No Spend March

Hello, hello again, everyone! Can you believe it’s already March?! Is it just me who feels like 2017 is moving ahead at lightning speed?

Anyway, I was originally planning on making this a March goals sort of post, but to be honest I haven’t had time to set any goals because I’ve been too busy eating birthday cake. Lol. It sounds funny but it’s true.

So anyway, I find it serendipitous, that the first of March and Ash Wednesday fall on the same day. And so all of a sudden I know what I need to do.

I usually give up some sort of food item during Lent because, well, I love to eat. But this year, I want to do something different. I’ve been learning to live more intentionally, and be more mindful about how I spend my time, the things I have, and the things I do.

I know for sure that this benefits me, and my household, too. It’s helped us learn to enjoy the little things, and each others’ company. It has helped keep clutter at bay at home (though we honestly still have a long way to go as far as managing clutter is concerned). It allows us to waste less, and also spend less, which is always a good thing.

So, for March and for Lent, I feel like I have the opportunity to take the whole mindfulness idea a step further by making this a no-spend month. This basically means that I won’t be spending on anything unnecessary or luxurious.

It means no buying of junk food or takeout meals. It means no shopping for things we don’t really need. It means finding ways for us to spend quality time together as a family without spending anything. It sounds like a real challenge, but it also sounds like a potentially fun undertaking.

I don’t know how big of a sacrifice this whole idea of not spending really is, truth be told. But I do know that it presents a good learning opportunity, not just for me but also for my family. I’m excited to discover how we will choose to spend our time together, and how I will choose to spend my own personal time as well.

I’m up for the challenge of making do with what we have, too. I plan on only spending for what is necessary – food, gasoline, our house payments, credit card payments, and tuition – for a month and a half, until Lent is over. And maybe even beyond that, who knows?

Take note, I am assuming MrC will be on-board with the while thing, because he is usually supportive of me and my crazy ideas. Lol.

Oh, I do have one exception. I have yet to go and buy my parents’ birthday gift to me (I have the money and I know what I want, I just need to go and do it,) and won’t get to do that until this weekend. It could count as something necessary, technically, because it involves our drinking water, but I’ll count it as an exception either way. I’m excited for this, and can’t wait to write about it once it’s here.

 

Something Blue. Once a week we have drinking water delivered in these blue plastic bottles. Eventually, I hope that we will be able to have a filtration system installed at home so we can stop getting water from the store. I can’t help but worry sometimes about how clean the bottles and the water actually are, though fortunately we’ve never had a problem with this supplier. Do you guys order water? Where from? If you have a filtration system at home, how is that working out for you? #kwentooftheday #fmsphotoaday #fmspad #fms_somethingblue #photoaday #picoftheday #aquabest #athomewithmrsc

A post shared by Patricia 🌸 At Home With MrsC (@mrspcuyugan) on Mar 1, 2017 at 12:59am PST

And that’s what’s up ahead for me this March, and for Lent. Wish me luck? And follow along on Instagram to see what I’m up to? 🙂

So make me kwento. What are your goals for March? And what are you giving up for Lent?