September No-Spend Challenge: We're in the home stretch! Stay Strong Finish with us - Page 2

[LEAW]

1. Hi, Lisa, sahm to 2 kids, in a very expensive city with high cost of living. DH and I successfully did no-spend for Feb 06, it was fun (and hard).

2. Right now we pay rent (2x our mortgage) AND mortgage on our home in another state, as well as 2x utilities. We just can't afford to spend more than the minimums on anything.

3. The Plan:

OK to buy: food, utilities, auto fuel, dog food, etc.
NOT OK: fast food, shopping because I'm bored

The limited shopping list:
wedding gift (gift card)
kids fall/winter clothing (big resale happens, for $100 I can dress both kids for the next 6m)
tennis shoes for me
3 new diapers for ds (overnight cloth instead of sposies)
bday gifts for extended family
baby shower
new shoes for dd

OTHER plan:
make a menu and plan/shop for it, including lunches
any other shopping (mostly online/coops) must be budgeted into the christmas or household budget

[quakerlady]

Hi everybody-
I'm a SAHM, 2 daughters 10/00 and 9/03.
I am here b/c we just bought a new car and have payments once again. It was the right thing to do, we got a car that should save us money on gas compared to the old one, which was breaking down left and right but still...one more bill.
2nd, DD#1 is in private school and DD2 will also be in a year. Once #2 is in school full time I'll be able to work more (right now I work about 10 hours a week at a couple of flexible jobs) but right now I want to be home with her more than I want to increase our income.
3rd, we have just set major goal of making a contribution to the building campaign at our church. We're not going to be able to do that if I spend like I have been the last couple of months.

My plan: Avoid fast food except in total emergencies; simple meals planned ahead; no shopping since there's nothing we need right now.

[nascarbebe]

1. Please introduce yourself and tell us anything you think it would help us to know about yourself.

Hi, I'm a SAHM to a 2 yr old. I live in a very small town so I don't really have temptations to buy unnecessary things. I'm very picky about what I buy. If I don't absolutely love the color, fabric, material, etc, I won't buy it. However if something seems perfect for me I obsess about it until I break down and buy it, or I find something cooler.

2. Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of September. Memorize these goals and recite them to yourself before all purchases.

I have a small online business and I was doing really well but then I overinvested in inventory and it's not moving as fast as I had hoped. I charged it on my credit card because I thought I had no problem paying it back but like I said, it's been lower than I thought. I don't buy a lot of things but when I find something that I think is really cool I go ahead and order it online because I figure a little here won't hurt. But in reality, I need to be more disciplined to pay back my credit card.


3. No spending is hard work. You need a plan. Please tell us your game plan -- how do you plan to approach no spending for a month?

I need to get myself mentally prepared for this part. Let me get back to ya.

[nabigus]

I'm bracing myself: I think I need to jump in. Gulp.

1. Please introduce yourself and tell us anything you think it would help us to know about yourself.
I'm a grad student starting my 6th year full-time, ds graduated last year and has been working for a year at a non-profit. We live in a VERY expensive city and pay as much in childcare as we do in rent--both a lot. We're not living the lifestyle of the rich and famous by any means... but we still aren't quite making it. We need to.

2. Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of September. Memorize these goals and recite them to yourself before all purchases.
--To be "caught up" within 3 months from our current "overdraft" (covered thanks to family, so no actual overdraft).
--To feel like I know where our money is going, and that it's going for the things that really matter.
--To be able to sleep better at night.
--To be able to think about whether or not we want a 2nd child without having finances be the deciding factor.

3. No spending is hard work. You need a plan. Please tell us your game plan -- how do you plan to approach no spending for a month?
--Stay out of stores and off internet shopping.
--Pack lunches, plan menus, place weekly grocery orders (ah, the city has its advantages), cook.
--Figure out how the #$^&$# to cut our grocery bill.

[imnotsupernanny]

I'm Michelle. I joined in August and my goal is to join each month until my debt is gone. I just got a new nanny job and will have a steady income comming in now so can re-do my "get out of debt" plan.

Why did I join?

I really need to be debt free so I can have less stress and start saving money for good things in life.

My rules for September:

Grocery shop one day a week with CASH only (and take cloth bags). I can eat at work 4 days a week,so I don't need much the other days.

$10 a month is ok for pop and junk food.

$15 a month is allowed for Pizza or other take out.

At least $275 a month on the BIG credit card. It's now closed and my biggest debt. At least $20 a month for the small one.

No using the small credit card unless it's an emergency!!

Do something with all the canned beans I have!!

Try and sell my purses and girls clothes that I have extra of.

[allgirls]

Ok..I did! I have my monthly groceries in..I have sooooo much food and stuff in the house...a family of 6 needs a lot of food.

A couple things I did was to buy the ingredients for pancakes and pies instead of package mixes and packaged cookies/deserts. I love to bake so that's totally a good thing.

I filled up the gas tank in the van. I am determined to use the van minimally..only going into town on Fridays...only driving it in this town if it's really raining hard.

I have set up a budget for perishables. I am not sure how accurate it is but I figure I will use this as a learning month.

I am aiming for no fast food, no drive thru coffee, no extras.

There is one thing I might spend a $100 on. Someone I know is looking for a home for her golden doodle. We have been looking for one but didn't want a puppy. If she chooses us I will pay that money happily. But if it doesn't happen..well...money saved.

This is a fun/scary thing to be doing but worth it.

Oh..and I got my registration for my first college class..I start Sept 4! So I have to pay that bill but since College is what I am saving for this is exactly what I am supposed to spend extra money on!

I have decided to give my dh everything I have saved at the end of each month(except a little bit I am putting aside for Christmas)...he's won't spend it and doesn't get tempted like I do.

Cheers
Carolyn

[AGlimmeringHope]

1. I'm Dennie, a SAHM and student. DH works as a night manager at a gas station. We have a 2 year old and another little girl coming in Dec.

2. We have too much debt and spend too much money. We are trying to purchase a home, and need to save money. We need to learn to eat at home instead of always eating out.

3. Our plan is to open our new checking account (ID theft this week) and use it only to pay bills. Whatever money isn't going to be used to pay bills will be taken out of our bank account and we will be using the jar method (I got the idea from "Till Debt do us Part"). Anything else will be added to paying off our debts (credit cards, a loan from a business deal gone wrong, our midwife fees, tuition from a previous school).

We can eat out as a family once a week. Twice a month DH and I can go to a dollar movie together ($10 or so total). This is important to us as a family. Other than that our going out will be limited to free activities- play areas at the mall, children's museum, zoo, parks, picnics etc).

To help us with not eating out all the time we will be spending less time driving around town- which should also help us save gas money! We'll sit down and make a menu. I also want to break out the bread machine I found and make our own bread since dd and I eat wheat and DH likes white. I am going to go to Farmer's Market (we have $30 from WIC) and stock up on veggies to freeze for winter. My goal is to spend no more than $120 on our groceries each month and eat healthy foods.

[sparkprincess]

I'm in again! This is addicting!

I'm Jenn, sahm to a 3yo and 5mos old. My dh makes a good living and we have a pretty comfortable life, but I want to be careful of how we are spending.

I don't want to fritter away our $$ on stupid stuff. I want to teach our boys the value of a dollar and I really want to have even more money available to help out friends and family as needs arise. Also, we just purchased a new house and did big landscaping. We have money for retirement and insurance and all that, but no actual savings right now and that's a scary place to be.

My plan:

1. Stay out of stores like Target, Costco, etc. If I have to go I need to take a list and stick to it.

2. Plan all meals and buy according to the menu.

3. Don't eat out. Don't buy snacks.

4. Be more mindful of how much driving we are doing. Luckily everything is pretty close, but I can do better, I know I can.

Exceptions:

I know I'll have to buy a gift for a b-day party we were invited to.
I'll pick up something little for my baby sister's birthday. I usually spend about $10.

[imnotsupernanny]

I have a sugestion for the mamas with teens. They can cost a lot of money Why not have them get part/time ocasional jobs so they can have some money to spend on teh things they want instead of asking you for more money for the little things they like to have it for. Not saying they should be working full time,but maybe doing some weekend babysitting or weekend grass cutting or snow shovelling or something.

[vannienicole]

*

[newmainer]

i know this isn't supposed to start until Sept. but, since i have no money anyway (our acct. is in the red...literally : ) i'm celebrating our first no-spend day.

yesterday i stayed home all day with the kids. first time in...i don't know. we've had guests and gone to visit family and in general have had a crazy July-August. i've been longing to just *stay home.* so, we did... and therefore spent no money . my goal is to do this at least 2 days a week and one day on the weekend.

i hung about 5 loads of laundry on the line, which was great- its' been so sunny and beautiful, everything dried in a snap. we don't have a dryer right now- my MIL claims she broke ours when visiting. which was fine actually; it was a POS and now she's buying us a new energy efficient Bosch like we had in our old house They also gave us a new fridge as a house warming gift, which is awesome, because i was swearing about our old, energy hog piece of crap we had before. i think its' going to help us save money cuz more stuff wont 'go to waste (it's a fridge on top, freezer on bottom so you can actually see all the food). when we moved into our house in june, all 5 appliances were old and awful- now 3/5 are energy star so we should start seeing significant savings.

dd and ds (well, not really... he's only 16 m) and I planted a new fall bed of greens- lettuce and chard and beets- to get us through the next few months and hopefully will turn it into a cold frame mid-sept. or october as needed. i'll also be planting parsnips to over-winter, and garlic. both of those will be $ out for seeds, but not too much, and a future $-saver so i don't count that.

another expense will be cover crop seed and a seed spreader for our lower field. also nec. to prep. the garden for next spring. i'm hoping to manifest all the materials i need to lasagna garden the grass around our house except for one small lawn. we don't use the rest of it and it will look much prettier all perennials- less time to mow, less $ for gas. I'm going to stop using our lawn service the next time they come, and that will save us $50 a pop. I feel kind of bad cuz its' a family operation (literally- the mom,daughter, son and dad all come and take a section) and i think they really need the $, but... i gotta look out for us right now. the last check i wrote them was one the reasons our acct. is in the red- i had to pay for 3x and hadnt accted. for that in the budget (we had our house painted that month and paid cash among other things, so it got away from us).

ok..i'm rambling now.

oh- one other expense later in the month is the Fair... Maine has the *best* organic, sustainable living fair in the country and it's in Sept. We'll have to buy tickets and food, because everything is local and organic and to die for, but i am *not* going to buy yarn!! will not... will not... will not...

[Crunchy*VT*Mom]

My goals:

1. No-Spend Days = **/20 days
2. Let the Car Rest Days = **/15 days
3. No McDonalds = **/30 days

[cafechi]

1. Please introduce yourself and tell us anything you think it would help us to know about yourself.

hello everyone! my name is shellie. money is tight but we managed and i would love to save more!

2. Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of September. Memorize these goals and recite them to yourself before all purchases.

this will be my first time joining this challenge and i really hope to stick with it. i just want to stop spending money on things unless they are absolutely necessary. i have just spend a bunch on shoes and cookware and tableware. i am hoping to not spend on anything i don't need starting this month.

3. No spending is hard work. You need a plan. Please tell us your game plan -- how do you plan to approach no spending for a month?

i read about the cash plan and we are going to try that. my hubby is really good with not spending any money unless he has too. it's me that needs a plan. i'm going to put money aside for grocery and some aside for me to spend. i am no longer going to carry any credit cards or checks with me. it'll only be $40 bucks or so at one time so i will not be able to spend. this is my plan and i hope i can make it stick.

i would love to have about 15 days of no-spend! i don't go out for fast food and i love can soup for lunches at work. it's my spending that i want to stop!!! i deleted my saved credit cards online too and hope everything works out for the better.

[meandk0610]

i'm sarah, SAHM to dd(2).

i need to save because we currently don't make enough to pay our bills. dh is us starting his new position on the 4th (promoted) so hopefully we'll be able to pay our own bills. i also want to speed up paying off my student loan and save for some things dd wants.

my plan is to track grooceries as well as non-essentials because: we eat organic, i tend to buy stuff on sale, and i eat when stressed so i add to our grocery bill buying unnecessary food. i will be getting better about this because i'm finally starting to admit to myself that i feel like crap when i eat any chocolate (i think i'm allergic).

i will be taking dd to the md rennfest 1x this month so i'm stating up front i'm budgeting 25 for that day (but i did not take her to the petting zoo in august as planned).

frugal plan:

go to ap/crunchy/homeschool playgroups within 30 minutes of our house
continue hang/rack drying clothes
keep using fans instead of a/c as much as possible
keep a/c at at least 80 when in use
stick to grocery list and use cash!
finally make some family cloth (this was on july's list too )
sell stuff at local auction

sarah

[Marisol]

1. Me: I'm a WOHM, but am in the unique position of being able to bring my 1yo to work with me. My DH and I recently bought a small farm in the Missouri Ozarks. He stays at home and tends it.

2. My Reasons: I'm going to try to spend nothing this month because my DH has only one month left of termination pay from his old job. Next month I'll be the sole breadwinner for real. The worst of it is that we're carrying two mortgages -- the farm and our suburban house back in Colorado that hasn't sold yet. As long as that house isn't sold, I'll have exactly $157 in discretionary spending after bills, groceries and gas are accounted for. That money needs to cover school lunches, clothing, eating out and pretty much anything else we might buy. My mantra will be: "I'm not buying this item because next month I won't have a second chance to make the right choice."

3. My plan: Absolutely no eBay, Hyenacart or Diaperswappers. I can sell stuff there, but I'm not allowed to do searches "just to see." This is my one great vice and I can easily blow $50 that way. Also, no impluse buys at Wal-mart; only items on the list. Eating out only if someone else is buying (boss offers to foot the bill 99% of the time). There's a thrift store in town that sells jeans for $2 and shirts for $1. I'm allowing myself to spend no more than $6 there this coming month.

There's actually going to be a fair amount of spending going on this month that doesn't involve the $157 I have available. DH will be getting a pickup, a trailer, a chainsaw and other farm-related items, as well as $2k in foundation repairs for the CO house, but those purchases are coming out of a large pot of money that is allocated specifically for capital expenditures for the properties and operates independently of my paycheck. I won't be counting those items, though I may mention them.

---

I saw part of the discussion about dryer sheets, and thought I'd put my two cents in. I eliminated the need for them altogether. I used to have horrible static if I didn't use them, but then someone from another board mentioned that static comes from overdrying. Sure enough, I set my temp on medium instead of high and now I don't have a need for dryer sheets at all.

[beansmama]

Oh! I NEED to join!

1. My name is Desiree. I'm a stay at home mom to my 3 year old DD. My DH worked at Dell for the last four years, but they just closed down his site (after giving him a 12K raise only 3 months earlier!!!) so now he's jobless. He's going back to school for engineering this fall and we are living off unemployment that equals 1/2 his previous take home pay! We find out later this month if the "trade act" goes through (this means they can prove Dell outsourced the jobs, and he'll get unemployement for TWO FULL YEARS while he goes to school for free! We're praying for that...it would be a huge blessing.

2. I want to spend nothing on non-necessities because I really still want to be able to save money while on unemployment.

3. This will be hard for me. Junk food/eating out is a major problem for us. That and constantly buying DD stuff. We plan on also following the "total money makeover". And i plan on starting my exercise/eating healthier plan, so i'm hoping the weight loss will motivate me to not waste money on junk food...I added up what we spent this month - $570 on eating out/junk! We NEVER spend that much typically - but DH lost his job on the 2nd so there's been a LOT of stress eating and me being too lazy/busy to cook meals. NO MORE!

[brennasmom]

1. Please introduce yourself and tell us anything you think it would help us to know about yourself.
I am a WAHM to 2 kids, Girlie 8 and Little Man who's 4th birthday is today!!! We are seriously considering a move across the state and me becoming at least a temporary SAHM.

2. Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of September. Memorize these goals and recite them to yourself before all purchases.
To make above move feasible.

3. No spending is hard work. You need a plan. Please tell us your game plan -- how do you plan to approach no spending for a month?
No impulse purchases, stay out of stores, eating at home for 27/30 days.

[FamilyFriendlyLife]

1. My name is Kim; our family includes DH, DD (12/03) + DS (9/06). I am PT sahm/PT wahm/PT wohm for a nonprofit; kiddos are with DH when I go to the office, so our schedules are pretty full. Joined the June no-spend and did relatively well; July...not so much; August was relatively successful.

2. We recently bought another house, and I want to quickly erase the HELOC used on our first house (renting out) to meet downpayment. Would then like to hit the remaining debt snowball hard, + throw some big money to our investments. Also, DH is back in school (to become a "male nurse" as my 97-year old grandmother says); plan to pay cash for all school expenses.

3. Game plan:
* Be aware of work/spend cycle and try to mitigate
* Stay OUT of Target
* No more McD (perhaps I should pull up nutritional info. on my fries + "strawberry" shake...)
* Minimize trips to the Co-op; our grocery budget will thank me
* Try a waiting period for purchases
* Work out a meal plan + try to stick to it a majority of the time
* Pack snacks + water whenever we go out
* No more late library materials!

GOALS:
* Less than $150 in frivolous spending: month to date $0
* At least 20 days: 0/30
* No McDonalds: 0/30
* Avoid Traget: 0/30
* Pack snacks/water for outings: 0/30
* NO library fines: month to date $0


Good luck in September everyone!!!!!!!!!

Kim

[Chris10AS]

1. Please introduce yourself and tell us anything you think it would help us to know about yourself.

I'm Christen, wife to Justin, SAHM to Logan, 2.5 and another due in February. I joined last month but got distracted for a few days then never got around to catching up. I'll try not to let that happen again this month. lol

2. Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of September. Memorize these goals and recite them to yourself before all purchases.

We want to move in October and need to be very frugal between now and then to avoid using savings for the move.

3. No spending is hard work. You need a plan. Please tell us your game plan -- how do you plan to approach no spending for a month?

Follow the budget. We have enough money to pay for everything we need and to buy a few wants. We just have to monitor frivilous spending very carefully. Dh and I both are terrible about this. As long as I check my budget everyday and check in here and keep dh on track I think we'll be fine.

Acceptable extra spending:

* 2 bday presents ($50)
* $150 at local multiples garage sale (i need babystuff anyway so if I can find some awesome deals I'm taking them)
* 2 times eating out or 3 fast food purchases. NOT BOTH!


I can't wait to get this month started. I've got a new budget lined out and I know I'm going to much better this month. We didn't do bad last month either. We spent a hundred bucks more than I wanted but it was on needed clothes for dh and I anyway. Oh and a couple fast food ventures that I hadn't planned on. But I'm allowing for it this month! Atleast a little. lol.

[mimid]

I'm in with a couple of caveats.

1) the holidays are here so groceries will be a bit higher and we each get a new outfit.
2) We are taking a vacation mid-October so I'll be picking up some stuff for the trip.
3) We need to move out of the infant car seats and into convertibles and it is time to replace the bottle nipples. (I cannot believe how much those things cost!)

1. Please introduce yourself and tell us anything you think it would help us to know about yourself.
I'm Miriam, SAHM to my 3 girls. Dh is self-employed and we tend to do that bad thing of spending more than we should when he gets a couple big paychecks. I'd like to break this especially since it looks like he has a couple coming up.

2. Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of September. Memorize these goals and recite them to yourself before all purchases.
I want to cut down on the junk in the house.
We are thinking of moving at the end of the year and do I want to deal with more stuff then?
I want my children to grow up without being so focussed on "stuff" which will be hard enough to do since we live in Los Angeles.
We had an unexpected expense a couple years ago and I never replenished my little savings account. I would like to do so now.


3. No spending is hard work. You need a plan. Please tell us your game plan -- how do you plan to approach no spending for a month?

Plan, plan, plan. Make a list of what is needed. Check it over and edit it a couple times and when I shop only buy from the list. Don't make stores my destination. (I often load the girls in the car and drive to Target. Then they nap in the car and I can read, knit, listen tot he radio, make calls on my cell, etc. When they wake up we wander and shop and snack so that they will cat nap onthe way home. i always end up spending money on stuff I don't need.)