NoSpend January -- Ringing in the New Year with money in the bank - Page 5

[lavatea]

1and 2- We were out of town so I spent for food and some small things at Target and DH was separate from us so I'm sure he spent, too.
3- DH bought lunch out. I told him last night to consider us dirt poor for the next two months. Not sure how long he'll remember that, but he got up and made his lunch this morning.
4- DH went and bought cat food and also decided to get other stuff. We had the food budget left to cover it so that's ok.
Edited by lavatea - 1/5/12 at 11:52am

[FillingMyQuiver]

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.

[MonkeyPrincess]

Originally Posted by MonkeyPrincess 

1/1  $0
1/2  $116.91
1/3  $0
1/4  $0

1/5 so far: $30 gas, $6 notary costs, still need to pay for printing a few things...

I am working out of the house today, and staying mindful of wants vs needs. (I packed food for a birth, even!) And this thread stopped me dead in my tracks for a quick couple dollar impulse buy on amazon last night during a bout of insomnia. Even though I could keep track of my spending on my own, posting it here definitely makes a difference.

[Dandy Lion]

Originally Posted by Dandy Lion 

I think I should join in too!

a. Who you are: I'm a 31 year old mom to a 6 year old girl. I married to Mr. Frugal in Oct 2010, and we have a little girl due at the end of Feb.

b. Where you are going: I really want to stay home when the baby is born. I'm the spender in this house though, so I know I need to make that happen. If I can't, then I'll have to do some part time work. We live on his income for the most part already, but my income is building savings, paying for random expenses, and paying for all the baby/midwife stuff. And my spending...

c. How you plan to get there: I've saved enough to buy everything we'll need for the baby, but I haven't purchased much yet. I've been waiting for sales and promotions for the bigger stuff, and registry completion discounts for the smaller stuff. Any income I don't spend now will give us more wiggle room later on, so I'm trying to keep that in mind as I spend right now. I will be spending quite a bit before the baby comes, but my goal is to buy what we need for the best prices possible. I'm also trying to change some spending habits so our decrease in income doesn't come as a shock to me.

Jan 1- Did some shopping at IKEA for stuff to organize my laundry dungeon. Did it with xmas money :)

Jan 2 - Found a good deal on a few baby items I wanted, and used gift cards I had purchased at cardpool.com to buy them

Jan 3 - Bought some groceries and gas

Jan 4 - We out to lunch because it was a co-worker's birthday (I ate cheap though)

Jan 5 -

[Ruthiegirl]

Had a baby!  We are home now and feeling good.  Dh took out some cash for hospital meals, the kids brought me flowers, and we bought some cell phone minutes.  I have been sitting here updating my bills -- money looks good.  We get paid tomorrow, so dh is going to do a big grocery trip soon.  No other money to be spent -- just lots of nursing and snuggles and time with the kids.  

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

January savings goal is at 24% 

[nwmomof2]

Congrats, Ruthiegirl! Enjoy your babytime :)

1/1  no spend

1/2   no spend

1/3  budgeted spending - gas, groceries, cleaners, etc.

1/4  budgeted spending - b'day gift for my mom, some misc. household supplies like batteries and stamps, tailors, DD 1 piano tuition, ski gloves for DH, pizza lunch out with DD2, spent more $ than I planned on. Trying for a no spend tomorrow.

1/5   no spend, hurrah!

1/6

1/7

Edited by nwmomof2 - 1/5/12 at 10:13pm

[_ktg_]

Jan 1 - 

Jan 2 - Groceries/household goodies (326/500) 

Jan 3 -  (and it was my first day back to work after vacation!!)

Jan 4 - 

Jan 5 -  (Spent $10/$40 on some kombacha - but I get to reuse the bottles for my own brews this month)

[esg]

Originally Posted by esg 

01/01 - $15 gas

01/02 - $10 gas, $0.75 soda :(

01/03 - $6 gas

01/04 -$0

01/05 - $6 gas

[Bearsmom]

Originally Posted by Crunchy*VT*Mom 

Just out of curiosity -- what ads are scrolling at the top of your thread?

Old Navy...that's where I bought the kid's winter clothes (I'm in florida!).

[petey44]

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:

1/7:

1/8:

1/9:

1/10:

1/11:

1/12:

[Crunchy*VT*Mom]

  CONGRATULATIONS RUTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bearsmom]

a. Who you are: I'm Jen a 40 year old SAHM to two boys aged 4 and 2. Married to my highschool sweetheart.

b. Where you are going: We have mounds of debt. And do not have a budget! Can anyone recommend a budget website / program to help with creating a family budget? Also, hoping to buy a fixer upper but keep our current house as a rental property. So, need $ for fixer upper (down payment etc)

c. How you plan to get there: Create a budget and STICK to it. No more credit card purchases! Very tough since I live in south florida where shopping is a sport! No more whole foods (?! maybe). Home cooking and exercise to help fight the shopping urge. And keep up here as another tool to curb spending. And try to declutter our home!

1/1 no spend

1/2 vacation: hotel and dinner 

1/3 airport food (50 yikes!) 

1/4 no spend

1/5 no spend (returned a christmas present 

[FillingMyQuiver]

Originally Posted by Ruthiegirl 

Had a baby! 

CONGRATULATIONS RUTH!!!    I figured since you hadn't checked in in a few days the little one must have been making their appearance!!  Hope you have a wonderful and restful babymoon!!

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

[FillingMyQuiver]

Originally Posted by Bearsmom 

a. Who you are: I'm Jen a 40 year old SAHM to two boys aged 4 and 2. Married to my highschool sweetheart.

b. Where you are going: We have mounds of debt. And do not have a budget! Can anyone recommend a budget website / program to help with creating a family budget?

Many here like Dave Ramsey.  He has a couple books, a financial course, and budget tools.

[AnkaJones]

Congrats Ruthiegirl!!!!!!

1/1: No spend

1/2: No spend.  Working OT tonight.

1/3:  Shoot!  Forgot to return my library book yesterday, and now have a fine.  Worse yet, it's an interlibrary loan book... $2/day.

1/4:  No spend.  And turns out there's a grace period on the interlibrary loan book, so no fine. 

1/5: No spend.  Grocery day is tomorrow, so I'm steeling myself for the stores.

Anka

[Super Pickle]

11/5 $2 to park in the parking garage at the university hospital to pick up medical records. 

We ran out of sandwich bread today, so I'm not sure what DS2 is getting in his lunch tomorrow. We have plenty of leftovers but he doesn't like cold leftovers. Maybe I'll go meet him for lunch and take something hot. Or maybe I'll make muffins in the morning and send one in lieu of a sandwich.  We also ran out of soymilk. Next week's budget/list will include TWO loaves of bread and TWO boxes of soymilk! 

[jaidymama]

a. Who you are
 

I am Heidi, single mom to DS, a cat and 2 guinea pigs
 

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

Our life has been in transition, so financially I had a safety net that is getting us by. My car was totaled a few months ago, and that meant the net got smaller. Soooo my goal is to make what we have left last as long as possible.

c. How you plan to get there

I have set up a check list that I promised myself I would run-through before I bought something. I need to first shop in my own pantry/closet/garage to see if I have something that would do the trick. Then consider if I can get it second-hand, then figure out how to get it on sale. That being said, I have lived this way for nearly the last 10 years. Some days I just splurge on a latte just to feel like I'm not so poor. However, I've been convincing myself that I can drink the tea stocked at home first. So I may go with no treats for January and figure out February (although when I do get a latte I generally go to a place that has punch cards so I can at least eventually get the 10th one free :)  I'm having trouble not spending right now because there are some very good sales. I did end up grabbing a couple toy items that were over 1/2 off at stores, and plan to use them for birthday gifts next fall. For gas in the car, I try to check a website that tracks local gas prices and fill up at the least expensive. Ok. Other than that... just trying to cook what's in the house, and only getting some fresh things each week.

I will have to post again with my spending from the week. Hopefully I can be diligent about a spending FREEZE :)

[Paigekitten]

a. Who you are

I'm Katie, urban homesteading, radical unschooling SAHM to 3 little girls : )

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

We are working to build up an emergency fund and pay down debt

c. How you plan to get there

I need to cut back on all our expenses, even the budgeted ones.  I'm going to be tracking ALL our spending in hopes it will help me see where I can cut down.

1/1 

1/2 

1/3 

1/4 $35 to replace our flat tire, $2 on a tip for going out for our anniversary (dinner was on a $10 gift card)

1/5 $6 for part of a meal we took to a friend

[rudhaen]

Congratulations Ruthiegirl!

- Nothing spent

- Budgeted spending for groceries, gas or bills

- Other spending

1/1 -

1/2 -

1/3 -

1/4 -

1/5 - $30 for gas

Today is supposed to be grocery day, but DH's parents and sister arrived last night and I have no idea how we are going to organize meals while they're here.  In fact, I have no idea how many nights they are sleeping here (they may be at DH's brothers' some of the time) or indeed how long they are in town for.  They are definitely more "go with the flow" vacationers than me.  I try to be relaxed, but I certainly make a plan before I go on a trip.  I also have a lot of trouble getting my work done when they are here, but that's all on me, not them.  I just like to plan my days and know at least roughly what to expect.

[lavatea]

Well I called the IRS about who had a claim out against our 2010 refund. Turns out it is an old student loan of DH's. So I called the loan people and they put us on a "rehab" program. Hard to fit it into the budget, but we really need our refund (it would have been OK if it had gone to paying down the loan since at least that isn't wasting it, but I already had those funds earmarked for other things). I also called and made alternative payment arrangements for our electric bill and had one of my large private student loans deferred for 3 months. Hopefully that will give us enough breathing room to make it until I start getting paid again. Oh, and I applied for some more jobs. If one of those would come through then when I do go back to work, we'll be that much more ahead due to the larger income.

1and 2- We were out of town so I spent for food and some small things at Target and DH was separate from us so I'm sure he spent, too.
3- DH bought lunch out. I told him last night to consider us dirt poor for the next two months. Not sure how long he'll remember that, but he got up and made his lunch this morning.
4- DH went and bought cat food and also decided to get other stuff. We had the food budget left to cover it so that's ok.
5-