No spend summary OR Where the f@ck did May go?

At the beginning of the month, I issued a challenge to myself not to spend any unplanned money. I did it as a way to get my frivolous spending back in check, be more mindful of what I was spending my money on and as a way to gain some small bit of control over my life. Nothing too crazy. And it worked too.

I’m pleased to say that overall, I accomplished my goals. I definitely have a better handle on my spending, and I’m proud to say that I spent onky $10 that was unplanned. I bought myself lunch one day and then I bought my daughter and I drinks from Starbucks (iced green tea for me, milk for her). That was it. When I needed to, I found items in the dark recesses of my closets or pantry that I had forgotten about. Some days, that prevented me from having to buy anything. It’s pretty amazing what you can find to eat, wear, do, etc. when you’re actively avoiding spending money. (Let’s also say that my love of Pandora radio has increased exponentially this month. I heart that app.)

That’s not to say I went through the entire month without spending any money. That would be almost impossible. I’ll answer the question I know you’re dying to ask–what did I buy? To start, I did buy a few apps for my iPad and a few new songs but since I had the iTunes gift card, that was no money out of my pocket. I bought some shorts and t-shirts but that was kept to the clothing budget. As far as my weakness areas, bought exactly zero books for myself (though I did get quite a few from the library) and zero makeup or nail polish (although I did get a pedicure that had been budgeted for prior to this little experiment).

I also spent some money on website stuff. Not Daily Money Shot but on two other projects I’m working on. I had Andrea from Nuts and Bolts Media design one site and she and I are working together to design the second one. I’m not quite ready to share the details of them yet but let’s just say the former is nothing like anything I’ve ever done before and the latter is going to be a compilation of all the sites I’ve started over the years, along with some fresh, new material. I need an outlet to talk about other things besides money and these sites should accomplish that.

I think that’s pretty much it. I didn’t go out a whole lot this month, except to the SITS Girls Bloggy Boot Camp (paid for months ago) and to Annapolis to meet one of my blogging heroes, The Bloggess (the event was free!) so that helped. It’s easy not to spend money when you don’t go anywhere. I’ve also noticed that, since I’ve been home, it’s easy to avoid the temptation to purchase unnecessary crap. Sure it’s fun to browse different websites and look at all kinds of fun stuff to buy, but since my computer and my wallet are in different prts of the house, and I’m typically too lazy to walk downstairs (hell, half the time I’m too lazy to walk 6 feet to the bathroom until I absolutely have to), I don’t buy what I see. Then when my wallet and computer are in the same room, I can’t remember what I as looking at (I don’t bookmark things that I want). So it’s a win-win.

I’m glad that I did this. I’m much more mindful of my money and I’ve found so much stuff I forgot I had, it’s like I went on a shopping spree. But I just have one question–what the hell happened to May? How is it over already?