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~January No-Spend Challenge~ Let's start 2010 out with a bang! Everyone is welcome to join at... - Page 12

post #221 of 233
1/29/10 at 12:41pm
January 1 -
January 2 - $13 for socks (I needed them, but still a spend)
January 3 -
January 4 - $23 snacks and $ to play cards at friends house
January 5 -
January 6 -
January 7 - $46 Reusable lunch containers
January 8 - $15 lunch, $2 paper for dd1, $12 lottery tickets (with a group at work)
January 9 -
January 10 -
January 11 - $20 lunch with colleagues
January 12 - $22 Birthday gift
January 13 -
January 14 - $117 Woolens for the girls for next winter
January 15 - $29 coffee, lunch & baby gift
January 16 - $15 fast food
January 17 -
January 18 - $9 lunch
January 19 -
January 20 -
January 21 -
January 22 -
January 23 -
January 24 -
January 25 -
January 26 -
January 27 - $20 lunch
January 28 -

Unbudgeted/Unnecessary Spending: $343
No Spend Days: 17
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post #222 of 233
1/29/10 at 6:36pm
Keep $$ amounts on my computer and don't usually post them here, makes it easier for me to track at the end of the month, I also track my workouts.

My key:
No Spend
No Driving
Budgeted Spending/Necessities/Thought Over Purchase
Unnecessary Spending
: Exercise Day

12th-
13th-
14th-
15th-
16th-
17th-
18th-
19th-
20th-
21st-
22nd-
23rd-
24th-
25th-
26th-
27th-
28th-
29th- but at the same time
30-
31-
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post #223 of 233
1/29/10 at 6:53pm
Got a second FSA payout I wasn't expecting (it's per pay period, not per month, when you have a claim pending. Well, okay then!) Also, it turns out that our "cash back" Amex card does its cash back reward every January. So -the month is really close to balancing. Really close. Sooooooo close...
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post #224 of 233
1/30/10 at 8:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bellabear View Post
a. Who you are: Michelle SAHM to one dd
b. Where you are going (your financial goals): Finally realized the huge debt I have created and am ready to get serious and pay it off, then start saving for the future. Oh,first save one month's living expenses, then on to debt.
c. How you plan to get there: No unnecessary spending, keep track of budget, meal planning.

Key:
- no spend
- necessary/budgeted spend
- unnecessary spend



01- Gas, credit card payments
02- Groceries for the week
03-
04-
05- Dr appt copay
06-
07- (dh gas)
08- groceries (apples, also strawberries for play date)
09- groceries
10-
11-
12-
13- (dh chiropractor co-pay)
14- me (dh forgot his lunch)
15-
16- groceries for the week
17- heavy cream for pasta sauce
18-
19- me (dh lunch)
20- gas
21- dh gas, stamps
22- - groceries (sour cream) (dh lunch)
23- - groceries for the week
24- - groceries for the week
25- - once upon a child--clothes for new baby+books for dd--$11.85
26- - 5 pairs of wiggees for new baby, they are going out of business and are my fav soft soled shoes, were only $5 each and will last till baby is at least 2 years old--$31.95
27- dh gas
28-
29- - groceries for the week (had to get today bc of snowstorm!)
30- dh coffee and beer

Goal: stay under budget, 0 unnecessary spend days!
Well, we did great this month! Stayed under budget and had money to put in savings! I will be back next month (tomorrow!)
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post #225 of 233
1/31/10 at 10:22am
Keep $$ amounts on my computer and don't usually post them here, makes it easier for me to track at the end of the month, I also track my workouts.

My key:
No Spend
No Driving
Budgeted Spending/Necessities/Thought Over Purchase
Unnecessary Spending
: Exercise Day

12th-
13th-
14th-
15th-
16th-
17th-
18th-
19th-
20th-
21st-
22nd-
23rd-
24th-
25th-
26th-
27th-
28th-
29th- but at the same time
30th-
31st-
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post #226 of 233
1/31/10 at 10:25am
I totally bombed this month in tracking my spending both on here and in my budget file. I will do better next month!
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post #227 of 233
2/1/10 at 12:17am
I tracked ll month long and totalled it all up tonight. We were not trying to no-spend per se, just trying to get an accurate picture of what we are spending. Well, now we know and I need to NO SPEND part of this challenge for next month for sure!!!
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post #228 of 233
2/1/10 at 12:14pm
January 1 -
January 2 - $13 for socks (I needed them, but still a spend)
January 3 -
January 4 - $23 snacks and $ to play cards at friends house
January 5 -
January 6 -
January 7 - $46 Reusable lunch containers
January 8 - $15 lunch, $2 paper for dd1, $12 lottery tickets (with a group at work)
January 9 -
January 10 -
January 11 - $20 lunch with colleagues
January 12 - $22 Birthday gift
January 13 -
January 14 - $117 Woolens for the girls for next winter
January 15 - $29 coffee, lunch & baby gift
January 16 - $15 fast food
January 17 -
January 18 - $9 lunch
January 19 -
January 20 -
January 21 -
January 22 -
January 23 -
January 24 -
January 25 -
January 26 -
January 27 - $20 lunch
January 28 -
January 29 - $17 breakfast and lunch
January 30 - $7 kids craft stuff
January 31 -

Unbudgeted/Unnecessary Spending: $367
No Spend Days: 18

Well pretty good number of no spend days, but too much unbudgeted spending on those days.
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post #229 of 233
2/1/10 at 12:34pm
Hooray for me! I've officially tracked all of my January spending! Looking forward to February and making spending cuts!! Especially with food spending!
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post #230 of 233
2/1/10 at 12:34pm
necessary spend
no spend
unnecessary spend

January
1.
2. groceries 80, gas 19 (yay, i didn't go ANYWHERE else to spend money!!), date night 20.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8. 5.04 mcd's breakfast, 4.30 mcd's lunch. didn't plan my meals very well on this day. also gave 25.00 to dh for pizza for my stepkids while i was at my daughter's babysitting the grandbabies.
9. gas 27.44, cvs 31.01, whole foods 29.45, kroger 152.40 i overspent on food.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15. pizza again 19.00 , 11.58 lunch with coworker
16. gas 21.82, groceries 65.65, atm 40.00
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22. 258.0 airfare for my sister to visit me; we are very close and she can't afford tickets herself this year so i am gladly paying.
23. gas 27.67, household and misc 38.69, groceries 148.20 (a bit more than i wanted to spend)
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29. 77.01 budgeted for our anniversary date night; this is an unusual expense for us as far as being the only time we want to make dining out special, it includes the tip and bottle of wine bought at the restaurant.
30. household 17.52, petsmart 25.75, groceries 102.94
31.
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post #231 of 233
2/1/10 at 12:46pm
January

Here's to no spending for the next 5 days!!
Key:
No Spending:
Budgeted Spending:
Unnecessary Spending
Emergency/Unnecessary Spending:
Exercise:

1- (Happy New Year!)
2- $376 costco
3- $94 Target
4-
5-
6-
7- $20 (glee club) & $5 lunch
8-
9- $31 walgreens for lotion/cream & $26 for dinner out/birthday
10- $6 lunch, but $33 groceries
11-
12-
13-
14-
15-
16- $18 walgreens (prescript) & $15 for birthday breakfast
17-
18-
19- $3 lunch & $23 for dinner (DH sick all day + me work)
20-
21- $9.00 for a work dessert pass
22- $5.50 lunch
23-
24- $5.50 dinner (i had class all day)
25-
26-
27- $2 lunch
28- $2 lunch
29- $8.00 for rootbeer float fixings
30-Got paid for Feb & did grocery shopping. Will record in Feb no-spending
31- Got paid for Feb Will record in Feb no-spending

January 2010 goals:
Eat out (dinner or lunch): 4 days
Groceries: $500/$500
Extra for CC: $0/$200
No Spend days: 16/20

No extra $$ for the CC - but this is the first month I didn't break the budget and we finished (by $22 in the black)
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post #232 of 233
2/1/10 at 2:39pm
The final score is in, and for January 2010 this household is $2.53 in the black
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post #233 of 233
2/2/10 at 2:29am
January Totals:
3 unnecessary spend days/2
17days with $0 spent/15
No eating out that I pay for all month!
Decluttering: a gazillion items
Eat well within food budget: $260= twenty under budget!!
Set/ necessary expenses: $354
Track travel expenses: $10
Unnecessary spending: $49
Unplanned grocery trips: 2 (but nothing wasted )
Find a job: chuggin along... will make it happen in Feb!!

1-
2-
3-bought groceries , used close to 1/4 of monthly budget
4-
5-produce <$2, + a splurge of $6 + bills! $309
6-
7-
8- groceries $46
10-
11-
12-
13- groceries $17
14-
15-spent $32
16-60 cent library fine
17- $10
18- groceries $30
19-quarters $10 , produce $14
20-
21-
22-
23- $17, + unnecessary $11
24-
25- $15, diapers $16
26-
27- $25 STILL lacking produce but I got two large bags of cheese (mozzarella & mexican blend) so that we can coast on homemade pizzas and tacos and several things we will use that were at least half off (whole turkey breast, lettuce, whole grain bread)
28-
29- $22
30-
31-
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Mothering › Forums › Natural Family Living › The Mindful Home › Frugality & Finances › ~January No-Spend Challenge~ Let's start 2010 out with a bang! Everyone is welcome to join at any time :)