No Shopping Month episode 1

I was pretty excited about my "No Shopping Month".  I have worded it in a variety of ways: "A Shopping Fast", "Staying out of stores for a month", etc.  I told my hubby he'd have to buy the essentials: milk, produce, etc, because I hoped not to enter a store for a month.  It seemed pretty cut and dried at the time.  Even a bit of an adventure.  What things can I do without?  And how much can I save doing this?

Then I went to work.  Someone is selling chocolates for a fundraiser.  I always try to help out in a fundraiser if I can.  The chocolates are even gluten-free. Conflicting thoughts. They are not in a store.  But it would be spending money.  They look yummy!  They sit on the counter in front of me.  All day.  Does it count?  It is still spending.  So far I have resisted temptation.

I didn't do quite as well at my hubby's workplace this morning.  I saw a $4 gadget that could come in very handy at work.  I told him I'd take it, gave him the $4 and he wrote down the part number to be able to put the sale into the computer later.  Good thing.  When I realized what I had just done (it's only the 5th of the month yet!!), I gave back the gadget, took my $4, and told him I'd take the one from home (that we never use) to work instead.  That is why I need to do this.  All those silly little purchases that are totally unnecessary.  They add up!

I had to stop at the mall on the way to work to drop off some registered mail at the drug store post office.  Wandering through the mall was interesting.  I saw a lady with a pretty scarf and thought back to my morning when I couldn't find a scarf to coordinate with both my top and the sweater I wanted to wear.  "I should just see if I could find one," was my first thought.  I can't believe I think about buying so much stuff so often!  There is so much temptation in the malls.  It is best that I stay out of them.  Next time I'll take it to my local post office here in my small town.

I could easily have spent a chunk on groceries already this month, but am hoping that this fast will not only reduce our spending, but also reduce what we end up discarding.  I buy more than we can eat.  I knew my hubby was picking up milk last night and tried to get him on his cell phone.  I wanted bananas and oranges.  Good things to have for snacks.  But he didn't hear his phone, and I didn't get my fruit.  I realized later that I still have a bowl full of apples... the last fruit to disappear in our house.  Not that we don't like them.  We just like them less than bananas and oranges.  So now I'm glad I couldn't get him on the cell.  We'll eat the apples, and then buy more fruit. 

I'm learning.  Nothing new here, just lessons I seem to need to learn and then relearn.