Looking ahead to May

[kathirynne]

I totally fell off the frugality wagon this month. : It always amazes me how easily I spend "extra" money, instead of saving it. (I got a *small* raise at work, and received an unexpected $600, but I have very little to show for it, and, in fact, I went on a mini spending spree buying shoes/clothes for the kids. They needed new shoes and some clothes for summer, but I totally lost my head and seem to have forgotten the frugal rules about not eating out at restaurants, et cetera )

So, I am going back to the "no-spend" method. Except for groceries ($200) and essential bills (rent, power, phone, nanny...) I'm not spending anything starting May 1st and going as long as possible. (We're saving up for a downpayment on a little farm, so I just have to keep asking myself, "Do you want this more than you want your farm?" )

Anyone care to join me? (I could use all the support I can get! )

[Hollysmom]

I so need to do this. We have a new baby coming at the end of May and need to stop buying stuff. I swear I have spent all of April buying things for myself, dd and the baby (not much for poor dh ) and have been eating out constantly:

Anyway enough I'm in!!!

[*andiflipping*]

Me Me Me..

I will join in...I was suppossed to do this in April but then I got my birthday money and bought myself a few carriers and I have gone way overboard buying diapers for the new arrival in May...

I will start May 1st with you...

[sheri123]

I'm in! I am so sick of being a consumer. My Dh and I agreed no spending except on gas and food for the month of May. We also looked ahead in the month to see what we would have to "allow", such as a few first communion gifts. We just want to get into the habit of looking at other ways to fill the "needs" we have, instead of running out the the store to buy what we think we "need" at that time. I am really excited about this, I feel like it will just slow down our lives and allow us to appreciate what we already have.

[Petersmamma]

I'm in!! I've been doing *okay* in April, but not great...we got a bit of extra money and I found some shoes (I have been wanting new shoes FOREVER. I literally ALWAYS wear flip flops, which I know some of my friends in colder climes would tell me really isn't a problem!) on sale....we ended up getting 3 pairs (2 for me, 1 for dh) for $97, so not too bad, but still. I'm also planning to get ds an aquadoodle, since he is getting into art (cool!!!) but I obviously don't want him chewing on pens, which is what he wants to do now. But in May, I am DONE. Oy, it's SOOOO hard not to spend!! Let's help each other out, mamas!

[kathirynne]

My plan...

Okay, here's my strategy. I have a chest freezer and several cupboards full of food, so I will make a menu plan for May tonight, and make a list of ingrediants that I need to buy when I do my weekly shopping on Monday.

Since I get paid tomorrow, I plan to keep $200 cash out of my paycheque for groceries for May. I will only buy what is on the list (or an UNBEATable sale on non-perishables), and when the $$ is gone, that's it for the month. (Obviously I wouldn't let my kids starve, but I won't just automatically run to the store when we're out of something or when I don't feel like cooking. : )

I have a (beautiful) notebook to keep running lists of things we need, and then when I have enough on my list to justify a shopping trip, I will go and make those specific purchases instead of running to town "for just one thing" and ending up spending $50 on "randomness" (as my son calls it).

I just bought the kids (too many ) clothes and shoes for summer, so I shouldn't even need to go to the mall for a good long time. Not to mention, if I'm at home instead of out shopping, maybe I will be able to prep my garden for planting, start my seeds inside, work on my scrapbooking and shovel out my house. : (It's amazing what you can find the time to do when you become a non-consumer and spend less time shopping! )

Anyone else have any strategic tips to stay on track?

[rachelmarie]

I'm in! I really have a bad habit of spending money on things we don't need. And it's usually stupid stuff - like going out to run a couple errands at lunch time and then picking something up to eat on the way home even though we have leftovers in the fridge (I did that today!). It makes me mad at myself when I do that.

Anyway, this is a great idea, and I'm totally going to try my best to make it work.

[anthasam]

Originally Posted by judesmama

I'm in! I really have a bad habit of spending money on things we don't need. And it's usually stupid stuff - like going out to run a couple errands at lunch time and then picking something up to eat on the way home even though we have leftovers in the fridge (I did that today!). It makes me mad at myself when I do that.

Me too Especially if DD falls asleep in the car and I'm really hungry. I even have a granola bar in my bag for this exact situation :

I'm in. I am very bad at the no-spend idea, so I think I will devise a plan too and figure out what we will be purchasing for the month and then STICK TO IT!!

Please inspire me

[nicandboys]

kathirynne, I would love to hear your meal plan and what kinds of things you buy for meals, as well as how many people you feed, if you don't mind my nosiness! $200 is my weekly food budget for 6 people and I need to work on that.

I am in for no spending in May. We're buying a new house, which took all of our savings, so need to build that back up, and we have plans to pay off our 2004 minivan within the next several months, so all the extra overtime dh is getting is going to that. And we are travelign across the country in June for my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary bash, so I want to have a litttle bit of money put away for that. I'm going to have to be super frugal.

[Petersmamma]

My game plan: Stay outta the stores!! I wish we had a freezer, I would fill that puppy up! Ds doesn't need any new clothes, and I don't think dh or I do either. We just got new shoes, so we're set there. I think we are just playing a persistance game right now....trying to get some bills paid off and gotta be patient while we do that. Of course, when we get those bills paid off, the extra just goes toward the rest. Sigh. One day, I WILL be out of debt.

[kathirynne]

Grocery basics

This is a compilation of several other posts I have made regarding grocery planning (for lack of a better title.) These are the things that I (try to regularly) implement; I'm not sure if they would work for everyone.

I try to average around $200 per month on groceries for 1 adult, 2 teen-aged boys, and 2 children under 10. (That is to say, I may spend $300 one month on some unbeatable sales or to stock up my pantry and my freezers, but then I will only spend $100 the next month.)

We don't use dairy products of any sort; my eldest son is allergic, and I personally am not convinced that they are good for anybody.

We are "gradual vegetarians"...we are in the process of eliminating meat from our diet, so, at the moment, we use meat like a "condiment" in stir-frys, stews, savory pies, et cetera.

We garden in the summer, and preserve our harvest. I will also buy a large quantity of things on sale, and preserve the surplus. (For example, my local organic supermarket recently had red bell peppers on sale 10 for $10. I bought 20, took them home, chopped them up and froze them. The next time I went to the store - two weeks later - bell peppers were $2.50 each! I felt so cool! )

Hints & tips

1. Eliminate packaged foods, convenience foods, mixes. (They are usually less healthy for you than scratch foods, anyway.)

2. Buy the things you use regularly in bulk. (Flour, rice, pasta, et cetera)

3. Stock up when things go on sale.

4. Plan meals around what you have on hand and what is on sale.

5. Eliminate dessert except for special occasions. (Your waistline and your pocketbook will both thank you! )

6. Buy fresh produce in season. (Apples tend to be cheaper in the fall, corn on the cob in summer, et cetera.)



Typical menues follow:


Breakfast

Homemade granola with reconstituted powdered soy milk (dried fruit in the granola) or
Oatmeal porridge with reconstituted powdered soy milk or
Cornmeal mush (my daughter calls it "yellow cereal", and no one but the family knows what the @*%#! she is on about ) with treacle (for added iron) and reconstituted powdered soy milk or
Homemade (toasted) bread with EarthBalance spread (bulk-bought on sale in the 3-lb tubs and frozen until needed. ) and homemade jam

Calcium-fortified orange juice


Lunch

Peanut butter and homemade jam on homemade bread or
Egg salad on homemade bread or
Leftovers from previous dinner (usually Mum chooses this option - more so than the kids do.)

Carrot sticks

Piece of seasonal fruit

Fruit tea sweetened with honey


After-school snack

Homemade muffins or
Homemade tea bread

Soft boiled eggs

Home-bottled fruit

Fruit tea sweetened with honey or
water

Dinner

Stir-fry, casserole, soup/stew or savory pie of some sort (these generally include a protien source, heaps of veggies, and a grain source.)

Homemade bread of some sort (muffins, biscuits, Yorkshire puddings, cornbread, rolls, et cetera.)

Water to drink

Yes, it is very simple food (some might even say boring), but, at the risk of sounding ill-mannered, the bottom line is this:

Everything we eat turns into poo in the end...assuming nutritional needs are met, it's a matter of deciding how much money you want to (literally) flush down the toilet.

ETA: Sorry this is so long ...I hope it's helpful.

[genifer]

Im in. I might be a lurker for a while just to get some hints and tips but I definately need to do this. Just to break the spending habit and the 'I shop therefore I am' mentality. Ive done it before but MAN does it just sneak back up on you when you blink. Its been so easy to get sucked into the consumerist mentality, which I hate!!! So Im in!

[Judegirl]

Me, me, me. I'm up a creek.

I hereby pledge not to spend outside my budget for the month of May.

Will you guys be here every day? Can we check in regularly? I don't know about everyone else, but I find that kind of thing helpful.

Jude

[spatulagirl]

I am in. I WILL NOT purchase anything in the month of May. In fact, I am working out a budget and trying to go to cash only. I just have to talk to DH tonight.

I am going to purchase some wood and soil though so I can finish my garde. We just moved to a new place and I want to get it planted this week. Maybe I will sell some stuff on the TP though first.

As for the grocery list... man oh man. I don't know how you do it on $200 a month! That is my new goal. I love challenges! I am always spending $100 a week easily for our small family of four. We don't even eat meat or dairy! I did cut it down to $80 for this last week. In my defense we moved from overseas and had to start our pantry all over again. So we haved needed to buy a lot of basics.

[mightymoo]

I am going to try - we just moved into a new house, so the pantry is 100% bare. I think we have some bread, breakfast cereal and 4 eggs to eat at the moment, so I definitely can't avoid buying groceries for a month!

We REALLY went overboard in April, we bought new carpet, appliances, etc etc and I bought some new bedding and a new bed, all for the new house, so my plan is stop spending for may and just work on getting the house organized. I'm not sure I can do it because we may find there are some things we really do need for the house, but my plan is to try my best not to buy anything that isn't truly absolutely necessary.

We bought a smaller house than we could afford so we could save money, which naturally gave me the opening to just spend a ton of money decking it out so to speak, so I'm done, I have my new appliances (not really too frivolous, the dishwasher leaks and the fridge is has rust spots!) and now I'm done spending, we need ot dial it back big time.

[kathirynne]

Moved

Now that May is actually here, this discussion has been moved to the "No Spend May" thread.

Come join us!!