When I was a kid my mom made us do "cut-back month" once or twice a year. I'm not sure what it meant for her and my dad, but for my brother and I it meant no whining for treats.
Cut-back month was a time when the family all came together to try to save money. So no going out to restaurants, no stopping for ice cream on the way home, no candy from the grocery store, no toys from the drugstore. As a kid I didn't really mind it - sure it was sort of lame, but I think in the long run it helped shape my views on finances and understand the value of money. Or maybe it was just a clever ruse for my mom to not have to listen to our whining at the stores - instead of saying "No because I said so" she then had the invisible culprit "cut-back month" who could absorb the blame for all the "no's". Clever Mom, pret-ty clever.
So here I am some 20 years later, instituting a cut-back month of my own. And blogging about it. Since I'm taking this journey publicly, I vow to be totally honest - the good the bad the ugly.
I'm sure our reasons are the same, and it's a story I'm sure so many families are familiar with: tough economy, and I quit my job shortly after Charlotte was born. Then I missed working (and the paycheck that went with it) so got a new job and put her in day care. Not liking working full time (too much running around and juggling), and having the luxury of a husband with a well-paying full-time job, decided to switch from full to part-time work. The catch - Charlotte is still in full-time daycare. For many reasons: part time daycare is only 1/3 less expensive than full-time and the hours are half, she really loves the daycare and all the kids there, and I'm still trying to get my schedule and various consulting gigs ironed out and need the flexibility of full-time childcare when necessary.
So I was chatting with my dear friend Rebecca, who is also a mom (our daughters are in daycare together - full-time daycare) trying to live on less money than we have. Kids are expensive. So we decided to do a cut-back month challenge together.
We're going to make a list of things that we MUST spend money on in January, and try not to spend money on anything else.
I will note that cut-back month is exactly what it's named - a MONTH. It's a radical and TEMPORARY life change. Not something that is sustainable long-term. Rebecca and I both believe that it's important to strike a balance between saving money and living your life. I've met people who are so frugal that it consumes their entire lives and they just sit at home all the time not spending money. That's not us. We like to live our lives. We're thinking of cut-back month as a sort of cleanse or fast for our finances. Hopefully we'll find some stuff we can live without in the long run.
The money that my family saves in January will be put towards paying off principle on our mortgage. Super fun, right?
Enjoy the ride.
