No Spend Month {Week #3 Update}

What We Spent

We are just finishing up week #3 of No Spend Month. This week we spent $98.08 on groceries and $33.20 on our box of produce from our CSA. Dining out cost us $6.94. We also bought $34.97 worth of gas. We spent $124 on annual fees.  That’s a total of 297.19. At the end of week #3 we’ve used 76 percent of our budget for the month.

How We Spent $11 on Groceries

A lot of you commented on our tiny $11 spent on groceries last week and wanted to know how we pulled that off. Well the answer is pretty simple, and it wasn’t even very intentional. I was just too dang tired to go to the store, so I just asked DH to pick up the bare essentials.
For the rest of the week we ate from the freezer and the pantry. I think we actually could have continued to do this for another week if we really wanted. You’ll see from our spending this week that I went ahead and stocked up again.
So the trick is, if you don’t go to the store, you can’t spend any money. This week we made two shopping trips and probably spent a little more than we needed.

On Paying Annual Fees

You will also see we spent quite a bit on annual fees this month. One of those was our Costco membership. I go back and forth on whether I think this is a justifiable expense. Do these type of discount stores save money or just encourage us to waste it?
Last year at this time I did a little analysis and realized that we do manage to save money even with the $55 membership each year. When we’re doing well, we go in with a list and come out with only real foods that we need. The rest of the time, we definitely end up buying extras.
The other was a dreaded credit card fee. We should have canceled the card ahead of time. Lesson learned, I hope!

Frugal Living Link Up

Bloggers, link up your frugal living posts below!

Does a Costco membership save you money or tempt you to spend more? 

shannon Clark, LIFE & FINANCIAL Coach

As a mom, I know what it's like to feel exhausted, overwhelmed by life, and inadequate to meet my children's needs. But I also know you don't have to stay there.

As an author and coach, I've had the joy of encouraging more than 9.1 million moms to find forward motion with their faith, family, and finances — without the frenzy.

Will you be next?