Let's talk Spending Diets. In my previous post I mentioned trying to use the same strategy as Andthenwesaved creator, Anna Newell Jones, to help me with getting out of debt and trying to get my spending under control. Unfortunately, the spending fast method did not work for me and based on Anna's experience and feelings of restriction, it worked for her up to a certain point of paying off debt and she realized she needed to at least have some money to enjoy while out with family and friends. Seeking more balance for myself, the spending fast turned into a spending diet. I wish I had written down my spending and payments during 2015 but I did not and this is a valuable lesson in retrospect because how do we know how close (or further away) from a goal we are if we don't track? Hindsight is 20/20 so I am not going to beat myself up about it now but realize as I write this that it would have been more productive for me to write down my debts and efforts. Oh well. Like they say "know better, do better." Now back to the recap.
I tried the "spending diet" for what I can gather from my earlier 2016 entries (I at least started journaling my debts in February 2016) it was working out equally as unwell as the spending fast but I seemed to have tried the spending diet much longer so I was committed to trying to make it work. From what I can remember from trying to get my debts under control in 2015 was that I was making more effort to cook at home instead of being tired and reaching for my credit card to buy a quick meal from the drive-thru. I realized that my grocery spending could be reduced as I had a small child who didn't consume as much food as my partner and I. This part may not seem novel to most to grocery budget around only 2 adults and not 3 consumers but it was pretty novel to me at the time and it is still helpful for me today (2023). During my spending fast stent, I budgeted $50 dollars per paycheck for the weekend to stress less about every dollar going to debt and not enough money going to myself to enjoy my life. I wish I could say a latte or coffee was cheaper in 2015 but because of inflation really doesn't feel any different. I was one of those personalities who thought they needed coffee out as it tasted better made by the barista compared to my Keurig machine.
With change comes struggle and self-discovery. Even though I didn't explore different finance bloggers or influencers in 2015, I was starting to look at consumerism and consumption from a new perspective. I started to grasp and practice more restraint in not buying the newest or latest popular item and focused on what I had in my home and closet.
My Main Takeaways from the Spending Diet
Budget an allowance for personal spending to lower feelings of deprivation
Allocating an amount for my personal spending made me feel more adult-ish with my budgeting and that I was not just looking for what amount was leftover after my fixed expenses and debts were paid from my paycheck. I felt more consciously involved in my spending instead of feeling overwhelmed by my money. I knew I had $50 dollars for eating out, buying clothing, or other personal shopping for myself.
2, Eat at Home and Reduce the Grocery Bill
As I was trying to stay on track with not over-spending, I found countless finance articles pointed to eat at home more and reduce the grocery expenses. I was not inclined to cooking because I thought the recipes would be too complicated to feed two adults and a child. But once I refined my search engine to find simple dinners for families, I was happy to see I could cook more than just tacos, spaghetti and frozen meals for the week. As I focused on less processed frozen meals and bought pantry staples, I didn't seem a significant decline in my grocery bill but I was being more cognizant of the weekly flyer deals and coupons available to spend consciously on household groceries.
And that's my wrap up of how I approached my financial situation in 2015. More details to come on my personal debt and trying to tackle the burden of being in debt.
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