As of this moment, my checkbook shows a balance of -$246.62 and that doesn’t even count the tag for the van that has to be purchased today. No, I am not asking you to hold a Slappy A Thon to raise money to pay my overdraft (although that would be VERY nice of you). I am asking you to hold me accountable to the challenge that I am going to issue myself (and my family) for the month of May.
I know … I know … I have issued the “Go Nowhere Month” challenge about a hundred times and have YET to really stick to it. I do alright for about a week and then one night after work the thought of watching Derek cook dinner is just too exhausting, so we get food from Sonic instead. Or on the weekends, I will get cabin fever (even though we don’t live in a cabin) and will want to go somewhere just for the sake of going somewhere.
Well after realizing that we WASTED $120 going somewhere on Saturday that wasn’t really even that much fun, it occurred to me that it has to stop. We are on the verge of me having to get a second job (yuck!) in order to make our monthly payments and then it dawned on me that I could easily save the $200 a month that a weekend job would get me just by cutting out the fast food for dinner, not getting take-out food for lunch, and by staying home on the weekends.
I need your help. I need encouragement. I need ideas for things to do at home. I need ways for people to stay in a house all weekend without wanting to cause each other physical harm. I am already planning on getting caught up on my reading, getting some serious writing done on my memoir, and watching a ridiculous amount of documentaries on Netflix. I am going to try to write a brief blurb on Mondays to let you know how the weekend went … and to let you know that I am still alive or that my family hasn’t duct taped my mouth shut and shoved me in a closet somewhere because I was driving them nuts with all of my “family bonding activities”.
Well, as far as the not-eating-out part, I keep our freezer constantly stocked with frozen pizzas. Good ones. Even if they cost more, they’re cheaper than ordering out. And they have pretty regular sales. We’ve gone from once or twice a week to maybe once a month. Worked wonders.
As for family bonding, I’m out. My husband works at least one day every weekend so I have the opposite problem.
Good luck! I’ll be happy to go along for the ride!
Smart lady!
I’m a homebody and I can assure you there’s lots of stuff you can do that doesn’t involve money! You will rock this.
- Geocaching (if you have a gps…if not I’m sure you probably know someone who wouldn’t mind lending it!).
- Volunteer. Not quite at home, but you could make it a family affair. Volunteer at a long-term care/retirement home. Or a soup kitchen. Or even just walking dogs from a local animal rescue/SPCA.
- Games night…if you’re into that!
- Theme food nights (Mexican! Chinese! Thai!) where everyone is responsible for a certain item (i.e. appetizer, entree, dessert). I’m not sure how old your kids are, but even if it’s the idea that they get to choose whatever it is they select for their item, and then help prepare it in whatever capacity they can help.
- Visit the library.
- BAKE!
- Meal prep/plan/cook for the week.
- Scan old pictures.
- Type and organize all your favourite recipes.
- Research your ancestors. You can do this through the local library/churches/online.
- Check your community calendar for free events/festivals/etc.
- Feed ducks/birds at a local pond.
- Clean out your closets. REALLY clean out your closets. Donate anything you don’t need. For sentimental (but items you really don’t need to keep!) think about cutting them up to make a quilt!
That’s all I have for now…! Good luck!
I am gonna support you by trying to do the same thing! I have the same problem you do and it would help us tremendously.
I am so excited that I have fellow travelers in this journey! Of course it’s a journey that is literally taking us nowhere … but that’s the point. Ok – each and every Monday we are going to check back in and post on how well we did the previous weekend (assuming that I can type with duct tape around my wrist …. guess I will have to sneak the netbook into the closet that my family throws me in).