I'm not going to torture you (or me) with all the details about how badly I fell of the wagon. Today is a new day, and I'm back on the wagon after a mid-month emergency budget meeting with DH. Basically, we're only halfway through the month and have spent 2/3 of our budget. Yikes. The worst thing is it was all dumb stuff -- an extra 10$ on this or that.
1/17: budgeted spending -- hair clippers (we're going to start cutting hair at home), minimal groceries
I've neglected to post again on this thread b/c I've been preoccupied with the 2012/2012 decluttering thread.....but I have done well. I cancelled my YMCA membership, which will save about $80 per month. I did have an impulse buy...while waiting for Once Upon a ChIld to go through my drop-offs, I saw a cool Marvel Heroes Guess Who game for $4.50 and bought it. I felt so bad afterwards --- not because of the $4.50, but because I fell off the wagon and bought something completely unnecessary! Oh and BTW, that was the last time I EVER sell stuff at Once Upon a Child! Next time I am going to the locally owned resale shops.
KEY
unnecessary spending
necessary spending
no spending
1/1: I sent DH to the store to pick up a pepper I needed for a recipe...I had bought it within the grocery budget the day before, but then DH used it without asking while fixing himself a snack...and then while he was at the store he picked up something else he wanted to make (completely disregarding the houseful of food we have, sigh). Only about $3-4, but still...
1/2: We didn't plan properly for our trip to the nature center, and DD was HUNGRY. Again, only spent $1, but see how's it's already adding up?
1/3:
1/4: Gas and almond milk. Budgeted for, so it's okay.
1/5: Dog food and kitty litter.
1/6: Beer run- we needed it, and I'll take it out of the grocery budget for the next 2 weeks (which should be how long it lasts)
1/7: Grocery shopping, printer ink
1/8: DH's medicine
1/9: gas shipping costs to send all my old cloth diapers to my cousin- I was glad to do it, but didn't realize the shipping would be so expensive, and it wasn't part of the budget
1/10:
1/11:
1/12:
1/13: $1 for me to wear jeans to work, $30 for DH to eat out at a team birthday lunch at work, and $14 for dinner and snack for tonight. Because it was a bad day and I don't feel like doing anything complicated
1/14: Groceries
1/15: Lunch out alone w/DH, yay! And while out, we sold some books to a used book store, so lunch actually turned out even cheaper
1/16: Birdseed, something about putting air in the tires of the jogging stroller???, and some winter shoes for me. The shoes and birdseed were budgeted for, in a way, I guess, because they were on the master list of things to buy when possible- this is a list of everything outside of groceries and household supplies that DH or I need or want, and we talk through it before buying anything from that list
1/17: DD's vitamins
1/18:
1/19:
1/20:
1/21:
I have been spending a bit, some budgeted and some not.
I sent in our seed order which was a big chunk of cash. We normally grow a big garden, but skipped it last year since we were away from home for the growing season. So, we needed fresh seed.
And I got talked into spending some money at Amazon -- the kids got gift cards for Christmas, but needed a bit extra to get what they really wanted. I chose to cover them and let them get some very cool new Legos and books that I know they will enjoy.
Bills are coming in under or on budget, so all is good with our money right now.
Jan 1 --
Jan 2 --
Jan 3 -- 40.00 cash for hospital stay/food, 15.22 flowers, 13.12 cell phone minutes
Jan 4 --
Jan 5 --
Jan 6 --
Jan 7 -- 28.61 birthday gift
Jan 8 --
Jan 9 -- 60.00 nursing bras
Jan 10 --
Jan 11 -- 14.90 library fines
Jan 12 --
Jan 13 --
Jan 14 --
Jan 15 --
Jan 16 -- 23.07 Amazon
Jan 17 -- + seed order for 2012 garden
Jan 18
January savings goal is at 126%
15. Stayed home and made a special day of watching the football playoff game. We also looked over our master budget and if we stay completely on task, we will pay off our Suburban in March, a full 19 months early 
Wow!!! That is huge. Way to go!
Not doing too badly on the month but not as impressively as I would have liked. We have a ton of expenses coming up in the next few months and things are not just standing still this month so I can save for them. We need to buy a new vehicle and have been saving to buy it in cash but after lots of searching and discussion, I think hubby and I have decided to buy new instead of used which means we may need up to 10k more than we had saved. 10k is about what we can manage to save in a year so now I feel a year behind on everything. Frustrating
Jan 1: <free pass>
Jan 2: 
Jan 3: 47.75 
Jan 4:
Jan 5: Groceries
Jan 6: semi-planned dinner out
Jan 7:
Jan 8:
Jan 9:
Jan 10: so far so good...
Jan 11:
Jan 12:
Jan 13: Groceries
Jan 14:
Jan 15: Bathing suits ordered for the kids
Jan 16: $15.xx Unplanned Dinner out
Jan 17:
Originally Posted by Ruthiegirl
Wow!!! That is huge. Way to go!
Thank you, we're quite excited about it!! Especially since DH will be needing a new car end of this year/ beginning of 2013. Saving the car payment/ having this breathing room for a while will be essential.
Key
No Spend/ Budgeted spending
Unplanned/ unbudgeted spending
30min spent decluttering
1. We're at my ILs until tomorrow, DH and I ran to Target for MIL for popcorn, I picked up stockings and eye makeup for DH's formal office party on Saturday, all of it was put on a GC I got for Christmas, so no $$ out of pocket. I REEEALLY wanted to buy some other stuff that we REEEEALLY didn't need, but I resisted
2. Trip home today. We budgeted a set amount for this trip to the ILs, and for one of the first times, we actually stayed completely in budget!! I'm hoping that this will set the precedent for the rest of the year, that we can set a budget and stay within it. No extra spending, no impulse shopping, complete CONTROL!! Tomorrow I begin decluttering for the 2012 in 2012 Decluttering Challenge.
3. DH stopped for a haircut on the way home from work b/c I haven't had a free moment to cut his hair. There's room in the budget for it, but it wasn't really budgeted for.
4. Had a play date with friends today so no money spent.
5. DH picked up part of DD2's b-day present, cupcakes, and her choice of dinner for tonight (elbow pasta w/ sauce. Oh the joys of being 3!!) Also purchased a used copy of DH's textbook for his class. All spending today was budgeted. We reviewed the budget and found we came in under budget on quite a few line items and were able to put some extra towards paying off our truck 
Really hoping the momentum we feel this month will carry through the rest of the year 
6.
7.
8. $62 spent at Chili's for an unplanned lunch out after church w/ my brother, SIL, and nieces, though it was $$ well spent b/c I don't get to spend much time w/ that part of my family. Undecorated our Christmas decor today and got rid of quite a few things I didn't use or want anymore.
9. $24 spent at McD's for lunch. 2 of my kids had dr appts today and I didn't plan very well and had to grab lunch on the go. I did however resist stopping for Starbucks on the way back and just waited to make coffee at home.
10. and LOTS of
11.
12.
13. (but it's really not) $160 at Southern Exposure Seed Exchange for seeds/ bulbs for this year's garden. It wasn't budgeted, but we got a partial insurance reimbursement (for my homebirth ). We didn't think we'd be getting the reimbursement, so we didn't have it allocated to anything. A portion went to seeds, a portion will go to DH's new computer monitor he's saving up for, and the rest will go towards our truck, bringing us a few more months closer to paying it off!! Oh, and
14. Did our once-a-month bulk shop at Costco today and regular food shopping. Stuck to the list, didn't go to any other stores, and stayed completely within budget.
15. Stayed home and made a special day of watching the football playoff game. We also looked over our master budget and if we stay completely on task, we will pay off our Suburban in March, a full 19 months early
16. While out, DH bought lunchmeat, rolls, and chips for lunch. I thought the total would come in under $30, but he spent over $50. On the upside, there was a whole lot of
17.
KEY
unnecessary spending
necessary spending
no spending
1/1: I sent DH to the store to pick up a pepper I needed for a recipe...I had bought it within the grocery budget the day before, but then DH used it without asking while fixing himself a snack...and then while he was at the store he picked up something else he wanted to make (completely disregarding the houseful of food we have, sigh). Only about $3-4, but still...
1/2: We didn't plan properly for our trip to the nature center, and DD was HUNGRY. Again, only spent $1, but see how's it's already adding up?
1/3:
1/4: Gas and almond milk. Budgeted for, so it's okay.
1/5: Dog food and kitty litter.
1/6: Beer run- we needed it, and I'll take it out of the grocery budget for the next 2 weeks (which should be how long it lasts)
1/7: Grocery shopping, printer ink
1/8: DH's medicine
1/9: gas shipping costs to send all my old cloth diapers to my cousin- I was glad to do it, but didn't realize the shipping would be so expensive, and it wasn't part of the budget
1/10:
1/11:
1/12:
1/13: $1 for me to wear jeans to work, $30 for DH to eat out at a team birthday lunch at work, and $14 for dinner and snack for tonight. Because it was a bad day and I don't feel like doing anything complicated
1/14: Groceries
1/15: Lunch out alone w/DH, yay! And while out, we sold some books to a used book store, so lunch actually turned out even cheaper
1/16: Birdseed, something about putting air in the tires of the jogging stroller???, and some winter shoes for me. The shoes and birdseed were budgeted for, in a way, I guess, because they were on the master list of things to buy when possible- this is a list of everything outside of groceries and household supplies that DH or I need or want, and we talk through it before buying anything from that list
1/17: DD's vitamins
1/18: Almost $200 to treat an allergic reaction my dog had!! Ugh!!!
1/19:
1/20:
1/21:
Week 3
1/15 $8 snacks out
1/16 
No spend! Lots of snow here. Went skiing and brought our own food/drinks.
1/17 Costco groceries, Co-op groceries, front brake pads for car,
1/18 No spend! Snow day here, lots of sledding, cocoa and cookies.
1/19
1/20
1/21
Jan 1 --
Jan 2 --
Jan 3 -- 40.00 cash for hospital stay/food, 15.22 flowers, 13.12 cell phone minutes
Jan 4 --
Jan 5 --
Jan 6 --
Jan 7 -- 28.61 birthday gift
Jan 8 --
Jan 9 -- 60.00 nursing bras
Jan 10 --
Jan 11 -- 14.90 library fines
Jan 12 --
Jan 13 --
Jan 14 --
Jan 15 --
Jan 16 -- 23.07 Amazon
Jan 17 -- + seed order for 2012 garden
Jan 18 --
January savings goal is at 126%
1/17: budgeted spending -- hair clippers (we're going to start cutting hair at home), minimal groceries
1/18: No spend. Hair clippers used for first haircut on DH. Not the best haircut ever given, but reasonably okay. Phew. It didn't help that I couldn't stop giggling the whole time!
Week 3
1/15 $8 snacks out
1/16 No spend! Lots of snow here. Went skiing and brought our own food/drinks.
1/17 Costco groceries, Co-op groceries, front brake pads for car at car dealer. Expensive day.
1/18 No spend! Snow day here, lots of sledding, cocoa and cookies.
1/19 No spend! Another snow day with board games, more sledding and happy hour at neighbor's house.
1/20
1/21
KEY
unnecessary spending
necessary spending
no spending
1/1: I sent DH to the store to pick up a pepper I needed for a recipe...I had bought it within the grocery budget the day before, but then DH used it without asking while fixing himself a snack...and then while he was at the store he picked up something else he wanted to make (completely disregarding the houseful of food we have, sigh). Only about $3-4, but still...
1/2: We didn't plan properly for our trip to the nature center, and DD was HUNGRY. Again, only spent $1, but see how's it's already adding up?
1/3:
1/4: Gas and almond milk. Budgeted for, so it's okay.
1/5: Dog food and kitty litter.
1/6: Beer run- we needed it, and I'll take it out of the grocery budget for the next 2 weeks (which should be how long it lasts)
1/7: Grocery shopping, printer ink
1/8: DH's medicine
1/9: gas shipping costs to send all my old cloth diapers to my cousin- I was glad to do it, but didn't realize the shipping would be so expensive, and it wasn't part of the budget
1/10:
1/11:
1/12:
1/13: $1 for me to wear jeans to work, $30 for DH to eat out at a team birthday lunch at work, and $14 for dinner and snack for tonight. Because it was a bad day and I don't feel like doing anything complicated
1/14: Groceries
1/15: Lunch out alone w/DH, yay! And while out, we sold some books to a used book store, so lunch actually turned out even cheaper
1/16: Birdseed, something about putting air in the tires of the jogging stroller???, and some winter shoes for me. The shoes and birdseed were budgeted for, in a way, I guess, because they were on the master list of things to buy when possible- this is a list of everything outside of groceries and household supplies that DH or I need or want, and we talk through it before buying anything from that list
1/17: DD's vitamins
1/18: Almost $200 to treat an allergic reaction my dog had!! Ugh!!!
1/19: Gas- and wow I haven't had a no spend day in a week. That sucks.
1/20:
1/21:
1/17: budgeted spending -- hair clippers (we're going to start cutting hair at home), minimal groceries
1/18: No spend. Hair clippers used for first haircut on DH. Not the best haircut ever given, but reasonably okay. Phew. It didn't help that I couldn't stop giggling the whole time!
1/19: No spend.
Jan 1 --
Jan 2 --
Jan 3 -- 40.00 cash for hospital stay/food, 15.22 flowers, 13.12 cell phone minutes
Jan 4 --
Jan 5 --
Jan 6 --
Jan 7 -- 28.61 birthday gift
Jan 8 --
Jan 9 -- 60.00 nursing bras
Jan 10 --
Jan 11 -- 14.90 library fines
Jan 12 --
Jan 13 --
Jan 14 --
Jan 15 --
Jan 16 -- 23.07 Amazon
Jan 17 -- + seed order for 2012 garden
Jan 18 --
Jan 19 --
Jan 20
Jan 21
Jan 22
January savings goal is at 126%
I just cannot seem to lay of Amazon this month Today was definitely a personal splurge but I am totally going to budget it as homeschooling supplies.. homeschooling me :-p I feel like I am totally failing this month and am already looking forward to next month. I guess the good news is that the grocery budget is somewhat acceptable. We will probably come in at least $500 below last month which sounds remarkable but only gives a slight idea about how horrible last month was.
Jan 1: <free pass>
Jan 2:
Jan 3: 47.75
Jan 4:
Jan 5: Groceries
Jan 6: semi-planned dinner out
Jan 7:
Jan 8:
Jan 9:
Jan 10: so far so good...
Jan 11:
Jan 12:
Jan 13: Groceries
Jan 14:
Jan 15: Bathing suits ordered for the kids
Jan 16: $15.xx Unplanned Dinner out
Jan 17: Another take-out dinner
Jan 18:
Jan 19: $32.xx on Assimil French
01..
02.. $14 Pizza Hut
03..
04..
05.. $50 Tequila (the big bottle)
06..
07.. $25 dinner out with friends
08..
09.. $15 Triple Sec
10..
11.. $5 McDonald's
12..
13..
14..
15..
16.. $6 wetbag from WAHM, $15 Pizza Hut, $6 ice skating, $30 date night
17..
18.. $5 McDonald's
19..
20..
21..
22..
23..
24..
25..
26..
27..
28..
29..
30..
31..
Prudence! I just wanted to say hello. It's great to see you here again.
I took a long long break from the board -- spent the last year dealing with the aftermath of an unexpected divorce...still kind of in the thick of it.
I went four months without child support, then he caught up over the holidays, and now he's threatening to cut the amount he promised to pay. I'm pinching pennies and back to no-spend, though I probably won't have time to post much.
Wonder if I can do a no-spend year. I bet I can.
1/2 -
1/3 -
1/4 -
1/5 - 
$30 for gas
1/6 - $36.60 for groceries
1/7 -
1/8 - $63.03 for groceries
1/9 -
1/10 - $190.53 for utilities
1/11 -
1/12 - $30 for a gift that I should have budgeted for, but kinda forgot about and had to do at the last minute. I fear there may be more like this coming up :/
1/13 -
1/14 - and also since I went a little over-budget) $116 for groceries and calamine lotion, my baby has had the chicken pox!
1/15 -
1/16 -
1/17 -
1/18 -
1/19 - $21 at toy store for birthday gifts for babies in our playgroup. again, not budgeted for, though they probably should have been. I knew they were coming up!
1/20 -
Doing pretty well! I haven't been counting DH's expenditures, but he assures me he's been doing very well too. With his next paycheck we should be recovered from the Christmas credit card bills, but sadly I think we'd have to continue into February to get ahead with savings at all. Argh!
Follow Mothering