Everyone knows that the real New Year starts in February, right? January is just sort of a warm up. Maybe you brainstorm about various resolutions and plans. Maybe you just kinda get started and are working out the kinks. It’s practice. But February is for reals: you can’t say you just got back from vacation or you’re just getting over the holidays – that stuff is done. February is like 4:00 a.m. – nothing is going on.  It’s just you and your whirring brain, saying, “Are you going to make this year work – or what?”
And so it’s the perfect time to get started in earnest with the 30 Large Project. No more excuses. No monkeying around. But I’m not worried. It won’t be hard – like climbing Mount Everest or running for president. This is just being responsible. No biggie.
Throughout the month of February, we pledge to only spend money on “needs” (as defined by our guru Elizabeth Warren in her book, All Your Worth), such as food, gasoline, and things we are contractually required to pay, such as mortgage, cable, credit card balances, etc.  We will also keep track of every penny spent, so as to begin to get a crystal clear picture of where the money goes, even when we are really thinking about it and being on our best behavior.
When it comes to our (historically) monstrous food budget and my Whole Foods addiction, I expect to keep to my budget of $100 a week, not including our delicious weekly CSA box. This is going to be the tough part for me as I think a significant portion of our food – that is in excess of our $100 weekly limit – now comes from the “wants” column.  Expect to see lots of cheap recipes from Nerdhaven West in February!
We will report back on the blog each week with a summary, describing the ups and downs and what we have done and learned.  We will not publish a spreadsheet (although we have had requests to do that!) but we will try to get to the details as closely as possible so you can feel our pain . . . um, I mean responsibility . . . no – I mean our frugaliciousness.
P.S. Who says frugaliciousness isn’t all that photogenic? All the photos in this post are of free things around my house. And because you have made it this far in the post, I will reward you with a video of chickens arguing over string cheese. Click here: LoudMo