Kate's $8/day Challenge!

We, as Americans suffer from "STUFFITIS"....we all love stuff.  Some of us love purses, shoes, jewelry, makeup....Others love dining at nice restaurants, electronics,  sporting events, and cars.  We all want bigger houses, faster cars, and on and on and on.  I am no stranger to "stuffitis".  I love candles, and actually have a whole cabinet FULL of candles!  I have been asking myself lately "Do I NEED all this STUFF?????"  The answer is NO, I absolutely do not need 15 pairs of jeans.  So why do I feel the need to continue to add to my collection of "stuff"?  After much reflection my answer was simply this..HABIT.  So, My challenge to myself, my husband (bless his heart for agreeing to my crazy ideas!) and my kids was this, can we break our current habits and .....CAN WE LIVE ON $8/DAY FOR 21 DAYS??  Please be advised, this does not include our normal monthly bills (I think Chase bank would frown upon me missing my car payment because of a personal challenge!).  This $8/day includes all food/gas/activities...etc....

So please, follow along with me if you will on my $8/ day challenge.  I will try and give full details on every penny spent.  

I began my challenge yesterday March 23, 2011.  Below you will find a list of what was spent: 


The boys and I decided to let Daddy sleep in and head out o breakfast at Chick-fil-a.  Every Wednesday in March, Chick-Fil-A has been offering FREE breakfasts!  The boys and i got 3- sausage biscuits and two waters...  
TOTAL SPENT: $0

Since the playplace at Chick-fil-a was closed for cleaning (YES, they do clean those!) we headed to the Park and Story time at the library.  While there, we rented 2 DVD's and 2 books.  We also enjoyed a lovely story time and made a craft.... 
TOTAL SPENT: $0

On the way home, I realized I was out of coffee liners and had been using paper towels for the past week...So, we made a quick stop at Dollar tree and purchased 160 coffee liners :)
TOTAL SPENT: $1.04

I then had to start thinking about dinner.  since Dusty had the day off, I knew I had to cook-cook... (much different then the boys' PB&J "quick dinner")  I decided on Ham Casserole.  I had all the ingredients except the ham.  After dropping the boys at home I ventured out to King Soopers and was HORRIFIED when i saw the ham shank portions priced at $7+ !!!!!!  So, after scanning the isle, I noticed the Ham steak was on sale for $2.99!!! Phew!  I also picked up a package of Hotdog and Hamburger buns for future meals and a quart of Organic Milk marked down to $.99....
TOTAL SPENT: $6.29


After dinner,  Dusty and I decided it would be a great night to use our free blockbuster rental code and rent "The Fighter".  I REALLY wanted an icecream treat from DQ, but knew that would put us over our $8 for the day.  So, I was faced with my first "challenge" within the challenge.  I decided to come home and bake some chocolate chip cookies instead.  Needless to say, I completely forgot about the icecream as soon as i had a cookie :)
TOTAL SPENT: $0


Total spent Day 1: $7.33 !!!  ($.67 to rollover)

Tip of the day...The library is an AWESOME resource for FREE dvd's books and boredom busters...go check out your local library and see what it has to offer!!!!