-purchased stash or hunt out good deals. This will be tough because I absolutely love shopping for/buying/giving presents. I might just have to back buy for those birthdays we're missing. I'll reassess later.

Shoes for daughter: She’s just about ready for a new pair of sneakers and will need a pair of sandals soon too. (Her feet are HUGE!)

Paint: Just for the woodwork/moldings in our house, so not a large amount: Small investment, big payoff for when/if we sell our house. (Hopefully we will not have to do this out of necessity.) We have the time to it now, and it so needs to be done.

Books: While I will continue to hit up the library, I adore owning books. Between book clubs and personal reading, it's inevitable that I will find myself in Half Price Books at least once a month. I'm cutting back, but I'm also being realistic. I will refrain from Amazon and Borders, but I'm keeping Half Price. And of course, I'll be selling back most all that we purchase.

~Addendum~Possible Added Exclusions for when hubby gets a job:

Summer clothes: Hubby, daughter, and me are due for a spruce up, but will put it off until our income increases. (We have some very generous friends who passed on some nice hand-me-down duds for our little guy, so he’s set. SO thankful!)

Date Night: Once a month for me and hubby.

Extracurricular Activities: Gymnastics for daughter

Fabric: To finish out my new workspace

Flooring for our kitchen: If you saw the current one you’d completely understand!

Grocery Budget: We might increase this a little bit, depending on finances.

~Addendum 2~ If the new J-O-B is really good:

New printer: so I can start printing some of my cards at home.

Vacation: 3-4 day family get away to the beach

Stay tuned for updates. Please join in too! I could use all the support I can get!!

(We can do it... We can do it... We can do it!)

{images via me and here}