So I’ve mentioned before that Devon and I are toying with the idea of buying a house in the next couple years.

Well, I might not have mentioned the “couple years” part before.  But….yeah…..

So, we’ve actively began a budget and curbing some unnecessary spending binges (like Devon’s Amazon addiction) and my….lots of binges.  We’re doing a pretty good job, I think, at this point.  But we’re also thinking past the actual purchasing of the house and the initial costs to the cost of the monthly mortgage and upkeep and maintenance and all of that.

At the end of the day, we’re realistic.  We’re both K-12 educators.  We’re never going to be the wealthiest people in the world, but we’re trying to make it so that we’re not always strapped either.  Financial comfort has always been a huge priority for the both of us and currently, we’re comfortable.  But we know buying a house will decrease that comfort a bit so we’re trying to prepare the best we can for it.

One of the blogs I frequent, Living Well While Spending Less, always has a ton of ideas on how to save money that are better than just those “let’s cancel the cable” things.  While Ruth (the author) does mention things like that, there are also a lot more creative ways like how to not spend $40 on ink cartridges and DIY ideas that even my two left thumbs can do.

Starting tomorrow, Ruth is hosting a “31 Days of Living Well and Spending Zero” Challenge.  It’s an entire month challenge where you learn to use what you have, declutter your life, and find solutions to problems with things you already own; all while spending little to nothing on all of it.  Obviously spending $0 throughout an entire month is probably unlikely but the goal is to be more aware of your spending and spend as least as possible.

Every day, Ruth will email you a daily tip, which could be anything from how to use up that random can of black beans in your cupboard to how to re-purpose stuff that’s sitting around your house.  It’ll also be filled with encouragement that you’re doing what you need to so that you can reach whatever goal you’re going for.

Devon and I are actually starting this tomorrow.  I’m almost positive that neither of us will be perfect.  We both have our weaknesses, but we both can be pretty determined when we want to be.

If you want to play along with us, you can register for the challenge over here.  The more the merrier!