Secrets of penny-pinching ‘buy-hiatus’ month revealed

It’s been 30 days since the hubby and I began our self-inflicted buy-hiatus.

Our ground rules were that for at least one month we couldn’t spend any money with the exception of purchasing essentials, which were defined as food, water from the tap, gasoline and toilet paper.

We may or may not have been successful — it depends on how you decide to referee our game.

To give you an update, I have played by the rules and not purchased the few items that were on my December “things-to-buy before the buy-hiatus: a pair of jeans, spoons, CGI wristlet and hiking boot shoestrings.

My husband did tease, “Ahm, I’m going to tell your editor,” when I bought three small pieces of wood for $3.59 at Lowe’s — pieces for a birdhouse. I promptly explained it was “Christmas money from my Dad and therefore excluded from our buy-hiatus game.”

Never one to nag my husband more than necessary, I never, ever brought up the fact that I saw remnants of a diet Coke in his hand on three separate occasions during the last 30 days — just sayin’.

I will dutifully admit that we did purchase tickets to the Artcraft because a bunch of the family was getting together to celebrate my mom’s birthday early in January.

But for the first time in my life, I did not indulge in movie popcorn or a drink, which was a decision that continues to haunt me and is a constant decision of regret. I don’t think we need some high-powered legal mind to prove the obvious argument that the Historic Artcraft’s “Norton Farms” locally grown popcorn is an essential element of life.

In full disclosure, I must also state that I did in fact go out to eat with a friend — but the aforementioned friend (Joyce Long) generously paid my bill — so technically this incident does not impute my buy-hiatus record.

And I may as well note that at a birthday dinner (another family gathering) my sister Leta (in from Lexington) generously picked up the tab.

The hubby has suggested the game has been so fun that we should continue into the month of February.

Game on. But only if I can have a one-day, buy-hiatus pass — I just want to buy some spoons.