Necessities

I'm challenging myself for the month of February to only buy necessities, but I think what is difficult is to define necessities. 

Dictionary.com defines necessity as follows:

ne·ces·si·ty

noun, plural -ties.

1.something necessary  or indispensable: food, shelter, and other necessities of life.

2.the fact of being necessary  or indispensable; indispensability: the necessity of adequate housing.

3.an imperative requirement or need for something: the necessity for a quick decision.

4.the state or fact of being necessary  or inevitable: to face the necessity of testifying in court.

5.an unavoidable need or compulsion to do something: not by choice but by necessity.

So I should make a list then.

1.  Rent

2.  Utilities

3.  Food

I work from home so my transportation cost are very low.  I have a 6 year old and a 7 month old so I have to take in to account their necessities as well.  

W - 6 Year Old

1.  Rent

2.  Utilities

3.  Food - the only difference here is that he needs lunch money.

4.  School activities - it's Valentines Day this month so he will need to bring something to school to exchange with this classmates.  I would not deprive him of this.  

G - 7 Month Old

1.  Rent

2.  Utilities

3.  Food - ha!  I'm his food!!!

4.  Daycare - Although I work from home it's impossible to be a good employee and do my job while caring for him.  I have in home daycare for him that is reasonable and he is well taken care of.  

So the timeliness of this is great.  It's garbage day today, the last day of January, so I can clean out the refrigerator and really start from scratch.  Food is probably my biggest expense.  I will be reviewing my bank statement for February of last year and see what my expenses were then until now.  So stay tuned...