The Less Spending Challenge?

This month of May we are super over our family budget. I can't blame it all on the family visiting even though it's easy to get carried away with buying things to make our guests feel comfortable like new towels, pillows, cookies and fancy soap. Not to mention all the restaurants we deliciously and lazily ate in. There is also what I coin the "turn of season" spending; garden supplies, new bicycles and tuning, sandals, patio furniture etc... How easily it adds us, and forget about that beaconing tax return. It's not there for that. It's to replace our lumpy mattress, to pay down our mortgage, to take a trip to Halifax this summer, to sock away for new floors, and for RRSPs. And in a flash, it's gone! Never to be seen again until next April.

So now what? I challenge myself, since I seem to be the keeper of the family finances, to spend less in the month of June. I could overwhelm myself with all the advice I could find online, but I choose simplicity. Here are my ideas which I will post on my kitchen cupboard.

• Ride my bike, unless it's pouring rain, which it mostly could be, but nonetheless.
• Leave my cards at home. This will prevent urges to go to coffee shops even though I like to keep the economy rolling with this slurge.
• Eat my cupboards clean. Look deep. Eat the tiny bag of leftover spaghetti, the handful of sesame seeds, and the last three dates.
• Fight the urge to run to the store every time we are missing something. Miss that thing for a few days, then it's so much better when you have it. This may cause cheese withdrawal panic for my husband, but too bad.
• Eat less. Duh.
• Think super creatively to make presents for birthdays and Father's Day.
• Drink cheaper wine.
• Keep my friend Carolina's tip in mind: Never buy any produce that costs more than $2/pound. (That's tough)
• No clothes needed. Nothing we own is thread bare.

Can I do it? We'll see. I'll keep you posted. Bring me wine and cheese if you feel sorry for me. wink. wink.