I thought we could start this so people could sub and get keys and dates down...
And I'm motivated
This is a support thread to help you ~not spend your money~.
Everyone is welcome to join and you can start tracking your spending at any time. It doesn't have to be August 1st.
The plan is simple (although tough to execute):
1. Vow not to spend any money on unnecessary purchases.
2. Come on here everyday and record your spending.
We all record our spending in different ways. There are no rules. You record and update however you would like -- pick a way that will help you spend the least amount of money.
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Please write an introductory message when you decide to join our thread. We would like to know:
a. Who you are
b. Where you are going (your financial goals) and
c. How you plan to get there
Good luck MDCers!! Keep that money in your wallet.
Originally Posted by Crunchy*VT*Mom XM -- Put down the stick.
Great to have you back! That is exciting news about your AK move!!!
:
I'm so glad to see you're still here! Thanks for the welcome. We're really excited and nervous all at once.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AngelBee
Feel
: about my spending. We have big ticket things that need to be taken care of this month that we have needed a LONG time.
IMO, truly necessary things, even if unexpected, don't count against a no-spend challenge. No-Spend doesn't help if you avoid routine maintenance and end up blowing your engine. Hang in there!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruthiegirl
Oh my. I spent a huge amount yesterday on blueberry bushes. The money was set aside for fall gardening equipment, so we are within budget, but I was not planning on buying so many. They are planted and mulched and soooooo beautiful. I am in love...
:
:
:
That's fantastic! And delicious! I tried to plant one this spring but I guess I waited too long to get it in the ground
Quote:
Originally Posted by akh
And lastly we aren't much on cooking (no skills) so we want to try....ugh....try to cook at home more and take leftovers for lunch. So I need to get better groceries and cook better cheaper meals
Hi April! I was in a similar position at one point and what saved me was Leanne Ely's Saving Dinner It is a book, but she also has a menu mailer, and maybe some free sample menus online. I credit her with teaching me how to cook, and more importantly, how to plan a menu that I can use to actually get food on the table.
Ah I blew it yesterday. Not too bad though - $2.49@ Dunkin Donuts. I would have excused myself for one small coffee since I ran out to do a good deed before my morning caffeine, however, I did not buy the minimum
Today was a huge spending day for me. Most was bills, which is good, but I did get sucked into a store closing sale and spent WWWWAAAAAAYYYYYYY too much for me. Granted, it was things I needed, but still.....
My key:
No-spend day:
Planned spending (bills, gas for car, etc):
Unplanned spending:
Total frivolous spending $70.01
Total planned spending $207.80
So far: 4
2
1
1.
$16 drive in movie and snacks.
2.
3.
$1.35 coffee, $8.46 Christmas gift
4.
$3.75 new pj's for DS on clearance at Old Navy
5.
6.
and
$40.45 Creative Habitat, $24.11 gas for car, $173.69 utilities (catching up! Yay!), $10 quarters for parking meters for the car (I just keep a stash in the car and don't track each time I use them, although I do try to seek out un-metered spots) Grand total for today: $245.25. Ouch!
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
I'll post my intro tomorrow, gotta get my feet up, 38 weeks pregnant.
August 1st-3rd: clothes, shoes for kids, $74, food groceries $63, makeup $27 (only buy this twice a year)
4th: $29 baby gift for brother
5th+6th: $66 food groceries, $15 fast food, $12 clothes, $6 kids, $30 baby
$26 Christmas gift for parents
$18 food groceries
No spend day today. My dd has been puking since dawn so it looks like we will be spending a restful day at home.
Pay day today. I was able to send $1500 to the cc! Hooray! Of course, we will be eating rice and beans all month to make the budget work, but it is worth it.
Aug1 --
Aug 2 -- 168.00 new toilet
Aug 3 -- 18.59 lunch with mom
Aug 4 --
Aug 5 -- 119.00 blueberries bushes for the garden
Aug 6 --
Aug 7 --
Goals:
Pay off credit card 1500/2000
Groceries 126.90/600.00
No sloppy spending!
IMO, truly necessary things, even if unexpected, don't count against a no-spend challenge. No-Spend doesn't help if you avoid routine maintenance and end up blowing your engine. Hang in there!
Yet another spend day and the day is only half over.
:
My key:
No-spend day:
Planned spending (bills, gas for car, etc):
Unplanned spending:
Total frivolous spending $75.61
Total planned spending $207.80
So far: 4
2
1
1.
$16 drive in movie and snacks.
2.
3.
$1.35 coffee, $8.46 Christmas gift
4.
$3.75 new pj's for DS on clearance at Old Navy
5.
6.
and
$40.45 Creative Habitat, $24.11 gas for car, $173.69 utilities (catching up! Yay!), $10 quarters for parking meters for the car (I just keep a stash in the car and don't track each time I use them, although I do try to seek out un-metered spots) Grand total for today: $245.25. Ouch!
7.
$5.35 at Recycle North for a hand wash spinner machine and wooden train tracks for DS. Crazy cheap for both of those things, but still another spend day.... Grrrr.... $0.25 at a garage sale for tupperware.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Okay the day is not over but I'm posting "good" so I can motivate myself through the home stretch! Dinner is planned, there is even some dessert in the fridge, no excuses!
I have a ton of tea that I mostly won't be bringing, and even if I do, it costs a lot to ship. We're near the end of our coffee reserve and I'm not letting us buy more between now and the move - forcing us to use up the tea stash and save a few bucks. There are some days I *really* want my coffee though and today is one of them.
1 - GARAGE SALE: $50 dresser, $3 cards, twine, toy; $39 Pet food
2 - $2 entertainment, $38 pet store
3 -
No spend (Sent out cds with prepaid paypal postage)
4 -
No spend (If I can avoid the gas station tonight)
5 - $32 new showerhead; $4 milk; $20 gas; $2 lottery
6 -
No spend
7 -
$5 cake.
I was thinking about the cake for 3 hours. I just have to give in to a pregnancy craving that lasts that long. Of course, I didn't have to buy 2nds for tonight and for the rest of the family...
Tomorrow I will probably hit a garage sale with baby stuff. I'm hoping to find a swing. Otherwise, we have already bought tickets to DD's preschool carnival.
Originally Posted by xekomaya
Ah I blew it yesterday. Not too bad though - $2.49@ Dunkin Donuts. I would have excused myself for one small coffee since I ran out to do a good deed before my morning caffeine, however, I did not buy the minimum
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
$2.49 D&D
6:
Good -
Bad -
I see DD commercials on tv All.The.Time but there's only a very few around the DFW area and they're all too far from me. Maybe they'll build more? Yeah, that's all I need!!!
a. Who you are - Aileen, wife to hubby, part time stepmom to 11 year old girl and 16 year old boy.
b. Where you are going (your financial goals) - long term: be debt free by this time next year (medical bills, one cc and one car payment), continue building up savings/retirement cushion. short term: work on reducing grocery budget and unnecessary spends.
c. How you plan to get there - get an online budget tracker such as Quicken because what I'm doing now is NOT doing the trick.
Legend:
Necessary spend
: Unnecessary spend
No spend
August
1.
: um, got off on the wrong foot, bought a starbucks frappacino.
gas, grocery store (getting better at trying to eliminate frivolous spending here), petsmart (fish to replace some we lost).
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
took a day off work to go to water park with daughter and grandbabies but my power went out and i didn't want to leave kitty alone in the 100 degree heat! a/c came back on before it got too unbearable but timing wasn't right anymore so i just went to dd's house and visited with her there. didn't spend any money!
7.
I was able to send $1500 to the cc! Hooray! Of course, we will be eating rice and beans all month to make the budget work, but it is worth it
: Ruth! That's a great feeling, isn't it? To send a huge chunk of change like that towards your debt. You may be eating beans and rice, but you are moving forward. Good for you!
Originally Posted by AngelBee
Eating out....is this an issue for anyone else?
Part of it is we do not have the proper equipment to bring stuff with us out and about. Also I am not keeping the kitchen stocked with enough stuff.
:
I NEED to make a plan but we have been so busy running around.
Ugh....yeah.
I was doing really well, but with Amelia starting Pre-K (along with everything else) this week, I haven't gone grocery shopping and it's completely blowing my plan! You've just got to do it...shop, prep, pre-package, take. And tomorrow I'll be taking my own advice!!!
I didn't spend any money today, but I was at Lowe's and a carpet store getting estimates on having our house carpeted (we have hard wood floors right now) and that will be some big $$$ if we decide to do that.
Aug 2 -- 168.00 new toilet
Aug 3 -- 18.59 lunch with mom
Aug 4 --
Aug 5 -- 119.00 blueberries bushes for the garden
Aug 6 --
Aug 7 --
Aug 8 --
Goals:
Pay off credit card 1500/2000
Groceries 126.90/600.00
No sloppy spending!
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