NoSpend November - Money in the Bank is a Reason to be Thankful

[kathirynne]

This is a support thread to help you ~not spend your money~.

Everyone is welcome to join and you can start tracking your spending at any time. It doesn't have to be October 1st. Now is a good time to start.

The plan is simple (although tough to execute):

1. Vow not to spend any money on unnecessary purchases.

2. Come on here everyday and record your spending.

We all record our spending in different ways. There are no rules. You record and update however you would like -- pick a way that will help you spend the least amount of money.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please write an introductory message when you decide to join our thread. We would like to know:

a. Who you are

b. Where you are going (your financial goals) and

c. How you plan to get there

Good luck MDCers!! Keep that money in your wallet.

[kathirynne]

a. Who you are I am Kathirynne, single WOH Mumma of 4 children.

b. Where you are going (your financial goals) 2012 is the year of the Fully Funded Emergency Fund for our family.  In order to achieve this goal, I have some financial housekeeping to do as 2011 comes to an end.  (This mostly means getting caught up on all the bills I may have gotten behind in paying.)

and c. How you plan to get there Sticking RELIGIOUSLY to my budget and coming here to post my spending.

1 November: true no-spend....not one penny.

2 November:  $1.75 (wax paper for my eldest son's art project)

                    $3.00 (lunch for me)

Edited by kathirynne - 11/2/11 at 12:04pm

[ehflores]

Thanks for starting this! I think it will help me meet my goals.

a. Who you are: My name is Hiroko and I have a husband and two little girls- a 2 yr old, and a 4 mo old. I"m a sahm, but starting to work from home on a small scale.

b. Where you are going (your financial goals) and: we have had a lot of changes in the finace department and have accrued some credit card debt. My goal is to spend less and pay off the credit cards!

c. How you plan to get there: Just like you, not spending on unnecessary purchases. I feel like I really manage to come up with ridiculous justification for spending and realize when it's too late that we didn't need whatever it was at all....that being said, I think I am quite frugal in many ways.

Today we ate out for breakfast and lunch! Not extravangant: yogurt, coffee, and pizza (not that healthy today, either!) but we normally are home for those meals. lunch was a surprise, but great for our 2yr old- she got to play with a friend. I guess I need to pack more "just in case" food. I confess my most recent big questionable purchase was wool long unders for the girls, but I did wait over a year until I found some on sale.

how did you set your budget?

[AnkaJones]

Hi,

This is only my second month on a budget!  Last month did well with the support of the equivalent thread for October, so I'm back for more. 

a. Who you are:  Married WOH mom to 4 mo DS.

b. Where you are going (your financial goals) and: We want to have more time to spend with our growing family.  Right now, we spend a lot of our time working to make "minimum payments" on debt (up until last month when we started our debt snowball).  Right now we're learning a new way of living to pay down our debts and buy our freedom back.

c. How you plan to get there: Learning the difference between wants and needs; learning to be grateful for what we have and grateful for the possesions and things we aren't burdened with, also.  On a practical level, this will be our second month on a written budget and paying down our debt with a DR type debt snowball.  I'm also picking up a lot of OT/holiday pay this month to increase our contribution and get us off to a good start. 

Goals for this month:

1. No unbudgeted spending, post here every day.

2. Hand laundry twice this month.  Continuing indoor herb garden.

3.  Meal planning every week.  Last month was our first experiment with meal planning and we decided not to try to make it at all frugal (other than the decreased food waste and lack of impulse eating out); this month we're going to focus on cost containment.

4.  Six OT shifts this month, with extra takehome pay going to student loans.  Continue planned debt snowball.

5.  In honor of Thanksgiving, identify one thing to be grateful for each day!

Key:

 No spend/Budgeted spending

 Legitimate unbudgeted spending

 Bad spending

----

11/1:  No spend!  Worked extra OT shift last night.  Grateful for getting to snuggle with DS when I got home.

11/2:   No spend! Grateful for the wonderful ladies at our breastfeeding group.

11/3:  Budgeted spending: $50 on new diaper covers to replace the ones being outgrown (it's pretty incredible how fast DS is growing).  Took shuttle to save gas money.  Landlord still hasn't turned on heat and won't return phone calls... the rumor is that the boiler is broken.  Meanwhile, we're making do with a couple of space heaters, but our electric bill is probably going to be sky high this month.  Part of me wants to call the Fair housing commission to report (especially given the fact that he's just blowing us off), but part of me wants to have a good relationship with the landlord... he hasn't raised rent in years, even though everything but electricity is included and energy prices have gone up so much.  Opinions?  Today grateful for a nice warm shuttlebus after walking there in the cold!

11/4:    Budgeted spending: $5.50 for family lunch at food truck while doing everyone's doctors appointments today.  Just got electricity bill (counting winter storm part of the two space heater thing)... twice as much as this time last year!!! luckily I overbudgeted that, so we're still under budget, but still.    At least the heat for the building as finally been turned on!  Which is what I'm grateful for... a nice, cozy apartment!  Also, did hand laundry (phew!).

11/5  7.75 on subway tokens (budgeted).  Grateful for the baby reminding me I have to slow down.

11/6  Budgeted grocery shoping.  Grateful for our new parish priest.

11/7   No spend!  Grateful for the wonderful ladies at work, who I can run ideas by and not worry about being shot down if they're still in process.

Edited by AnkaJones - 11/8/11 at 6:01am

[Attila the Honey]

a> I am Jennifer - married SAHM to my almost 8 year old homeschooler Flora.

b> Right now we are going into the Winter with some balances on our utilities.  My goal is to get them paid off ASAP before the cost of gas and electricity go up for the Winter. Also - I want to get our Emergency Fund back to a healthy state.  

c> I plan on budgeting and cutting all unnecessary spending completely. Especially eating at restaurants. (ouch)  Also - we are having another family move in with us in January so we are currently decluttering a lot (emptying out 3 rooms and cleaning the basement) and taking stuff to consignment.  All consignment money is going directly into the emergency fund.

11/1 - no spend!  

11/2 - no spend

11/3 - dh spent $5 on lunch and bought cider and doughnuts for $10  I am taking it out of our grocery budget

11/4 - $15 on fast food because we were on the road and I didn't plan well enough.  $12 at liquor store.  Both were budgeted as "traveling money". lol

11/5 - $14 at the bookstore on some supplies we wanted - also budgeted.  $21 on dd's birthday dinner - budgeted.  $54 at asian grocery store (out of grocery budget)

11/6 - gas for the car $44 (That put our traveling budget over by $6)   Groceries - $24 (now our grocery budget is over by $5)

11/7 - no spend

We are currently in OK shape - we visited family and my parents gave us $90 to offset traveling expenses and that went right into the Emergency Fund.  

Edited by Attila the Honey - 11/7/11 at 6:59am

[Ruthiegirl]

Hi all!   Joining in my favorite thread on Mothering.  Haven't done a good no-spend challenge for a while.  It is a good time to join -- we have spent a huge sum on the house lately.  The main water line to our house started leaking, the stove broke and our old boiler needed some work -- all added up to lots of $$$.  We are still solvent (thanks to the emergency fund!), but I do need to keep to a tight budget while I prep for a new baby and the upcoming holidays.  

a. Who you are

Ruth, mama to three, soon to be four kids. 

b. Where you are going (your financial goals) 

My main goal this month is to pay off 1 cc and make a huge payment to the other.  I also need to finish paying for the new water line.  Have not gotten the final bill, so waiting to see what that will cost.  Fingers crossed that I can make the payment without dipping into the cc payment.    

c. How you plan to get there

No travel or eating out this month.  I am 8 months pregnant, so there is not much traveling, but I am tempted to eat out and not have to cook and clean up the kitchen.  So, this month is al about eating at home, eating up the veggies in the garden and keeping things mellow.  

And no baby spending!   Not even that fancy,new stroller I keep eyeing.     

[Ruthiegirl]

The kids have their big fundraiser for school this Friday and in lieu of hauling my aching, pregnant belly in to the school to help stack chairs, I  opted to send a $25 check for each of the kids.  It tightens up the budget even more, which was not in the plans.  We can still make it, but it does leave me a little dry for the next week.  On the bright side, we have no where we need to go and no big plans for the up-coming week, so it should be an easy time to cut back on expenses.  And I am a very relieved to have one less activity to do...  

Nov 1 -- no spend

Nov 2 -- 10.00 kids lunch money,  6.58 milk

Nov 3 -- 50.00 school donation

Nov 4

Nov 5

Nov 6

Grocery money remaining till next pay day (Nov 11)   -- 99.67

Edited by Ruthiegirl - 11/3/11 at 7:46am

[highlandmum]

Hi! I'm Jen and I am a newly divorced mother of three. Went from being a stay at home mom to working full time and supporting three kids 5 and under! I NEED this board and this thread in particular, lol....

So, today, I spent $165 at the grocery store. Other than buying milk/bread/eggs/cheap roast/and a turkey---- this is all the groceries I can buy until Nov. 16th when I get paid again. This was pretty spendy too, because I had to get some cleaning supplies. Yesterday I spent $375 (!!!!!) at Sam's Club. Got a lot of things I had been saving for though. Everything purchased was planned. But now things are going to be very very tight (tighter than the usual tight) until the 16th. So thanks for the inspiration!!! I'll be on here a LOT. 

[FillingMyQuiver]

The last 2 months I've dropped out mid-month and our spending has been ridiculous.  We HAVE to get it together this month, there are no excuses.

a. Who you are

Jenn, SAHM to 5 kiddos under 8, homeschooling 2 of them, trying to keep my sanity.

b. Where you are going

1. debt free

2. full e-fund
3. paying down mortgage quickly
4. saving for retirement and college

c. How you plan to get there

1. Stick to the budget
2. Limit trips to the stores
3. Cut the utility bills
4. Eating at home

We've reworked our budget to account for things that are coming up, namely, a trip to see family for Thanksgiving, 3 birthdays this month, some Christmas shopping, tires for DHs car, and work that's needed on my truck before winter.  For some reason (and I really have no idea why), our water bill was majorly above and beyond the usual, but thankfully, our electric bill was below normal.

Goals for November

No spend/ budgeted days 2/25
30+ min crafting 2/25

Key
No spend/ budgeted
Unbudgeted/ unnecessary spending
30+ min crafting

1.   ordered gifts for 2 birthdays, was thankfully already budgeted for.

2.   ordered fabric for the kiddos matching Christmas pjs, $$ was budgeted. 

[doubledutch]

hi!

a) woh single mama of two

b) trying to shrink my budget so i can take an income hit to work from home (for myself) beginning next september when both kids will be in school

c) the main expense i will eliminate from my budget is childcare, but i need to be more careful in general - make more careful shopping choices, reduce gas budget by not running needless errands, no impulse buys.

the first two days of the month, i should get a pass, since i'm just joining now.  however, this totally demonstrates why i need to be on this thread!

11/1:

$13.25 at walgreens for a big bag of cough drops, a dr pepper, a cheese stick, some cashews and a bottle of water.  that was my breakfast!  hideous!

$38.76 at target for two pairs of pants for ds2 (the only actual need - and only $9), a skirt, a dress, two t-shirts, a ridiculous $8 bottle of nail polish and . . . um . . . another dr pepper!

$28.62 gas

$1.49 orange juice

$18.74 thai food for dinner (and a thai iced coffee)

11/2:

$4.99 spotify, this is a music thing so i can listen to music in my office.  it's $4.99 a month and i can listen to basically anything and have total control over it - it's way more awesome than pandora.  um.  justification.  but i have no cds!  ex took them all.  this is cheaper than buying cds . . . right?

$34.12 groceries

oh man.  tuesday was embarrassing.  i'm very proud to say that i've spend NOTHING today!  so far.  i mean, i have to eat lunch and i didn't bring one.  anyway, last night i totally behaved myself at stitch-n-bitch by not buying a beer (or anything else).  i can't believe i spent $100 on tuesday, less than half of it being reasonable purchases (the cough drops, the pants and the gas).  of course, $20 is pretty good for a skirt, a dress and two t-shirts, but still.  NOT NECESSARY!  this is going to be fun.

[diana_of_the_dunes]

Hi all!  I was so thankful for this thread to keep me accountable last month, so here I am jumping on the wagon again this time around.

a. Who you are

I'm Diana, a full-time WOH mama and wife. 

b. Where you are going (your financial goals) and

We are currently recovering from our worst financial year ever.  I just paid off the last of my hospital bills, and we're gearing up for a bathroom remodel to finish fixing the water damage and bad plumbing issues.  We follow the Dave Ramsey plan, though we continued to save for retirement while paying off our debt.  This month will pay off my student loan, and we'll be officially debt free, except for our house!!!  We need to rebuild our emergency fund, and since I'm hoping to be pregnant soon, we'll need to have money in the bank for my unpaid maternity leave. 

c. How you plan to get there

Stick to our budget.  I just wrote out our financial plan for the next two weeks (tomorrow is payday), and things are looking good for us to save $800 this month.  We've started cooking more at home, since our eating-out bill was crazy in September, and I want to stick to my grocery budget of $250 for this check.  We went to cash for our groceries, and it's made a big difference.  I'm also planning meals around sales and what we have in our pantry.  We plan to keep discretionary spending to a minimum, though we will be starting to buy Christmas gifts.

= no-spend day

= budgeted spending

= not in budget, but necessary

= frivolous spending

11/01 -   splurged on Starbucks, but money came from "entertainment and eating out" budget, cooked dinner

11/02 -   DH got a "snack" at Popeye's chicken, leftovers for dinner

11/03 -   going grocery shopping, planned meals for the next week.  Will cook tonight.

[AnkaJones]

Congrads, Diana, about becoming debt free except the house this month!!! That's awesome!

[highlandmum]

Goal:: Only spend on the necessities and have it only be preplanned spending. Get and stay on track with bills. Necessities are :: grocery (within budget--- hopefully less than, but up to $150/week)

          2 space heaters ($50/each), kid winter neccessities (hats/gloves/etc.. $100 total), gloves for myself ($10), Walmart layaway for Christmas pressies, rent a lens ($200), big Thanksgiving dinner ($150). Other than that, pay bills on time, and try to save $300

11.1 - $3$0 Sams club. Freaked at how much money that is, but it was all pre-planned spending.

11.2 - $150 grocery store

11.3 - $0 yay!

[highlandmum]

whoops-$165 instead of $150 yesterday

[diana_of_the_dunes]

Ummm...  Yeah.  I was spot-on for grocery shopping, then I came home and bought DH and I new phones on ebay.    I can sort of justify that, because our current phones get terrible reception at our house and where DH works.  A friend of DH's had these phones and they worked much better in the areas we're having problems in.  They're also returnable within 30 days if they end up not working.  But still.  I just spent $180 that was totally NOT in the budget.Merry Christmas to us...?? 

= no-spend day

= budgeted spending

= not in budget, but necessary

= frivolous spending

11/01 -   splurged on Starbucks, but money came from "entertainment and eating out" budget, cooked dinner

11/02 -   DH got a "snack" at Popeye's chicken, leftovers for dinner

11/03 -   going grocery shopping, planned meals for the next week.  Will cook tonight.  used cell phones on ebay.

[averysmomma05]

a. Who you are: I am Emi mom to 2 dd's and married to hubby Griff. I work outside the home full time as do he.

b. Where you are going (your financial goals) and: I really want to bring down our cost right now because I am planning to quit my job for good in Feb. and if not quit then to go down to 1 day a week. We are trying to pay off all our loans, and car payments by then so it will free up money.

c. How you plan to get there:

Stick to a budget

Cutting down trips to the store

Stop eating out and cook at home.

Cut electrical bill down.

GOALS:

Hang out laundry 0/25

Take lunch to work 0/25

Cook dinner at home:0/25

KEY:

No spending:

Budgeted spending:

Unbudgeted spending:

Took lunch to work:

Cooked dinner at home:

Hung laundry out:

I am going to start on today since I didn't record the 1st,or 2nd.

11/3: Bought my mom some dinner tonight at Hardee's , hubby cooked me dinner and I brought lunch to work today so yay. Maybe tomorrow will be a no spending day since I don't plan to leave home at all since I am off work.
 

[Ruthiegirl]

Off to grocery shop today.  I am going to go through the pantry this morning to make a detailed menu plan for the week.  Need to shop carefully if I am going to keep the budget on track.  

Update -- groceries bought.  I went over budget by 4.75.  Wish I could return food....I bought some apples for $5 and they are not very good, mushy and flavorless.  I have an apple cake recipe that I like, so I think I will use them to make that and maybe some applesauce as well.   But overall, not bad.  

Nov 1 -- no spend

Nov 2 -- 10.00 kids lunch money,  6.58 milk

Nov 3 -- 50.00 school donation

Nov 4 -- 104.42 groceries

Nov 5

Nov 6

Grocery money remaining till next pay day (Nov 11)   -4.75

Edited by Ruthiegirl - 11/4/11 at 8:35am

[doubledutch]

11/1:

11/2:

11/3: uh . . . i didn't spend any money in real life yesterday, but a charge for $48.70 in groceries hit my account from 11/2 which i forgot to count above (shopped at two places wednesday).  it's a day!

11/4: up to this point i've spend $30 for school lunch and accidentally (i mean, i forgot about this no-spend thing!) bought myself a chai and a scone on my way to work to the tune of $7.something.  rip off!  damn, this is going to be hard.  i got some lessons to learn.  oh and i have to buy myself lunch today because i'm meeting ex for a slice of pizza to talk about ds1 so . . . hmm, maybe these things need to be budgeted. 

[diana_of_the_dunes]

Payday!  I paid off Sallie Mae this morning, so all our debt is finally gone!!!  DH's check ended up being more than what we expected due to some holiday pay, so that covered the cell phones.  DH and I are going on a "date" tonight, so we won't have a no-spend day, but we won't go out "browsing" after like we've been known to do.  I'm also looking for coupons...

= no-spend day

= budgeted spending

= not in budget, but necessary

= frivolous spending

11/01 -   splurged on Starbucks, but money came from "entertainment and eating out" budget, cooked dinner

11/02 -   DH got a "snack" at Popeye's chicken, leftovers for dinner

11/03 -   going grocery shopping, planned meals for the next week.  Will cook tonight.  used cell phones on ebay.

11/04 -   Payday!  I paid off Sallie Mae this morning, so all our debt is finally gone!!!  Date night!

[IngaAnne]

a. I'm a mostly stay at home mom, but I work part-time evenings and weekends. I'm married with a two year old son.

b. My husband and I would like to have another child, so I'm hoping to save up a baby fund so we don't drain our modest emergency savings. I have an active job with no maternity leave, so if I do get pregnant I'm not sure how long I'd be able to work or even if they'd be able to hang on to my job until I was able to come back post-baby. Luckily my job is not a huge portion of our income, but it is enough to make a difference, so I'd really like to save up some extra money to cover the late pregnancy and new baby time period when I will likely have no income.

c. The goal is to stop throwing away money on stuff I don't really need. Most of this is spent on impulsive junk food consumption, so I'll be better off in several ways when I make the change. Sometimes, I just also have a strong urge just to buy something and will convince myself my son "needs" another pair of pjs or that I "need" some new holiday decorations, when I'm really just looking for an excuse to get something new. I will start writing down my wishes on a list to review at the end of the month to see what still seems like a real need. I think I will find that most of the items we don't need in less than a month, we don't need at all. Either way, it's a help for curbing impulsive buying which a big issue for me!

Unfortunately, I already spent close to $3 earlier today on a bag of pretzels and a soda. Tonight, I will be doing the weekly food shopping. The goal is to stay within our $120 cash budget.