As you might recall, in early November, Mr. PiN decided to set himself a spending challenge. He was going to limit his spending for an entire month to $300.
I was hoping that not only would we save plenty of dough, but he would stay out of the stores (he was going shopping multiple times a week, at a time when COVID cases were rising in our region).
I had planned to report on his efforts in December, but then work and life got in the way.
The various outcomes of the challenge are reported below.
Just the facts, Ma’am
The challenge Mr. PiN set was to limit spending to $300 for the month. He does most of the work in the home, so that $300 had to cover our grocery shopping, house repairs, and other sundries.
He set himself the challenge in early November, and he did very well for several weeks. However, the week before Thanksgiving, we were getting reports from local friends of food shortages in the stores. We decided to stop the challenge early, in case the shortages lasted past the holiday, to prevent grumpiness and possibly finger-pointing later.
During the 3 weeks of the active challenge, Mr. PiN kept us well-fed, and even did some house repairs, for a grand total of: $296.78.
I am not sure if we would have managed a complete no-spend week if the challenge had lasted the whole month, but I think he did a great job nonetheless.
Had we decided the rules allowed it, I had credit with the Chase Sapphire card that could be used to offset grocery purchases, which could have provided us with “free groceries” to round out the month. Something to think about if we try the challenge again.
My Observations
I took some notes during the challenge, and noted some behaviors that became more apparent.
Shopping for Pleasure
If you had asked Mr. PiN if he shopped as entertainment, he would have denied it vigorously. However, one week into the challenge, he told me this:
I didn’t realize what a Rite Aid “addict” I was. I kept looking at the store and wanting to go in.
It appears he had no particular item he needed, he just liked to go in and browse/shop.
Resisting Advertising
He also became more aware of the lures of in-store promotions:
I went to Costco today [for produce], and I had to hurry past the specials, past the clothes, past the cooking supplies, to get to the produce section.
A week later, he was in Whole Foods, and reported:
…instead of cruising the aisles looking for interesting things, he tried to go directly to the items on his list. He found himself weighing a bottle of balsamic vinegar ($2.99) and deciding we didn’t really need it.
Considering Prices
On leaving Costco, he was faced with this issue:
The checker pointed out my containers of organic blueberries. I had accidentally picked up some conventional containers and some organic, but I was charged the organic price for all of them. I went back to the desk and got our money back. Before this challenge, I might not have done this.
Using What We Have
Mr. PiN does pretty much all the work around the house. I may offer an opinion about the kitchen, but tools and work supplies are all his to manage. At the time of his challenge, he was fixing the rotten wood trim around my office windows, and apparently made several trips to the store.
I was going to go to Lowe’s to look at ladders, and I realized I could manage with what we have at home.
[I was a little worried here; I don’t want him risking his life on rickety make-do ladders if he really needs a new one. ]
He returned to Lowe’s the next week, and practiced several cost-savings concepts at once:
Off to Lowe’s, where I didn’t find the lumber I wanted (so no purchase); eyed the wood filler for the current project (thinking to myself, You know you already have some at home); and returned a tool I wasn’t going to use [a first, he very seldom returns purchased items].
Home repairs weren’t the only area where he practiced the idea of using what you have.
Half-way through the challenge, I was home for lunch, and saw Mr. PiN mixing leftover oatmeal into his lunch-time yogurt. He let me know he has been doing this to save a little money on the yogurt (it’s cheap, but not as cheap as the oatmeal). He is happy because it is tastier and probably healthier for him, as well as saving a few bucks each week. It’s nice when these things work out, he says.
We also saved a little money on greeting cards. He wanted to send some thank you notes to his medical team. Instead of buying 3 greeting cards at $3 or $4 a pop, he looked through some of the blank cards I have saved (and organized early in the pandemic) and found several he was happy with. $10 saved isn’t a fortune, but it’s money; and we got to use things we already had.
Quotes at the Time
This challenge really makes you think.
This is a useful experiment, I am really thinking more about what we already have and what we really need.
Also [stated after a big spend, and realizing that he still has 2 weeks to go]: What a good way to slow down time.
At that point, I reminded him that he had come up with the challenge on his own.
Mr. PiN’s Take
What did you think of the project?
I thought this would be fun to do: both the challenge, and saving the money.
I figured I had done this before, when I was a poor student. I hadn’t realized how much more complex it is to run a household (vs. managing as a student); and that to be very, very thrifty for the first time in a long while, you have to think about it almost constantly. if you already have a system set up, then it might be easier.
Once I got more than a week into the project, I found it quite challenging.
I resisted the idea at first, because it implied that I was pampered or spoiled, and I didn’t want to think of myself in that way. I rationalized: I was paying more to create time efficiencies.
The big challenge was to giving up those time efficiencies. Though it is true that some of the expenditures did save time (buying at the nearest store, instead of Costco; buying several items at Lowe’s to save trips later), as the challenge wore on, I realized I had become wasteful with leftovers. I took things back to Lowe’s that I wasn’t going to use.
Fixing up your office on a limited budget was quite challenging. [I will point out that–on close examination–I can see that he was probably hampered by the project: paying better paint and brushes would have been nice. However, from a few feet away, the trim looks 1000% better than before, and actually looks good.]
What would you differently if you did another challenge?
It would probably be better not to do it during a pandemic.
It would be easier now that the place is organized.
Would you want a bigger budget for the month?
I might want to bring in the utility bills into the picture, since we might save money on groceries by traveling further, but spend more money on charging the car. In that case, we would have to increase the budget.
[I think we could probably increase the budget a little, and still come out ahead. But we can negotiate that when the time comes.]
Was it worthwhile?
Yes.
It was actually fun to be interviewed, otherwise I wouldn’t have to think it through.
What will you take away from this?
Avoid Food Waste
It is always pointed out how much food waste Americans generate. I realize that we were not being as careful as I thought.
It is really important to keep order in your refrigerator and keep tabs on how old your food is, especially if you are trying to eat healthy with lots of salads. So going to the store means you have to think about whether you will be able to eat your produce before it goes bad. It might be better to wait to buy produce until you are sure you can eat it.
I (re) discovered some great foods that store well: steel cut oats, quinoa, more beans. Cabbage is the greatest!
Having pantry space and the extra fridge are incredible money saving tools. Many deals turned up this year, of things we would eat later, and this carried over beyond the challenge.
organizing saves money
I was forced to organize my tools during this time, in order to find things and avoid buying new. Also to find paint and caulking for the upstairs project. I found tools I had forgotten about.
Time is still limited
However, that all being said, life is short. Don’t spend your whole day trying to save a few pennies. Time efficiencies are still fantastic. Your time is worth a lot.
Final thoughts
The most important thing I took away is that saving is not necessarily something you have to obsess about all the time, but a skill to be practiced. Along with that, organization (which is not my strong suit) goes hand in hand with saving.
What do you think about an attending trying out a frugal challenge? Are you embarrassed for us at how much fat we have to trim? Do you feel we were “slumming?” Or you think this is a worthwhile exercise for everyone, no matter what their income? Will you try a low-spend/no-spend challenge yourself this year?