Frugal February
Frugal February is a new concept for me, but in the couponing world A LOT of people talk about it. As smartcanucks.ca puts it "For some people, Frugal February means trying not to buy anything, they stock up before Feb 1st and spend money only on bills and essentials like getting to work etc but that is a little extreme for most people. The true essence of Frugal February is about shopping only for essentials and not all the extra consumerism that our society has become.
You would buy only groceries, brown bag it rather than buy lunch out, have fun at home rather than go to the movies etc. Frugal is about trying as many money saving ideas as you can, such as spend-free days, not eating out, etc., and live as cheaply as possible. Try to eliminate all non-essential spending and only spend money on necessities and put the money you do not spend towards debt or savings – not blow it all on March 1st."
I had a super hard time coming up with a goal since I already do a lot of things to save money. I decided that instead of $400 as my budget for groceries I was going to knock it down to $300 and put an extra $100 towards our credit cards.
On the topic of goals; one of my goals (resolutions) this year was to purchase more handmade goods. I really want to start supporting families who create/make and grow things to earn a living. My goal is to purchase 1 thing a month for a full 12 months that is either local or handmade (Etsy.com)
January's Local/Handmade Purchase
My first purchase of the year I choose to support someone across the globe. Tahel Sadot lives in Israel and has a shop on Etsy.com called 'Mariposa Handmade Handbags' (http://www.etsy.com/people/TahelSadot). She produces the most gorgeous wallets and handbags out of leather and yes they are all made by hand. My wallet broke just before Christmas and I was getting frustrated with buying cheap ones to get me by for a few months, so I decided to look around on etsy.com to see if I could find a handmade one that I liked and would suit my needs. I knew from past purchases that leather lasts a long time, so I definitely wanted a leather one. I found her shop and decided to splurge on one of her wallets ($76) for my birthday. I received it within 14 business days - really fast! The price may seem high, but when you consider where it is made, the quality and that it is one of a kind - totally worth it! Here's some pictures of the wallet I chose:
I choose the 'rough' leather look in brown. It holds 16 cards, which I love and has 2 large pockets and a zippered one inside and a change pocket on the back. This wallet has the most card slots and room out of any I have ever purchased and could easily be used as a clutch. I also love how flat it lays, most wallets are big and bulky and this one is very sleek and stylish!
Total Spent Week 5: $112.87
Total Coupon Used Week 5: $47.36
YTD Grocery Total: $618.31
Coupons To Date: $144.37
% Savings to Date: 19%
My challenge this week is for you to find 1 thing to cut down spending on for the month of February. Maybe it's eating out or maybe it's paying an extra $50 towards some debt.
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