No Spend Challenge complete

My No Spend Challenge ended Friday. I wouldn’t call the process a complete disaster but it certainly didn’t go as planned.Things were proceeding swimmingly until my fridge died and I lost a lot of food. Going in debt for an appliance, replacing rotten food and eating some lunches out for a few days distracted me from my goals.

It also added to my debt.

But it’s ok. It will be ok. Better luck next time, right? I mean, this was hardly my fault…. the Universe simply decided that it was time to euthanize my appliance.

Anywhooo,  in addition to buying the fridge, I spent about $16 on fast food dollar menu items due to travel and a general unpreparedness to live without most cold food.

I came off the challenge Friday and spent Saturday in Cincinnati with my fella. He had football tickets for his Law School alma mater so we made a day of the trip, visiting a few stores along the way.

The great thing about a No Spend Challenge is that even if I don’t consider the challenge successful I love the after effects of questioning every little purchase and not wanting to part with my money or bring home more unnecessary goods.

On Saturday I purchased a handful of items for about $15 at Half Price Books (I consider books as necessary as food and clothing) and spent another $13 on some clearance items at Meijer. They had cloth napkins bundled in packages of four for $2. They also had a really great Katie Brown glass dome on clearance for $5. I never would pay  the original $20 asking price but it will be great with a winter scene inside for Christmas and a plant for the rest of the year. Some $2 silicone ice cube trays rounded out my purchase.

These were all things that I either need or love and I think $28 for a day out isn’t too expensive.

I unconsciously decided to continue the No Spend Challenge for as long as I can. No money spent today so far and no plans to spend any tomorrow either. I would love to hold on to this momentum for as long as possible.

Road trip here we come!

We selected Lexington, Ky as our whirlwind weekend road trip destination. I am so excited to get away for a couple of days it really doesn’t matter where we go but it sounds like Lexington is a terrific choice.

We plan to visit the Kentucky Horse Park, tour some historic sites and maybe even the Wild Turkey Distillery. Some of these places charge admission while others are completely free so I think it will be very affordable to entertain ourselves. There’s also a Half Price Books that’s already calling my name.

When it came time to locate lodging we looked at a lot of different options. Finally, Mr. Wonderful decided to take the plunge and try the Priceline name your price option. Guess what!!! We are staying at one of the nicest hotels in town for just $52 plus tax! That’s cheaper than a Red Roof Inn. If you are traveling and don’t mind not knowing exactly which hotel you will end up with, I would absolutely recommend the Priceline deal.

Adventure, here we come!!!!

Have a great weekend everyone! I will report back with details next week.

At least we tried

My thrifting adventure in Columbus yesterday didn’t yield the treasures I had envisioned but we had a good time anyway. My friend and I have known each other since the fifth grade and have been through thick and thin but we don’t see each other much so it was fun just to have a little time together.

A disturbing trend we noticed though was that the thrift store prices really weren’t so great. In fact, some of the prices seemed ridiculous. Thirty dollars for a Home Interiors print in a banged up frame is not a deal. Three dollars for a glass jar that you can buy at the Dollar Tree for, well, a dollar – isn’t a deal either. I will admit that the exception to that statement was in the kids clothes department. My friend came home with several nice clothing items for her little girl for just a few dollars.

I just wonder if this is a product of the recession or simply bad decision making among those who price donations. I mean, the pricing in thrift stores has always seemed very subjective to me.You would think that maintaining fair prices would help thrift stores remain profitable through a time when many people simply can’t afford to buy new things. But what do I know?

Nonetheless, we didn’t spend much money or come home with a lot but we did have fun! Here are a few things that came home with me (Sorry for the bad photography. I was tired).

To be fair, the books and the Ben Folds Five dvd actually came from the clearance shelf at Half Price Books, also known as Heaven on Earth.

Here’s a closer look at the lovely little Liz & Co. necklace at the bargain price of just $3.99.

And two glass bottles for .50 each because you can never have too many cool vessels to put flowers in!

This was my favorite thrifting purchase of the day. This sweet little ceramic bowl was .99 and will go very well with my collection of mid-century pieces.

These caught my eye on the TJ Maxx clearance rack because I am an organizational freak and am always looking for containers that suit my needs. This set of three glass containers with airtight lids set me back a whole $5. And not to beat a dead horse but the thrift stores were selling similar containers for five and six dollars each.

Sigh.

I also picked up a Worthington brand skirt for fall and a pair of New Balance capris for $3 apiece. They were in the washer by the time these pictures were taken.

Not bad for a day of goofing off with a friend, eh?