Cleaver title huh?

Starting Monday, I will be doing a “No Spend Month.” for the month of November.

If you are unfamiliar with a “No Spend Month (or NSP for short),” you can check out my previous blog post HERE.Basically a NSP is where you only spend on the essentials (food, utilities and other bills) and ditch the impulse buys or any “wants.”

You only get what you need. The last week and a half has been a run around between a work Halloween party, trick or treating downtown, the farm and a Halloween wedding.[Which by the way, a Halloween wedding is really fun.]I was often in some store to pick up last minute items for those events and found that I would grab “unnecessary” items like candles or trinkets for the kids.

The reason I wanted to do this was for Christmas.

I haven’t bought much in advanced like I typically do, but if I can at least save some extra money for Christmas, that would fantastic.Target right now has a ton of fall and Halloween items 50% off. I grabbed this Frozen II stationary set for my oldest since she loves to draw.

I also stocked up on a few things for Halloween next year and purchased some gummy bears for Valentine’s Day goodies for my daughter’s school.If there are any Halloween items you can reserve for Christmas, definitely do it. It will save you a ton of money. If not, you can at least save on items for next year.

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While I have a few bucks in my Starbucks gift card, I am going to cut that spend as well. When I work my 6:00am shift, I need to leave the house by 5:15am. I prefer to just wake up and get out of the house as fast as possible to avoid waking up the kids so early in the morning.

If I make coffee or black tea (with lemonade) the night before, I can be prepped for the morning and not have to spend the money [and time] getting Starbucks.

I am also going back on cutting out my candles.; it’s a problem! I’ve been getting 2-3 a week and while that not seem like a lot, that money adds up over time. If I bought 2 candles every week, in one year that’s $52 that could have gone to put towards a bill or just left in my wallet.

It’s not about depriving yourself, it’s being more intentional with the way you spend your money and avoid impulse buys.The twin’s birthday is coming up on the 12th, so I want to have a little extra to take them out to the indoor playground. Even though this isn’t an essential spend or bill, I am budgeting it in.

You make the rules. 😉

If you’re interested in doing the “No Spend Month” of your own, leave a comment and join me here for weekly updates.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!