No Spend Update

It's the middle of February and I have yet to spend any money!  In fact, I just realized today that the few hundred dollars of spending money I put in my wallet at the beginning of the year was still there (a record, since I used to spend every bit of cash I had).  So far this is working out really well and even hubby has commented several times that he can't believe I haven't been spending like I usually do.

The reasons this has worked out so well are several:

• I took all of the shopping apps off my cell phone, tablet, and laptop.  No more DealNews, Tech Bargains, Amazon Deal of the Day, Steep and Cheap alerts, etc.  If I don't know what the great deals are, I won't be tempted to buy them.
• I really do have everything I need.  Clothes, yes.  Food, yes.  Shoes, yes.  Tech stuff, yes.  I would like a drone so my deal with myself is to get one after I am completely out of debt.
• Hubby is helping so much.  Any time we eat out, it is free with his casino comps.  Any time we go to the grocery store, he pays.  That is a big help.
• Speaking of stores, I simply don't go into them lest I feel like I want to buy something.  I did go into an REI a few weeks ago because I happened to be walking by the store.  Everything seemed so overpriced that I walked right back out.  We went to Ikea today because I was out of jam (my favorite is their organic lingonberry jam and buying food during my no spend year is fine).  We didn't even walk through the store, just went straight for the jam and straight out.
• I am keeping myself super busy so I don't go shopping just because I am bored.  I did the Washington list and then the Las Vegas list which were both many hours of work.
• I am pretty psyched because I have been able to pay down several thousand dollars on my debts so far this year.  I should be completely out of debt by the end of the year.  The thought of running up debt while I have been making such good strides at paying it down makes me stop and realize I don't NEED anything.
• Finally, a few months ago I realized how close I had come to having hardly any income coming in.  I love the freelance work I do but the lady I do the bulk of my work for (and get the bulk of my money from) came a hairsbreadth from being fired by her Board of Directors.  If she goes, I will most likely go to and that would mean I would have to get a "real" job and there is no way I want to do that so it just reinforced the idea that I need to be completely debt free ASAP.  Once again, I realized that buying stuff and expecting to pay for it with future earning is idiotic.  There is no guarantee of future earnings!