Closing January No/Low Spend

Well I've done all the cleaning I'm going to do today. The rest will have to wait. With the snowing and blowing that is going on outside my window though it was a good day to stay in and do a bit of frenzied cleaning. I'm sure I got a fair bit of exercise to-ing and fro-ing with the vacuum and running up and down sets of stairs with heavy laundry baskets.

As Tuesday is payday and with plenty of food in the house and gas in the car I think I can call it a month and tally up my numbers. I'm very happy with my low spending this month - I was more conscious of every single dollar I spent than I've ever been before and I still have $300+ put aside to pay for The Flood repairs when the bill comes in February. I also have an extra $50 left and if I manage not to spend it before payday on the 31st then it's going into my Sealed Pot, every cent of it! I'm telling you I'm having so much fun with my Sealed Pot - I don't know which is better - having a NO Spend day or spending a little so I can put change into my pot! It's a tough call! (Thanks to sft for this great challenge!!)

I did spend a little yesterday, just couldn't help splurging after being so "IN CONTROL" all month! It's really not my fault! I had to go to the new Goodwill Store downtown because one of my students has been hired on there and I had to get him to sign a form. Since I'd never been there before I decided to have a look around - oopsy!! See, I didn't go straight home from school in order to have a NO Spend day, but heck, I can't stay home all of the time...can I?  I spent $14.00! There, I've said it, I've just blurted it out - FOURTEEN DOLLARS!!! eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeK!!  I bought two tops I didn't need - one was an H&M top with the price tag ($39.99) still on it and another gorgeous blue and white tie dyed top that looks so good with my jeans - how could I resist? Oh, and I've been wanting to get a candle holder of some sort for my Room of my Own and I found the perfect one! My favorite shape is the spiral I think because of my celtic roots.

So there you have it - I squandered $14 on a whim - can you see why I need a personal finance blog to keep me in check?!? Oh yes, and that wasn't the end of my spending, oh no, I also bought some Halls for my dry and scratchy throat - YES - I'm a wastrel!! 

In case you didn't read between the lines there that were dripping with sarcasm directed at myself then go back and reread tee hee! Just having Michael compliment me last night on the H&M top made the purchase worthwhile:) I may wear the other one tonight as I'm going to Jambalaya with a girlfriend and then we might go to a movie. I know I know - I'm out of CONTROL!! (Actually, my dinner will be free and the movie will be $9 and I have $30 cash in my wallet so whatever is left by Tuesday will also go into my pot!)

The next few months will be very lean. This is the time of year when my payroll deductions go waaaaaaay up thanks to the Canada Pension Plan so I will be operating on $500 less per month until July when I no longer pay union dues (July & August)  and then in August my CPP is all paid up for the year and I start to get that $500 back again. So a NO/Low February will not be optional for me. I'll go into the details for Carla's challenges tomorrow. For now I'll leave you with photos of my new purchases!

                        $4.00

                   $5.00

                     $5.00