~April No-Spend Challenge~ We're tracking our spending and buying only the necessities. Come... - Page 7

[imaiam]

April 1 4.06 breakfast; 1.45 coffee at break, 5.25 lunch
April 2 milk, cheese 10.97
April 3 gas ~45.00
April 4 grocery (incl a yr of ketchup) 222; grocery 'cause we forgot about
supper the first time (oy!) 23; 42.90 two more cloth diapers for the
stash; 5.24 pharmacy; 32 gas
April 5 $22 groceries

[tricia80]

Hi I am new here and trying to get my budget kicked up a notch and spend less... i got kinda crazy for a bit.. so time to buckle down...

I am a single WOHM to my dd... My income is sporadic as I work part time as a nurse so my income can be anywhere from 1500-3000/month.. so on my low months i would like to have left over cash so as not to struggle soo much.. and also iwould like to save for a house in approx 5 yrs...

I will start from today... because last week sucked..

April 5 - No spending.. felt horrible in bed all day..


I will figure out smilies eventually but i still don't feel good...

[Happiestever]

Dh gave me money for bills and my cc's. And I went to Target and spent like $40 on underwear for potty learning dd and ds, and a card and bag for the bday present. Which was $50 @ worst buy. Normally I don't spend that much on children's gifts, but I asked what to get them, and boy was that a bad idea. Then I got lunch and dinner outside, that was $40- although really yummy. I need some serious help. I blew through so much so quick. I didn't spend much more than I alotted for the day - gift buying and such. But OIY!

Which normally would be fine, but this economy is soooo not normal. I feel like I am an awful wife and mom right now. Even though I bought things for kids and nothing but food for myself, I still feel like I need to get a hold of things.

It's like I can't let go of my old spending habits all the way. I used to spend a ton at the mall practically every week and Thank God I stopped that, but I really need to pull in the reigns.

[Purple*Lotus]

Originally Posted by dsaucone

CrunchyVT - I'd vote the lawn care as needed. I mean you can live without it, but mud puddles in the yard can only lead to more problems. haha. Kids splashing in them and ruining clothes, then you'd need to buy more clothes, you see where I'm going?

I agree that lawn maintence should be a normal budgeted for item. I think when you have three little ones, it is important to have grass for them to play in

Originally Posted by tricia80

Hi I am new here and trying to get my budget kicked up a notch and spend less... i got kinda crazy for a bit.. so time to buckle down...

I am a single WOHM to my dd... My income is sporadic as I work part time as a nurse so my income can be anywhere from 1500-3000/month.. so on my low months i would like to have left over cash so as not to struggle soo much.. and also iwould like to save for a house in approx 5 yrs...

I will start from today... because last week sucked..

April 5 - No spending.. felt horrible in bed all day..


I will figure out smilies eventually but i still don't feel good...

Welcome I hope you get to feeling better

Originally Posted by Happiestever

Dh gave me money for bills and my cc's. And I went to Target and spent like $40 on underwear for potty learning dd and ds, and a card and bag for the bday present. Which was $50 @ worst buy. Normally I don't spend that much on children's gifts, but I asked what to get them, and boy was that a bad idea. Then I got lunch and dinner outside, that was $40- although really yummy. I need some serious help. I blew through so much so quick. I didn't spend much more than I alotted for the day - gift buying and such. But OIY!

Which normally would be fine, but this economy is soooo not normal. I feel like I am an awful wife and mom right now. Even though I bought things for kids and nothing but food for myself, I still feel like I need to get a hold of things.

It's like I can't let go of my old spending habits all the way. I used to spend a ton at the mall practically every week and Thank God I stopped that, but I really need to pull in the reigns.

Welcome and we are glad to see you here. I am a spender myself, just taking it in baby steps

[KnittingKara]

Okay, new week, new day, new start! : I have forgiven myself for my Extreme Easter shopping spree and will now move on, enjoy this week and the holiday w/ family this coming weekend, let go and move on....

4/6 -
4/7 -

Grocery $ spent: $136.54/$190

$53 for the rest of the month will be a challenge (and I don't honestly think I'll make it, but I'm going to try and keep it close) I have $17 in CVS extra care bucks I plan on using for milk, so that ought to stretch things out a little bit ...

Clothing budget: $43.88 in the RED!
How I plan to fix this: sell things we no longer need and stop stalking eBay

Here we go, Non-Spenders! It is a new week full of chances to say no to spending!

[granola_mom]

I'm doing REALLY well so far! Usually I have blown a lot of my budget at the thrift store by this point in the month. But I've budgeted $20 per week to spend on myself and have stuck to it. It's always tempting to spend lots of money at the start of the month when the $ comes in, so I'm proud of myself for not doing that. This is also the first time ever that I've written down every penny spent and I can't believe how well it is working!! I love being able to account for everything spent, and for the first time in a long time I don't feel anxious or guilty or worried if I will go broke before the end of the month. I feel totally in control. Let's hope this lasts!

Oh, also- to curb spending I created a to do list of big tasks that I've been putting off for a while. I decided that when I have the urge to spend, I will tackle something on the list instead. So far, I've completed almost half of the items on my list! It's working beautifully.

April 1: ($14 at used book sale and $4 parking fees for said sale, within personal weekly budget)
April 2: (grocery day) $178 = $85 on bulk for month, $93 for weekly meals
April 3: and Paid rent and daycare bills, but no spending other than that! Also decluttered three garbage bags full of stuff to the thrift store and didn't even step foot in the store! Yay me!
April 4- earned $5 for bringing in beer and wine bottles, spent $16 on groceries at market (still within weekly food budget).
April 5- No spend day!
April 6- $5 on milk (came in just under week's food budget!) and $7 budgeted on new pens.

No spend or only necessary, budgetted spending like groceries, day care, rent, gas, etc.
Budgeted personal expenses only, hobbies, entertainment, etc.
Frivolous spend!- includes going over budget for things like groceries or gas.
Avoided urge to spend! (such as really wanted to go to book store but went to library instead, or other such action) or decluttered/purged in some way.

[turalis]

Plan: record everything here (did Feb & March and it made a huge difference in my spending) and use the envelope system.

Grocery weeks:
March 29 - April 4: 99.00/100
April 5 - April 11: 99.50/100
April 12 - April 18: 0/100
April 19 - April 25: 0/100
April 26 - May 2: 0/100

Type of spending
= budgeted spending
= not budgeted spending
= no spend

What the $ was spent on
: = $ spent on groceries
or : = $ spent on baby or cat
= $ spent on me

4/1 - on : 10.00 for next week's fruit & veggie delivery
4/2 -
4/3 - on - dealing with terrible cold
4/4 - on : 1.95
4/5 - on : 89.50 eek, grocery budget is used up for the week - must stick to menu.
4/6 -

[Hollysmom]

Spent the day at a local farm doing an egg hunt, hay rides etc. We walked around all day so I am counting that as my exercise.

April 1 -
April 2 - : $115.56 :, $3.94 Starbucks, $32.42 clothes for dd1
April 3 - $17 planned lunch out
April 4 - : $165.12 :
April 5 - : $30.50 trip to farm

: & household items $280.68/$600
Unbudgeted/Unnecessary Spending:
Budgeted/Necessary Spending: $62.92
No Spend Days: 1/15
:At least 30 minutes exercise: 3/30
Spending $ - $20.94/$50
Gas: $100

[Ruthiegirl]

Originally Posted by Bunnyflakes

Great news, I am finally able to type with both hands : I can't do much else with the left hand yet, but that is huge progress : The stitches are starting to itch like crazy so I am taking that as a sign that I am healing. The hand is tight, but the overall carpal tunnel symptoms seem to be gone gone GONE! :

That is terrific! Glad you are healing well.

[Alyantavid]

I'm planning 3 grocery trips this month max and hoping to keep it under $300. We don't usually spend a ton on just stuff, but the last month or two, its gotten wild. We typically eat out once or twice a month and that isn't a huge deal so I'm not worried if we do that and if we don't, great.

I'm just going to track groceries and any other spending that isn't one of our normal bills.

Here goes:
1-Payday - $15 prescription, $41.45 groceries
2-$0
3-$19.68 misc
4-$0
5-$0


Grocery total - $41.45

[Ruthiegirl]

Apr 1 --
Apr 2 --
Apr 3 --
Apr 4 --
Apr 5 --
Apr 6 --
Apr 7 --

No spend --
Budget spending --

105.75/450.00 groceries

[painefaria]

Our goals for APRIL!!!
We would like to pay off our Discover Card (the portion that is accruing interest)
Pay extra on CAR S to hopefully pay it off by 9/09.
Add to savings

147.47/360 for groceries :
31/150 for Eating out :
1/8 no spend days :
149/200 for Budgeted spending
I am planning for additional spending for
- DS's 2nd Birthday parties (one in PA and one in MA)
- In laws visiting (two dinners out that will not go against the eating out budget)
- Garden Supplies $50 for seed starting supplies, etc



77.40 Unbudgeted Spending :


4/1 - 52.53 Costco, 21.52 Gas S, 74 Car S inspection, 35 Dinner out with Inlaws, 22 Groceries
4/2 - 4 :
4/3 - 63.47 :, 20 Gas Y, 31 :, 40 Yarn Store, 31.77 ALDI :
4/4 - 10 :, 4 :, 45.63 ALDI :
4/5 - :
4/6 -

Well we spent a lot of money this weekend... The 77.40 that we spent at ALDI's was for space saver bags I have been wanting them for a long time and we got a GREAT deal. 5 bags (2 M, 2 L and 1 XL for 9.99) I can't even get them on Ebay for that . We were able to pack DS's clothes in 4 bins instead of 9 : So I am thinking that the purchase was worth it. Now onto OUR clothes!

[Smithie]

Interesting news about Angel Food Ministries, for those of you who might be considering using that service: http://bellesouth.blogspot.com/2009/...ntroversy.html

What I take away from this blog post (and the news article it links to) is that Angel Food is most definitely making money on every box sold, and that the supply of food is infinite because they are basically running a wholesale operation under a massive tax shelter. So if you, like me, were thinking that buying AFM boxes was taking something away from those in need, fret not! It is like going to Jesus' Costco!

(No offense intended to Jesus - although I'll bet He's pretty offended by the business practices of AFM.)

Update: I have to take away my and I went $93 over on my plane tickets, but I don't care! I got a DIRECT flight to the CLOSER airport - this traveling is going to be so, so much easier than I had anticipated! :

Of course, it would be very nice if my general household spending came in $100 under budget to make up for that travel overage...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 1st: Dunkin Donuts, $10. Groceries, $22.49. Vet, $268.50 and my dignity.
April 2nd:
April 3rd: $100 to mikveh lady, $45.72 lunch and groceries at kosher deli, $19 gas and snacks on trip home
April 4th: Groceries, 143.97. Oy.
April 5th: $39.50 for head coverings.
April 6th: $593 on plane tickets for summer visit home
April 7th
April 8th
April 9th
April 10th
April 11th
April 12th
April 13th
April 14th
April 15th: TAXES DUE
April 16th
April 17th
April 18th
April 19th
April 20th
April 21st
April 22nd
April 23rd
April 24th
April 25th
April 26th
April 27th
April 28th
April 29th
April 30th

Total non-bill non-food household spending: 383/1000
Food: 216.18/400
Plane tickets: 593/500
Days doing homeschool lessons: 2/20

[Crunchy*VT*Mom]

01..
02.. , :
03.. $153 on lawn stuff
04.. $128 clothes, $36 running stuff
05.. $32 yet more on clothes
06..
07..
08..
09..
10..
11..
12..
13..
14..
15.. Payday!

~~~~~~~~
My goals:

3/20 No Spend Days
1/5 Let the Car Rest Days :

[PlayaMama]

this quote really resonated with me:

"every time i CHOOSE to spend i am saying NO to savings."

and all the things that that savings would get me, a house, some security if our income decreases, all those things i really want but it's hard to remember in the moment. doing okay so far this month. i find it funny that i try to consolidate my spending days.


360.13/600 groceries
0/100 pantry stocking
0/25 spending money
27.75/80 sundry

4/20 no spend days
1/10 budgeted spend
1/0 non-budgeted spend!!!!
6/27 get outside :

1- :
2- 80.70 honey (is getting refunded but i'm putting it here since i spent it in the first place- this is why i haven't been back :
3- : 360.13 groceries 15.00 tank tops 12.75 kids clothes
4- :
5- :
6- :
7-
8-
9-
10-
11-


i think it's important to keep this in mind too.
march 517.18 17

[Turquesa]

a. Who you are

Turquesa, age 30-something, married SAHM to a 2-year-old with another coming late summer.

b. Where you are going (your financial goals)

Saving money feels somewhat like weight loss. You start out great and strong and progressing steadily. Then you plateau and lose motivation. Then you get a second wind and sprint again. I'm hoping I'm at that last part.

I need $3000 to paint the interior of our house and $2000 for our yard. I also need a 6-month stash fund for the very-real possibility of DH getting laid off.

c. How you plan to get there

1. Gardening this summer
2. $140.00 per week on groceries (I upped this from $120.00 because I'm insisting on healthy eating this pregnancy--meaning whole wheat flour over white and organics when I can get them).
3. One budgeted family lunch out per week at about $10.00.
4. Cook 5/7 dinners per week, (scrounging and grazing other nights)
5. At least 2/7 no-drive days. (It's hard in suburbia!)
6. Thrift stores and consignment shops for maternity and new baby clothes.
7. 5/7 "no spend days." (I'll work my way up, I promise!

Key:

: = Not a penny spent today!

= Budgeted spending

: = Non-budgeted spending

: = No driving

: = Cooked dinner

April 6: : : : Off to a lovely start!

[scrapadoozer]

04/01: $17 Thrifting.
04/02:
04/03:
04/04:
04/05:
04/06:

5/20 No spend days.
$17/$100 Unnecessarily spent.
$111/$400 Paid on the pellet stove.

[PassionateWriter]

1:::
2 $100 for ds2's bday. :
3 $70 food; $25 gas. :
4::
5:::
6:::


Goals
:4/20 No Spend Days
2/20 Decluttering/Organizing Days/30 minutes (NOT cleaning)
0/5 Library Days w/ boys
: 1/4 books
:0/20 knit at least 15 minutes
:6/28 eat at home
0/10 add things to CL
:0/5 update blogs (months behind)
:3/10 Let the Car Rest Days
:6/30 Exercise at least 30 minutes

Originally Posted by painefaria

The 77.40 that we spent at ALDI's was for space saver bags I have been wanting them for a long time and we got a GREAT deal. 5 bags (2 M, 2 L and 1 XL for 9.99) I

these are saving me a lot of $$ bc now i know exactly what i have. one of my goals this spring/summer is to not buy the kids clothes they dont need. so much harder said than done, even though i only have boys. lol!

[Purple*Lotus]

Jaime Totals:
Groceries: 0/$150
Household Expenses: 0/$75

My Grid:
= no spend days
= bills, bills, bills, but nothing unbudgeted
= spend day

April 1st
It was also a double no drive day since we are both homebound after the surgery. Gasoline saved :

April 2nd
And another double no drive day :

April 3rd
And you guessed it, yet another double no drive here I have to get out of the house this weekend. I think maybe my Mom will cut DHs hair over the weekend sometime, so that will save money and give me a chance to interact with other people.

April 4th
And a double no drive day. We are going to my parents house tomorrow so Mom can cut DH's hair. That will be $20 saved :

April 5th
We did drive today, to my parents house for DH to get his hair cut. That is $20 saved : DH also went to his family's house tonight so her drove there too, but overall I think it is just around 10 miles of driving. We are saving a ton because I am off for surgery/healing and DH took last week off to take care of me. That is $50 in gas saved right there. : Of course when you factor in the money I missed out on taking time off without pay, it doesn't quite even out

April 6th paying bills today, yay! Along with a budgeted $13.49 for my medicine.

April 7th
April 8th
April 9th
April 10th
April 11th
April 12th
April 13th
April 14th
April 15th
April 16th
April 17th
April 18th
April 19th
April 20th
April 21st
April 22nd
April 23rd
April 24th
April 25th
April 26th
April 27th
April 28th
April 29th
April 30th

Originally Posted by FeelingBlessed

April is darn good thus far...

Kim :

April 1:
April 2:
April 3:
April 4:
April 5: .

You are doing great!

Originally Posted by KnittingKara

Okay, new week, new day, new start! : I have forgiven myself for my Extreme Easter shopping spree and will now move on, enjoy this week and the holiday w/ family this coming weekend, let go and move on....

4/6 -
4/7 -


$53 for the rest of the month will be a challenge (and I don't honestly think I'll make it, but I'm going to try and keep it close) I have $17 in CVS extra care bucks I plan on using for milk, so that ought to stretch things out a little bit ....

You can do it!

Originally Posted by granola_mom

Oh, also- to curb spending I created a to do list of big tasks that I've been putting off for a while. I decided that when I have the urge to spend, I will tackle something on the list instead. So far, I've completed almost half of the items on my list! It's working beautifully.

That is a good idea!

Originally Posted by Ruthiegirl

That is terrific! Glad you are healing well.

Thanks

Originally Posted by painefaria

Well we spent a lot of money this weekend... The 77.40 that we spent at ALDI's was for space saver bags I have been wanting them for a long time and we got a GREAT deal. 5 bags (2 M, 2 L and 1 XL for 9.99) I can't even get them on Ebay for that . We were able to pack DS's clothes in 4 bins instead of 9 : So I am thinking that the purchase was worth it. Now onto OUR clothes!

Sounds like a great deal! I wish we had an Aldis where I live, but I think there is one in the next town over from us.

Originally Posted by PlayaMama

this quote really resonated with me:

"every time i CHOOSE to spend i am saying NO to savings."

and all the things that that savings would get me, a house, some security if our income decreases, all those things i really want but it's hard to remember in the moment. doing okay so far this month. i find it funny that i try to consolidate my spending days.

Great quote!

Originally Posted by Turquesa

a. Who you are

Turquesa, age 30-something, married SAHM to a 2-year-old with another coming late summer.

b. Where you are going (your financial goals)

Saving money feels somewhat like weight loss. You start out great and strong and progressing steadily. Then you plateau and lose motivation. Then you get a second wind and sprint again. I'm hoping I'm at that last part.

I need $3000 to paint the interior of our house and $2000 for our yard. I also need a 6-month stash fund for the very-real possibility of DH getting laid off.

Welcome!

[tiffany21074]

1-
2-
3
4-
5-
6-

Stayed in budget, but food will be tight for the next week! Oh well, time to eat from the pantry!