Cash Only Week 1

-Figuring out the budget
I began by going through our monthly expenses. Taking out all of the unavoidable bills from our monthly income. Then I took out the expenses we would prefer not to give up. Things like my husbands gym membership, our daughters cheer leading class and so on. From that number, I decided how much money it would be nice to move to savings every month. Divide the left overs by 4 and there I had my weekly shopping budget.

-Preparation
Today is April 1st, and so I started my experiment to make it a cash only shopping month. I began by making a menu for the week. I put together a few recipes and then scoured the cabinets to see what I had and what I needed. This isn't something that I do often enough before shopping. I seem to come home with items we already have every time. I then made my shopping list. This morning, I looked online at the newest coupons available. I didn't find much that matched with my shopping list. Although, I love coupons and good deals, I am not willing to buy products we won't use.

- The challenges
This week is a little different than most. Added to my shopping list were "special" items. I needed to get stamps and Easter basket fillers.Obviously, these can be expensive and took up a chunk of my budget. I will also need to go out later this week to get a birthday gift for my nephew. Luckily, we had a busy week last week because we had lots of family visiting. We only ate dinner at home one night, so our cupboards were not bare.The extras were balanced out by the smaller than normal shopping list.

-At the store
Off I went to the store with only cash.I paid much closer attention to the prices. I looked at the products I would normally buy, but also at the other brands and their cost. I kept reminding myself that I needed to have cash left over for things that may come up during the week. I was definitely more cautious and made it out of the store with spare cash.

This week will be the test. Sticking to the planned dinner menu will be very important. I am also testing whether or not the amount of cash I chose will work. Is it too much or not enough? Is it practical? We will see :)