February No-Spend Challenge -- How did you do? What will you do differently next month? What... - Page 3

[nantahala]

29 yo woman, married, house of 2 adults and 3 cats, live in the Southeast USA.

I am aiming to reduce all non-fixed expenses and will record them here (groceries, gas, etc.); I am aiming to keep all food, h&b and cat necessities to $500 this month.

We are working to pay off about $3k in credit card debt.

[amyamanda]

1. Introducing myself - I'm Amanda, a homeschooling SAHM to two boys (8 & 9) and two girls (3-1/2 and 5), living in frosty rural Vermont.

2. We need to fix our house up to eventually sell, and need to come up with the money for the small house projects that need doing. If I can squeeze $100/month for this it would help. I also want to get more adept at crunching our budget with the way prices are going up (and possible recession/depression in the future). My DH's job is not guaranteed for more than another year at this point and we may find ourselves without income, so I want to conserve now and get to where it feels NORMAL not to spend BEFORE we hit a crisis. We also have some credit card debt to pay down. Despite my best effort, a chunk of it was from December, I am embarassed to say.

3. Write out everything I plan to spend before the month starts; record every expenditure and keep a tally of my remaining balance for the month; don't use my credit card for anything; don't use my debit card or checks for anything that isn't preplanned; have a small amount of cash on hand for indefinite things that might come up BUT limit myself to cash only. If I don't put it in my Feb budget in advance, it has to wait until Mar unless it is a TRUE emergency.

Thanks for continuing this, Prudence!

[meandk0610]

i'm sarah, sahm to 2.5yo dd. i do 2 paper routes w/ dd each week. i will be tracking groceries because i tend to buy impulse food and then rationalize it since it's food.

we need to stop spending our savings and spend less than we bring in. i want to finish bs1 savings acct of $1000.

goddess help me. i plan to use a menu plan and grocery lists. i'll also try telling myself that i can wait until march and take it from there.

plan:
no-spend days 20/28
no-drive days 10/28
hang/rack dry laundry
try to keep tv off as much as possible
use coupons & sales

sarah

[umarider]

Well, I'm going to go ahead and post my goals. For some reason, putting my goals together was easy, but putting them out for others to see is not so easy.



Goals:
No spend days: 0/17
Eating out days: 0/6
No CC use: 0/29
Unbudgeted spending: 0/0
Track "wants" spending: $0

Groceries: 0/$550
Household: 0/$200
Gas: 0/$160
Eating out: 0/$70

No spend day:
Budgeted spending:
Spend Day (unbudgeted, unnecessary):
Unbudgeted, but necessary:

I want to be proud of my spending choices

[skybluepink02]

Well this is the first time I've done this. I've followed several previous threads though.

1. Please introduce yourself and tell us anything you think it would help us to know about yourself.
I'm Chloe. I live in Atlanta and I'm a student and a nanny. I'm TTC my first child with my wonderful husband.

2. Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of February. Memorize these goals and recite them to yourself before all purchases.
DH and I are moving to the suburbs because his company is moving out there. We've got to save up at least $1,000.00 for a security deposit by February 29th. We've actually got the money now, but it wipes out our emergency fund, so we'd like to save as much as possible this month to offset that expense. Plus I'd like to get our spending under control anyways.

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)We spend a lot of money on frivolous things. Eating out, movies, ect. We're going to cut that out except for one night out this month for his birthday.

2)We're hopefully going to cut our grocery bill way way down because we've got a ton of dry goods and canned goods that I do NOT want to have to move, so we've got to eat them! Which means I have to cook, of course.

3).... I'm not sure, I'm still brainstorming. Any ideas?

[Crunchy*VT*Mom]

3).... I'm not sure, I'm still brainstorming. Any ideas?

Start recording your spending here. That is a good starting place. Plan to come on every day.

There are some hard-core no-spenders in these threads that have been doing this for months (these threads started long before I came along).

Watch what they do. Read the sucessful posts and then start doing what they do.

Be prepared to fine-tune your goals and your plan as the month goes on.

If you slip up and spend...keep chugging on...FIDO...Forget about It and Drive On.

If you keep at it, you WILL save money. Learning to not buy impulsively is a learned skill.

[samanthasmom]

thanks..i need help with #3 too. i put a notebook on the counter and asked my dh to record everything he spends money on each day. he rolled his eyes at me but agreed to it.

[flminivanmama]

Hi I am Andrea - I work part time & my dh works full time as a chef. He is being transfered for his job and we'll be moving this summer. I joined the no spend challenge last month in the middle of the month because we need to save every penny for the move. work will reimburse him for a portion of our moving expenses but I'm sure it won't be much.

We have 3 boys who always want to spend money LOL - but my dh and my kids are all on board for the no-spend challenge. I asked them all if they were willing/interested in trying and everyone was. we are trying very hard.

last month since we started we only went out to dinner once and out for ice cream once! we are quite proud of ourselves that all other entertainment was free. (I see lots of park and beach days in our future )

we have 2800 income plus a bonus each month - usually about 1000 but sometimes more sometimes less - and we have about 3300 that goes out more or less. so if the income is 3800 we are supposed to have 500 left a month. it doesn't always work out like that. but if we do manage to save $500 a month from now till july we'll have 3000 in savings. plus any tax refund & though I doubt it I'm hoping to get my security deposit back on this place.

we are also trying to get rid of all our extra stuff. I don't want to move anything I don't need to.

[Jess A]

sorry, double post

[Jess A]

1. I'm Jess, a SAHM to Jake, 8; Emma, 4; and Owen, 1. I've recently taken over the budget, and we are working hard to pay down debt and get our finances under control. DD will be in kindergarten the year after next, which will give us two tuitions to pay for.

2. To stay within budget and reduce needless consumption.

3. My plan is a little different this month. I'm going to be tracking spending in certain categories. I'm also going to consider budget spending a no spend day. There are days I have to put gas in the car, buy food, and pay bills. Those are necessities. Buying a present for a party--needed spending. Buying four other things--frivolous and what I'm trying to avoid. So if I spend within the budget and only within the budget, I will consider it a no spend day.

: no spend
spend in budget
out of budget spending
out of budget but necessary

[BrooklynDoula]

I am Megan - mom of one homeschooler and one baby. We live in Brooklyn (obviously) and we want to save for a house or trips or other things!

I am back and ready to go after a month off for vacation! I missed Dec and January because of my trip but now I am really ready! I managed to use this no-spend to get my food spending $250 less per month and I cut another $70 in monthly bills. That's nearly $4000 a year in savings!

Here are the non-fixed spending areas I need to keep in check!

0/550 food
0/100 kids
0/200 misc (basically everything but food)
0/50 fun (dh needs this or he won't stick to it)
0/1200 CC debt (largest payment yet)
0/10 truely no-spend days (not even bills, nothing)
spending within budget
I blew it!

[FeelingBlessed]

1. My name is Kim; our family includes DH, DD (12/03) + DS (9/06). I am PT sahm/PT wahm/PT wohm; kiddos are with DH when I go to the office. Have been with this group since June, and the resulting savings have been terrific.

2. Want to attack the debt snowball consciously, continuously, and with great intensity (perhaps not gazelle intense, but something pretty close to it).

3. Game plan:
* Set + meet goals for consulting
* Sell/donate unneeded items
* Stay OUT of Target
* Grocery shopping every other week only
* 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!
* ORGANIZE! Majority of overbudget/frivolous spending can be prevented with improved organization.

GOALS:
* Less than $75 in frivolous spending: month to date $0
* At least 25 days (no spend or spending w/in budget): 0/25
* Avoid Target: 0/29
* Pack snacks/water for outings: 0/29
* NO library fines: month to date $0
* Stay within grocery/eating out budget: $0/$430

Past Progress:
June: 20 days; $210.42 frivolous; $519.54 groceries; $117.55 eating out
July: 16 days; $325.62 frivolous; $825.40 groceries; $112.84 eating out
Aug.: 23 days; $144.47 frivolous; $593.09 groceries; $643.07 eating out
Sept.: 22 days; $128.37 frivolous; $598.19 groceries; $121.48 eating out
Oct.: 25 days; $139.55 frivolous; $472 groceries; $129.55 eating out
Nov.: 25 days; $192.50 frivolous; $608 groceries; $101 eating out
Dec.: 28 days; $55.20 frivolous; $503 groceries
Jan. (to date): 27 days; $19.90 frivolous; $555.85 groceries/eating out

[tarheelbaby]

Back again.


1. Please introduce yourself and tell us anything you think it would help us to know about yourself.
My name is Jennifer, I am a SAHM to one 4yo DS, wife to one fabulous DH. DS has cerebral palsy, so I stay busy with him--coordinating therapies, doctor's appointments, insurance paperwork. I also volunteer some time in his preschool classroom.

2. Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of February. Memorize these goals and recite them to yourself before all purchases.
We're about to move, and I know there is going to be some cost associated with this move (even if it's just across town.) I'd like to keep the move as frugal as possible. Also, I'm trying to clean out closets and weed through stuff, so this thread will (hopefully) keep me out of the stores this month. If I buy it at Target, I'll have to move it, and believe me, we don't need a thing.


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?
Really, I'm just trying to stay home. Prudence--I'm with you on keeping the car at home. If I'm out already, it's just so easy to swing through the drive through at Starbucks, kwim? I'm also going to be "unplugged" during the day. If I'm not online, I can't browse around amazon.com or oldnavy.com or whatever the online store du jour is that day,
I did the challenge last month but I'm disappointed in the amount of Starbucks and eating out we did. I'm going to really "buckle down" this month.

[Scribe]

I am feeling good about February! Last night, we unexpectedly got a check for a bit over $1,000 from our mortgage company--overpayment on last year's escrow account! So not only do we have an extra $1K (that is going straight into our joint savings), our mortgage is also going to be reduced by $150/month starting March 1! Then, to top that off, I did my taxes and I will be getting about $600 back on those, which I can put towards CC debt. Good start to the month!

[Ruthiegirl]

Originally Posted by Crunchy*VT*Mom

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

Ruth, SAHM mama of nearly 3.

Originally Posted by Crunchy*VT*Mom

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

February is the month to ditch $700 worth of credit card debt and add no new debt.

Originally Posted by Crunchy*VT*Mom

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?

This will be a weird month for us. I am due to deliver our third baby any day now. That doesn't really cost us anything, but it is a time of change in our home. We have a freezer packed with meals, loving neighbors who are very excited to bring us dinner and meet this new baby, and no plans for the next 2 months. This should be a very mellow time for us.

All I need to do is keep healthy and focus on the quiet activities that we enjoy. Oh! And keep out of the local pizza parlor. It is the one place that I can take the kids in the winter, but it costs me money. Instead, we will head to the YMCA for swimming and playing. Better for us and easier on my wallet.

[my2girlz]

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

I'm Heather. I'm a 28 year old SAHM to 3 kids. In mid January, I had fallen off the wagon. I'm determined to stay on this month.

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

DH and I are currently following Dave Ramsey's plan to get out of debt.

• pay down as much debt as possible with tax refund
• have 10 no spend days
• stay on budget

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?

• make a menu
• stick to grocery budget
• no unnecessary spending outside the budget
• track all spending so I can tweak budget
• eating out limit of 1x when dh is out of town on business
• keep communicating to dh about our "plan"
• start watching a 6 week old mid-month 4 days a week

[flminivanmama]

I realized I am being unrealistic about the amount that we can sock away for the move because I forgot about summer camp. ugh. that's about 2,000.

so if I can save $1000 plus tax refund - I'll still be pleased.

[Hollysmom]

I am in again after a disasterous January. I will be back to post my introduction.

[westernskies]

I'm in for February!


1. Please introduce yourself and tell us anything you think it would help us to know about yourself. I am a SAHM to 5 kiddos and one on the way.


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

I am the "budget-er" in our home and I really bombed in January. I think having this accountability will help!

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?

We are currently in the middle of a HUGE home remodeling project that we are doing paycheck to paycheck (debt free!) so there will be money that goes out to that- but other than normal neccessities and anything I *deem* necessary (after coming here first!) I hope to stay out of the stores and thrift stores and off of all the online places I love to shop at. I think if I just avoid, it will help!

I am looking forward to this!

[msp]

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

I'm a single-unschooling-WAHM of a 3yo ds. We live in Quito, Ecuador. This is my first month here!

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

Although we do have enough $ for our quite simple living style, I do want to be able to save.

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?

- Carry less in my wallet
- Don't buy "just in case I run out of..."
- Buy materials for handcrafts/projects only after I complete the pending ones
- Record my spending on my daily planner at the end of the day, because this way it'll be easier to check back and see my progress.
- Take the bus, not a taxi as I'm usually tempted. ( here the bus fee is $0.25 and the taxi from grandma's is $1...soo cheap, but anyway it's unnecessary spending as the bus station is very near)