Happy New Year Friend
I’m sure many of you overspent for Christmas and the no spend challenge we do in January is just like a detox from spending!  You can do a sugar fast along with a spending fast to get life back on track!!!!
If you really want to save money in 2024, you need to reduce expenses.  This challenge is so different for each person, but I want you to really evaluate what you actually NEED to spend money on for the month of January.  We all need to pay our bills and we need food, but i’m guessing you could go through your cupboards and freezers to clean out as much as you can and get creative with your meals and just buy the bare minimum ingredients you need.  Last year I only spend $73 on groceries for the month for a family of 4 and I can link that episode below on how I did that and this year I’m trying to spend nothing.That is a stretch challenge, but we do raise our own milk, eggs, chicken, and pork now along with making all my own breads, noodles, pizza dough and all things sourdough which just uses starter, flour and water, so it shouldn’t be too extremely difficult when we already cook from scratch.  
I was just trying to think the other day when the last time we have gone out to eat was and I can’t even remember.  When you cook from scratch, eating out isn’t that exciting~especially when you think about the ingredients they use-we feed our animals non gmo feed ~which is expensive and have to drive almost 2 hours to get it and order some online, but it is important to us what we put in our bodies as well as what we put on our bodies, so we choose to eat at home as much as possible, but it you eat out often, that is an area you can save so much money in just this one month! 
Another great way to save some money would be to unlink your credit card from amazon, or any online store you may easily order online from.  This one extra step could help you think a little more about your purchase and if it is really something you need.  Our culture thinks we NEED so much more than we actually do! Don’t buy anything with credit cards.  Just try it for a week or 2 and see how it goes for you.  You might enjoy spending less money once you see how much extra money you really have.
 
There are so many great benefits to spending less.  When you stop bringing clutter into the home, you also declutter your mind.  One of the biggest benefits from spending less is that you may become less focused on wanting more and learn to be content with what you have.  I suggest you try it for just one month.   
EPISODE 74: https://www.podbean.com/pu/pbblog-2vz43-c15ea5
 
Great to have you back!
Monica
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