Oct No-Spend Challenge: End of the month is here. Hang on No-spenders Almost There! - Page 2

[meandk0610]

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

i need to save because we currently don't make enough to pay our 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.

frugal plan:

go to ap/crunchy/homeschool playgroups within 30 minutes of our house
continue hang/rack drying clothes
keep a/c and heat off as much as possible right now
stick to grocery list and use cash!
finally make some family cloth (this was on july's and august's lists too, but i cut wipes!)
eat less
donate or sell extra stuff

sarah

[nina_yyc]

I'm Nina, mom of one sweet 10mo baby. Last month's challenge was really fun to track, and this month I'm sure I can improve my record of ~ $400 over budget! My DH an I are saving for a house, so we're on a fairly restricted budget. I do have some planned spending coming up for clothes for work and personal care, but I've got you guys to keep me from going overboard =)

Grocery/household/baby: $0/$440
Frivilous spending $0/25

[Adamsmama]

My name is Sasha. I'm a SAHM to 3 kids from 4 months to 4 yrs old. My husband changed jobs last Spring and became a Mortgage Broker and I suppose that was bad timing with the way the economy/loans/mortgages/interest rates are going right now. He just got out of that job and moved on to a salaried position...but we have a ton of debt from this Summer (living on little money because he was making commission). We now realize we need to pay off our debt from this Summer, plus other debt we've been living with (student loans, car loans, etc.) and are motived by Dave Ramsey's snowball effect.

I do not want to buy anything except for groceries this month. I will post on here when I do. The plan: Max $70/week on groceries, $50/week at Costco total. I will post on this thread anytime I spend money.

[Petersmamma]

Sigh. I'm joining in since dh was fired : Money is going to be tight till he figures something out.

Fortunately, he is meeting with a career services counselor today at his college to talk about his resume.

It sucks that Christmas is getting near and I'm scared that we won't have money for ANYTHING. At least I've already started on ds' present....a train table we are making ourselves. We got one of those play mats that looks like train tracks, and we have wood which we will cut to fit the mat. We will glue the mat to the wood and will add wheels so that it can slide easily under ds' bed. Then I am going to go to Ikea, because they sell really cheap wooden tracks and trains.

[brittneyscott]

I'm a SAHM/pt WOHM with a 2yo DD and 3mo DS. DH and I are hoping to buy a house soon. Its going to take a lot of money for down payments, closings costs, etc. and I need to save every penny we can for these expenses. Plus winter and Christmas are coming up so there are going to be other expenses soon too. I've worked out our budget for the month. For now I'm not going to add any extra expenses. I'll add them as needed if necessary. I fell off the bandwagon last month so hoping I'll do better this month.

No Spend Plan:
NO eating out
At least 20 no spend days
Make meal plan and STICK TO IT! Eat from pantry before buying.
Line dry clothes at least twice a wk.

Groceries: 200
Gas: 150
Misc: 50

I'm putting up pics of my house and plans for it and the paperwork showing what our costs should be in the office to remind me what I'm working for. I'm going to use the envelope method this month so I don't end up spending extra on the debit card and locking that and the cc's in the lock box. Good luck to everyone this month! I know we sure need it!!!

[scrapadoozer]

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

Hi, my name is Jenny and I am a SAHM to one lovely little girl and wife to one lovely big husband.

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

We recently made two semi-big purchases on credit cards. DH wants to dip into savings to pay them off but I am trying my darndest to pay them off without touching any of that money. We will really need to watch every penny to accomplish this goal.

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 clothing purchases for dd. She needs NO CLOTHES!
*No shopping for entertainment.
*I do not need fabric so I shall not buy it. (I will repeat this to myself everyday. It shall become my mantra.)
*Eat out no more than 3x this month (not counting anniversary trip)
*Our 7th anniversary is coming up on the 13th and we will most likely go out of town that weekend. I am hoping we can have as frugal a holiday as possible.

No spend days: 0/21
No dining out days 0/27
Groceries $0/$300
Personal mad money 0/$50
DD's mad money 0/$20

[prettyflwrs]

Originally Posted by Crunchy*VT*Mom

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

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

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?

Hi, Its me again, I tried to join in last month and only lasted a few days. I am going to try again so lets hope it goes better this month.

I am a SAHM of one, My husband is working trying to become a teacher. He is working three jobs and his income changes and is hard to predict. Our goal is to not spend any more money then absolutly nessesary.
I also want to try and drive less, gas is expensive.

so goals are:
I want to have 20 no spend days this month.
I want to have 18 no gas days this month.

[frog]

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

I'm frog. I'm 36 and live with my partner, turtle, and our passel of cats (Mason, Kissa, Sevyn, Tamarind and Lychee). I work full time. For right now, turtle's unemployed but looking.

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

turtle is unemployed
our savings is minimal and pathetic
we have credit card debt

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?

* only one trip to the grocery store in October 0/1
* pack lunches and snacks every working day 0/23
* frugal choices at the Farmer's Market, bearing in mind the produce box
* no clothing purchases, not even thrift

[Crunchy*VT*Mom]

I want to hear how this one trip to the grocery store thing works out, Frog. Because I often think about trying that too. If I can just stay out of the store, I don't spend money.

Do you have a free-standing freezer or are you just using the one attached to your fridge?

[christy005]

this is my first month trying this! let's see how it goes!
1. Please introduce yourself and tell us anything you think it would help us to know about yourself.
--I'm Christy. I'm 22 and I work part time and I'm also a full time student. I live with my DF (who works full time) and our son Matthew...and we spent entirely too much money!!:

2. Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of October. Memorize these goals and recite them to yourself before all purchases.
-I have let my spending habits get out of control. I've been using my credit cards for unnecessary things and it's starting to build up. I have no savings, we basically live paycheck to paycheck, which I really want to get out of doing.

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?
--not going online shopping. STAYING AWAY FROM EBAY! that is my weak spot.
--not going to stores just to look around. I always end up buying stuff I don't need.
--packing my lunches for work/school instead of eating out, or getting stuff from vending machines..that adds up
--eat what we have at home before going to the grocery store!!
--grocery shopping once every 2 weeks.
--sell some of matthew's old baby clothes and accessories

That's it for now. I'll think of more and add them.

[Petersmamma]

I'm in the same boat as Frog.

I'm Sara, mama to my 2.5 yo ds, wife to my student dh who is now unemployed.

I am a grad student, and I'm in my last year of my PhD program, and I am also in the teacher certification program at my university (oh, and now that I know about diff. teacher cert programs, let me tell ya that this ain't one of those one month, easy peasy dealies. : I'm hoping that I get a better job because of it, or at least some frickin' recognition, because right now I just want to do the one month dealie).

We have oodles of cc debt from when we were young and dumb (except that it's still going on....a few months ago dh lost his debit card and used a cc that was supposed to be cut up and didn't pay attention to how much how was putting on it, so he ran up his balance on one cc to DOUBLE what he originally owed : Can you say "pissed off"?). I'm actually pretty frustrated that I pulled dh out of credit rating hell and he is dragging MY credit rating down. I can understand why most marriages fail due to money issues.

My game plan:

-use up food at home (though we are doing that now, so it might be slim pickings in Oct)
-Stay out of stores (easy enough when you don't have enough money to pay all the bills....by that I mean cc, we will still have lights, food, housing)
-Shop wisely: with a list, not hungry, etc
-Nothing extra unless it is necessary

The extras I foresee this month: ds needs winter-y clothes (basically just needs long sleeve t-shirts, SOCKS, possibly some warmer pj's, sweatshirts/sweaters, a light jacket....okay, I guess I should have said that he DOESN'T need shoes and pants! ), although he may not need them this month. Still, I don't want it to suddenly get cold and the poor kid has nothing to wear.

I just took some stuff to a consignment store and I have a few more things to take in, so I might be able to get some stuff there for "free".

The one other thing is that I really want to get ds' picture taken, for Xmas gifts (and posterity! ). I do have a JC Penney coupon for the $8 package, and I'm pretty good at resisting the sales pitch that comes when you go to pick them up. Dh, OTOH, is NOT.

Ooh, another strategy:

-keep dh away from anything that requires money! I am trying VERY hard to get him to make himself a sandwich before school so he won't either go hungry or buy something. I don't know how successful that is.

-I have some stuff I need to sell, so I need to get off my butt and do that! I can use that money for ds' winter clothes.

[michelle524]

I'm Michelle. I became a PT WAHM in August - quit my FT WOH job with no back up plan. Since then, we haven't taken seriously the fact that we are down a little more than 1/2 of one income.

My goals are to have 15 no spend days and 15 "let the car rest" days. If I don't go out, I can't spend. I would also like to keep the Non-Essential spending to less than $300. This will mostly be spent on take-out and food o the road. That is my weakness.

Additionally, I have too much stuff. I want to convince DH we can live simpler lives - that we can downsize our stuff and our house and everything about the way we live. We don't have to spend all we have and live like we do.

My one caveat: DH and I are taking a weekend away for our anniversary this month. We need to get the spark back in our marriage - we're having new baby issues... that's another thread entirely. So the trip is necessary for our well being and our marriage. I'm sure it will mean $$ but I'm not going to record spending on that trip, even eating out. This "break" will only be from 10/6-10/8, NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!!

Good luck everyone - last month's thread was so supportive. I'm happy to be joining again.

No Spend Days 0/15
Let the Car Rest Days 0/15
: Non-Essential Spending 0/$300 limit

ETA: We don't have much debt other than one car, one house and a $10,000 loan from the ILs to pay for soil remediation. We should be getting a grant from the state for it, but if we don't, we need to come up with the money. I don't want that hanging over my head. I also want to move closer to NYC where DH works (which means higher cost of living), so I want to save for that. I'd rather pay a higher mortgage and actually see my husband!!

[happy_wife_&_mama]

subbing

[brennasmom]

1. Please introduce yourself and tell us anything you think it would help us to know about yourself.
Hi everyone! I am a WOHM (tired) momma to 2 kiddos.

2. Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of October. Memorize these goals and recite them to yourself before all purchases.
We are considering an across the state move so I could become a SAHM for a few years. Even if that doesn't happen we want to become debt free sooner rather than later. Working down 2 car notes and a huge mortgage

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?
1. Post here everyday
2. Minimize grocery store stops
3. Eat at home
4. Pack lunches

[mamamilkers]

I'm a SAHM to two young girls (ages 3 and 1) and I also have total control of our budget (DP is self-admittedly terrible with money), so it's all on my shoulders to make sure we spend our money responsibly. A chore I welcome and also stress over.

In the longer range we have alot of debt to dig ourselves out from under from some terrible choices DP made in his past. We want to but a home some day before too long, drastically improve DP's credit and have a simple wedding.

In the shorter term we want to be able to make all of our ends meet on one salary while shovelling as much $$ as we can in to the debt. (Fun, fun!)

I also want to just break free of my (our?) need for material posessions. For shopping and buying stuff. For accumulating stuff-- most of it stuff we don't need. Stuff I think will make me happy, but doesn't (nor should it). I want to stop spending so much not only to help save money, but also to break the cycle of, well, spending so damn much and accumulating things we don't need and deep down, really don't want. In my core I am a minimalist. I love to throw things away, donate things, sell things. I don't know why I keep gathering things, as well.

My goals are:

1. Have 20 no-spend days.
2. To keep our grocery budget under $400.
3. For the month, no toys or clothes for the girls (other than socks from Old Navy, which I will use a $10 coupon to purchase).
4. Take my DD to school twice (out of ten school days) on the city bus. This is mostly an experiment to see if it's worth the hassle to bus to school over driving to school.
5. $100 personal spending on anything I wish.

I also have more abstract goals of replacing things we use/buy with cheaper, more earth-friendly options, finding more things for our family to do that don't cost money, eat out less and drive less.

September was my first month of the no-spend challenge and I'm SO excited about going through it all again with you all in October!

[Om Girl]

1. Please introduce yourself and tell us anything you think it would help us to know about yourself.
Hi, I'm Summer and I'm a WOHM (now, official). I'm WOH 3-4 days/week and home 2 days/week. I have an 18 mo DD at home and am happily married to her babadada!

2. Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of October. Memorize these goals and recite them to yourself before all purchases.
We close on our first home puchase the end of October and we are trying to create a slush fund & savings account plus budget and plan for housing incidentals.

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?

• My plan is to spend only on:
  • Gas
  • Food/IDL's (incidentals of daily living)
• I will only track what I spend on unnecessary items.
  • non-food items at the co-op/grocery
  • gifts or personal items, non-budgeted
  • eating out
• I intend to spend more on food than gas, and less than $25.00 on food or entertainment out of the house!

[kalisis]

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

I'm Ashley, a newly single mama to two little ones. We're staying with my parents right now (so rent is free and food is cheap!), but we'll be on our own the first of the new year, so I've really got to get my spending under control. My biggest problem is online shopping - it's so easy!

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

I do not know what I'll be doing to support us in the coming months (I have a freelance project for now, but that will end by Christmas) and I think it might be something sporadic like freelancing, so I need to get a budget and learn to stick to it. I figure I'm going to 'pay' myself a set amount each month out of savings and then any monies I earn each month will go back into savings, so I know what I'll be able to spend each 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 plan to come post here every day and rely on you amazing women for support. Last month was great, thank you.

I'm not going to keep a running tally of food costs b/c my parents are buying the groceries and they eat meat at every meal. I konw the food bill is going to be astronomical while I'm here, but it's fine b/c that's how they eat and they're footing the bill.

I also have to drive nearly every day since I will be taking DS to day care now. But, I'm going to try to limit my frivilous driving.

My goals:

25/31 No Internet Shopping
$250 Discretionary Fund - used for anything and everything personal
7/31 Allowable Fast Food Trips (include coffee stops as a trip)

[frog]

Originally Posted by Crunchy*VT*Mom

Do you have a free-standing freezer or are you just using the one attached to your fridge?

We've got an upright chest freezer in the garage, but we honestly don't eat much out of the freezer. It's currently stocked with a bunch of stuff we bought when a local natural foods store was going out of business. Oh, and a nice little stack of Totino's pizzas, which are horrible and which I love beyond reason.

turtle's put together a really great pantry over the last year, so our plan is to keep that stocked and eat out of that between grocery trips.

We'll see how it goes--I talked with her about it last night and she's stoked to see if we can do it. I suspect the trip will be sometime in the next 10 days.

ETA: I'd also like to bump up my freelance editing, with the goal of putting that money toward our debt. This is more of a long-term goal, though, as marketing myself doesn't typically result in immediate work.

[shayinme]

Subbing, will return later.. but definitely want to reduce my frivolous spending.

Shay

[Hollysmom]

I am so in for October. September was better than August and I am really going to work at making October even better.

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

My name is Kristine and I am Mom to two girls with another surprise on the way in January. I work outside the home, but will going on maternity leave in January and will be off for a year.

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

I am going to be off work very soon for another year after only having been back at work for 6 months so we really need to control our spending. Up until now dh and I have just gone around spending whatever each of us wanted, not keeping track or consulting one another. This has resulted in too much debt and too little savings. We have agreed that that has to change and will be sitting down to discuss all our finances 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?

a) Sit down with dh and go over every aspect of our budget and agree on how much spending money each of us will have for the month.
b) Stick to our new budget
c) no recreational spending - only necessities - more toys, baby stuff etc are NOT necessities.
d) set realistic goals for no spending/take out days and stick to them

October Goals:

No Spend Days: 0/15
No Restaurant/Take-out Days: 0/20