Comments on: A Financial (and Personal) Commitment For November

By: crazyliblady

crazyliblady — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 18:47:01 +0000

I think your goals are really awesome. I admire anyone who has the courage to take on such a project. I would personally be a little more gradual about the approach. I think I would personally focus on some simplification and getting rid of debt, at whatever pace is doable for you. If you sell anything like video games or something, consider using the money you get to make an extra debt payment or put it into a savings account for emergencies. With a new baby in the house, there are bound to be a few surprises, financially and otherwise. You should be prepared for them. As far as getting rid of books, if you don’t wish to sell them, join freecycle or find a book exchange website and exchange them for something you need or want.

By: Kate

Kate — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 13:24:27 +0000

My husband and I went to the mall yesterday with the express purpose of buying a pretzel and finding “something” to buy for each other. We hadn’t gone shopping at the mall in such a long time, the prospect of just buying some random thing sounded fun.

We couldn’t do it. I realized how much I didn’t need more “stuff” somewhere in the middle of a commissioned Radio Shack employee’s sales pitch about how my husband should buy me an iPod. A $200 item like that shouldn’t be an impulse purchase!

We ended up getting a great walk in, checking out the holiday displays (already!) and really enjoying our pretzels for dinner.

By: Suzy

Suzy — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 03:53:11 +0000

Flylady.net is a great website for home organization, cleaning, and decluttering. It may be a little too touchy-feely for this crew, but she gives sage advice in manageable bits.
And be careful, Trent. You are quite ambitious with your to-do list, but that is a sure way to flame out fast. Slow and steady, dude. Slow and steady.

By: Danielle

Danielle — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 02:46:45 +0000

I highly recommend the crockpot for parts of your 50 meals. I could probably have my own blog just talking about what I do with my 6 qt. crock and how well it feeld my family. Anyway, making meals, freezing them, then rejuvenating them in the crock is a great way to go.

By: KarenFLA

KarenFLA — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 23:35:59 +0000

My nephew found he was spending a lot of money on video games and once he mastered them, he didn’t want them anymore. Now he rents them or trades with friends.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 22:35:52 +0000

Like you, I’m really making the effort to curtail my overspending. I remind myself that my ultimate goal of being debt-free, and staying there, is much more rewarding than the feeling I get when I make a purchase. And I read somewhere that “people have this idea that if they surround themselves with shiny new glitzy things, that’s success. But it’s not. It’s stealing from your retirement, from your family, from whatever dream you have.” Another quote I have that keeps me in check is “We’re spending tomorrow’s money when we put things on a credit card. You keep locking yourself up and losing your freedom. Bottom line on financial health: Stop spending”

By: Carrie

Carrie — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 18:23:02 +0000

Going a month without buying anything extra isn’t hard for me. I just don’t feel like I need anything. Last month all I spent was $8 on a used copy of “Your Money or Your Life.”

By: Dana

Dana — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 15:27:57 +0000

One specific challenge I’ve used at home to curb unnecessary spending is to do a “cleanout” month. We commit to using up something completely (usually everything in our pantry) before buying more.

Currently I’m doing this with health and beauty samples. I haven’t bought any toiletries except dental floss in almost a year, and I still have a drawer packed with goodies.

By: Andre Kibbe

Andre Kibbe — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 15:06:48 +0000

One technique that’s helped me with book purging is looking up the titles on my library’s website. Just knowing that I can access a particular book makes it much easier to eliminate.

By: DivaJean

DivaJean — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 14:26:04 +0000

In my small home, weeding out is a never ending process. We are two moms with 4 kids (ages 8, 5, 2, and 5 months)– saving and determining value of saving versus getting rid of and maybe needing to get back is the equation we constantly work thru.

Some things, especially baby items and clothes, we just let flow in and out of our life. I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that we have a network of famillies that we rotate clothes with– the main rule is to never sell clothes to get rid of them– they could be donated to charity if no longer needed by anyone in the group. All the baby accoutrements- swings, tubs, chairs, saucers, highchairs, etc. have rotated similarly. Thankfully, we have not had conflicting needs in our crew- or have been able to get stuff like this thru Freecycle.

Books are tougher. The kidlets are spaced just to where their reading needs are all different right now- chapter books, easy readers, read alouds and board books, and the baby might chew on a cloth facsimile of a book. We have A LOT- but visualize the need to just keep it as is. Library lending has not worked well for us- things are too crazy for us to keep a good eye on borrowed books– and it seems we always end up paying a ton in overdues or costs of the book to the library. It is far cheaper to buy when found at garage sales or thrift shopping (10 to 25 cents/kid book usually) than to pay the fines we incur. Yeah, I know we should get more responsible about that- but we’re just stressed out enough—

By: Never the Same River Twice

Never the Same River Twice — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 12:50:39 +0000

I’ve done the no unnecessary spending for a month experiment in the past and found it really helpful. As Sarah pointed out, it will create some holes in your life. But Trent, it seems like you’re well on your way to a good experience because you’re doing all of these things out of a place of gratitude for what you already have. Best to you.

By: Ms. Maris Deneke

Ms. Maris Deneke — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 12:31:35 +0000

Have been reading your entries for only a couple of months. Your gifts for writing well are obvious…no wonder you wanted to be an English major. I did in October what you plan to do in November as far as spending. It wasn’t very difficult and as I kept asking myself, “Do I need????” I often looked around at what I have with more and more gratitude. Just remember to allow yourself to be human also…I was really looking forward to Nov. 1st and did get something I wanted!! It felt spectacular!!

By: W

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 11:30:19 +0000

Just remember, Trent, that the greatness that is happening in your life is all given to you by our loving Lord. Praising him for these things in your life helps out tremendously because it makes you realize that He is the one in charge of it all. If we all truly had faith, we’d realize this. God is all that is good in this world. He’s there when bad times happen too, but God does not cause what the devil tries to destroy – nor does he necessarily stop it. I’m glad God has blessed you.

By: sfordinarygirl

sfordinarygirl — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 00:10:39 +0000

Your posts are really inspiring and have me reexamining my own financial habits and spending. I really admire your ongoing effort and commitment to improve and find ways to cut down on the spending.

By: RNA

RNA — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 23:19:51 +0000

Sounds as though you are going to be the “No Impact Man” of the midwest. A noble endeavor.

Just an observation, but you sound a little bored, having mastered your own personal finances and launched a successful blog. Why not grad school? You certainly have enough extra energy to take that on in the evenings, and your reading list has become more ambitious over time. I think you may need an intellectual challenge, and undertaking something like a financial engineering program would certainly fit the bill.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 22:02:19 +0000

It feels really great to just simplify. Over the past two months (the amount of time I’ve really gotten in to blogging) I’ve managed to completely get my house organized and really clean up everything. I’ve sold and donated tons of old junk like video games, books, movies, clothes and various other things. I’ve started eating healthier and exercising. Let me tell you, it feels so great. I’m saving money better than I ever had and I am so much less stressed than I can ever remember being. It is such a great feeling. Great post.

By: Kat

Kat — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 21:50:06 +0000

While I love books. Love them, I only keep design books in my house. Our library doesn’t have 99% of the ones I have. Neither do bookstores. But I use them all the time for work. Those I will gladly move around with.

Good luck on your goals!

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 21:46:00 +0000

I don’t think this is obsessive at all :) To have a month of no-spending can be eye opening for anyone!

By: Trent

Trent — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 21:21:35 +0000

“So, this is one?”

Nope. I have a few really great ideas that are going to take some serious time to make them happen. But I think they’ll be worth it!

By: Heidi

Heidi — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 21:19:15 +0000

I think that this is a great idea! I have recently begun decluttering my house and am in the process of throwing away or donating anything we haven’t used since we moved there in March 2006. I have completed three rooms and I swear, the house is happier and I feel physically lighter. I don’t take a lot of stock in feng shui, but I do know that decluttering and downsizing has given our home a much more positive “energy”. I think that you find that as you move through one area you will build momentum and want to tackle others. Good luck!