My 100-day Challenge – April Update

Well y’all, I’ve officially finished my 100-day challenge! At times it felt short and other times it felt like it was never going to end, but I really enjoyed the reflection I was able to have around my spending. Technically I finished the 100 days on May 14th but for the purposes of comparison, we finished the month strong and I compiled our expenses for the entire month of April so I could compare them to the previous 3 months.

If you are new around here, back in January, I (and my family by default) decided to embark on a 100-day challenge to save money. The goal is to spend less on little things (take-out coffee, unintentional eating out, impulse buying, etc.) so we can save for a few big things (vacations/travel, experiences, a new car). You can read more about the inception of my challenge here and about my February update and March Update in these posts. When starting this challenge, my parameters were:

Acceptable Spending/Purchases:

• Necessities (mortgage, utilities, insurance, groceries, preschool, etc)
• Kids activities (such as our son’s soccer league)
• Eating out – with company
• Gifts

Spending to think twice about:

• Take-out coffee and Sonic happy hour
• Eating out – without company
• Household Decor Items
• The target one-spot
• Items in which we already own a suitable replacement
• Clothing and shoes

When I wrote last month’s post, the coronavirus had just exploded but we didn’t quite know the depth of what that would mean. At that point, we thought it would just be a few weeks that schools and restaurants were closed, but now we know different. So I wouldn’t be doing my due diligence if I didn’t say that this pandemic is actually helping with my challenge. Call it a silver lining if you will. It has been much easier to not spend money when stores are closed and restaurants are only open for take-out. For me, there is less temptation to spend money when I am not out and about at stores or running errands. I know many online retailers are still open but even the few items I have tried to order were out of stock.

When my 100 days was officially over, I did buy a celebratory pair of shoes. My spending fast taught me to appreciate what I have, but also, I don’t have to deprive myself of anything (In a way, it kind of taught me what I was lacking, too). Actually, the spending fast helped me to be more intentional with what I plan to buy and I found myself heavily considering my options instead of making rash decisions. I bought a pair of Rothy’s shoes but only after I talked with several friends who have a pair, researched them online, and received a $20 off coupon code from a friend. And I’m very happy with what I bought because I spent the time to think about what would work best for me, searching until I found something that checked all of the boxes instead of something mediocre off the shelf somewhere. To sum it up, I think this challenge taught me how to not rush into any purchases, and that I can live with what I have until I find the right thing to spend my money on, that will fit the needs I have.

I’ve mentioned this in my previous posts but the challenge helped me refrain from impulse buying, and by that I mean buying something just because I like it, without having an actual need or place for it. Now, I have a running list of things I *need* so I can shop around and evaluate my options. If an item it not on my list, then I walk away. This does take a certain level of self-restraint, but it gets easier the more I do it. And when I see the total amount of money I save at the end of the month, it builds my confidence to keep saying “no.”

Savings wise, April was a very good month for us. We were able to drum up some extra income by helping neighbors with a few odd-jobs, and Andrew used his carpentry skills to build a deer blind (a little building that hunters use while hunting for deer) for a family friend. We also saved in a few areas because of the global crisis we are living in now. Our preschool has been closed for 6 weeks, so we saved the money we usually spend on our tuition in the month of April. Also, our son’s soccer league has paused for the moment so we were credited for our missed sessions. Here’s what we did spend (non-essential) money on in April:

• $171.40 – Restaurants and take-out coffee (the only “outing” the kids and I go on anymore is walking to our local coffee shop once a week to pick up a treat. #supportlocal)
• $61.54 – Gifts
• $175.35 – Clothing and shoes (A few things were part of birthday or Easter presents and then there was my new pair of Rothy’s)
• $76.31 – Household items (y’all, one of my beaters for my Kitchenaid mixer broke and you know I use that almost daily)
• $172.65 – Home improvement supplies (We finally organized the garage!)

That’s only $657.25 on non-essentials for the month of April, but with no where to go I guess that’s expected. After running the numbers, we saved $3,571.31 in the month of April! Just with good old fashion hustle. Altogether, in the 100-day challenge (+ the other half of April), we saved $9,998.27. This challenge has really showed us that making small changes can add up to a big difference. Our bills did not change (except for our car insurance that I adjusted), we simply changed how we spend money on the little things and that has made all the difference.

I’d love you hear about your money saving adventures. Comment below or connect with me on instagram @elleandjaydesign.

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