Why do this silly little spending freeze experiment anyway?

Oh many reasons.  In fact, I rarely choose to do something significant if there's only one reason for it.

So, in no particular order...

• I've always wanted to.  Years ago I contemplated the idea of stopping buying things.  I even read a book about a couple who did a year long spending freeze.  I wasn't that impressed with the book or author, but the idea still stuck with me.

• Recently lots of unexpected expenses keep piling up.  It is just one thing after another:  the built-in microwave quits working, 2 of Josh's 3 pairs of jeans ripped, his cell phone earpiece quits working and it quits charging, the toilet seat broke at the hand of our two year old, a headlight goes out on Josh's car...  I don't even remember half of them.  The point is that I feel like our bank account is being attacked by one calamity and expense after another.  And quite honestly, when I look at our account I am overwhelmed, thinking we just can't get ahead.

• In addition to our regular church tithing, we have made a commitment to give toward a specific three year fund at our church.  We knew when we made the commitment that it was going to be a sacrifice and something that we would clearly notice, so this is a very good way to become more cognizant of our spending.

• My husband was on board - hooray!  There was no way this could work without him!

After having 2 1/2 weeks off work, Josh returns tomorrow, so this will be interesting to return to life as normal while still being on the spending freeze.

 Next time I will share about a little one night "break" we got from our spending freeze, our pantry clean out, meal planning, getting creative, and the blessings of family!