Saving Tip: Just Do... Nothing. It's the new Something.

"The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do. "   

— Michael Porter (Harvard Business School professor)

It feels like everyone is making a play for our dollars, so many ads and outlets trying to beat the bucks out of us...  


I try to see those sales efforts for what they are and make better informed decisions about where I choose to put my money.  I've done the math but sometimes, I just don't have it in me.  That happened recently and then it hit me.  I logged a "ZERO" on my spending sheet for that day.  Whoa!!  

Just Do It... Nothing.  It pays!

I've been spending all this time reading, clipping, sorting, and searching for the perfect deals, when all I really had to do was nothing!  Ok, that's not THE answer but it should be part of the plan.  Identify what NOT to do and make it part of your plan.  I've been too caught up in finding the best deals possible.  Sometimes the best deal is NO DEAL.


~ Plan not to order out for pizza:  We got into the lazy habit of making the call almost every Friday night for pizza.  I created that habit and expectation for our kids.  We've since replaced it with "kid's cook" or home made pizza where they help and choose the toppings.  We work to make it fun for all of us and save serious $$ in the process.  The wine is cheaper too.  Cheers!
~ Plan not to leave the house:  I was in a routine of heading out, almost daily when the kids left for school, on a mission to find all those deals I worked so hard to find.  I'm planning to block out one more  day per week  that I will stay home and use what I've stocked up on...  The key is to fill that time so I'm not crawling the walls...  blog, read, clean, run.  There's plenty to do!
~ Plan not to go to Home Depot this week:  I had another bad habit of wandering the warehouse aisles of HD.  There are always things that need to be done at home, right?  I will plan not to put myself in that position to spend.
~ Plan not to have the same holiday:  We have the wheels turning over here to try and spend more time and effort for charity this upcoming holiday season rather than the typical holiday overspending.  This is shaping up to be a really good thing all the way around.  I'll keep you posted. 


PLAN to give it a try, you might be surprised what you can do without.  I found that when we forced the hand of the family to deal with change or get creative with a new situation, we all learn a lot from it.  Just Do something different...