The biggest lessons I've learned from No Buy.

They may seem to fall into the "well, duh" category. I knew the concepts, I knew the theories, but duh, I guess I never just got them before.

Life happens~ OK, so we all know life happens. People die, cars refuse to start, kids monkey right off the bed and into the ER. Why don't we remember this when we start a budget? You may be thinking, but wait that's what an emergency fund is for! Well, yes & no. A person's emergency fund definitions can be as varied as a cup of coffee. It's all coffee, right? Sure, but is it black coffee, light coffee, sweet & light coffee, or a tall skinny bald cafe mocha with no whip? Throw some soy options in there and you could be at the counter all day. Some people believe an emergency fund should be used for a massage when things get too stressful at work. Some people believe an emergency fund should never be touched unless they become unemployed or disabled. Blood and guts, or dinged and scraped? It's really a personal decision.

We have our own burgeoning emergency fund. It's not big, I am not ashamed to say. I feel like there are plenty of people in that boat with me, and if I don't say it, who will? I do have credit available (yes, Dave Ramsey just cringed) if things got out of hand and every day, I add to our sense of security. But, we were constantly using it for little emergencies. It seemed like every time we had $500 or $600 in the bank, we needed it for something like car repairs. With our No Buy lifestyle, I am still contributing to our emergency fund. I'll admit that I could dump in more each month now that I spend less. However, my bank balance is slowly climbing. This is allowing what I put into my emergency fund to stay there while I weather the storm. Before, I seemed to take out as often as I put in. Now, I just put in and deal with the little emergencies out of my daily checking account. I pull up my Master Plan (the name of the exel spreadsheet where I spend everything first) and say, if we can wait another week before we take the car to the shop, we can pay for it out of pocket. I realize some things can't be delayed, but some things can. I have found that it is way easier to pull out of an emergency fund than it is to put it back in. With No Buy, it's easier to stop pulling.

Think ahead~ I am a retail manager. On Christmas Eve, usually as I close the store, I shout inside my head "YEAH, IT'S DECEMBER 25TH NEXT YEAR, TOO!" to the people swarming for last minute items. If you always find yourself in a bar drinking green beer on St. Patty's Day, why wouldn't you put that in your monthly budget. Holidays and birthdays are but one example. You should also really look at your schedule for the month. Do you see a nasty week up ahead? Think about that type of week you had in the past. Did you give in one night and pull a drive-thru for dinner? If you budgeted in a pizza delivery, would it turn a stress into a treat? Maybe. Or maybe you put a few extra meals into the freezer and stick to your No Buy guns. A few well placed exemptions can make what could be a real moral buster into a moral booster.

Delay~ Sometimes, you find a great deal. If you don't grab it, it'll be gone. Knowing which should be delayed and which should be snapped up is a fine art. I've walked away from a lot of great deals in the last 6 months. Just yesterday, I saw a wonderful Mickey Mouse Clubhouse toy marked down to $8. When I first wanted to buy it for DS, I almost gave in and it was $24 then. I still walked away. Will it be gone next time I go to Wallyworld? Probably. But, I'm a lot better at walking away than I used to be. It really takes a lot of practise.

Perfection~ I'm never going to be perfect with this. I know it now. I've had months were I have done dang good and months were it's been not so good. I've learned to roll with the flow and not be too hard on myself when I fall off the wagon. Earlier this month, I posted something like this on my No Buy January thread: Today involved a tight schedule, my DS, a set of car keys, AAA, and a $2.xx hamburger. Let's just say that sometimes you have to cry "uncle!"

On the homefront:
DS picked up some type of tummy bug. Yesterday, he became all clingy when we were out at Wallyworld. One minute he was going on and on about the bicycles on the ceiling (his favorite part of the store) and the next he was hanging onto my arms and pulling me down into the cart with him. I thought he was just cold, but then he just wouldn't let go. We came home and he had a fever just over 100. I gave him some tylenol and plopped him down with a movie. DH gave him some applesauce, which he later left all over both of them. His fever was much better this morning, but he was still whipped. So, we had a Pixar Film Festival! Usually, I would hate DS to watch this much tv, but he was dozing off as much as he was watching it.

Overheard in the bookstore:
Still off! Yippee! Back to work tomorrow.

Current reading:
Still reading the Clason, but the book before it was
You're Broke Because You Want To Be: How To Stop Getting By and Start Getting Ahead- by Larry Winget Wow! What a kick in the ass! I loved it and will probably blog about it soon.