On my way to work this morning, I remembered the change in my ashtray. (I have a theory about pennies, nickels & dimes, and why we should just eliminate them & round everything up to a quarter. But that is for another blog).My habit is to put ALL my change in my ashtray. I fish it out of my pockets, the bottom of my purse, or when I don't leave it as a tip, and all of it goes into that ashtray in my car. When it is full and the lid won't close, I sort out the pennies and put them in a ziplock snack bag - to take to the Peter White Public Library for their Million Penny Campaign to raise money for the renovations and/or community activties. It is amazing how many pennies you get in the course of a month! And equally amazing how much change can add up to dollars. On a monthly basis, it comes close to $30 in change in that useless little ashtray in my Jetta. [Note for another blog post: When are they going to STOP putting them in cars? I liken smoking while driving in the same category as talking on a cell phone: too distracting!]
Just how does the change in my ashtray equate to my experiment: a No Spend Month? Well, I have challenged myself & my co-workers to a No Spend Month this month - April 2010. And I manged to get four takers out of about 100+ employees
. My followers. And being responsible for getting them to commit, I have become their daily cheerleader. I encourage, provide my insight (however minimual), and give them references to places like Small Notebook, Get Rich Slowly, and other No Spend Month and financial literacy sites on the web. We have set our individual limits for the month and our own goals and today was Day One of our No Spend Month. We start the month with a weekly grocery shop & a full tank of gas.My personal goal, after my bills are paid, is to allow myself $50 per week for food, gas, incidentials and entertainment. Spending nothing else but a total of $200 over the next four weeks & paying my bills. My savings goal is to realize $500 in additional savings for the month of April 2010. First, I outlined in my budget what I spend monthly, that I can do without. Part of it was the saving and part of it relates to understanding what low income/no income people - friends included in this because of the current economy - there are many who have a very limited income, no income or are facing foreclosure or homelessnes. They could be strangers, family, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, anyone. Because it could be me, or you, or anyone of us at any given moment - I think it is important to understand and empathize. Jobs are no longer a given. What better way than to walk a month in their shoes to truely understand.
Back to the ashtray: one of the things I deamed not a necessity was my bi-monthly spin through the deluxe carwash at the Marquette Mall. $10.95 for the works, plus of course you have to tip: which makes the experience for me & my Jetta about $14 twice a month or, for the sake of round numbers: $30/month. It's for my investment - a car which is a major investment for all us on some level. In doing so - this giving up of the deluxe carwash - I have found a source to keep my car clean & get myself a little exercise at the same time. It's the "do it yourself" carwash down the street from the deluxe carwash where guys who wash your car before it goes through the carwash place.
I will be using the change in my ashtray during No Spend Month to wash my car myself! I plan to go early this Saturday, as I don't want to look like I don't know what I am doing - so I want to get there before all the 'experienced do it yourself carwashers' get there (I am planning on them not being too early birds). You know the people I mean: their car always (constantly) looks like new and/or they just drove out of the carwash or a showroom. And no doubt - the inside is as spiffy as the outside! The cost of that $30/month for two deluxe-o carwashes should be only $10 to $12 with me doing it myself - I am thinking. Plus: the effort translates into a bit of exercise for the owner and part of my No Spend Money entertainment for the month of April. Hopefully, if all goes well, I will enjoy this personal one-on-one time with my auto, and the personal effort to pay attention to my investment in my transportation.
As I embark on this my first No Spend Month (strategically selected because it is a 3 pay check month), I am pondering, as well as discovering, all kinds of ideas on how to save money here & there. And have already somewhat, sort of committed to, a second one this year - making it a bi-annual event. FYI - I have choose October 2010 - in the event you want to consider joining me. I will be asking! Why October? Well, for one it is just before Christmas - which might be a good time to save extra cash to spend for gifts for Christmas. And, strategically thinking: it is another 3 paycheck month this year! And being more mindful is just what the world needs I think!
Be sure to check out the websites at Small Notebook and Get Rich Slowly
