January No Low Spend Challenge

I feel like I am operating in super slow motion these days! My back pain doesn't let me get the sleep I need so I tend to sleep in later. Then when I get up I am so stiff it takes twice as long to do everything! I know I just need to be patient as it's only been a week but patience is a virtue I just don't have:(

Well, enough complaining!

I wanted to update you on how the January no-low spend challenge is going for me. Now, remember, my goal is to save as much of my $200 allowance as possible since hubby does an admirable job with our household money.

Week 1 (January 1-4) -- spent $18.95 to join Weight Watchers Online on January 3 using money I had saved for this purchase so I am not counting this purchase in the challenge. I meant to sign up before January 1 but it just didn't happen!

Week 2 (January 5-11) -- I was paid $54.64 from Stampin' Up! on January 9; spent $25.98 on stamping supplies on January 10.

Week 3 (January 12-18) -- paid $5.50 for crochet scarf pattern to make for friend's daughter on January 13. I am going shopping tomorrow but am hoping not to spend over $20.

So far...

• Starting balance $200.00
• Earned $54.64 bringing balance to $254.64
• Spent $31.48 (I will update with tomorrow's shopping trip next week)
• Ending balance $223.16

We have two and a half weeks to go in this Challenge so I will need to be careful or earn more money. It would sure be fun to be able to tuck the whole $200 away! Hubby would certainly be proud as I usually spend every penny, every month. I think it was October when I decided to start budgeting my allowance and it has really helped. I am using the envelope system with envelopes for:

• Clothes
• Personal Care: hair, make up, etc
• Quarterly trip to daughter's
• Gifts
• Miscellaneous: lunch out, postage, yarn
• Savings

I try not to spend more money on stamping supplies than I make so I don't budget for that. 

My $200 allowance may not seem like much to manage in the whole scheme of things especially when most of the Challenge participants are working with their family budgets but this quote gives me hope that by taking care of the small things, I am gaining more control over myself:)

"If you take care of the small things, the big things take care of themselves. You can gain more control over your life by paying closer attention to the little things."   --  Emily Elizabeth Dickinson

Carla's challenge this week is to sell things we don't need but with my back issue I don't even want to think about it! I will just do the best I can with what I have.

I promised an update on my Weight Watchers progress. My goal is to lose 20 pounds by April 1. I need to lose 35 pounds total but am setting the 20 as my first goal. In my first week with Weight Watchers Online, I lost 3.6 pounds--Whoo Hoo!!! I am hoping for an average 1.5 pounds per week. If you have been thinking about signing up for Weight Watchers or Weight Watchers Online, there is currently no sign up fee so that will save you $29.95 right there!

This really turned into a bigger post than I had planned! Thanks for hanging in through the whole thing. 

Do you have any goals for 2014?

Kat