Upcoming March NO-BUY MONTH Challenge Kick-off (3/1/ - 3/31) | SATURDAY SAVERS CLUB

Hello everyone and welcome back to my participation in the Saturday Savers Club. In the two months of this year, the Club members have gotten off to a great start on their savings and investments goals. Last week, @shanibeer proposed a new initiative for the 2022 members to consider. It's called the NO-BUY MONTH. We've all heard of the term, "make do or do without". Last year we held a No-Buy Month in August, and it was a huge success. To build upon our awesome success stories, we're about to have our first one for 2022 next next month.

I've pledged my participation as I had fun participating last year. I love a challenge. So, for this year's March No-Buy Month, I've decided on a different tactic to saving with slightly different goals. If you'd like to see what this challenge is about, check out @eddie-earner's official post here: Saturday Savers Club with @susie-saver | Week 7 - Saturday 12 February 2022 | Getting Ready for a No-Buy Month | Win EDS for Comments - everyone welcome!.

The NO-BUY month starts March 1st and continues through March 31, 2022. Everyone is welcome to join.

Here's how it works. You decide what you want to do without or cut back on during the 31-day period of March. You set your own rules for what is or isn't allowed to be purchased during the 31 days. Simple as that.

In preparation for my March No-Buy Month, I set aside yesterday while out to purchase items I could freeze, including veggies.

MY GOAL: Save 50% of normal monthly expenses.

You have a budget. Here's mine:

And a plan. Here's my plan:

Breakdown of my monthly spending:

Expense	% of Monthly Budget	Dollar Amount Equivalent	Actual Spent
Household	60%
Entertainment	15%	$450 equivalent in monthly spending
Investments	10%	$300 in investments (including crypto)
Savings	10%	$300 in savings
Other-Assistance	5%	$150 in gifts
Goal	Save 50%	$1,500
	Actually Saved ?%	$?	To be seen

As you can see, Entertainment is the next highest percentage of spending after my monthly household upkeep. At 15%, Entertainment equates to about $450 monthly. Just like last year, this is a considerable amount. And this is where I want to focus the most attention in order to realize the most reduction in expenditures.

• Of the $450 monthly spent on Entertainment:
  • About $180 is spent on dining in or take-out (2 - 4 times/week);
  • About $270 is spent on shopping, travel expenses, souvenir gifts when taking trips, and buying antiques.

I'll publish my initial post on March 1st. Then, I'll update my readers mid-month on March 15th. That's half way through. I hope you'll visit to see how I'm progressing.

Now, let's get started on my March NO-BUY Month.

I've set my own rules about what I'm allowed to buy or not buy during the month. Here they are:

ALLOWABLE EXPENSES:

• food - only dairy, bread, produce).
• repairs or replacements alredy budgeted.
• 1 takeout each week totaling less than 20 USD.
• travel and fuel.*

NO-BUY ITEMS:

The items below I feel that I can definitely do without for 31 days.

• silver or gold coins, or collectibles.
• antiques, trading cards, or other books.
• crypto or offline traditional investments.
• pantry storage stock items.
• shop-bought sweets treats.
• ready-to-eat cereals.
• new clothing, furniture or household items.
• reading subscriptions; and
• postage (already purchased this month).

NOTES:

*Fuel in my city has doubled since the start of the year. This will reduce my traveling next month.

Also, my new tactic consists of cooking and freezing meals for the days I don't feel like being in the kitchen. I have two refrigerators and three freezers. I have more than a month's worth of both frozen food and non-perishable items.

I'm ready to start.

See you on March 1st with my initial report.

I hope you are able to join us in this exciting challenge.