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December No-Spend Challenge -- Holidays are going strong...you can do it! - Page 9  

post #161 of 547
12/5/07 at 6:19pm
Dec 1st - No spend and stayed home
Dec 2nd - 15.00 going out to eat as a family (1 of the 2 budgeted eating out days ) , 15.00 gas , Paid off Best Buy cc ! also paid tithe
Dec 3rd - 13.00 flu vaxs for DD I did good though it lunch time here and I did NOT stop for fast food but instead came home to eat and feed dd.
Dec 4th - decided not to go to story time at Starbucks I always feel like I HAVE to get something so this took the temptation away . No spend !
Dec 5th - Gas 30.00 dh car , mortgage, electric , internet ,cc paymeny all paid plus I may go buy food tonight .

Goals:
2/20 True no spend days
3/11 Budget money (mortgage , food, electric , cc debt and the like)
/0 none budget money spent
1/2 eating out days (we have two days we have to eat out this month so they are budgeted money )
0/25.00 my christmas money
45.00/185.00 gas money


Key :
no spend or budget spend money
Budget money
unbudget money[/QUOTE]
post #162 of 547
12/5/07 at 6:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crunchy*VT*Mom View Post
Although I will grant that it is a stretch to say that candy canes and chocolate covered graham crackers are NECESSITIES...
I don't know about Candy Canes, but Chocolate covered Graham Crackers are ABSOLUTELY a necessity!
post #163 of 547
12/5/07 at 7:32pm
Dec. 1 - $20 for Lunch {McDonalds} Made $535 holding Yardsale!
Dec. 2 - $15 for entertainment book {will get $10 GC & $6 rebate back - so free!} Made $513.51 from ebay auction!
Dec. 3 - : $35 USPS shipping to ship ebay items, $2112.21 Taxes on house, $81.13 groceries - all need/sale items!
Dec. 4 - : $27 at thrift store {books to sell & misc}, $135 water bill {yes - we had a leak!}, $240 Cable {double payment} Made $114.50 selling things on craigslist, and $21.44 selling on half.com
Dec. 5 - : $6.59 at starbucks, $2 for city bus.

True no spend
: Necessary spending
: Unnecessary spending

1. 15 no spend days 2/15
2. 20 Eat at home Days 3/20
3. 20 Stick to the List Days {We grocery Game} 3/15
4. Craigslist/Ebay/Half.com/yardsale Goal $1184.45/700
5. Surveys 0/?
6. Stick to the grocery Budget! 81.13/475
7. Blow Funds 60/150
post #164 of 547
12/5/07 at 8:57pm
1st: $14.12 groceries for DS1 birthday : all unnecessary.
2nd:
3rd: $20.89 boots for DS1; $14.99 3 puzzles for DS2
4th:
5th: $44.54 groceries
post #165 of 547
12/5/07 at 9:01pm
What a disaster today was.

1 - $191.30 on groceries (budgeted)
2 - true no spend no drive
3 - $50 gas (budgeted)
4 - $50 Staples (stuff to mail stuff I sold, tape, printer cartridges)
$5 to ship the stuff I sold
Most of this will get reimbursed through work or paid for with profits from sales. All budgeted/necessary
5 - : $78.95 groceries. I can't believe I had to go back. And the other store I shop at is having a great sale on things I need, so I'll be back buying groceries on Saturday. Someone shoot me. $52.95 dry cleaners. I guess this was necessary, if we wanted our stuff back. DH's suit and our summer comforter... It was all necessary, dry cleaners wasn't budgeted, I'm annoyed, so I'm giving myself the irked face. Oh great, I just realized I'm more than 1/2 way through the grocery budget and it's only the fifth. :

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1/12 no drive days
1/15 no spend at all days
0/8 take out/restaurant meals
0/$100 take out/restaurant meals
4/31 turn off the computer nights
$0/$50 mad money
$270.25/$500 groceries


Possible Pitfalls:
1. DS' first bday and first Christmas. I don't have a plan for spending yet on these things and I need to get one.

2. Christmas itself. I host dinner. We already have the main course, but I need sides and desserts. I need a budget for this.

3. Holiday guests. Usually end up going out to eat or spending more. Need to make sure not to lose sight of my goals in all of this.[/QUOTE]
post #166 of 547
12/5/07 at 10:11pm
12/1: $42 groceries; $36 Target, all but $5 no essential; $110 dog grooming .
12/2: $1 lottery ticket
12/3:$35 copay; $1.14 postage
12/4: $5 workbooks for ds; $27 pizza and subs
12/5: $104 cell phone (minus $50 mail-in rebate)because my phone died once and for all

GOALS:

15 no-spend days;
$200 limit in X-Mas spending;
$200 in spending other than (1) paying bills (2) groceries, gas, health and other essentials that I can't think of at the moment.

PROGRESS TO DATE:

0 no-spend days
$0 X-Mas spending
$137 non-essential spending
$104 essential but unbudgeted spending
post #167 of 547
12/5/07 at 10:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by michelle524 View Post
5 - $78.95 groceries. I can't believe I had to go back. And the other store I shop at is having a great sale on things I need, so I'll be back buying groceries on Saturday. Someone shoot me. $52.95 dry cleaners. I guess this was necessary, if we wanted our stuff back. DH's suit and our summer comforter... It was all necessary, dry cleaners wasn't budgeted, I'm annoyed, so I'm giving myself the irked face. Oh great, I just realized I'm more than 1/2 way through the grocery budget and it's only the fifth.
[/QUOTE]

Maybe after stocking up this weekend, you'll be good for a while.
post #168 of 547
12/5/07 at 10:21pm
[/quote] Maybe after stocking up this weekend, you'll be good for a while.[/QUOTE]

I hope so. I should really only need produce and then stuff for Christmas dinner - that meal better last us a week!
post #169 of 547
12/5/07 at 10:28pm
I am done with Christmas gifts. There is no one else I need to buy a gift for. I may buy a few stocking stuffers for the girls. However, I also bought myself a book I don't need, but have been wanting for a couple months I am doing really poorly on the self control so far this month.

I do not have any plans that involve spending tomorrow, wish me luck!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dec 1 + no drive
Dec 2 costco, gifts and groceries; new winter coat
Dec 3 car maintenance, xmas spending, household, all in budget
Dec 4 groceries, gas unnecessary groceries
Dec 5 lunch with DD, xmas gift, book


Key: no spend spending in budget unplanned, unbudgeted, or unwise

No Spend Days 1/12
Fill gas and grocery shop only once a week 1/2
Only one stock up shop at Costco 1/1
Personal discretionary spending $ 0/50
post #170 of 547
12/5/07 at 10:50pm
December 1: $15 for pictures of the kids with Santa Claus.
December 2: no driving, spent $60 on Christmas gifts online.
December 3: no driving, no spending!
December 4: no driving, no spending!
December 5: $6 on parking, $4 of necessary spending at grocery store, $100 Christmas shopping, $24 spent on fast food and other things I don't really need (hot chocolate, snacky treats, etc.)

2/10 actual no-spend days
3/5 let-the-car-rest days
24/75 in discretionary/preventable spending
0/5 lattes
No unfunded credit card charges yet!
post #171 of 547
12/5/07 at 11:17pm
Spent $46.77 today at the Lands' End Inlet. DS really needed winter boots and mittens for playing in the snow. I thought we were all set and then when he played outside last weekend I found out the boots we had leaked and the mittens didn't fit. Target yielded nothing (I actually walked out of there empty-handed!) so we hit Lands' End. He tried them out when we got home (I shoveled; he played) and so far so good, so I'm fine with spending the money.

However, then I stopped at Starbucks and blew almost $4 on a grande mocha. Blech.

12/1:
12/2: $10.52 St. Nick's presents for DS + $3/14 Carmex + $5.27 printer paper + $1.86 candy for DH and me
12/3: $80.86 necessary groceries + $2.78 unnecessary groceries
12/4: $27.33 necessary groceries
12/5: $46.77 for snow mittens and boots for DS from Lands' End + $4 Starbucks

KEY:
True no spend
Necessary spending
Unnecessary spending
post #172 of 547
12/5/07 at 11:18pm
My key: = NO SPEND AT ALL
= Gas, Groceries, Cleaning stuff
= anything else.

12/1-
12/2- Here is the damage:
-----$92.05- Christmas presents for my niece and nephew
-----$9.66-Holiday Cards and a pack of gum
-----$3.24-McDonald's
12/3-
12/4- $81.15 Groceries. $116.60 BJs-groceries (we get our meat there) $20 (approx- can't find the receipt) Target for laundry detergent, cleaning supplies.
12/5-





No spend days: 3/23
post #173 of 547
12/6/07 at 12:34am
12/01: $3 on replacing a book of a friends that my little DD ruined. $12 on lunch for bigger DD and I. $2 on a hot apple cider for me. $15 on winter boots for DD. Made $5 on Craigslist!
12/02: no spend! Made $10 on Craigslist!
12/03: no spend!
12/04: no spend! Made $20 on Craigslist!
12/05: no spend! Made $27 on Craigslist!

1. 4/20 no-spend days.
2. $300/$300 on groceries and household items for Nov 23-Dec 6.
3. $0/$0 on the credit card.
4. $430/$688 budget for Christmas gifts (any money made off of Craigslist will be added in to this).
5. $15/$0 on my DDs (other than Christmas gifts, of course!)

KEY:
=true no-spend
=spending within the budget
=out of budget spending

DF needed some popcorn so luckily we had $2 left in the budget for it I only bought gas today and some treats to put in the girl's St. Nick's Stockings. Fun!
post #174 of 547
12/6/07 at 12:44am
Dec. 1-
Dec. 2-
Dec. 3- spent $1.48 at post office, $12.50 at the grocery store, made $3 selling eggs
Dec. 4-
Dec. 5- $21.28 at grocery store (DH), $100 to order spring dance recital costumes. We're all out of check blanks, so the costume order went on the credit card. oops!
Dec. 6-
Dec. 7-
Dec. 8-
Dec. 9-
Dec. 10-
Dec. 11-
Dec. 12-
Dec. 13-
Dec. 14-
Dec. 15-
Dec. 16-
Dec. 17-
Dec. 18-
Dec. 19-
Dec. 20-
Dec. 21-
Dec. 22-
Dec. 23-
Dec. 24-
Dec. 25-
Dec. 26-
Dec. 27-
Dec. 28-
Dec. 29-
Dec. 30-
Dec. 31-

My goals for the month of December:
Track Grocery Spending: $33.78/$500
Track eating out/take out spending: 0/$100
Track my gasoline spending: 0/$160
Track household spending: $101.48
Track gift spending:
Track frivolous spending: 0/$0
Track spending/income on chickens: $3 income
No frivolous spending: 5/31 days
No credit card use: 4/31 days
Stay within 15 miles of home: 5/25 days
post #175 of 547
12/6/07 at 12:55am
FREE STRING CHEESE.

go to target.com
scroll down to SuperTargetCoupons and click.

print ONLY the kraft cheese coupon for 75 cents off. you CAN and should print in the store...it saves you money/ink and they cannot argue the coupon ..for it IS on THEIR blue paper ... oh and you can print hundreds there like i do!

so the coupon AUTOMATICALLY rings in at the price of the string cheese which is only 27 cents a piece...yes its the single ones ...but like i said you CAN print hundreds of that coupon at the store and its FREE!!! we just got 28 more cheese tonight.

and while you are there you can also pickup a FREE polly pocket with this coupon. http://www.mattel.com/PollyPromise/ (my target takes 5 of these coupons at a time ..we are donating A LOT of toys this year!)
post #176 of 547
12/6/07 at 9:07am
12/1- $13 @ Taco Bell
12/2
12/3
12/4
12/5
post #177 of 547
12/6/07 at 12:39pm
Dec 1:
Dec 2: (and made $175 on craigslist!)
Dec 3: post office $16.58 in budget
Dec 4: groceries and household items... $62 in budget
Dec 5: DH gas, $30 in budget
Dec 6: (and made $20 on Craigslist!)
post #178 of 547
12/6/07 at 2:53pm
Dec 1st - No spend and stayed home
Dec 2nd - 15.00 going out to eat as a family (1 of the 2 budgeted eating out days ) , 15.00 gas , Paid off Best Buy cc ! also paid tithe
Dec 3rd - 13.00 flu vaxs for DD I did good though it lunch time here and I did NOT stop for fast food but instead came home to eat and feed dd.
Dec 4th - decided not to go to story time at Starbucks I always feel like I HAVE to get something so this took the temptation away . No spend !
Dec 5th - Gas 30.00 dh car , mortgage, electric , internet ,cc paymeny all paid plus I may go buy food tonight .
Dec 6th 14.81 groceries, 15.56 swap box items plus 9.00 to ship I should of NOT signed up for a swap!, 3.21 teacher tins for the cookies we are making , 33.10 on dh christmas 8.10 over budget, 20.00 gas

Goals:
2/20 True no spend days
4/11 Budget money (mortgage , food, electric , cc debt and the like)
1/0 none budget money spent
1/2 eating out days (we have two days we have to eat out this month so they are budgeted money )
33.10/25.00 my christmas money
65.00/155.00 gas money


Key :
no spend or budget spend money
Budget money
unbudget money
post #179 of 547
12/6/07 at 4:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mommabean View Post
FREE STRING CHEESE.

and while you are there you can also pickup a FREE polly pocket with this coupon. http://www.mattel.com/PollyPromise/ (my target takes 5 of these coupons at a time ..we are donating A LOT of toys this year!)
So the PP toys are $5 a piece? I am totaally going to do that to donate!!! I've bought clearance toys at Target this past year to give to toys for tots.
post #180 of 547
12/6/07 at 5:20pm
yes at target they are 4.98 and they just adjust accordingly.

At my local grocery store (HEB) they have them for even less than that and take the coupons. GREAT to donate knowing the promise and well its FREE.
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