“So September was a big challenge. That was the point, I guess, but I think that I ended up having a harder time than Cathie with the whole thing, even though she was the one limiting herself considerably. I grew up in a home where I wanted for nothing really. If we wanted something, we would just buy it. My parents were price-conscious to a degree: hunting for sales and doing large bulk Costco purchases that would last for a long time, things like that. I’ve definitely had that mindset of “if you need (read: want) something, just go and buy it”; whereas Cathie grew up in a home where most things were purchased second-hand, donated, or sought to be on sale exclusively. I think that this has led to the two mindsets co-existing in our marriage where there has never been significant friction, but both methods definitely could not co-exist long term.
I’m extremely thankful that Cathie sought out this challenge as it really made me more aware of what I’m doing with money and where it’s going. I do believe that, at the end of the day, she will always be more money conscious than I will be. And I DO think that’s important in a relationship, to have the two mindsets that are present. Both will push the other person a little towards their side to experience a healthy balance. For example, I have a friend whose father was impaired by an accident and although he saved money his whole life, he will never be able to enjoy what he built and saved. I also know people who didn’t save a cent and will have to work until they die. Neither scenario is ideal, but I think it goes to show that we all land in the middle of those two lines in life. As much as I have talked about balance, however, I do not believe that we were living a balanced financial life. My viewpoint was leading the forefront with our finances and it wasn’t setting us on the path for success.
I ended up over-spending on my end by about $200. I have no idea how Cathie pulled off this challenge so well. It’s crazy to think that even though I spent $300, we spent significantly less money on things like eating out, restaurants, and entertainment. This challenge also made me think about what I value most and where I really want to put my money. I’d typically think about 1-2 “large purchases” and overlook 10-15 small purchases that add up to an even larger amount than one of those “large purchases”.
This challenge prepared us for some unforeseen vet costs that have come up and helped us make a financial plan for the rest of the year. Cathie and I have both downloaded the EveryDollar app. She’s taking the reigns on entering in the data, but I do have it on my phone so I can see the direction we’re headed and be aware of what we’re able to do within a month period. I think that it’s quite helpful to see everything laid out in a colourful app like that. You’re more inclined to buy into the ideology and make the changes necessary to see improvement.
I think one of the biggest eye-openers were the things that showed up on our statement on a monthly basis that I didn’t realize were there. I was being double charged for my cell phone insurance and I was being charged monthly for some graphics software that Cathie and I already had a shared annual account on. We also noticed that I was spending more money on certain services that I use for home recording than I needed to. There are certain programs that I use 3-5 times a week and I was paying for it via their month-to-month subscription model. We were able to save nearly $200 US a year by switching this to an annual payment.
All in all, I think that this challenge was very healthy and interesting for us. It really made me realize how much money I was wasting that I could have easily put elsewhere to serve our lives better. Whether that was additional recording items, mortgage payments, or investments. We’ll be implementing the spending money budget of $100 every month at this point in order to really get ahead financially. I’m excited to see where things go!”
– Scott
Click here to check out my original No Spend September challenge blog post and here to see the results.
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