~May No-Spend Challenge~ We're tracking our spending and trying hard to spend less. Come Join us! - Page 5

[ColoradoMama]

We had to take the stupid van to the shop today. Ugh. We have money in the bank for stuff like this, but dang it - it's really irritating considering we JUST spend quite a bit of money on that stupid van last week. *sigh*

= unbudgeted spending
= budgeted spending
= no spend

1 - paid bills and bought a few groceries
2 - bought a car seat, a few more groceries, and a treat that was budgeted (well, okay - we bought a trash can, but we had a gift card someone had given us, so we didn't spend anything!)
3 - groceries, again, but they were still budgeted, so we're still good

[triscuitsmom]

This Month:
1. No Spend days - 0/15
2. No more than five unplanned spending days - 1/5
3. Exercise 20 days - 2/20
4. Get rid of 300 items around the house - 0/300

Key:
No Spend
Budgeted spending only
Unbudgeted spending

1: Bought groceries today : Walked to and from the pediatrician to get the baby seen
2: Paid phone/internet bill : Got my butt moving doing spring clean up outside and inside!
3: Grocery shopping to stock up on bulk items
4: Forgot about a doctors appointment and had to take a cab to get there - $20.00

[Crunchy*VT*Mom]

01.. , SOS
02.. $145 picture frames from Michael's
03.. $55 date night, SOS
04.. , SOS
05..
06..
07..
08..
09..
10..

My Goals:

2/20 No Spend Days
0/5 Let the car rest days :
3/31 Stay Out of the Stores SOS

[scrapadoozer]

05/01:
05/02: $14 Taco Bell
05/03:
05/04:

3/20 No spend days
$14/$100 Frivolous spending.
$0/$300 Paid on pellet stove.

[SugarAndSun]

1st: : No spend!
2nd: $123 TJs; $2.12 Starbucks
3rd: : No spend!
4th: : No spend!


NEW GOALS:
Eat out of the freezer as much as possible
Sell items

[Amanda Williams]

Can't type my intro right now, but need to record some stuff....

May 1st: BIG spending! Paper groceries/medicines: $43
Fast food: $1, Baby gym/playmat: $15, Food Groceries: $224, walked one mile
May 2nd: no spend, one mile
3rd: hiked one mile, $6 state park, $1 fast food
4th: one mile


Tallies:

Baby: $15
Food Groceries: $224
Paper Groceries: $43
Fast food: $2
Homeschool: $6
Walked 3/4 days

[Smithie]

Why, oh why, did nobody shop from my baby registry? Or even take hints from it as to general categories of things I might be needing? Aaaaaargh!

Anyhow, baby shopping today. I kept in under control, and my SIL is lending me a ton of stuff, so really I'm very lucky even if I DO have slightly more tiny frilly outfits than anybody needs.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

May 1: $2 pizza day at preschool, $295 preschool tuition, $300 mural in kids' bedroom
May 2: Mortgage paid.$4.56 overpriced yummy sugary coffee drink, $3 brownie breakfast for kids, $7 heirloom veggies seedlings, $10 gallon of local strawberries, $6.77 bananas and raw milk.
May 3: $26.37 book, $31.57 bulk order of Dreamfields pasta
May 4: $35.99 sheets and socks for older kids at BRU, $33.86 baby supplies at Baby Depot, $44.45 teacher gifts, frame for baby's Simchat Bat collage, various other stuff at Michael's, and... $13.23 unhealthy lunch at the Barnes and Noble cafe for ds and me
Expense categories:

Gas: 0/60
Cash: 0/200
Celebrations (kids' birthdays!): 0/300
Babysitter: 0/50
Clothing: 0/50
Preschool Tuition: 295/295
Entertainment: 26.37/50
Groceries: 48.34/300
Eating Out: 22.79/100
Gifts: 0/75
Grooming: 0/50
Holding Costs on house in Seattle: 703.51/704
Cleaner: 0/300
Garden: 7/50
Yard Guy: 0/70
Other household: 414.30/500
Insurance: 103.30/120
Tax: 0/475 set aside to pay state property taxes due in December
Cable: 0/98
Garbage: 0/53
Gas and Electric: 0/220
Internet and Phone: 0/89
Water: 0/43
Principal Payment on Seattle house: 250/250
Car Loan: 0/661.21

Total: 1639.78/4808 (this is the total amount of take-home $$$ for this month)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goals:

Get this household in the green for May!

[granola_mom]

ok it may seem i blew my budget today on groceries, since i'm nearly half way to my budget total for the month but I'm trying to only go to the grocery store twice this month, so i bought two weeks worth of groceries today plus some bulk for the month.

May 1- and : No spend, no drive day.
May 2- $14 on Medicine.
May 3- and : $5 on Artisan bread (yummm!)
May 4- Grocery day, $218 (big monthly trip!!)


May goals:

3/20 No spend days
2/10 No drive days

$223/$500 groceries/food
$0/$100 home/garden
$0/$50 alcohol
$0/$100 gas/transportation
$14/$100 entertainment/hobbies/spending

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.
: No drive day!

[dsaucone]

1
2
3 $6 fast food breakfast
4 $14 arguably necessary meal out $10 nurses week special lunch
5
6
7
8 : PAY
9 mom visits
10
11
12 : 21st!
13
14
15 : PAY
16
17
18
19
20
21
22 : PAY
23
24
25
26
27
28
29 : PAY - sister visits
30
31

KEY/GOALS/TOTALS

No unncessary/unneeded spending 2

$30

: $194 left in budget.

Savings $12/$500

[ChampagneBlossom]

I'm a SAHM of two. My husband is a student and we currently live off of his military benefits so money is really tight. Do-able, but very tight, and we haven't been very good with staying on budget. My mom has been giving us way too much freebie money and we've gotten spoiled, simply put. I really hate being even this dependent on her and want to be self-sufficient. I feel a lot of shame over accepting money from her. Lot of baggage and control issues. And my husband grew up poor but has never had to be accountable for any money spent so he has never learned self-control and really feels depressed if he can't blow his money on toys. I want to prove to him that we *can* do this!

Goals:
* Stay at home as much as possible.
* Use cash ONLY so we can really figure out where the money is going
* Keep fast food out of our lives completely

~*~*~*May*~*~*~

1. Spent - Drove - 40 miles
2. Spent:
Household - 9.22/50
Children - 6.97/50
Groceries - 73.22/400 (59.48 This week, 13.74 Stockpile)
Family Treat Money - 10.92 / 70
Drove: 23 miles
3.:
4.:
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.

[tricia80]

Tricia's Totals:

Goals:

Have a $1000 EF
Pay off consolidation loan by Jan 2010
Exercise More
Eat Out Less/Pack Lunches More

Types of Spending:

: Unbudgeted/Unnecessary Spending
Budgeted Spending (groceries, gas, rent, hydro, babysitting etc)
No Spending

Totals:

Groceries: 26.11/120
Budgeted Bills: 12.25/1631.10
Gas: /120
Unecessary Spending:
Unbudgeted Expenses:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
5/1 - 8.12 (groceries), 12.25 (cat food)
5/2 - 15 (thermometer to make yogurt, ice cream - out of the food budget)
5/3 - No spending because its Sunday
5/4 - 2.99 (bananas for dd's African Class Lunch - took out of the grocery budget) Does gardening count as exercise???

[kreyno4]

What is going on this month? I am having such a hard time getting started! I need a new start to the month! I am not going to have a no-spend day tomorrow either because I will be near a Whole Foods and need some emergency peppermint oil to stop the ants that have invaded my house! Argh!

I am tempted to quit but I know it will just get so much worse if I do.....

___

5/1 - $10 fast food Oops not a great start to the month!
5/2 - $20 raffle tickets at fundraiser, $7 grocery, $30 ordering food
5/3 - $20 grocery
5/4 - $5 coffee out, $10 celebrate dh's new job! :

No spend
: No drive

0/15 no spend
1/15 no drive
$212/400 groceries and household (carried over from April)
$75 not in budget ($40 dividend, $75 discussion board participation)

[Om Girl]

Honestly...what a way to start a month on vacation visiting the in-laws~

[PlayaMama]

okay so far...the trick now is to NOT start congratulating myself or not spending and thinking it's okay to start! no co-ops!!

0/600 groceries
0/100 pantry stocking
0/60 spending money
12.97/80 sundry

3/20 no spend days
1/5 budgeted spend
0/0 non-budgeted spend!!!!

1-
2- 12.97 shipping for tto
3-
4-
5-
6-
7-
8-
9-
10-
11-

april 358.07 19
march 517.18 17

[FeelingBlessed]

a. Who you are...
My name is Kim; I am a SAHM/PT WAHM (freelance writer/PR/workshop presenter) to 2 great little kids. DH works FT and also goes to school FT.

b. Where you are going (your financial goals)...
1. Keep budget in the black + stick to it.
2. Continue to hit the debt snowball hard.
3. May - Break $250K in debt paid off since we began to snowball in Feb. 2008.

c. How you plan to get there...
1. INCREASE income - set work goals + consistently do "something amazing"
2. Sell/donate unneeded items
3. CREATE A MEAL PLAN AND STICK TO IT!
4. No more late library materials! Or parking tickets!
5. ORGANIZE! Majority of overbudget/frivolous spending can be prevented with improved organization.
6. Exercise: feeling good = decreased emotional spending

MAY GOALS:
* Move toward achieving work goals: 0/24
* Less than $25 in frivolous spending: month to date $0
* At least 24 days (no spend or spending w/in budget): 0/24
* NO library fines: month to date $0 / NO parking tickets: $0
* Stay within grocery/eating out budget: $0/$500
* ORGANIZE/declutter (lack of organization = spending): 0/24
* Exercise (feeling good = decreased emotional spending): 0/30
* Meal plan created: 0/4 weeks

Previous months:
June '07: 20 days; $210.42 frivolous; $519.54 groceries; $117.55 eating out
July '07: 16 days; $325.62 frivolous; $825.40 groceries; $112.84 eating out
Aug. '07: 23 days; $144.47 frivolous; $593.09 groceries; $643.07 eating out
Sept. '07: 22 days; $128.37 frivolous; $598.19 groceries; $121.48 eating out
Oct. '07: 25 days; $139.55 frivolous; $472 groceries; $129.55 eating out
Nov. '07: 25 days; $192.50 frivolous; $608 groceries; $101 eating out
Dec. '07: 28 days; $55.20 frivolous; $503 groceries
Jan. '08: 27 days; $19.90 frivolous; $555.85 groceries/eating out
Feb. '08: 18 days; $131.80 frivolous; $668 groceries/eating out
March '08: 28 days; $19.40 frivolous; $500 groceries/eating out
April '08: 24 days; $39.16 frivolous; $768.65 groceries/eating out
May '08: 21 days; $53.41 frivolous; $920 groceries/eating out, 23 Organize/Declutter days, 26 Exercise days
June '08: 21 days; $137.20 frivolous; $621 groceries/eating out, 17 Organize/Declutter days, 23 Exercise days
July '08: 20 days; $88.44 frivolous; $892 groceries/eating out, 15 Organize/Declutter days, 20 Exercise days
Aug. '08: 21 days; $286.33 frivolous; $740.81 groceries/eating out, 27 Organize/Declutter days, 21 Exercise days
Sept. '08: FIDO
Oct. '08: 27 days; $18 frivolous; $769.02 groceries/eating out, 21 Organize/Declutter days, 25 Exercise days
Nov. '08: 23 days; $55 frivolous; $1,178.77 groceries/eating out, 24 Organize/Declutter days, 14 Exercise days
Dec. '08: 25 days; $8.95 frivolous; $859.01 groceries/eating out, 27 Organize/Declutter days, 14 Exercise days
Jan. '09: Got away from me...onward!
Feb. '09: 22 days; $110.51 frivolous; $740.94 groceries/eating out, 26 Organize/Declutter days, 16 Exercise days, 18 Writing days
March '09: need to finish updating...
April '09: 26 days; $0 frivolous; $830 groceries/eating out, 23 Organize/Declutter days, 23 Exercise days, 4/4 weeks meal plan

[mermaidmama]

re

SAHM of one ds. Wanting to clear debt. Needing to save money.

May
01 -no spending
02 -no spending
03 -no spending
04 -no spending
05 -

[FeelingBlessed]

Finding it hard to believe we are into May already; seemed like I was just flipping the calendar to April. Need to figure out a low budget/high value approach for May gift giving: b-day, Mother's Day, 1st communion...

Kim

May 1:
May 2:
May 3:
May 4:

MAY GOALS:
* Move toward achieving work goals: 3/24
* Less than $25 in frivolous spending: month to date $0
* At least 24 days (no spend or spending w/in budget): 4/24
* NO library fines: month to date $0 / NO parking tickets: $0
* Stay within grocery/eating out budget: $to update/$500
* ORGANIZE/declutter (lack of organization = spending): 3/24
* Exercise (feeling good = decreased emotional spending): 3/30
* Meal plan created: 0/4 weeks
* Break $250K in debt paid off since snowball began Feb. 2008: $248,859.40

[Crunchy*VT*Mom]

I'm hoping to stay home today and love on my house. We haven't had a stay-home day in three weeks.

Well, I'm supposed to go to a neighbor's house for a meeting for my job, but I can walk there so that feels like a stay-home thing to do.

Pre-emptive no-spend.

01.. , SOS
02.. $145 picture frames from Michael's
03.. $55 date night, SOS
04.. , SOS
05.. , SOS, :
06..
07..
08..
09..
10..

My Goals:

3/20 No Spend Days
1/5 Let the car rest days :
4/31 Stay Out of the Stores SOS

[Hollysmom]

May 1 - $191.52 :, $30 t-shirts for school fundraiser, $13 lunch, $26.95 toys :
May 2 -
May 3 -
May 4 -
May 5 –
May 6 –
May 7 –
May 8 –
May 9 –
May 10 – Mother’s Day
May 11 –
May 12 –
May 13 –
May 14 –
May 15 –
May 16 – Dh’s Birthday
May 17 –
May 18 – DD2’s Birthday
May 19 –
May 20 –
May 21 –
May 22 –
May 23 –
May 24 – My Birthday
May 25 –
May 26 –
May 27 –
May 28 –
May 29 –
May 30 –
May 31 –

= No Spend
= Unbudgeted/Unnecessary Spending
= Budgeted/Necessary Spending

: & Household items: $191.52/$600
Gas: $0/$100
Spending $: $13/$50
Unbudgeted/Unnecessary Spending: $56.95
No Spend Days 3/15

[turalis]

Set up a budget, use the cash and envelope system, and record everything here. This will be my fourth month and now a morning doesn't feel complete if I haven't logged on to record my spending.

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

Grocery weeks:
May 3 - May 9: 72.00/90
May 10 - May 16: 0/100
May 17 - May 23: 0/100
May 24 - May 30: 0/100

Daily report:
5/1 -
5/2 -
5/3 - 72.00 on :
5/4 - 15.00 on : and 2.50 on ice cream for dh and I
5/5 -