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~ October No-Spend Challenge ~ The treat is having money in the bank. The trick is keeping it there.

8K views 251 replies 32 participants last post by  Hollysmom 
#1 ·
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 October 1st. Now is a good time to start.

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.
 
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#2 ·
I am in! I have done this challenge before and it is great. I keep track of daily itemized expenses on my computer. But I like to come onto MDC and report a daily spend/no spend/frivalous spend day.
I'm Vicki a stay-at-home, homeschooling Mom of 4 girls.

My goals this month are to...
Get as close to an extra $1000 in savings as possible
Cash Only- NO Credit Cards
Eat out 1x per week
Make more foods from scratch
Keep an itemized, running list of "wants" and research/plan before we buy
5 No Spend Days
My Key:
Budgeted, planned spending (includes groceries, gas, other necessary or well planned items- NOT impulse items)
No Spend
No Drive
Impulse, Unnecessary Spending
Eat Out
 
#4 ·
I am IN!!!

We have been on BS3 forever in the Dave plan forever, largely b/c I really want 12 months in savings and have not had any luck sticking to my guns on that one.

I have a spreadsheet that mocks me every time I open in, but am really wasteful in my spending--huge impulse buyer (magazines), not a good meal planner, etc.

So I will really try to buckle down this month.

No real goals, but I just want a place to track my spending and be accountable so that I don't have any waste.
 
#5 ·
Hi everyone.

I'm Chandra. Married, with 2.5 year old son and a daughter due any day now.

October is going to be a big month for us. We are moving this weekend (Oct 1-3) and baby sister is going to make her entrance sometime.

My goals:

No unnecessary spending
Keep moving expenses to a minimum
Make due with what I have before a "quick trip" to Target that always costs way more than I think it will
Restock the pantry and fridge, but be efficient
Our first month of a quasi-Dave Ramsey budget (September was information gathering for us. What an eye-opener)
Join financial forces with husband for first time in our almost 6 year marriage

And most important: Find a peaceful way to welcome our daughter amid the inevitable moving chaos!! Ok, that one's not a financial goal but important to us.

Chandra
 
#6 ·
My ultimate goal is to have enough saved so that DH and I don't have to teach summer school and our new baby can stay home from the nursery with us for those 10 weeks.
This would mean a lot to me.

Plan--Spend $ on groceries, laundry (detergent and about $4 a load for the machines), subway fare, and one date-night meal out a week plus stamps, phone, cable and electric bill and our mega expensive student loans and mega expensive rent.

I have never tracked my grocery spending before so I'm thinking this will be a real learning experience. I'm a little nervous to confess how much I spend on food--but I think it will help me save for a summer together as a family.
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20. Nursing bra-$20, screwdriver $6, 2x greeting cards-$4
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Dude, I really suck at this. Totally lost track of grocery receipts and didn't even make it halfway through the month before I did some unplanned spending.
(Although I consider the peppermint oil and pest control system to be justifiable purchases as I saw a mouse in the apt. the other day.)
 
#7 ·
I'm Marissa, a working mom to a 16 month old girl, and another baby arriving in March.

October is going to be our first month really tracking our spending. I'm trying, as always, to make sure we have more coming in then we do going out this month. I'm trying to set some money aside for visiting family at thanksgiving and for buying Christmas presents. we have $700 put aside right now, but I want to get it up to $1,000 (DF and I both have large families to buy presents for, and I like round numbers. what doesn't get used for the holidays will be moving into the emergency fund afterwards). at the same time, DD just moved to her own room, and I really want to get it decorated for her, because right now it's still set up as my library.
 
#8 ·
Who you are

I'm Sarah. Married WOHM to DD and expecting DS in January.

Where you are going (your financial goals) and

I'd like to start saving more money.
We have no debt, except the mortgage (8.5 years remaining on that one), but our savings have been eaten away by recent renovations. Currently, I put away $200 every two weeks to replenish medium term savings. I'd like to increase that to at least $500 every two weeks.

How you plan to get there

Spend less money? I actually hate going shopping, so staying out of shops isn't too hard for me. But staying out of online shops is more difficult. My goal for this month is at least 15 no spend days. I have some expenses that I know are coming up this month: our front porch is getting replaced, and I want to establish my veggie garden for next year (I'm putting in raised beds). So, the goal savings wise is to put in my usual amount and not withdraw any extra to pay for this month's expenses.

0/15 no spend days
0/$400 added to savings
 
#11 ·
Who you are
I'm Kim, mum to 2 little monkeys + transitioning from a 32 hr/wk gig leading a nonprofit to WAH as a freelance writer/editor (DH works FT + is in school FT).

Where you are going (financial goals)
Have 2-3 months of regular salary remaining. Excited to embark on a new adventure, delighted to have more time w/ our homeschooled kiddos, + occasionally overwhelmed trying to make the new budget #'s work.

GOALS:
6-12 months: positive cashflow after leaving job + don't touch (meager) savings

12-24 months: hardcore debt assault

How you plan to get there
For October...
* Do Something DAILY to earn/save money: (0/31)
(recently examples - switched DH to Tracphone for <$10/mo. including cost of phone, selling unneeded Britax, cancelled infrequently used Y membership)
* Food Spending: 0/$500 (this would be really low for us + will require lots of planning)
* No Drive Days: 0/6
* Practice gratitude daily

###

This thread has been enormously helpful to me in years past. Looking forward to posting regularly and drawing inspiration as I make the scary, exciting, ripe-with-possibilities transition to WAH. Fingers crossed our budget survives.
 
#12 ·
I am in again! I
these threads!!

a. Who you are

Kristine Mom to 3 girls. I continue to strive for a simpler life which means less stuff....

b. Where you are going (your financial goals)

More savings...no debt


c. How you plan to get there

Keep living within our means. Keep track of every penny and of course keep coming back to these threads so I am accountable.
 
#13 ·
Thanks guys! These threads have saved me a TON of money these past three years so I'm happy to keep them up. I appreciate you long-timers hanging with me!


Soooo...my October goals:

0/15 No Spend Days...I made 12 last month, I'm aiming for 15 this month.

0/3 Let the Car Rest Days

0/25 Fast Food Free Days -- Cook at home, woman.


I spent a boogatinormous amount of money last month on groceries ($900), cookbooks ($60), cookbook holder ($43) and a black lace totally-frivolous apron ($25). So don't you think I should be staying at home and cooking some of that up? I agree. My goal is to prepare food in our home for at least 25 days next month.

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Come on big ole long string of
...I want my posts to look like Jenny's and Kristine's!
 
#14 ·
Goals:

2/15 No-Spend Days (paying bills doesn't count!)

1/10 No-Drive Days

3/25 Eating-At-Home Days

Planned/Acceptable Purchases

Frivolous Purchases


Also I'm *not* putting down eating out as a spend - I'm going to try to keep the total down for that too obviously, though.

1/1 Thrift Store Day
$95/$300 Grocery Bill

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(I kinda cheated cos we used the deli from the grocery store and bought some processed junky snacks that we don't normally... but hey, it wasn't a restaurant or fast food place, so I'm putting it down anyway!)
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(thrift store day) - $6 @ McDonalds - had to buy a book for school
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(did have to pay for phone service cancellation & daycare while I was at the dentist) + $6 at McDonalds (grr)
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#15 ·
a. Who you are
Heather, SAHM to my beautiful girls. DD1 is 3 1/2 and DD2 is 22 months. Im also due with a little peanut in Feb. We currently live in Japan (just in case anyone wonders why Im posting a day ahead of everyone else..)

b. Where you are going (your financial goals) and
We need to save as much as possible between now and December because we might be moving back to the states in December depending on what the military decides to do with us.

c. How you plan to get there
Big thing with us is disorganization and clutter. I find that I spend so much time/energy finding and repairing things that a lot of time I just end up replacing them because Im tired/sick/just plain out of time. I need to start organizing and decluttering the house so that its better and more useable. No use having stuff laying around (like a cat carrier when we haven't owned a cat in over 2 years) that we dont' have a use for.
Need to stick to a food budget.
Need to make a budget for birthdays/holidays and not overspend this year. Try to make as many presents as possible or get them from the thrift store/on clearance.
Make whatever clothes for DD I can't find at the thrift store since the little girls clothing selection over here leaves alot to be desired.
Don't go places after DH gets off. Whenever we do we tend to eat out.
Limit eating out to 2 days MAX
Remember to pack snacks/lunch/food for whereever we go so I dont' end up getting the kids snacks/drinks.

GOALS:
Food budget 400.00 (usually its 300 but after going over every single month we decided to up it and see where we land. Usually we spend around 350 on food)
DH budget- need to talk to him but Im trying to convince him not to use his debit card during the week to leave it at home.
DD2's birthday budget- 40.00 (need to get stuff to make a cake and a couple of misc things)
Christmas budget: 500.00 total for all gifts/meals/cookies/whatever
Baby budget: still working with DH on this one. We find out the gender hopefully next week. What gender it is depends on what we get.
Organization budget: 100.00 (I need to get some containers and labels so I can organize things. Part of the reason everything is so cluttered is I have no place to organize things in so they just get thrown in the cupboard.)
Thrift store budget: 40.00 (need new dresses for DD1 since she outgrew almost all her clothes and my hand me down network is going dry now that shes bigger, also need to pick up some more maternity clothing since Im wearing the same 2 skirts every day)
 
#16 ·
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No Spend:

Budget spend:

Oopsies:

Eat at home(
): 0/29
No drive days(
): 0/20
Pack a snack(
): 0/31
Declutter my life days(
): 0/25
Working on presents/clothing days (
): 0/25
Food budget 0/400
DH budget- 0/150
DD2's birthday budget- 0/40.00
Christmas budget: 0/500
Baby budget: 0/????
Organization budget: 0/100
Thrift store budget: 0/40
Personal spending: 0/100 (wasn't going to add this but DH says if he gets money to spend so do I, silly man).
 
#17 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Crunchy*VT*Mom View Post
I spent a boogatinormous amount of money last month on groceries ($900), cookbooks ($60), cookbook holder ($43) and a black lace totally-frivolous apron ($25). So don't you think I should be staying at home and cooking some of that up? I agree. My goal is to prepare food in our home for at least 25 days next month.
I have quite an apron collection too (though none as expensive as that one, luckily aprons are really cheap to get over here) so I need to get to using them as well. DH has asked like 3-4 times since he got home when Im going to start making bread again, he just got home 2 days ago and spent the last 29 hours at work.. I think the man wants some homemade bread.
 
#18 ·
a. Who you are:

I'm Andrea, aka. Cyrusmama, SAHM to two beautiful boys. Cy is 6 and J is 19months. New to keeping a log of our spending


b. Where you are going (your financial goals):

Very short term, Have money left over at the end of the month to poke back for Christmas. We are also planning a small trip in the middle of the month and need to have some extra for this. Longer term, have enough saved to help us if dh is unemployed this spring for a couple months as he has been in the past.

c. How you plan to get there:

1. Groceries at < $150.00 per week. (averaged as we do a big bulk grocery trip mid month)

2. No clothing purchases for the boys unless necessity. (yes, this is my weakness)


3. No more than 1 grocery run per week. Making meal planning a necessity.

Here's my key:

= No spend or budgeted spending
= Unnecessary/unbudgeted spending
= No-drive day
= eat-at-home day
= packed a lunch, snack
 
#19 ·
a. Who you are
Jenny, SAHM to DD (6) and DS (17 months).

b. Where you are going (your financial goals) and
I need to lay off the stuff. I keep buying crap and I am running out of places to store it. I also need to start saving for Christmas and DH's inevitable slow down at work (He's a stone mason/landscape foreman in Northern New England, not much for him to do when the ground is frozen solid!
)

c. How you plan to get there
*Avoid shopping for entertainment. This includes online shopping. I certainly can find better ways to spend my time.
*I also would like to make an effort to eat out of the pantry as much as possible. Both of ours are really, really full. I need to get creative with our meals!
 
#20 ·
a. Who you are
I'm Nina, mom to Libby & Elliot. I'm going back to work as a video editor part time this month. This is going to be a big adjustment for everyone since my 4-day week includes weekends and my DH Wally gets to try his hand at being the SAHP two days a week


b. Where you are going (your financial goals) and

Stay on budget, on budget, and on budget. We're not in terrible financial shape and that's thanks in part to our small apartment and shared car. We save every month, but I have a hard time with the little things and I really want to keep the spendy-spendy on track so I have enough for the things I *really* want, not the crap that I regret buying.

c. How you plan to get there
I will come on here and track all my discretionary spending. I will bring my lunch to work every day and never ever go to Tim Horton's. I will buy 'wants' only if I have money at the end of the month, not at the beginning or the middle because I think I'm doing fine.

Goals:
$750 or less on household account
$125 or less on personal account
 
#21 ·
Ahhh...off to a good start. It is actually rare for me to get a no-spend on the first day.

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My Goals:

1/15 No Spend Days

0/3 Let the Car Rest Days

0/25 Fast Food Free Days
 
#22 ·
Hi Everyone!
I am a mainly SAHM to 2 wonderful kids. I don't usually venture into this area of MDC but something drew me here this morning. Now I know why! This thread is exactly what I need to get me back on track with spending.

Here are my financial goals for this month:
write down all purchases
spend less than $150/week on groceries
eat out/take out 5 times or less this month
only one trip to Starbucks per week (this is huge for me)
no clothing purchases for the kids-unless I find an awesome deal on winter coats/boots and a pair of jeans for DD (her current pair are getting very short)
start using the library again
research cheaper cable/tv options

Visit this forum more often!

10/1 $69.96 groceries
10/2 $0
10/3 $81.86 groceries

Week one grocerery total: $151.82
Starbucks:
Clothing:
 
#23 ·
Hi all! I'd like to join in (for the first time!). I've been trying to stay on track but think this will help me a lot (if I remember and am able to get back to the thread daily
)

I'm Heather, SAHM to Henry, 20months. My DH brings home the bacon, takes care of the yard and repairs, and I do pretty much everything else with our money and running the household.
We're new to having one income, and we are floundering a little. Having used up most all of our (meager) savings in a long-distance move to get a great job for DH near lots of family in a beautiful area of the country (Upper Michigan), we are having trouble climbing back on top of the barrel. We incurred some debt in making improvements to our home, which sucks, but was necessary. We're basically living check to check right now, and covering all the bills without using credit.

We'd like to get back on track with aggressive debt repayment, and rebuilding our emergency fund. Once we finish with small debts (credit cards and student loan), we'd like to focus on getting rid of the mortgage and transitioning to buying some land and living off the grid in 10-15 years.

We plan to get there with careful budgeting, limiting spending and minimizing expenses as much as possible. I bake our own bread, make yogurt, can/freeze surplus, fix almost all meals at home, and my husband can make or repair most anything. We are planning our garden for next year (we moved in June, so couldn't get one in this year and had a CSA instead). Thrift/second-hand shopping for clothes and household items, scrounge from discards from family and limit driving when possible (DH bikes to work most days, and I try to limit trips to town to 2-3 days a week when I can, although for socializing, it's hard to say no when you have a chance to hang with cool mamas who also have toddlers and want you to come over to knit and drink tea!). We will try to conserve energy with heat and electric and make use of the outdoors for family fun rather than spending $ on entertainment (except for Netflix for the occasional "date night at home").

I'm going to respectfully copy cyrusmama's key (I hope that's ok!).

= No spend or budgeted spending
= Unnecessary/unbudgeted spending
= No-drive day
= eat-at-home day
= packed a lunch, snack

I'll make another post to start tracking, because this one is too long already!
 
#24 ·
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Refrigerator repair DH was unable to do. Boo.
Paid the due monthly bills as per my budget.
Ate all meals at home
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#25 ·
I didn't post last night. Ended up crashing early with a severe migrane.

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No Spend:

Budget spend:

Oopsies:

Eat at home(
): 1/29
No drive days(
): 1/20
Pack a snack(
): 1/31
Declutter my life days(
): 1/25
Working on presents/clothing days (
): 1/25
Food budget 0/400
DH budget- 0/150
DD2's birthday budget- 0/40.00
Christmas budget: 0/500
Baby budget: 0/????
Organization budget: 0/100
Thrift store budget: 0/40
Personal spending: 0/100
 
#26 ·
= No spend or budgeted spending
= Unnecessary/unbudgeted spending
= No-drive day
= eat-at-home day
= packed a lunch, snack

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= both dh and I ended up getting home late so we had dinner out
, Fridays are our crazy day unfortunately
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= went to a craft show, packed a lunch and stayed under the budget we allotted ourselves, buying 4 gifts for Christmas for a total of $7
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= ate at home, despite a trip to the er, sick baby

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= stayed home all day
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= unexpected dr run but no meds needed
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