Zach and Nathana

So, we're 11 days into NSM, and it's going well.  About 98% of the difficulty of this month for me is temptation.  My mentality is that if I just don't go shopping, that the desire won't find me.  Enter: E-mails and weekly ads.  My biggest enemy.  The e-mails are the absolute worst.  I have check my e-mail and every day I'm greet by at least 20 e-mails from my favorite retailers enticing me with sales, coupons, and free shipping.  As much as it pains me, I just delete them without even looking at them.  It's too easy to go from "I'll just take a look..."to "I'd like that in 3 colors, please!" The other day, Zach and I were out and about and I wanted to run into Dillard's "just to look".  Zach was oh-so-patient even though he already asked twice if I remembered that I myself had said I wouldn't spend anything.  We made a quick round about the store, and we were in the clear.  I know it makes no sense, but seeing that...

The first five days of our no spend month (from here on out= NSM, much easier to type!) have gone pretty smooth. Thoughts so far: Well, I passed the mall the other day and the following all ran through my head at the same time- Hmm, a cinnamon pretzel from Auntie Anne's sounds delicious.  I should get one, I can practically taste it! Crap, I can't. NSM. If I went to the mall I could JUST walk around.  Just look, maybe make a list of things I need.   I need nothing.  Get a grip on it. New York & Company closed, which makes my life a little less awesome.  I should go find a "replacement" store, you know, for when I can spend money again.  Except then I would look, want to buy, and then just be sad.  I'm happy to say, after all these thoughts went through- We have cookie dough at home, I can pop some of those in the oven when I get home.  I should look through my clothes when I get home and pull some things I haven't worn in ...

I have always been a "saver" of money, practically since I started receiving it for birthdays and especially since earning it.  I nearly cried when I paid $211 dollars cash for my iPod nano when I was 16. True fact!  So a long time ago I heard of a "Dave Ramsey" type idea of a no-spend month where in your household you pay your bills and buy groceries, and no extras for one month.  Then see how much you save.  Before the new year Zach and I were thinking about plans for this next year and things we're planning on saving for, so this idea appealed to the both of us!  Next came the decision of what month to pick for our month.  We knew December was out, for obvious reasons and we felt we needed more time to prepare than January, so February it was... also, who else would admit we're smart for doing this during the shortest month of the year? ; )  Yes, we thought of that as well. We did decide our own guidelines that fit our family. 1. Pay our bills....