Happy New Year

This year, for Christmas, I decided to give my husband a rather unique gift. Several years ago I promised him I would not use credit cards for a full year. It was tough but an amazing experience. The best thing was being able to turn down the credit cards offers over the phone.
"Would you like to try this card?"
"No, thanks. I'm trying to stop."
uncomfortable laughter from the other line "Well, we have an offer that you will love . . ."
"You know, I promised my husband I wouldn't use a credit card. It was his Christmas gift."
pause"Wow, I wish my wife would do that!"

So, how do I compete with that as a gift? This was my solution.

Part of the issue comes from the fact that I am a sales maven. I love not spending full price. I love penny-pinching, as long as I only do it in theory most of the time and practice when it is convenient. All my christmas decorations come from year-end 90% off- but I design a new tree every year and only reuse the ornaments when they fit into my new design scheme. I cook from scratch (when I take the time). I can sew almost anything (when I take the time). The reality is that in the last ten years working full time as a high school teacher, I have taken less time doing the things I love and more time purchasing the materials to do the things I love. Something needs to change. So here I am.

The rules for my experiment are pretty simple. I committed to only shop for edibles . . . until I have used up our stores of soap (probably 50 pounds), toothpaste (thirty tubes . . . all purchased on sale, btw), cleaning supplies, etc. they are off the list as well. No yarn, no fabric, no scrap booking supplies. We are remodeling our kitchen, so carefully planned and approved building materials are not included in the DO NOT BUY list. Hopefully limiting my spending, as I do the bulk of the shopping, will allow us to save for the remodel of our 130 year old house.

So here goes.