By Kellene Bishop
It’s time for a challenge, a REAL challenge. Last year I gave a list of suggested challenges that a person could choose from and then offered two kick-butt prizes to those who participated and were accountable for taking on a challenge (A Humless Solar Generator and a Be Young Essential Oils Pack) but this year I decided that I wanted to put the spotlight directly on a couple of very specifically designed challenges throughout the year in which I will also personally participate right there with everyone else.
We have more than 300,000 regular readers on this site every month and more than 14,000 fans on our Facebook page, so I’m hoping that it won’t be difficult to get at least 500 individuals who will participate with me on this challenge. I believe that part of the key to having a successful event in which we have a lot of people participating is that I give you a little heads up. Two years ago the challenges I issued were deliberately spur of the moment—because hey, that’s how life really is, right? But rather than get caught up in that spontaneity aspect I am more interested in in creating an inspiring, highly educational, and realistic challenge experience for as many of you who will participate. So, with that being said let me give you the details of the contest but, not without endeavoring to first get you to be open to mentally accepting this challenge.
So, right now, I’d love it if you took a second to take a deep breath and at least get your mind OPEN to accepting what’s about to show up on the 
page below outlining this challenge. To truly be open you’ve got to stop yourself from saying “I can’t do this because…” One of my favorite sayings is “The maximum effective range for an excuse is ZERO meters.” *grin* Take this opportunity to really test your plans, your resolve, your commitment to being prepared and self-sufficient, and to improving. I can easily assure everyone who takes advantage of this challenge is that you will most certainly have your eyes opened up to some “holes” in your preparedness efforts. Yes, this is going to be inconvenient. And it’s all right to whine and moan and complain about it, but you still need to find a way to MAKE THIS HAPPEN. OK? I’ve never met a crisis that asked me permission before entering into my life or that checked with my calendar to make sure it was OK.
What we are going to simulate here is a combination of challenging scenarios all in one. A forced Federal bank holiday, a widespread unemployment event, a prelude to a currency collapse in which you’re stuck with the small amount of cash that you might still have on hand with no idea when you’ll get to use “real” currency again, a physical injury that prevents you from going back to work for 4 weeks, a break in the infrastructure that prevents you from getting access to your work and income generation, the necessity to survive for longer periods of time on a paycheck, a long-term power outage that prevents access to your electronically generated funds or bank access, a destruction of the communication infrastructure making it so that banks and credit companies are unable to communicate with each other, etc. etc. etc. You decide the scenario; discuss it with those who will participate with you; but whatever you do, create the mental story and then move forward with the challenge.
OK. So, we’ll now move on to the specifics.
Start your challenge on March 20th, 2013.
- Your challenge will be to spend NO MORE than $250 TOTAL on anything and everything between March 20th and 12:01 a.m. April 18th. This includes bills, fuel, lunch money, co-pays and medications (where reasonable), groceries, etc. This total is NOT per person. It’s for your whole family (or those in your household that are willing to participate with you.) If you choose you can do it all on your own, but no cheating in using your spouse or significant other as a “Sugar Daddy.” *hee hee*
- You cannot make ANY financial transaction during this period of time in excess of your total budget of $250. However, you can barter all that you’re able.
- You MAY use any store credits, gift certificates or gift cards or coupons that are in your possession but you may NOT use any credit cards.
- Even though you will likely earn additional income during this period of time, you cannot exceed your $250 budget.
- If you have any automatic withdrawals already authorized from your account you MUST include those in your strict $250 budget.
- Yes, you may take care of any financial obligation that you can possibly imagine prior to March 20th, but once it hits March 20th, any spending you do will go towards your $250 total budget.
- You must keep a detailed tally of your spending during the time of the challenge. We don’t want you to spend more than the $250 just because you “forgot” a transaction here or there. Reality is a great tally keeper. *grin*
- You may not borrow any funds from anyone else during this time, but you are permitted to barter. Bartering is item for item or item for service or service for service; there is NO money exchanged in a bartering scenario.
Obviously, the key to this challenge is to learn as much from it as possible. But what we don’t want to have happen is that you don’t accept this challenge just because of some mitigating circumstance such as you medication alone costs $300 per month, or you don’t think there’s any way anyone else in your home will go along with it, or there’s no way you can take care of your rent or mortgage payment before the 20th. I get it; things happen; but focus on making this challenge are significant as possible and try not to give yourself too many excuses. I know that everyone has health insurance, car insurance, mortgage etc. Just do the best that you can do to abide by the letter and the spirit of the rules of this challenge. You’ll learn either way.
Last but not least,
- you MUST refrain from saying “I can’t…” such as “I can’t go to dinner with you because I’m on a strict budget.” “I can’t support your Pampered Chef party because I’m broke.” First of all, it’s actually very rude and uncouth to share that with people. It’s just plain depressing and if you’re saying things to depress other people what kind of a person are you?? Secondly, it’s a very negative thought process. Dieters never succeed if they focus on what they CAN’T eat, rather what they can do. This is SUCH an important part of the challenge that I’m going to give you this one last condition: Each time you catch someone saying “I can’t…” during the course of this challenge, you lose $1. Turn the “I can’t” into a positive, for example, “I get to focus on the most important things for the next 4 weeks”
What I would love to have happen is for you to join us here and share feedback of your experience during the course of the challenge so that we can call learn from it. For example, when Lynn C. won the Humless Solar Generator for last year’s challenge, she discovered how much more difficult it was to stick with a strict budget with so many car owners and errand runners in her family. Everyone had to be mindful of the end goal instead of thinking of all of the “I” issues. “Well I’ve got to go to work and then I want to hang out with my friends.” A serious crisis completely eliminates the luxury of looking out for just ourselves.
So, are you ready? Will you join us?? I encourage you to share this challenge with anyone else that you think might be interested. The more the merrier because the more people that do this challenge and write about their experiences with it, the more lessons we can all learn BEFORE we actually find ourselves in the midst of a crisis. I always say that “practice makes peaceful.” This is going to test you on MANY levels not the least of which in terms of Mental Preparedness.
By the way, if you agree to join us in this contest, then you’ll need to to go your local medical center and get the GPS RFID inserted into your left arm which will play the Michigan State Fight Song if you exceed the $250 budget or break any other rules. Hee hee…just kidding. I’d NEVER make anyone listen to the Michigan State fight song! Go Buckeyes!
Join us on Facebook - Follow us on Twitter - In-Home-Educational Programs - Subscribe to Preparedness Pro
For any questions or comments on this article, please leave a comment on the blog site so that everyone can benefit! © 2013 Of COURSE this post is Copyright Protected by Preparedness Pro/Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. NO portion of this article may be reposted, printed, copied, disbursed, etc. without first receiving written permission by the author. (Then again, laws are only as good as the people who keep them.) Preparedness Pro/Kellene Bishop will pursue all violations of these rights just as vigorously as she does any of her other freedoms, liberties, and protections.
Well my husband and I prepared to do this and started it. Day 1 and 2 went really well but unfortunately day 3 brought the news that a dear family member was letting go and going to God. So we had to pack up the family and drive to Texas to say goodbye. Just in gas it cost us 200.00 roundtrip. We have stopped for this month. We are going to try this again in a month or so. We are working on a new budget for our home since my husbands hours are being cut. Hope everyone else is doing well and good luck
Sorry to hear about the loss of a family member. You should have stuck with the challenge though and just carved out the TX trip as an exception. That’s what I had to do when I discovered I had forgotten about a medical bill that I had to pay on the 28th. This isn’t like one of those diets that we find every reason why we need to quit. There’s still lessons to be learned the other days of the challenge.
Hey!!! That sounds like a GREAT challenge! In fact, it gives me a GREAT idea!!! Thanks for sharing!
I failed in this challenge! Cyprus and how the banksters are going after depositers and savings scared the poo out of me! I figure it was time to get very busy about cash in my grubby little hands and buying/storing a bit of energy along with storing a bit of cash on hand and paying a few bills forward. While haven’t exactly failed the $250 dollar challenge I will be twisting it 7 ways from Sunday on a personal level.
Kellene, Cyprus changes all the rules via the banksters and government and I will admit I’m a bit frightened. I’ve done my best and can deal with a 30% cut in my disibility/VA benefits. But what about those folks that depend on SS and did not plan ahead for 0 interest rates on savings? Or have all savinga and checking accounts plundered because the banksters made bad bets ?
I’m fine finacilly but as I see it it’s time to get very busy stocking up on any weak points you have and having cash on hand.
I hope I’m wrong and the catagion can be contained, but I don’t think it can and folks taht did not prepare will start to freak out.
I’m all for people listening to their “gut” when it comes to preparing for a crisis. I think that you spending money on things that will have value is a sound approach to the financial crisis that’s bombarding us. Things are most definitely getting dicey. The best one can do is to KEEP THEIR MONEY in their CONTROL, not in an institution. That’s what our parents and grandparents did after the crash in 1929. And they did just fine in finding creative ways to store it.
Kellene thanks for understanding your good opinion of me means a lot. We have not stopped prepping just shifted focus towards fuel/energy and a bit of cash on hand. I’m still working on the 7 year food storage plan though it has slowed a bit this month. Got to stockup on fuel, get the reflector for the solar oven and add a home made solar generator. One thing I can say as a prepper you will never lack for projects to keep you busy.
Twisted $250 Challenge Report:
Week 2: Wednesday, April 3
Since I didn’t spend a lot last week, I am splurging just a little. Still working at saving, just in case.
I have opened one of my precious jars of chocolate candy. Obviously I will need more! I find that I want chocolate every night; my night cap. Has really made me think how much I enjoy chocolate…
I have to admit that the “free perks” I get at work are proving very helpful. More past “best by date” items to include about 2 ½ pints of blueberries, which I have dehydrated!
Gas: $45
Easter cookies: $2.17 (my splurge)
Tuesday, I broke down and did Chinese takeout one evening. It was “sad” eating. I lost the diamond from my engagement ring that day.
Chinese Takeout: $5.25 & $.75 tip.
Total spent this week: $53.17
LOL. I know what you mean. I bought a book!
I think that every single challenge I’ve had people try on here has made folks more aware of the importance of comfort items such as food, favorite pillow, etc.
Yikes, that’s some expensive Chinese Food!!!
Well I think I will have to take myself out of this one. My sweet adorable husband is the reason. We ‘had’ to take a trip to see his son over Easter (1-1/2 hrs away) so we could celebrate his birthday. 2 trips to Mendards so he could buy new tools required for the new job (about 45 min each way). All of which we had to take ‘my’ car so figuring out gas for my trips vs all these trips was a nightmare. Had to have meals on the go (he felt defrosting something from the packed freezer took too much time)…. You get the picture. As much as I tried, there was no way for me to split out costs for just myself as I intended to do. Will try to do this another time and perhaps drag hubby (kicking and screaming perhaps) more into the idea…. Hugs to all the others out there that are still working on this and so far making it work!
Well, I went to the store today to buy one thing and kind for freaked out and spent too much money. Should have eaten first. I might have blown it. I think I’m gonna see if I can return some of it tomorrow. I know that’s cheating a little. I’m also not gonna count my husbands prescription, since he’s not participating, and that should get me to just pennies under 250. Sorry, I know I’m fudging a little. Two weeks left. If I can stay out a of a store, then I’ll just have to worry about gas.
I had to fudge when I had that unexpected medical bill. I’m sure a little fudge here and there won’t prevent a person from learning valuable lessons. Have you learned anything you could share with the rest of us yet?
So far I’ve learned that I’m pretty prepared with food, but I need to keep better records so I know when I’m almost out of something. Most foods I don’t buy more than once a year or less. Having worked at a grocery store, I won’t pay full price for anything. This challenge has helped me do some of those DIY things I’ve been thinking about but never got around to, like homemade syrup (pretty good, might tweak it though), and making sandwich bread from the “artisan bread in five minutes a day” book. Love their bread for just eating with butter or fondue, and this week discovered that the loaf is good for egg salad and French toast, but not great for grilled cheese. For me this has been less of a preparedness challenge and more of a discipline and psychological challenge because of the way I buy things and store them. Which, when I think about it, is pretty awesome.
I did realize though that in an emergency, I’m gonna be pretty sad when my string cheese and fish crackers run out. Some things you just can’t make homemade.
Allow me to point out that better discipline and psychological behavior now means greater preparedness in the future. Sounds like you’re seeing your unique “holes” in your efforts and that’s exactly what this challenge was intended to do.
Fish crackers, eh? I think that’s funny cause I was JUST making a recipe for those the other day. Grant it, they won’t look like fish, but they will still be YUMMERS.
Well, we paid the bills as they came due (rent, electric, & gas) so that put us above the $250. My husband bought a camera lens, that we really didn’t need but he swears he will earn some money with it, for $95. So I decided that we have a new challenge of our own making – we’re going to try to make $250 more than our normal income between April 10th and May 10th. Hubby better do something with that lens…..LOL!
Doing this challenge has made me think a lot more about sustainability. Particularly when it comes to our BIL (bug in location) vs. BOL (bug out location).
Our “bug in” plan is really for shorter term emergancies or possible job loss.
We do have a “bug out” plan. We are completely prepared to cut our losses here & bug out.
These are two distinct plans. That being said…
We have been striving to get our garden up and running & hooking up our rain barrels outside. That is what we have been doing this week. We are behind because it is our first year and we needed to get trees cut down for sunlight. The goal is to create (increase) better sustainibility here.
The challenge has been harder this week, simply because I really want (need) to get more stuff to can & dehydrate. On payday, I look through the sales ads and determine what is on sale to add to my storage & for canning.
Learning a lot though. Last fall we decided to be more frugal with our money. It really shows now in what I don’t purchase. My superfluous spending mostly deals with going out to eat with friends and/or family. I also found that I spend more on preparing than I thought. Which is good.
But, so far I haven’t spent anything this week.
Total spent for the last three weeks = $63.74 ($186.26 left)
Sounds to me like you are an A+ student in this exercise, Dorothy! Way to go. I personally find your insights very helpful to me!! Thanks!
Oh, Kellene I adore you!
Ok, so without doing a lot of mental gymnastics to except some purchases or attribute them to my husband, I have spent 282.21. I could probably get it to just under 250, but like I said, it would strenuous and tenuous.
But here’s my question/comment: one of the things that really put me over was gas. I’ve tried to be frugal, haven’t gone a lot of places, but at the same time, my husband still goes to work, I still go to piano lessons etc, and we still have family gatherings like missionary farewells and baby showers that I wouldn’t miss for anything. I think one of the things I’ve learned is that I’m very dependent on gas and our two cars. But other than just not going anywhere, I can’t think of anything to do about it. A bike with a baby only works so well, and public transportation still costs money. Although we are working on my husband riding his bike to work more. But the thing is, and don’t take this the wrong way, I’m trying to decide how much I care. I’ve been so poor I couldn’t go see family or take any trips, and it’s fine, but it’s only something I want to do if I need to. And as long as my hub has his job and the economy is “normal” (ie not spiraling down the toilet). I enjoy seeing my friends and family and going places. If there was a big problem, I would rearrange things, sell a car or let the licensing lapse and we would concentrate on using the one car for job searching or getting out of dodge I suppose, depending on the situation. And I’ve actually had practice doing this before, when my husband was laid off 4 years ago.
I don’t know what the point of this rambling was, other than to put it out there and get your thoughts. I have learned a lot from this whole exeperience (even if I did “fail”, and for the record I’m not giving up, I’m still planning on not spending anymore until it ends), and will share some other things I have learned that might apply to others. But as far as gas goes, I’m trying to figure out what to take from it other than that I use a lot of gas and don’t care.
It sounds to me like you’ve learned EXCELLENT points during this challenge. I think that if is was me learning this lesson, I’d focus on finding ways to have as stash of fuel on hand. We have several gas cans that we rotate through. This wasn’t an exercise to diminish the value of the things that you treasure, rather it was to highlight those things and help you realize that there’s a “hole” in your preparedness/self-sufficiency. I think that finding a way to fill that hole is a great lesson learned here.
The fact that you went through this experience was totally successful IMO.
I’m really having trouble seeing the point of this challenge, as rent is due the 1 st and most all utilizes , plus gas for work. What is the goal of not paying your bills?thanks!
Yup, clearly you are. No one has suggested that someone doesn’t pay their bills.
Lisa, it’s not about not paying your bills. Most of us prepayed them. I would hope that if you are not able to do that, that you can at least use this challenge to realize how vulnerable you are to fluctuations in income/liquidity, and make a plan to remedy your situation. Any financial guru worth their salt says you need a few months reserve, and that you can build one up slowly no matter your situation. When my hub lost his job, we were so thankful that we had months to look for a good paying job he would like because of our savings. But that didn’t happen by accident.
Wednesday, April 17: Twisted $250 Report
This isn’t a part time hobby plan at all. It is very focused. There are many BIG decisions that we are implementing.
For us, living where we do (in the suburbs of the DC metro area) I feel very compelled to prep more.
This week, I couldn’t stand not spending anything to prep & can. So I went to the store, everything I purchased was to can or dehydrate. But, I still stayed within what was left of my $250 budget for the month.
I am seeing how dependent on gas we are in society. It’s not a bad thing, but it is a reality before something happens. I have spent a wee bit more on gas than average.
I have been helping out someone that is a really bad way right now. When she went through the people she knew, she contacted me (I haven’t seen her in a couple years). She had two chinzy meals left in her home, no car, no job. She is porbbly going to jail.
It’s interesting because she didn’t really ask for help.She doesn’t know that I prep. I gave her a plan of action & brought food to her (from my storage) to help her until she could get hooked up with local food pantries. I drove her to various places.
She contacted me because she said she knew I wouldn’t judge her in her situation because of who I am in my walk with God. She has also started going to church with me.
We are looking to move in our three year plan. One of the first things I want to purchase is a horse(s) for transportation. LOL.
Food $105.64 (which included my favorite doughnut)
Gas $50.64
Remaining amount: $29.98
Oh. Give it up. What’s your favorite donut? (I’m a sucker for donuts.) *grin*
Chocolate topped bavarian cream!
Ok, here is something I learned that might be helpful to others. If you have a young child that is a little bit of a picky eater, you need to consider that in your storage. While I technically have a year supply of food for my child, it’s not really things she will eat all the time. Sure, she likes homemade bread, waffles, and granola, (we’re pretty good on the breakfast front) but we ran out of juice halfway through the challenge, barely made it on fish crackers, and ran out of yogurt the first week. Could she live on the things we have? Probably. But it might be unpleasant for awhile. She’s been asking to go to the store everyday since we ran out of juice. Also, she tends to get food fatigue pretty easily, like me.
And if you think that a child will eat if they’re hungry enough, that is simply not true. Here’s a story for ya: when my brother was three, he didn’t like to eat dinner. He would just go to bed hungry and eat breakfast in the morning, and it wasn’t really a big deal. One day my mom decided that he couldn’t eat until he ate his dinner, which was three noodles from a casserole. So she gave it to him for breakfast, then lunch, then dinner. He went three days without eating, and my mom finally had to give up, because he would have rather died than eat those noodles.
So what I’m saying is keep in mind the food your child actually eats everyday, and make sure you have a several month supply of the important things. Like string cheese and cheerios and fish crackers.
also, I learned that we do not have nearly enough vegetables and fruits in our storage. Just sayin.
First, I have to say how grateful I am to have found you last fall. I have learned so much from you & I am where I am in my preparations because of the knowledge I gained from your blog.
I think I have found the biggest things I have learned from the challenge is to continue to extrapolate out…
For example:
I could live without cocoa. I don’t want to & these days I have time the time to learn how to grow and process cocoa beans.
What to do when sugar storage is depleted? I am growing sorgum this year & I am going to learn to process that.
So, today I get to purchase everything in my shopping carts.
Preparing for the future falls into my life’s vision statement. “Love God, love other’s, it’s simple… “
BUT, the most important thing is I do not worry. I simple continue to work my plan and God will honor that.
Now, I am going to spend at least $29.98 on chocolate. LOL.
You totally rock, woman!!!!
I realize I am late posting on this challenge, such is my life
. Bills were paid up early so I was ready for this challenge. I thought I could travel adequately for work twice during the time frame and still be good to go. I took food with me, only to find the method of cooking available was not as advertised, and I had no other option. So I not only failed the challenge, but failed my eating plan. On the upside, I came home and found a brand new Whirlpool stove/oven for $250.00. So I snagged it. It may seem silly to be excited about a stove/oven, but I have not had an oven for 4 years! This weekend I get to make bread! Not in a silly, weirdly shaped bread maker, or crock pot, but in an OVEN! I know, it was too much to ask and I brought it on myself. I will try this again. Either I am silly and will continue to bang my head, or I will get my act together and work it like the out-of -the- box girl I am! Just so you know, no mason jars were harmed during this challenge. And I canned another 100 lbs of meat (ordered pre-challenge – Thank You Zaycon!)(on my stove top !!!) Thanks for the push, and I love all the comments they have given me inspiration for other challenges for my year! Kudos to all!
I think you’ll find that lots of people appreciate your comments as well, Denise! Thank you!