No Spend November

No Spend November is upon us, well "me" more specifically.  I have elected to go hardcore on the whole "no spend" thing this month.  The entire premise is to not spend money unless it was pre- planned or for a Christmas gift for someone else.

"No spend" months are pretty easy, although they feel difficult at the time.  I can only buy absolute necessities, think toilet paper and groceries.  Yes it will be tricky with Black Friday and Thanksgiving, but I am holding myself accountable.

I do have two events planned, but both should be low on the money spent.  One is for a concert where the hotel room and ticket was paid for back in August.  The other is a Shop and Sip party I am hosting, BUT that doesn't mean I have to spend any money other than on snacks and a couple of bottle of wine... Hello Aldi!

I have also put myself on a budget for Christmas gifts.  I have done this in years past and it takes a lot of the stress out of Christmas shopping.  Plus, when you spread Christmas gifts out across multiple pay periods it is much easier to stay on budget and on track.  Did you know that Americans spend approximately $1000 at Christmastime, regardless of whether their income increase or not?  I don't know about y'all, but I don't get a Christmas bonus so that number is out of control for me!

How are you budgeting out Christmas?

More Time For Pinterest Projects

I for one am a Pinterest-aholic (you can catch my boards here) with all sorts of interest, but one area I adore is the crafts section!  I tend to lean toward being a little craftier, but I also wish I had more time to commit to the crafts I find.  I scour Pinterest looking for simple crafts that require simple items and really appeal to the time slots I have available.  In the last few days I have become obsessed with coffee filter crafts.  I mean, I am obsessed with coffee already, so why not become obsessed with coffee filter crafts?  Here are a few of my favorites-

Coffee Filter Flower

All that is needed to make this gorgeous flower for your wall is two packages of coffee filters, a hula hoop, hot glue, and a piece of burlap ribbon.  This seems simple enough for me to make and dare I say, hang in one Saturday.

Coffee Filter Wreath

This gorgeous wreath is just coffee filters, foam tubing, hot glue and ribbon.  I saw this and just about died of envy then I realized it was coffee filters and I knew this had to be added to my craft list.

Coffee Filter Christmas Decor

I know Christmas is literally days away, but I somehow wish I had the time to create this gem of a tree.

I even found this awesome pin on how to dye coffee filters so that not everything is always white, because fabulous crafters need some color in their lives!!!