Recession Buster Boot Camp: Week 1 Challenge
Spending Freeze
You heard that right. Spending. Freeze. That means you'll spend the next week NOT spending ANY money. (OK, we'll let you spend a little, but only on the absolute necessities and ONLY what you account for ahead of time.)
Step 1: Make a list of your VERY BASIC necessities for the week—these are things that you absolutely can't avoid buying this week (maybe you're out of toilet paper or it's time to pay for ballet class), so don't try even try to sneak in a bag of Dove chocolates as "necessary"!
Step 2: Don't spend ANYTHING all week unless it was already posted on your necessity list.
Tips:
Plan ahead. You're gonna cave if you're hanging out at the mall. Find other places to be and things to do that are free.
Think outside the box. You'll be having B.E.E.F. and C.O.R.N. for dinner—that's "be extra, extra frugal" and "clean out the refrigerator now!" Dig to the back of the freezer and cupboards and see how you can plan a meal without buying anything. Need a way to turn a can of tuna into dinner? Try our recipe search to see if you can come up with something that works!
Get creative. Sure the kids want to rent a movie, but that's a big old spending no-no. Instead, go for a walk, play a game or let them create their own video entertainment.
When you've tackled this challenge, move on to the Week 2 Challenge! You're off to a great start! Keep going!
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