No Spend January - Free Books

 If you don't have a library card, the first stop should be the library to get one. There are so many free services and borrowing options there. You can also download e-books through Hoopla with a library card (which was invaluable during the Covid lockdown). While you are there, if you're looking for a book club many libraries offer them. There are many Little Free Libraries in our neighborhood where you can take a book and leave a book, look online for your neighborhood locations. The Gutenberg Project also has public domain books available for free download.

Look at my Cozy In Texas blog for reading suggestions and reviews.

No Spend January - Home Haircuts

 A friend once told me the difference between a good haircut and a bad one is two weeks. I think sometimes it can take longer, but in the season of cold weather and hat wearing, it might be a good time to try home hair cuts. There are a lot of You Tube instruction videos and one of my favorites is Glam Girl Gabi

Another item I have found useful is the CreaClip. There are tutorials on their web site. I use this to cut my hair and then refer to the Glam Girl Gabi site for layering. Hair scissors were relatively inexpensive at Walmart.

No Spend January - Ancestry

 If researching ancestry is one of your plans this year, there are many free options. A good place to start is Family Search. It is run by the Mormon Church which has a plethora of records and free to use.  Although it is free, the downside is other people can add or change your family tree information. Sometimes that can help but sometimes it can be frustrating because people add information without making sure the information is correct. There are also Family Research Centers where you can talk to someone and get copies of records not otherwise available. Ancestry.com has become more expensive, especially for the international plan. They no longer allow you to pay for a month and cancel it. There is a six month minimum, I believe. However, your local library may give you access to Ancestry free. You won't be able to set up your own family tree but you will be able to have access for research. You Tube has groups you can join where you can also get help.

No Spend January - Streaming services

 This is probably a good month to take a look at streaming services. Discard any you haven't used for a while or suspend them for a month. Look at cost savings for paying annually. Brit Box and Acorn are a little cheaper paying for a year. I haven't used cable in years and use an antenna for local programs. Roku is a one time low cost for purchasing the device with no monthly fees.

For January try using free items available. If you have Roku there are many free movies and You Tube also has free movies. If you have a library card, check out movies available (dust off the DVD player). Hoopla offers 10 movies, e-books or audio books free each month. Plex also has many free movies and you can share with friends.

No Spend January - Bread Making

 One of the things I try to do each month is to make meals from items I already have. This month I won't be buying bread, but I found a great easy recipe on Frugal Fit Mom. 

The only things I did differently: When "resting the bread" while the oven warms up, I put the dough on parchment paper (measured to fit the Dutch oven) and then just lowered it into the pan once it had warmed in the oven. I also brushed the dough with olive oil before baking. I was really happy with the result of the bread. I did find it worked better when left to rise overnight. Although Christine uses glass bowls to mix the dough, it is better to use something else when baking with yeast (I have an ancient Tupperware bowl I use).

No Spend January - Bills

 I don't overspend at Christmas so I'm not tackling a lot of credit card bills this month. I have allowed myself to pay utilities and normal bills on credit cards but found that most of my credit card bonuses will cover those for January. If you can use credit cards responsibly, take a look at credit card churning and begin accumulating bonuses in 2025.