10/1: no spend 
10/2: no spend
10/3: no spend
10/4: no spend
10/5: no spend
10/6: budgeted spending 
gas $40, windshield wiper $13
10/7: budgeted spending groceries $41
10/8: no spend
10/9: no spend
10/10: no spend
10/11: no spend
10/12: no spend
Today wound up being a "spend" day but it was budgeted, planned-for spending. Still makes me feel like "ahhh - money gone!" We did get a great deal on winter squash from our natural foods market - 50c/lb! Also got some lunch food since DD1 is starting a new school on Monday and they only do "cold lunch." We bought all the stuff for the microfiber inserts I am going to sew for our little one due in just a couple weeks, which should be all we need to complete our starter set of diapers for him once we get the rest of the covers in the mail. We also got the basic party supplies for my dd2's 7th birthday (planning ahead).
Got some spray paint tonight (again planned for) - we are re-doing all of the beat-up, scratched, mis-matched furniture in our bedroom to match so that it looks a little more put together, and not quite so shabby. Our house is really small and we have our bedroom in the "family room" so that we have enough room for everyone to live here. That means people walk right into our bedroom when they come in the house, so it will be nice to have at least semi-"matching" furniture. For the cost of paint and elbow-grease, I'll take it as a major gain.
Got gasoline and paid some bills, which always stings a little as the money goes so fast. Glad to have those things taken care of though!
I'm not counting "necessary" spending -- I have to buy groceries and gasoline and stuff like that. so I bought some stuff yesterday, but it was all in those categories.
HOWEVER --- this morning I already (before 7 AM) spent $40 on amazon.com getting snow boots for my daughter. Now snow boots are necessary in Vermont...but in hindsight I'm thinking....hmmmm....could I have done that differently? Could I have asked around first for some hand-me-downs? We're going to a ski swap this morning. Could I have waited until we go there to see if they have better deals on snow boots?
I'm getting waaaaay to impulsive with the check-out button on websites these days.
So today won't be a no-spend (we're buying skis) but I know I won't be 100% with this. I just want to be more....thoughtful....about it.
I'm in. Starting today.
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My Goal = Spend as little as possible.
10/1: no spend
10/2: no spend
10/3: no spend
10/4: no spend
10/5: no spend
10/6: budgeted spending gas $40, windshield wiper $13
10/7: budgeted spending groceries $41
10/8: no spend
10/9: no spend
10/10: no spend
10/11: no spend
10/12: no spend
10/13: budgeted spending groceries $37, misc. $5, DD's bday party $36
Today went well...Yesterday not so much.
I'm in. Starting today.
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13.. $20 winter gear at ski swap. Winter is long in Vermont. You need gear.
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My Goal = Spend as little as possible.
Oops, forgot to add in $5 for a beer yesterday, too.
10/6 no spend
10/7 $2 apple cider at a local festival - unbudgeted
10/8 no spend
10/9 $10.19 on oil for the car - unbudgeted
10/10 no spend
My budget is so tight that after I pay the bills for this week and buy bday presents for DS - both budgeted for - I will have $12 to get me to next payday 10/19. This scares me. This is my first month doing a budget as per Dave Ramsey and I am not liking it. I could borrow $$$ from my SO if I have to, but I want to figure this out.
I hear you on having to stretch dollars until the next payday. It can be really, really hard.
Over here we kind of blew it earlier this month. I got us the childcare subsidy and let dh go a little wild with the money we saved. Except now I'm feeling tense again because there are only so many dollars to get us through the month. Ugh.
I don't think I'll catalogue our splurgey spending this month.... I'll just jump right in and keep trying to do well for the rest of the month. Ugh.
Hats off to those of you who are accomplishing your goals! It's very inspiring and motivating!
10/1: no spend
10/2: no spend
10/3: no spend
10/4: no spend
10/5: no spend
10/6: budgeted spending gas $40, windshield wiper $13
10/7: budgeted spending groceries $41
10/8: no spend
10/9: no spend
10/10: no spend
10/11: no spend
10/12: no spend
10/13: budgeted spending groceries $37, misc. $5, DD's bday party $36, $5 beer
10/14: no spend
Well, back home from vacation where we spent money... but on the upside, we were able to bring money home also, so we didnt blow it all. Spent money on lunch at McD's yesterday, but today it's back to work. DS and I have to get haircuts tonight after work, so that will be budgeted spending. Otherwise, I hope to get by without spending anything today.
Went to Costco and bought groceries...but I used my Costco "rewards check" so the total was $0.
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13.. $92 snow boots, snowshoes, long underwear. Winter is long in Vermont. You need gear.
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My Goal = Spend as little as possible.
Spent some money on a client's family today who needed to eat (I am a social worker). I need to find some solution to this so I don't eat out, but can continue doing what I know is important. I think I need a type of "food bank" in the car that we can pull snacks/food from easily. Maybe a box with snacks, and a cooler with drinks. I need to figure something out. I can't be spending $20 every day feeding clients, but I also can't let them go hungry, especially the kids.
Hubby and I went to the mall during our respite time today but we didn't buy anything - just walked around and looked a bit.
I did order two slings - one for me/my new little one, and one for a gift for a friend who ordered us a bunch of new cloth diapers and is now expecting her own little one. I had two promo codes that made them free for the cost of shipping. Total I spent about $20 on two name brand slings, and saved over $100.
Not a no-spend day, but I did save money. Tomorrow or Wednesday I am going to list a few things on another board for sale, in hopes that I can make up some of the money I have spent this week.
I did get in a good 9 hours at work today to add to this paycheck, which makes a huge difference for my family. :)
10/1: no spend
10/2: no spend
10/3: no spend
10/4: no spend
10/5: no spend
10/6: budgeted spending gas $40, windshield wiper $13
10/7: budgeted spending groceries $41
10/8: no spend
10/9: no spend
10/10: no spend
10/11: no spend
10/12: no spend
10/13: budgeted spending groceries $37, misc. $5, DD's bday party $36, $5 beer
10/14: no spend
10/15: budgeted spending DD's field trip $3.25
OK I'm going to jump in for the remainder of the month. We recently moved and my DH still hasn't found a job, he's making a little money here and there busking "Playing music on the street" and sells an album occasionally. Our debt isn't actually TOO bad, we just paid down our credit cards almost all the way! We are trying to refinance our mortgage on our new house (we had NO idea our credit was so bad until we got pre-approved and could barely swing it), and have to follow pretty strict rules about credit, so I'm not allowed to pay the cards off all the way till we are done refinancing.. 
So we have about a few hundred between our 2 cards and 2 mortgages. We still own our old house and are renting it out, instead of losing nearly 50 grand selling it, we kept it and are breaking even on it right now. And our current house which hopefully in a few months the mortgage will be a few hundred less a month.
I have income from stocks and basically we took a HUGE hunk out of our savings moving and buying a house, and we are trying to get by on less so we can rebuild our savings and basically survive on one income. ANYWAY, the point being we really suck when it comes to buying totally unnecessary stuff, and eating out WAY too much. When we first moved we were eating out nearly every meal, and its been hard to break that with the food here in PDX being A-MAZE-ING!
My goal is to only spend money on groceries, bills, and a few things to improve the house. I do desperately need pants, so that is a need, and we have a lot of pet related expanses. I've been getting in the habit of planning out the next day before I go to bed and that really helps. If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail, or something like that. So tomorrow, we are planning on spending money, I'm taking my son to a play cafe (yeah they have those here, lots of them) for breakfast, and my husband is buying some music stuff. We just sold his car (we only moved one to save money) and he's using some of that for a new busking amp, and some other guitar stuff. The rest is going towards fixing the bathtub (it needs to be refinished) and getting my oregon title and plates for my car, there should still be pleantly left over to buy a saw and some pants (hopefully second hand). So I'm really hoping to keep up with this and not spend too much! I know we won't totally quit eating out. But I figure cutting it down to each meal out once a week, and doing that at cheeper places will be a good place for us. Since we eat a lot of organic at home (And we aren't willing to compromise on that, besides eating less meat) eating out ends up being cheeper if we do it right. Oct 16th! Day 1! That reminds me, tomorrow is my brothers birthday!
October 15 : Hair cuts - budgeted spend, otherwise a no-spend day. 
Reminder: October is breast cancer awareness month...wear pink and GET THOSE MAMMOGRAMS! This Friday is National Mammogram Day. (I'm speaking from experience ladies!) .
Doh! Not a good day today. I went past a toy store and foolishly walked in there with my four year old in tow. Bought some Christmas stuff. But paid FULL retail price and I could have done better than that if I hadn't been impulse buying.
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13.. $92 snow boots, snowshoes, long underwear. Winter is long in Vermont. You need gear.
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16.. $51 Christmas presents
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My Goal = Spend as little as possible.
Overbuying for Christmas is one of my weak areas...every single year I swear I'm not going to buy as much the next year. It feels virtuous since you are buying for someone else...but really you have to be so careful around the holidays. bills sneak up on you.
Key:
No Spend/ Budgeted spending
Unbudgeted Spending
Crafted for at least 30min
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4. Had to bring DS2 in to the dr for a uti, appt was right at lunch time and didn't pack anything. $25 copay, $45 for antibiotics, $30 for lunch for me and 5 kids. 
expensive day
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6. Ended up having to buy a few extra things at the Scout Shop and overspent the grocery budget, frustrating b/c we stuck to the grocery list, prices on some of the items have gone up.
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8. Registration for DS1 and DH for scouting (budgeted). Ended up being less than I thought it would be (thankfully).
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10. Ate out for lunch $30!! Ugh, this should be the last time for the month. Had a MW appt and needed to eat right after, poor planning and all. Also, DH had a dentist appt, $75 OOP.
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15. DH was working from home and decided to grab lunch out for all of us, $40 later 
Also bought some clothes on zuliliy for myself ($95), something I haven't done in a long time and DH said I should indulge in. Now I'm feeling guilty, even though what I bought was at great prices and are classic pieces I'll wear for a long time and often.
Well, ended up eating out tonight, but it is my birthday, so I'm going to try not to feel too bad about it. $24. and change.
Then went to the grocery to buy a few needed items. $6. and change
Overall not too bad.
to me!
Happy Birthday, tealsmith! Birthdays are totally a good excuse to eat out ;)
10/1: no spend
10/2: no spend
10/3: no spend
10/4: no spend
10/5: no spend
10/6: budgeted spending gas $40, windshield wiper $13
10/7: budgeted spending groceries $41
10/8: no spend
10/9: no spend
10/10: no spend
10/11: no spend
10/12: no spend
10/13: budgeted spending groceries $37, misc. $5, DD's bday party $36, $5 beer
10/14: no spend
10/15: budgeted spending DD's field trip $3.25
10/16: no spend
I have to say, I'm pretty stoked with how this month is going! I think this may be the best I've ever done with a no-spend challenge! This is the time of the month when things start spiraling out of control, though, so I'm trying to keep in mind that even if I go over budget or have some out of budget spending, it's not the end of the budget. I am going to use my credit card this week to buy my kids ski lesson packs. My grandma gave me money toward them, but I used it to cover a previous CC bill (to get it paid off) and will recoup that money with my extra paycheck I get next month, plus I have to put some money into it, too, which is part of my kids' Christmas presents. The reason I need to put it on my CC is because the cost may go up soon and they are limited in quantity, or else I would just wait until I get that extra paycheck. I am VERY stoked that I covered all costs for DD's bday party with $36 (that was pretty much all food costs!) It's going to be mellow and awesome--I can't wait for the simplicity of it! There is a slight chance I may need to buy more apples for the party, but otherwise, I shouldn't have to buy any more groceries until my weekly trip on Sunday. I also need new ink cartridges for my printer, but I'm going to try to wait that one out a bit. I do have a little mini-list started for some things I want to buy with my birthday money I get in December, so I'm going to try to hold out on any purchases that are not completely necessary until I get that. Yay for self control and saving money!! :)
Today was all budgeted excet that DH got food out, he took it out if his budgets funds, so not sure if that counts.
10/15 - $20 of un-budgeted money to eat lunch out.
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