No Spend January: Week 4 Round Up

Welcome to the last and final week of my No Spend January: Week 4 Round Up! Guys, I feel like I cheated. I didn’t fail but I definitely spent this week. I’m currently writing this, in New York at a coffee shop, on my second pot of tea, and I’m absolutely over my cafe & dining-out budget but I’m well in my range for groceries.

Plus, the question I’m struggling with is: does this come out of my no spend month budget OR my travel budget?? Technically my travel savings account can cover all of this but since I’ve spent next to nothing all month, I have extra cash to burn… Let’s get into the numbers so you can see what I mean.

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No Spend January: Week 4 Round Up

Last reminder on the rules for the month:

$25 at coffee shops for the whole month
$35 a week for groceries ($140/mo)
$50 for eating out for the whole month

Totaling to = $215 for the month

Here’s what I spent…

$8.59 – Albertson’s rotisserie chicken (my aunt didn’t let me buy anything while visiting her last week but I was able to convince her to let me buy & run this errand for her)
$25.95 – Brunch with a girlfriend!
$102.90 – Dry cleaning pick up (someone please explain why this was so expensive and yet, necessary? I brought in a winter coat, two sweaters, and one jumpsuit…)
$25.25 – Dinner with a friend!
$9.72 – Lotion (I was completely out!)
$7 – Knitting pattern
$66 – Girl Scout cookies (I know… it’s an investment. One for every month and I didn’t know when they’d stop selling!)

My meal plan

Next to nothing. I made chicken tortilla soup before I left for New Mexico and I froze it. I ate it for lunch when I was back home for the 4 days before I left again for New York.

How it went

As you can see, despite dining out 3 times this month, I’m still under the budget I gave myself for food.

What I didn’t think about was my dry cleaning. I consider that essential because I only dry clean certain items 1-2 times a year. It’s the same with my boots. I take my boots to a cobbler in every other year to get them cleaned, fixed, and winterized. I also had to buy lotion because I was out.

Last but not least, I bought a $7 knitting pattern for a sweater. I could have waited til the end of the month. I broke down after seeing how well I’d been doing on not spending money. I also wanted to review the pattern to figure out yarn recs, needle sizes, and specifics on how long it’ll take.

I think all of the eating and visited cafes, in New York, fall under travel. I only bought that chicken and the mini dehydration haul, in New Mexico but again… is that travel or food for the month??

Semantics. Right?

What I did instead of spending money

Read books – I finished two physical books and am almost done with the third. Review on Monday!
Finished my first knitted sweater!! – it took 45 hours but I completed it and I’m in loveeeee.
Researched knit patterns – I must have spent 3 hours reviewing and analyzing knitting patterns.
Researching yarn – Next month I plan to invest in yarn. I’m really proud of waiting til I was done with my sweater before starting a new project.
Walked – I walked a ton this month and was able to finish 3 audiobooks.
Deep cleaned – Got my kitchen and the floor of my bedroom cleaned. Plan to clean my bathroom when I get home.
Made a Vision Board on Pinterest – I do this every year. It takes me hours but it’s time well spent to see what I want to accomplish this year.
Re-evaluated my finances & travel plans – I set up an excel for my monthly expenses and moved around expectations on saving accounts and travel.
Spent time with friends – I had such a great friendship month. I got to see three of my best friends and one I rarely get to see. I’m planning to up this next month.
Traveled – Walked through a lot of small towns and drove through the desert!

Final evaluation

Spent $136.59 out of $215.00 on food this month.
$112.62 on essentials
$7 on hobbies (I regret nothing)
$66 on cookies 🫣
Paid off my credit cards (full reset for the new year!)

What worked:

Recognizing how much time I waste online shopping and buying things I truly do not need. I made a list of everything I wanted to buy and then assessed each item after a few days. I didn’t need anything. Not one thing.

I used up a lot of my pantry items. I will have to replenish them in February but I used them before their expiration so I didn’t waste any food!

What didn’t work:

All the traveling and being on a no spend month. Next time I will choose a month I am not traveling so much. I’m also nervous that I am going to overspend in February because I need to replenish so much stuff. I will definitely make a list and try to be conscious of this. I have a lot of birthdays and events I’m attending next month too.

Thank you so much for coming on this No Spend adventure with me guys. In a lot of ways it was successful but I think the next time I do this, I might be less strict. Though I am thrilled I was able to put away an extra few hundred dollars AND pay off my credit cards, it felt tight.

Would you do a No Spend Month?