Day 12

There isn't too much to post-we are doing AMAZING!  I'm actually shocked that we haven't broken this fast even once!  So far I have allowed myself $85 for groceries and only spend $60.  We have both filled up one time each.  One of my goals was to stay at 100 miles a week on my car.  (To avoid extra fill ups).  The first full week I was at 60 miles and this week 140.  So even with the extra it still winds up evening out.  I realized when I filled up that due to the winter my gas mileage average is very low.  Normally I can get 18-20 mpg but this last fill up I only got 16.5.  All the idling to warm up the car, extra traffic and sometimes leaving the car (and heat) on while I wait to pick up kids is taking a toll.  To fix that I'm hoping to only put 75 miles a week the rest of the month.  Not sure how I'll do but I'll try.

I am starting to find some creative ways to get what I want.  Remember that essential oil I wanted?  Well Amazon had it.  I combined our Discover cash back and a gift card and was able to get the oil!  Now some might say I cheated and I can certainly see their point.  But out point, this whole time, was to not put money on the discover, not withdraw or put money on the debit card and only spend $50 in cash a week.  I did that so I'm okay buying the oil.

I realized this week that I might need to buy more vinegar (we use it for SO MUCH cleaning).  While I was trying to figure out if it was in the budget I realized I had a bottle of all purpose cleaner that I could use for at least a few cleaning things.  Pretty excited to find something that will work the same but I already own.  (I'll still need to buy the vinegar but hopefully not as much).

I also have been buying some chips to eat for lunch.  Big $1.50 bags from Alidi's.  Last week we had sandwiches or leftovers for lunch and I wanted chips to go with it.  This week we're doing the same but again, I am not sure we have the budget to buy another bag.  After a bit of thinking I realized I have some popcorn and that serves the purpose just as well.  (Un-popped kernels).  It's been fun and interesting to see what alternatives I can find instead of running to the store every time.

I just checked the Discover bill and right now I know where our average would be for our normal spending month.  We have already saved $400!  That is so exciting to see it in black and white paid off!

I also have been continuing the selling on ebay and craigslist.  My total for the month is up to about $110.  So we've actually saved $500 already and we're only 1/3 of the way through.  Amazing!