Nothing New - Summary

Here's the deal: I don't know if it was a coincidence or if my "Nothing New" month has actually paid off. So, the Man and I were looking into our month-end to see what dollars and cents we have to carry over to October and we were both in awe. Normally we have a positive number, although not by much, and a time or 2 in the last 12 months the number has been in red font - again, not by much. So, we usually break even after bills, food, taxes, gifts, charity and pre-authed saving. Whatever we do have left over goes into the savings and we start again.

My friends, this month was different. Much, much different. I'm not talking a couple hundred. I'm saying over a thousand! WTF? We/I can't possibly have spent that much in crap in months before! Can we/I have?

Not just chump change. 

I thought that maybe I had forgotten some horribly important payment so I went over everything with a magnifying glass. Let's take a look at the rough month:

• Food - check (and within budget! and including the time or two I asked the Man to stop in at the Deli on his way home to pick up something ready-made!)
• Bills - check, check, check, check, check, check, check (I could keep going)
• Mortgage - check
• Property Taxes - check (Curse you, City!)
• Car, insurance, fuel etc. - check
• RRSPs, RSPs, RESPs, Secret Savings ;),  Life Insurance etc - check, checkity, check
• Charities - check
• School lunches - check
• Gym membership - check

On the [paid] credit card (These items come out of our savings anyway because we budget for them monthly even though we pay them out once a year/term):

• Ballet payment for Boy ($$$$) [Trust me when I say you do not want to know that amount!]
• Swim lessons for both ($$$)
• Gymnastics classes for both ($$$)

Extra:

• 2 trips to local thrift shop - $52 total - for gifts etc.

There you have it. EVERYTHING accounted for. I'm trying to think of whether we felt at all denied. I can't say that I did. I don't think my family even noticed. For sure, the Man had no recollection because when I reminded him that September was my "Nothing New" month, I saw the tumbleweed roll across his blank stare. 

He suggested that I try it again for October to see if the theory holds true. However, we have not had an auspicious beginning. The Man needed a winter dress coat. I know that this is a purchase that will last for the next 5 years. He really wanted a new one and I wasn't about to deny him. He had saved a gift card from his birthday (March!) and had earned additional cash at a beer tasting test marketing thingy that he specifically earmarked for a coat. He found a half-off sale and bought a nice, decent, wool coat (reg. $200) for essentially $31.22 of "our" money. Not bad, all things considered. 

We also went out to dinner - at the mall, but hey, beggars can't be choosers - for the first time in forever. It cost us about $25, so not a bank breaker, but still. Had we not gone though, we'd never have this lovely shot of the Girl's first taste of pad thai:

And that, my friends, is a picture worth having. :) 

So, on to Nothing New October. And I will note here that my Nothing New months have been inspired by the lovely Mrs. T over at AThriftyMrs.com. Visit her and stand in awe. 

Nothing New - Update

So far so good! 22 days in, and I'm feeling good. Other than groceries and other necessities (tp & meds) I haven't purchased anything that is new! Yay me!
AND I've even started my Christmas shopping. Take that! Yes, I've very excited. Can you tell?
First off, as you know, I was a bit concerned over how I was going to deal with birthdays. It was easier than I thought.

I enjoy going to, and shopping at, thrift shops. I don't mind getting things for my immediate family, but I'm always a little wary of shopping for gifts. You never really know how people would react to receiving a pre-loved item. However, let me tell you, Bramptonians (Bramptonites? Bramptonese?) are a generous group. In my thrifty travels, I have found so many new, never opened items at a fraction of the price you would find them in regular shops. Case in point:

The Boy is a reader. No, I mean a READER. We go to the library at least once a week (usually 2-3 times) and he takes out 7-10 "chapter" books. If I let him, he'll read for hours a day, but I'm the "mean" mom who makes him stop for breaks to set the table, play outside [although now I make sure that he leaves his books inside so I don't have to catch him reading behind the car instead of riding his bike!] and generally just do other things. I know that it's fantastic that he reads so much when other boys his age won't sit still for enough time to read a comic, or, ummm, graphic novel, but it really is quite the obsession. However, I digress.... so to fuel his love of reading (!) that's what he's getting for Christmas this year. I've heard good things about The 39 Clues, and I happened to come across the game - new in its package! - at Talize [one of my faves, but more on that later]. It was only $7.99! SCORE! I checked out the book section and lo, and behold, after much digging I unearthed book 1 of the series! SCORE! But, not only was it in excellent hardback condition, it still had all the cards! SCORE! [For those of you keeping track - yes. I just scored a hat trick. Thank you. Thank you very much.]

And so, for less than $13, the Boy has a giftie I know he's going to love! 

In the same trip I also picked up a gift for a birthday party that the Girl was invited to. She's terribly upset that she can't go, since we're off to the cottage that weekend, but I've mollified her somewhat by getting a fab pressie for her little friend. 3 items = less than $6. 

1. A never used My Little Pony Mad Libs book. 

2. A mermaid fairy princess beginner chapter book [doesn't look like it was even cracked open!] 

3. A "vintage" [1982 :) ] set of never used paper dolls. 

Not bad for a party that she won't be going to! I'm not gonna lie, I was tempted to break out the scissors and start cutting out the clothes for the dollies. I remember that feeling so well!

Some other great finds: a brand-new, never opened game ($4, Cousin's b-day), a brand-new, never-opened DVD game ($2.50, Uncle's b-day). 

This game...

...will find its way into someone's gift hamper this Christmas. ($5)

For a friend's birthday, I dipped into my Pampered Chef sample stash. She loves it all, so I was happy to gift her with some. It was worth well over $40, but cost me $0. : )

My father's birthday was a bit trickier. To make a long story short, I ended up purchasing tickets to a Toronto FC game. I got them on sale through AirMiles, and it's a non-cluttering gift so I think it's okay. Did I break my own rules? I don't think so. Technically they are new, but they weren't full price and besides... what use would used soccer tickets be? 

IRONY ALERT:

My wallet broke this month. Ha. Ha. The irony was not lost on me. However, it gave me the opportunity to purchase this lovely thing:

See, what broke on my old wallet was the change purse. I can still use it for my cards and such. Now I have a lovely new-to-me change purse to hold my actual cash and coins. It's nice and big so I can find it easily in my black hole bag.

More on my thrifty travels to come!

LadyBirdAtHome

Nothing New September

(Wouldn't it sound way cooler if it was "Nothing New November"! While I love the alliteration, I'm impatient. I don't want to wait another 2 months to start my experiment.)

Drum roll please..........

source

* I will buy nothing new for the month of September! *

Ta da.

Well, I guess it didn't actually need a drum roll. Now that I think about it, it's not really an announcement, so much as a possibility. But, let's give it a go anyway, shall we?

The premise is simple: I will buy nothing new [other than food, meds, toilet paper, you know, the basics] for the month of September. Can it be done!? Meh. We'll see how it goes.

It's already the 4th, and I've a birthday party today for 3 celebrants to attend. Luckily, I've a small stash from which to choose their gifties.

The real challenge will come in the next few weeks (obviously) since the kids are in school and may or may not require various addenda to their backpacks and at least 3 more birthdays - one of them is my father!

Then there's the movie I'll probably be going to with the book club girls, but surely that won't count, right? Come to think of it, since I'm in charge, outings will not count. As long as I'm not bringing anything home with me.

Let the games begin!

Tears for breakfast, anyone?

Okay. I admit it. I didn't think it through.

Here's what happened:

The 4 of us were sitting around the breakfast table yesterday morning. We got on to the topic of how school starts in a few days and I begin to sing about how happy I am. I'm happy that my kids are growing up. I'm happy  happy that they're going to have fun at school. I'm happy happy HAPPY that I will have so many hours to get things done during the day before they get home. [Here's where it becomes decidedly unhappy.] Before I can explain that I'm so happy because it means that I'll have more time to do fun stuff when the kids do come home, the little one bursts into full-on, gut-wrenching, hiccupping, can't-control-herself sobbing and throws herself into my arms. Non-plussed, I ask her what's wrong.
"I don't want to go to school all day! Bwaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!"
[Wait. It gets worse.]
"I want to stay with you! BWaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!! "
[And worse.]
"Don't you want me to stay with you!?! Bwaaaahhhhhh! I can help you!"
[And then....]
I start crying too. There you have it ladies and gents. Tears for breakfast. Plenty to go around. The little one nearly inconsolable, and me, trying not to drown her. And it hits me like a wicked diaper: I don't have any more babies. And while this thought is pricking my eyeballs like so many killer cacti, my hugs and shushes have magically converted the tears on my breast to the occasional shuddering sob. In another minute, the little one is fully restored and can't wait to break in her new rolling Tinkerbell backpack with matching pencil case [gift from Nonna] and I have fully realized my mortality.
I wonder what I should make for lunch.

Is it REALLY the most wonderful time of the year?

School starts in 10 days. 10 DAYS. Thing 1 and Thing 2 will now both be out of the house for hours 6+ hours at a time. The little one is in grade 1 this year and that means full days. I'm not gonna lie: I'm a little terrified. The past 6 years I've defined myself as a stay-at-home [work-at-home?] mom of 2. My house is usually a disaster, but I've had a good excuse, right? Kids are generally small walking disasters and most attempts to keep up with mess are futile.
Now what?!
Surely I can no longer use the "oh, honey, I've-had-such-a-trying-day-with-the-kids-i'll-just-go-ahead-and-order-pizza-and-you-can-wear-the-same-socks-tomorrow-right?" excuse. Can I?
Will I be expected to be waiting at the door of a perfectly tidy house, pearls around my neck, heels strapped to my feet, dinner on the table, the angelic children bathed, calm and prepared to go bed after a perfunctory kiss on their heads from their father? Uh.... no. I don't know what kind of retro-trance I've just come out of, but I don't *think* that will ever happen, nor does my Man expect it of me. [At least, he hasn't yet!]  Although, I would be lying if I said that the idea doesn't appeal to me on some basic level.
Of course, I don't know where I'm supposed to fit in ballet classes, swimming lessons, Sparks, book club, yoga class etc etc etc. Maybe I'll have to tweak my utopian expectations.....