Low-Buy July

After my busy, expensive June, I decided to tighten the belt for July. While the No-Buy Year idea was a failure, surely I could do a Low-Buy July so I ran with it. Well, now that July is over, it's time to go over the numbers and see how much I spent and what I spent money on. FYI, I'm not including my static bills like rent, utilities, and internet. 

1. Food

I took inventory of all the food in the house and determined that I had plenty of leftovers from my daughter's grad party, a well-stocked pantry, and both freezers were pretty full. This meant I didn't need to spend money on groceries. However, I did need a few things like coffee creamer, cheese slices, etc. so I did do a shop early in the month. 

There were two days at work where my appetite was larger than what I brought for lunch, so I grabbed a snack from the student union. 

On the 23rd, I wanted to pick up a few items for a dish I was making plus a couple more items to skate through to the end of the month, like lettuce. I really needed some greens.

Money spent: $90.46

2. Discretionary

I picked up a cheap handle of vodka. One of those lasts me around three months and it's good to have some alcohol around for when I feel like having a drink or am getting together with friends at one of their houses. For fun, I also grabbed a few Ole Smokey shots and treats for my daughter. 

Money spent: $39.00

3. Fuel

Filled my gas tank once.

Money spent: $27.73

4. Miscellaneous

I was completely out of tissues, which we use regularly, so we made a run to the dollar store to pick some up. We also needed thank you cards to send out after my daughter's graduation, so we picked those up while we were there.

Money spent: $15.52

Total Spent: $172.71

Not too shabby! In fact, that is amazing for a low-buy month. 

July was a great way to reset my finances. My money is back to where it needs to be after the craziness of June, but there's something else. This low-buy month also got my mindset about money back on track. I returned to my roots, being more resourceful and thoughtful about what I needed to spend money on. I got to indulge in all the creative thinking I used to rely on to get my little family through some of the toughest financial times. And, in the end, I remembered that I can live perfectly fine on much less than I think I do.