No Spend July - Declare YOUR independence from frivolous spending!

[kathirynne]

I didn't see a July thread posted yet, so I figured I'd start one.

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 July 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.

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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]

Okay, I'll get us started.

a. Who I am:

My name is Kathirynne, and I am a proud Mumma of 4 children, two of whom will be in college in the fall.

b. Where I am going (my financial goals)

I turn the big 4-0 on my birthday in August, and I have decided that I'm too old to live like a student any longer.  I am cozy-ing up my home, one room at a time, over the course of my 40th year.  I estimate that I will need to spend roughly $2,000 dollars to do this.  This breaks down to $167 per month, which is an entirely realistic amount.

c. How I plan to get there

By menu planning, sticking to my budget, working as much as possible (we have a newly instated "no overtime" policy at work, but if I bring a lunch from home to eat at my desk rather than going out for lunch, I'll get paid for that hour AND not waste money on food from a restaurant) and by making things like laundry soap and household cleaners from scratch.

This week so far has been 100% "NO SPEND".  I even baked 3 loaves of bread from scratch on Saturday, rather than buying sandwich bread for my children's lunches this week.

I am taking my daughter to see Brave this week end, so I've budgeted $20 for that (I will take her out to lunch with some "freebie" coupons, so no cost for that.  I may or may not smuggle in some peanut M&M's for her, as well....)

My daughter also needs new church shoes, as the ones she's been wearing for the past 2 years are finally too small.  I have budgeted $50 for her shoes - I'm hoping I can get them for less, but quality shoes aren't cheap, so I won't be upset if I do wind up spending my whole budget.

1 July: Today was a true no spend day.  I don't shop on Sundays, so this was an easy start to the challenge!

2 July: Rent ($955) Budgeted, obviously. 

3 July: Groceries for the month - including "holiday food" for my annual Independence Day picnic - ($200)  This was only so low because I decided to use all of the meals in the deep freeze this month, so that the deep freeze can be cleaned out, relocated and refilled in anticipation of winter.

4 July: True no spend day.  (My children spent about $25 on fireworks between all of them, but as it was their own money, I'm not counting it in the challenge.)

5 July: Power bill ($150)  This is more than I had budgeted, but I should be able to get back on track with my normal budgeted amount now that it's really warm and I can leave the furnace turned off.  (June was cold this year!)

6 July: Phone bill ($50) for 2 months

7 July:

8 July:

9 July:

10 July:

11 July: Tortillas & popsicles ($3.60) Unexpected and not budgeted, but not enough of an expenditure to beat myself up about.

12 July:

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Edited by kathirynne - 7/12/12 at 11:05am

[Ruthiegirl]

Hey Kathirynne!  Are you still up for a no-spend month?  I know these challenges have gotten a little thin lately, but I could really use one this month.  Anyway, I am going to be posting...may just be me here by my lonesome...

a. Who you are

I am Ruth, mama extraordinare to my four amazing kiddos.  

b. Where you are going (your financial goals)

I made a huge, HUGE credit card payment last week and now I am living with the leftover scraps of income till next month.  This was planned and necessary.  We seem to live very well with a feast or famine mentality.  May not be the wisest financial move, but works for us.  

c. How you plan to get there

Well, the debt payment has cleared the bank and now I have a wee bit of money for the next few weeks.  Food, gas and bills are budgeted, so now it is a matter of living with what we have.  The pantry is stocked and we are all fine.  So, we will be spending lots of time at the pool and library and playing with friends and not buying a damn thing.  

Planning on a no-spend kind of day.  We are going to a friend's for a playdate and then to swim practice tonight.  Dinner is prepped, so nothing to do there.  No shopping, no spending. 

July 9 -- no spend

July 10 -- no spend (planned)

July 11 

July 12

July 13

July 14

July 15

[Ruthiegirl]

Today was terrific.  Great day with friends. 

I did spend some money.    The lift support on the back of our van broke a few months ago and I skipped replacing it since it was an expensive part.  It has been a huge pain!  With 4 kids, I am constantly opening and closing the heavy back door of the van and then holding it with one hand while I pull stuff out and put stuff in  ...   all with a baby in the sling and kids running about and I am trying to open and close the door without hurting anyone.  

The repair guy wanted $383 and I said no.  

The Toyota replacement part was $150 online and I said no.  

And then I found a off brand part with good reviews for $22.38 with free shipping.  I said yes!  So, while I spent money on the part, I think the safety factor is worth the cash. And I am really looking forward to being able to pen and close my van without hollering 'Everyone stand back!'.  

And I hope to not have too many of these purchases.  With a house and 4 active kids, there is always something to buy.  I can justify buying all kinds of stuff.   

July 9 -- no spend

July 10 -- 22.38 part to fix van

July 11 

July 12

July 13

July 14

July 15

[Ruthiegirl]

A bit of budgeted spending today for groceries.  I have cash left in the household budget so we are covered.  Just need to keep our spending in control -- this is going to be tough since my son needs to go back on a wheat free diet.  His belly has been a mess and is worse after eating wheat.  He is feeling really angry about the whole thing, but has reluctantly agreed to modify his diet for a few weeks to see if it helps his belly.  He must be in more pain than he lets on, because he is super, super resistant to changing his diet.  

July 9 -- no spend

July 10 -- 22.38 part to fix van

July 11 -- headed out for groceries

July 12

July 13

July 14

July 15

[kathirynne]

Originally Posted by Ruthiegirl 

Hey Kathirynne!  Are you still up for a no-spend month?  I know these challenges have gotten a little thin lately, but I could really use one this month.  Anyway, I am going to be posting...may just be me here by my lonesome...

Yay! Some company!  I haven't been checking this thread, mostly because I seemed to be the only one interested in doing this challenge for July.  (cue cricket noises)

[Ruthiegirl]

Awesome!  So glad to see another virtual face.  I planned on posting whether anyone else was here or not, but really, it was going to get a little weird here all by myself.   

So, I am here to hang my head in shame.  While we did a beautiful job at the grocery store getting my son set up with his wheat free goodies, I totally blew it last night.  I went out to dinner with friends and while I was only going to pay for my meal, it was revealed during dinner that two of my good friends are going through awful financial problems.  One mama's husband just lost his job and another is going through a divorce.  My beloved wonderful friends...my heart aches for them.  Anyway, another mom and I covered the cost of the meal.  While I like to do no-spend challenges and such, my family is doing just fine and I can afford to spend a little, especially for a good friend.  And it was worth it, there was a lot of crying and laughing and 

I know a lot of families are struggling right now.  It is a rough time to be without work or have a relationship break up.  I am feeling really fortunate.  While we will never be rolling in cash, my family will always have our needs met and that is a blessing that I don't take lightly.  

So, back to the task.  No shopping, no spending planned today.  I do need to start thinking about our homeschooling year that starts up in a few weeks.  The big kids need the next level of math curriculum and we are low on basic paper and pencil type of supplies.  I have a homeschool budget, but it is a little lean this year, so while we have our eyes on a couple of books, we will not be buying much.  

I went over the budget carefully this morning.   We get paid on the 20th, so for the next week I have $82.03 for groceries and extras and $19.54 for gas.  The van has 1/3 of a tank and I don't drive much, so we should be fine for gas.  The food budget is a little lean, but we do have a lot in the pantry to eat.  Meals are going to be basic for the week, but we'll eat fine.  

July 9 -- no spend

July 10 -- 22.38 part to fix van

July 11 -- groceries

July 12 -- co-pay to pediatrician, 30.00 dinner with friends

July 13 -- no spend planned

July 14

July 15

remaining grocery money...$82.03

remaining gas money...$19.54

[justmama]

I haven't been posting(mostly because it's depressing being on a necessary no-spend) but we are still going strong here.  I did break down and use an amazon giftcard(that I earned with swagbucks so free out of pocket) for a new labret for my lip because the original one I was pierced with was just TOO long and I had bitten it by accident too many times.  But I have spent nothing out of pocket since the 8th?  6th? aside from groceries which we use food stamps for.  We did find a lovely program through the state of buying farmer's market tokens with our food stamps and earning 40% back on them in more tokens which is HUGE for us!  I bought $50 in tokens and got $20 free today.  I felt really blessed walking around with $20 in free food money in my pocket tonight.  But staying out of stores has helped.  And we are spending more time at home in the garden or taking walks in our neighborhood and playing with friends instead of spending money in the stores so I can't say it's been utterly miserable being so broke.  :)

[Ruthiegirl]

Wow!  Food market tokens sound fantastic, Justmama.  And yes, necessary no-spends are tough. 

I haven't been posting much either.  I am doing well, could be better, but some expenses are needed right now.  DH was offered a job across the country -- his dream job really and we are going to be moving next year which means we need to have our house on the market soon.  And there is so much to be done!  Here I am on a no-spend challenge and I have bought a new bathroom sink and talked to a flooring company about having our ripped linoleum kitchen floor replaced.  We will be paying cash for things as we go along, which means our savings will not build much.  We need to do some repairs and some cosmetic paint and cleaning.  

And hopefully, hopefully...we will be able to sell our house.  I am feeling wonderful about the move and a bit jittery about getting the house ready with our limited funds.  So, lots of elbow grease in my future.  

[justmama]

Congratulations to your husband on getting his dream job!  A cross-country move sounds like such a great adventure for you all!  Stressful, financially tough......but such a wonderful adventure!  I hope it all goes smoothly.

Still plugging along with our no-spend.  We are on our last bottle of hair conditioner and using up the little bits of the travel-sized toothpastes they get at the dentist so I may have to walk to the store for those things soon.  On a good note, I discovered tons of raspberry bushes on my run with my sister this past weekend and went back today with my girls to pick.  We didn't get as much as I would have liked since it was humid and we ran out of essential oils to make our bug spray so my youngest was complaining a lot.  But tomorrow afternoon I'll have a few hours without my children so I hope to go back and pick more for the freezer.  Free food makes me so happy!  And it's a lovely wooded trail to hike on/run on as well.  A nice free activity.