January Monthly Recap
As the first month of my no-buy year comes to a close, I wanted to summarize my successes and shortcomings. There were a few wins, like finding gift cards hidden in my wallet, but there were also some losses, like 2 pairs of my shoes falling apart this month. If I had really wanted to minimize my spend during a no-buy year, I would have pre-purchased extra running shoes and socks, at the very least. I did not do that, so I have already needed to replace 1 pair of trail running sneakers, socks, and a pair of winter boots. My old boots were 14 years old, so I certainly got my money's worth ($120 in 2011). My new trail sneakers were on sale, but the new winter boots were over $200. Perhaps it was an error on my part not to buy a cheaper pair, but I did not want to have to shop for new boots in a year or two. As you can see, my mortgage is by far my largest expense, followed by groceries and utilities. I'm very pleased to ha...