Friday, February 13, 2015

Update on "no spend" month! - Harder than it seems.

I can't tell you how many times I think to myself, "oh, I need to get some __________". Then I remember, "oh yeah, I can't this month.  How many more days of this???" Ha!

The month started off rough.  The first couple days were hard.  I wanted to start new projects but didn't have what I needed.  So I had to remind myself that it would have to wait. Now thinking back on it, I can't remember what it was I wanted, which goes to show me that I probably didn't need it anyway.

I worked on my walker bags that I sell at a local pharmacy.  I used what I had to finish up 10 bags.  I took them up last Thursday and sold them.  They handed me $125 in cash.  Now the rules were that I couldn't spend any money in our household budget for any crafty stuff.  BUT if I sold crafty stuff then I could use that money to buy more.

Immediately I knew I had a workshop coming up which would take at least $30 out of my paycheck.  That left me with $95.  I spent $20 on a new sturdy desk for my craft room. While this is technically not a crafty item, it was purchased for my craft room so I will count it. Now I am left with $75.  Then I spent an additional $21.75 on scrapbook paper. Now I am left with $53.25.  Then I went to a consignment sale and found a bold of awesome fabric to make walker bags with for $7.90.  I bought that. It was 5 yards of upholstery fabric.  I couldn't pass that up. Now I am left with $45.35.  I put that in my pocket for later.  I made a donation to the local library of $5 but I am not counting that. Included in the donation was a bag of books that I could choose from an array of books.  I chose some great novels for myself and my family but also included some crafty books and magazines that were there too.  I am not counting this because I didn't buy the books. It was a donation and the books were a "gift" because of the donation.

I still need some thread and some lining.  I will wait on that for a bit because I don't need it right now.

What I have learned.....

  • I am an impulse shopper. (when I see a great sale or a great deal I buy it)
  • I am an impulse creator.  I have a terrible habit of seeing a new project on line and want to try it out.  I start the project to see what the pattern looks like, feels like, etc. Then I put it down partly done and go on to the next one.
  • I thrive on creativity and I really do need a budget.  I lucked out this month because I could sell some of my items to get a budget for the month. But the reality of it is that I don't sell my walker bags each month.  I sell them once every couple months.  So I can't rely on an $125 monthly budget.  I need to figure something else out. 
Plans for the rest of the month:
  • I want to create some things for Easter.
  • I want to finish up the knitted blanket that I started. 
  • I want to reorganize my yarn stash.  Currently it is in piles and in plastic bins all over my room.
I will post again in a week or so and let you know how I continue to fair.

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