Good job SubC. Saving money and not indulging is my main goal.

I am going to make the soup today. I also have a few apples, and I took some fresh frozen cranberries out of the freezer. I sorted them and am soaking them in water mixed with a small jar of orange marmalade (a sample one from work) and will then shake them with powdered sugar and bake at 200 for 5 minutes. This is some kind of viral recipe, so I am looking forward to trying them.

I did not make the spaghetti squash yet but I did bake a plant based chicken patty and boiled some pasta, put some sauce and cheese over it like a chicken parmigiana, which I enjoyed last night. I also found a bag of bake and serve rolls in the freezer so have been eating one here and there. I also thawed out some broccoli soup (homemade) from the freezer for lunch today. I can have a roll with that. The rolls are a little old and a little hard but good enough.

Lila, I'm very impressed!

I just suggested fruit because I was concerned about your food groups, but you are doing great.

No one is bringing me food, but I still have not had to buy much food (except what we bought to contribute on our thanksgiving trip) I did buy another loaf of bread. The fridge is getting low, but we have lots of eggs and milk. It would be lovely to clear it out before the Christmas cooking. I'm trying to eat more rice, potatoes (I grew them) and pasta (part of my big stock up) instead of bread.

hi SubC! Thank you for your support and encouragement!

I feel good about this. I almost, ALMOST bought a food order and/or stopped at fast food or bought pizza, because I was so "over it", but I thought, hey. If I am considering this a fast, or a spiritual discipline, I would not quit when it gets hard. It is a greater discipline to continue WHEN it gets hard.

So I decided to continue on as is to 40 days as suggested by my pastor. Today is day 35. It has been more of a challenge but I am learning by doing this. I am growing in self discipline, not giving in to cravings, and being satisfied with what I have. Also not being as wasteful.

The other day I dug through the freezer and took out fish sticks and brussels sprouts for my dinner. At work there was a free donation of a lot of bags of frozen French fries, so I brought a bag home to have with the fish. When I went to cook the bag of brussels sprouts, I checked the date and it said 2012!!!!!!! I literally said out loud, 2012????? What????? and threw them out. I can hardly believe it!

So I got out some frozen peas and had those with the fish and fries and it was good.

I also have been eating cans of soup with crackers and cheese. I have almost no cheese left and just a little bot of other crackers.

My son bought bread and I got some free sample jars of jam from work, so this morning I had a apiece of toast with jams on it and some coffee. I am out of any kind of creamer, out of almond milk, so have been drinking it black. DDIL left some regular milk upstairs so I put a splash in my coffee today. Also have been drinking plain tea.

At an event I was in charge of at work, someone left a vegetable tray! so I brought it home and am deciding what kind of soup to make now that I have a handful of baby carrots and some celery sticks.

I have a spaghetti squash on the counter I am thinking of cooking this weekend. I have half a jar of pasta sauce (I had with spaghetti noodles this week) and some parmesan and a little mozzarella I can put on it too.

I can do this for 5 more days, and then have a nice celebration meal with fresh groceries! I am not going back to buying a ton of junk.

So how are you feeling about your accomplishment today?

I know you were thinking about continuing. What if you planned meals for this week to use as much old stuff from the freezer as possible and bought just fresh fruit to round them out?

We spent money on food for everyone at ds's place, but I think we have at least a week left here. I personally need to cut back because ddil put 5 lbs on me in 5 days!

I still have not spent anything on food this month.
I did not spend anything on fast food, coffee shop stops, or anything else like doordash or food delivery. No restaurants. I think I saved about $500. I am using part of that to buy Christmas presents - not ALL of it. Thankful to not be in debt for the holidays.

I have an urge to just throw out all the old stuff in the freezer and fill it with things I like, but there is no point in that because most of it is stil fine and whatever I buy would just get old anyway. I am going to be more cautious and judicious about what I purchase, when I start buying food again.

Happy Saturday.

Today, eating what I have:
- oatmeal with chopped fresh apple, walnuts, pomegranate arils, cinnamon

I am going to make some seasoned rice, because I have a lot of long grain rice in bags, some fresh garlic and cilantro, and plenty of herbs and bouillon.

With it, I will make a curry, because I went through the cabinet and found a jar of thai green curry paste and a can of coconut milk. I do not have much variety of veg, but I do have a small piece of onion, some garlic, part of a red pepper, and the cooked butternut squash, so those will go in. I also have ginger paste and lime juice to add. I think it will be yummy!

I also went to the deep freezer last night. There is a lot of old stuff that probably is not good anymore, but I found some fresh corn I cut off the cob last summer. I brought up a quart bag of that and will cook it in butter for dinner. I might make elote with it later, too, where you add a bit of mayo, lime, cilantro, chili powder, and cotija cheese. I have a small amount of cotija in the freezer.

I also had a snack of the rest of some veggie crisps chips from a bag.

Still chugging along, not spending any money on food. Doing fine. It is changing how I think. For example, I have plenty of crackers and cheese and such, but tend to just go buy crackers and cheese I like "better" and let things go stale or bad. I am doing better about this.

I am running low on eggs but still have maybe 10. I are butternut squash and an egg for breakfast.

I am almost out of plant based coffee creamer, but had enough to enjoy with coffee today. I do have half a carton of almond milk, so can use that or drink it black.

Lunch was leftover canned tomato soup with the last of a box of crackers and some spray cheese I found in the back of a cabinet. And half a can of lemonade tea that I forgot I had brought home from an event months ago. It was really good! I found it in a bag in my bedroom, lol.

For dinner I had a big salad of lettuce, pomegranate, and a Cuties clementine. I picked the Cutie up at the last dinner we had at work. I took one but saved it for later. I made a dressing from another half of an orange that looked pretty dried out, but tasted fine and had enough juice to squeeze onto the salad with a little olive oil, honey, garlic, and red wine vinegar. (Normally I would have run out and bought a bottle of dressing, but this was fine!) I also added some walnuts to my salad.

I had a snack of a slice of that little cake I made with ricotta that was past date but fine. I wanted frosting, so I mixed a little plain yogurt from the fridge with cocoa and powdered sugar and it was good on the cake.

Just now I ate two small plums (the last of them) and a couple slices of cheese (who knows what kind of cheese, just a small piece left in a baggie, but it tasted good).

It is kind of fun to figure out what to make or eat from what I have. I am thinking about oatmeal with apples and cinnamon for upcoming breakfasts so I don't run out of eggs. I have several apples and a container of oats.

Great work, SubC! One of my sons bought a 3D printer some time ago. I think plastic stuff is mostly cheap junk, but he does make some useful and cool things that he needs from it. He got it to design a special small stand for his good camera. And he makes some creative stuff as well.

I am proud of myself for not spending any money on food so far this month and we are over halfway through. When I have had cravings or wanted certain things, I made due.

I really wanted to order pizza but I found a few slices frozen in the freezer and ate those.

I wanted cake, cookies, etc but instead I found a slice of plum bread in the freezer one night, made a little dish of peanut butter fudge another night, and just ate fruit the other times. I also found some hard candies in the cabinet, and one or two of those fixes the sweet tooth. I also drink hot tea for "dessert" some night, plain or with a little honey.

I have been thawing frozen things to eat, and making soup every week. I made potato soup last week and added dill and chopped pickles to it and that was good. Today I need to make a new soup for the week.

I have only told 2 people locally what I am doing because I don't want people feeling like I need them to bring me food. Neither of them would do that. Other people who don't know, have given me some food. A friend had a lot of potatoes and gave me a bag of them this week.

I also had several free meals at work as we often cook for my programs, so this week I had 3 dinners at work plus 2 breakfasts and 2 lunches - way more than usual.

My son bought some bananas and bread the other day and offered me some (he also does not know what I am doing, but he is single so occasionally buys more than he can use and shares with us) so I had 2 pieces of the bread to make a sandwich, and one banana.

Doing great, and should be out of debt with my next paycheck.

How are you doing Lila?

I fixed the two things! And I put the unrecyclable broken pieces in the trash.

We ate our leftovers and we have been eating out of the fridge, freezer, and pantry all weekend. Still plenty of food!

I went to the arts and crafts fair at the local high school (was annoyed by the surprise $2 admission - that was not on the advertising!) and bought some art for ddil. Following my "buy art from living artists" philosophy. Honestly, it was pretty disappointing. There was a good selection of crafts, but a lot of them were unoriginal - like, clearly the person programmed her embroidery machine and then just embroidered the same design on a bunch of things - which is great if you designed the embroidery, but they were obviously purchased programs. And lots of signs and objects painted from stencils, that sort of thing. (Yes, you get credit of you made the stencil. If you bought the stencil or printed it out and cut it - not so much.)

Also, 3D printing. I am so sick of 3D printing! Again, great if you created the design. But if you bought the printer and downloaded the design, you're neither an artist nor a craftsperson - you are a technician at best and a machine operator at worst. They made a big deal in the advertising about "everything hand made"

Ok, rant over. Sorry.

I have also purchased a few small things for grandsons from used book sellers and eBay.

Dh and I went out to dinner last night as a treat, but we still have plenty of food. We also brought home leftovers for tonight. One of my challenges is to not leave food in the fridge when we go to ds for thanksgiving that will be spoiled when we come back!

I did some regular and thrift shopping yesterday. I spent two dollars and 57 cents on some pieces to fix two items in my house, and 53 cents on a "new" display stand for my pottery booth.

I also ordered six months worth of nuts on sale free shipping from the place I like to order them from. There is once grocery store brand that is cheaper per ounce when it is on sale, but there is a significant quality difference, so I have decided the mail order place is the best choice. The mail order place is also bulk, so MUCH less packaging.

Lila, you are doing a really impressive job!

Being intentional is a good and important thing, SubC! Good going!

It is 1/3 the way through the month and I have spent $0 on food. In the last couple days I have
- cut up red and green peppers, froze most of the
- washed and boiled a small bag of little potatoes of various colors that someone gave me and put most of them in the fridge
- took some of the peppers and potatoes, plus some onion, and made home fries with an egg for lunch today
- re-blended and heated some tomato soup from the freezer for yesterday's lunch, along with a roll from the freezer
- had some cheese and crackers from the fridge
- boiled a few eggs for lunch and a snack
- ate the last of the yogurt and the last peach from the fridge

Still going strong. I have a lot of food to choose from. Maybe not what I would pick if I was shopping, but good food and it is healthier and not going to waste.

Lila, you are doing a very good job!

Healthy for your body and wallet!

I have also eaten a lot of food given to me this week, but unfortunately that food was tacos and pizza.

My big grocery shop was $284 (insert horrified face), but we are stocked up on a lot of things we use regularly at good prices, plus most of our groceries for the month (I may need a few fresh things
Later)

There is also an employee at school who gives me her Halloween decoration pumpkins every year for my chickens to eat. The Jack o lanterns go straight to the chickens, but she always has a variety of uncut pumpkins that go on MY porch until after thanksgiving! Then I cook some of them. This year she included two butternut squash - Buddy's favorite! So I will be cooking those early.

I spent my store cash on Legos for Bean for Christmas. It didn't cover the whole cost, but it was a good price on a set Dd had suggested for him that I also thought he would like. He loves Lego.

I also ordered a new swim suit because I have finally started back to swimming. I had two, but one is very old and could be worn out any day. I really need two for regular swimming, and when I checked the site that has good, durable suits I know I like, my favorite was on clearance and sold out in every size but mine. I took it as a sign.

So still spending, but still being intentional.

Update:

Today is Nov 7 and I have spent no money on food so far.

I am eating out of my fridge, freezer, and pantry.

Fridge: beets, lettuce, plums, apples, pickles, cheeses, broth I made from beef bones in the freezer
Freezer: pizza, corn fritters, soups, breads
Pantry: soups, crackers, teas with honey

other stuff I can't remember, but everything from what I already had or was given.

I also got fed free dinners at least 3x this week at work and was even given some leftovers to bring home.

So, so far, this is going very well, saving money, much less food waste, and eating healthier because I don't have much junk here.

That sounds like a good use of your funds, SubC.

Nov 1 and 2, nothing spent on food.

In those first 2 days I have eaten
- green beans given to me
- a piece of fish from the freezer
- roasted broccoli my son bought a couple weeks ago and needed to be cooked
- roasted garlic I already had
- roasted orange pepper, given to me
- coffee with plant creamer and honey I already had
- rhubarb lemonade made with the rhubarb someone gave me that I made into syrup, and lemons I had that needed to be used
- an egg with cheese and half a frozen bagel, all of which I already had

I think that is pretty much it. I spent nothing on food.

I also took beef bones from the freezer and made a quart of rich bone broth, which I will drink. I do drink broth sometimes - I just do not eat any meat. I cut the meat off for my sons.

I also sliced 2 lemons that needed to be used and they are on a plate in the freezer. I will out the slices into baggies in the freezer for later use, probably for tea.

I feel good about what I am doing.

Lila, better is good.

Just keep telling yourself "I will not get fast food today." Just "today".

I have decided that I will drive just a little bit out of my way tomorrow and stop at the bricks and mortar store where I have $20 to spend. If I don't find anything for my family for Christmas, I will buy a toy for the holiday toy drive.

I kind of hate it when places give you coupons or "cash" that you have to use in a short time. Feels like pressurized buying.

I am doing much better.

This week I did not go to the grocery store, and my plan was to not place any grocery orders either. However when I was getting my free prescriptions delivered from the store, I did add to the order: one head of lettuce, one bag of chips, and some Halloween candy. I regret it. I ate the chips but am not going to eat anymore of the candy - will hand it out at the door tomorrow. Regardless, my goal is to ONLY eat when I have or am given, (including the $30 in coupons I have for free produce before the end of Dec). That is it. I also did stop at fast food twice, which I also regret, and needs to stop.

But overall this is still better than I did the last few weeks, and now, I will STICK to my plan to eat what I have.

Hi Lila!

Did you get things organized?

I have started Christmas shopping for my boys, plus Birdy's birthday. I ordered Birdy's big birthday present (it was on sale) and had it sent to his house. We still haven't really decided how we are going to handle celebrating his birthday, because it is Christmas Eve. Last year I sent him multiple small gifts and he opened them whenever his mom felt like it in December. This year he has the one big gift plus a thrift shop find that goes with it. There is another thing I want to get for him, but it may be too much. I am already over what I spent on Bean and Buddy (not that anyone is comparing)

Every year I buy the boys new pajamas and a book at Thanksgiving. Ordered the pajamas on sale (the place I buy them has a sale every fall) and I have used books coming for Birdy. I need to find books for Bean and Buddy. Hopefully when Dd and I go thrifting on Sunday (we go the first Sunday of most months)

I also ordered some new Halloween decorations. I have given myself an annual decoration budget for each holiday. Halloween is one of my favorites and unfortunately I am technically over it by 50%. However, that 50% is tea lights and two short extension cords which can be used for lots of other things, so maybe it's not so bad? I spent the rest on lights. The orange ones will stay up until December.

Here are my current challenges about not buying stuff:
The place I bought Birdy's birthday gift gave me $20 to spend by Monday. And the place I bought the pajamas gave me $10 to spend by January, but I have to spend $50 to get free shipping, and the shipping is almost $10.

So now I am looking to see if there is anything I "need" or a Christmas gift at those places (as they intended)

Also, I need to not buy discount Halloween candy. I will eat it.

SubC, I REALLY enjoyed reading your Christmas childhood experiences. Thank you for sharing that. I want my grandkids to have good memories of me and our times together. That matters more than what the gifts are.

It turns out I got my son a very good and practical gift that he will use, and I did not actually buy anything for the child who turned 1. There was no formal party and we were all busy and it was fine.

My no spend went absolutely terribly for the first 3 weeks of October. I just yesterday made a list of all the purchases. Today I will put them in categories (groceries, gas, fast food, clothes, etc) so I have a summary to compare to for the coming month.

But this week I have done better. I am eating what I have on hand. I am restraining myself from buying unnecessary things. I am will stay accountable.

So, here is the thing about Amazon, it was not a recommendation. (Although I use it) It is too easy to spend money on Amazon! Delete any payment information so that you have to enter it manually, and be sure you log out every time you visit..

The biggest key to managing spending on gifts is managing expectations. The good news is that most of your grands probably don't have gift expectations yet. What did you do for tot last year?

I had two grandmothers with very different circumstances and approaches. I would see them both every Christmas. At the first house, I had a stocking full of treats I now realize were mostly homemade, often from yarn or fabric leftovers, one or two presents (a game, or toy, a book - sometimes a hand me down book) (plus gifts from my uncles) a chocolate Santa, and my grandmother's complete attention. - we played with the game or toy. There were stories - If got roller skates - there were stories about my dad and uncles roller skating. there were crafts and baking together (because my grandmother never had time to get the baking done before we arrived) - I remember stringing popcorn for the birds.

If the chocolate Santa had been missing, I would have been disappointed. Because there was ALWAYS a chocolate Santa.

The other grandmother put on a huge event with extended family, piles, of presents, a huge spread of food, a fully decorated house, music. It was always amazing to walk into. Then there were hours of watching other people open presents, too many gifts to actually appreciate, and so many treats that I almost always made myself sick. My dad always got frustrated because we were given so much it was hard to pack the car and the evening went on so late I was exhausted and cranky. My grandmother was too exhausted to do anything but watch and there was no space to use most of the things I was given (I heard "don't open that, the pieces will get lost" a lot) but it was a wonderland, and my best friend cousin was always there to share it with and to play with.

If we arrived first, I would take in the beauty of the untouched scene, get excited about all the presents (even though I knew most of them were not for me and some of them would be unexciting clothes - they were like a window display in their glittering promise) grab some cookies, and demand "when is K getting here?"

So, Christmas for me was a chocolate Santa and my cousin. Everything else was equal. If it had changed, I would have been surprised, but not dissapointed.

Unplug the Christmas machine is about evaluating what is really important to you and your family about Christmas. It has a Christian focus. One year when Dd was a baby I gave copies to all the women on my second grandmother's side of the family. Everyone said it was a great idea and very meaningful. Only my cousin changed anything.

When my first grandson was born, Dd set rules - only a few gifts, well thought out, used if possible, experiences welcome. Ddil, who grew up in different circumstances, said "anything!" As the boys get older, this may be a challenge.

oh! I forgot to add -

I have two birthdays this month: one grandchild and one son. Then thinking forward about Christmas. I do have Amazon! Will think about what would be meaningful and not expensive! Suggestions welcome for my adult children and my grandkids ages 1 to 7.

hi SubC! Thank you for the book recommendation. Yes, please do join me! This is open to everyone and I appreciate the support.

We are a week into the month so on my day off I will come and post how I am doing so far on not spending. I probably spent more than I wanted, but a lot better than last month!

Back in a couple days!

Good morning Lila!

Who are you buying gifts for and for what occasions? Do you have Amazon prime? And also, it is not too early to make a plan for reasonable Christmas choices.

(Have you ever read the book "unplug the Christmas machine"? See if you can get it from your library!)

Do you mind if I join you here? I know I have said my finances are currently solid and about to change for the better because of retirement decisions, but I still want to make sure I stay focused on good stewardship and thoughtful choices about where to spend that money, and I have lots of practice finding ways to not spend, so I'd like to help and cheer you on.

Here is my first post as I prepare for a No Spend October.

Of course I will spend SOME money on things I need. But I am hoping to stop all extraneous spending for the month. I am in deep doo doo with my finances because I recently spent:

- over $1000 on a trip
- over $1000 on my annual house insurance payment, which went up from 800
- about $250/month for new health insurance when I used to get it for free

I now have over $3k on a credit card when it was paid off 2 months ago. It has to stop. Some things I have noticed that I spent a lot on:

- ordering food deliveries because I was tired, sick, grouchy, etc
- picking up fast food, pizzas, expensive coffee drinks
- ordering extra stuff I want but don't need on amazon etc
- buying gifts for people on amazon etc. Not sure how but I need to get a handle on the gifts by either making things, getting more personal less expensive things, planning ahead
- buying clothes I don't end up even liking or wearing

I have some expenses coming up, most notably my property tax payment which is twice a year about $2k. I tend not to worry about expenses like this, because God provides. But I am sensing that if I am wasteful with what I have, that is not being a good steward. I need to do my part to manage the money well, and he will still provide.

These are my thoughts as I stop spending NOW and make a plan of what I NEED to spend in October.

- mortgage
- utility bill
- gas for the car
- health insurance
- dog insurance (it's only thirty bucks a month or so)
- some food for me and for the dog

Really, there is nothing else I must spend money on that I can think of now. I have no other bills except the one offs:
- pay off that credit card
- property tax

I lift this up to God and trust he will help me as I do my part. I hope to be debt free again by the end of October, aside from the mortgage.