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 November 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.
Originally Posted by diana_of_the_dunes
We just go back and edit our posts when we spend? Or start a new post?
Quote your post. That will start a new one. If you update your old post no one will ever see it because this thread gets verrrrrry long. It would be buried in the archives.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Turquesa
Not that you need one more person nagging you, but go ahead and SPEND the gas money to get out and VOTE today!!
I walked to the polls
then drove to Subway
...because the walking took so long that I didn't have time to make dinner when I got home. So my plans kind of backfired...
$20 gas, $49.00 for an event and food that we had planned 2 months ago. I didn't like spending the money on food, but we ended up eating at a cheaper place than originally planned.
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-no spend days
-budgeted spend
-unbudgeted spend
-added to budget spend
-no drive
0/15 no spend days
0/8 no drive days
0/5 sell my stuff days
1/8 craft/enrichment activity ready after school days
1/30 tracked spending days
0 late bill days (ie- I am staying aware of things!)
130.20/$500.00 grocery budget[/QUOTE]
2. REVISION: Oops, ended up spending after all....needed to buy art supplies for co-op preschool project, ended up spending $3.15 on clearance Halloween decorations. And then stopped at grocery store for chicken breasts since I had forgotten to defrost some for dinner- $6.00.
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planned/budgeted spending
true no-spend
frivolous spending
Goals:
6/$400 groceries (doesn't include milk delivery or prepaid CSA)
0/$50 eating out (including coffee)
3/$100 household
0/$500 put in savings
2/30 not buying clothes days
1/15 stay out of stores days
0/10 true no-spend days
2/20 planned/budgeted spending days
Welcome gratefulMomma -- we appreciate your service for Americorps. I was in the Peace Corps maaaaany years ago and knew then what it was like to live on a really tight budget. It helps to put perspective on things.
Getting by on $11K a year in New Jersey is going to be challenging, but we are here to help you stay on track.
2 - No spending and no driving! I actually walked to go vote
Grocery Spending - 95.91/500
Out to Eat Spending - 0/80
Target Spending - 25.70/150
Other Spending - 0/100 (to be used for sump pump service later this week)
Hello, I'm a SAHM to 3 kids (my oldest lives on her own
)
My goal is to STOP all the spending that I have been doing! I was really smacked in the face with it yesterday morning when I realised that I had used my debit card 11 times in one day. So my month "starts" yesterday!
I'm so tired of living hand to mouth, month to month and having nothing to show for it. This is a new begining for me. I want to get my finances on track so that within the next three years I can buy us a house!
I'm also excited that I'm under-budget so far this week on food. I forgot a few things at the grocery store, but there's still room in the budget to go get them, plus to go back to the farmer's market on Saturday for fresh veggies.
I'm also putting my daily spend chart up early, since I changed a few things and added goals...
= no spending!
= necessary, budgeted spending
= necessary, unbudgeted spending
= unnecessary, unbudgeted spending
1-
mortgage payment, $32 for pizza to thank our niece and nephew for help with yardwork (comes out of entertainment allowance)
2-
$74.48 at Meijer for groceries (and only groceries, yay!) + $11 for apples at the market to make applesauce
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I was doing these a while ago but got off track...let's try this again!
No money spent
Spent money on something needed
Splurged
Walked
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$11.95 at Fresh Market, $640 rent
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$15 at Office Max & Ross
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$46 at Sunflower Farmer's Market
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$17 at DI (thrift store...man I'm not doing very well so far! I got a shelf and 2 baskets, but hey, at least I got it there and used instead of cheapo particle board one from Target for 3-4 times as much!)
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BOGO @ Chipotle, $40 at Sunflower Farmers Market
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$60 @ Costco, $35 at DI
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$40 on gas
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$30 @ Sunflower Farmer's Market
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$335 car payment (ugh!)
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$36 Christmas presents
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(also realized, duh, didn't log in paying rent on the 1st! Derrr...)
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$50 gas (paid 2 months at once), $26 electric ugh...
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$95 Sunflower Farmer's Market & Costco - Groceries, stamps, gas for the car, ugh.
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Small emergency - Jude biffed his teeth so I had to go get him some painkiller, and my back's hurting too much to stand up and cook so C's picking up some food for dinner.
Joining late but eager nonetheless. This will be my first month trying this approach to getting our spending under control. Previous approaches included starving, yelling at each other, ignoring the problem entirely, and many lashes with wet noodles while drinking delicious coffee that I shouldn't have purchased.
a. Who you are - Maria, WOH(part-time)M to Marcus, 15 mos.
b. Where you are going (your financial goals) - I would really, really like to pay off our cc debt in one year and would like even more not to run them up again. I would also like to save for large purchases and household surprises (100 yr old house) so that they don't get put on the cc's.
c. How you plan to get there - by not spending!
My system is going to be listing my daily spending on non-household bills to the penny. I don't have a picture key because it will just confuse me.
1. $39 oil change, $35 gas for car
2. $3 clearance Halloween decorations. $6 chicken breasts.
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No Spend! Oh joy of joy, I did it! It feels like it's been a long time and it sure feels good!
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9.
10.
planned/budgeted spending
true no-spend
frivolous spending
Goals:
6/$400 groceries (doesn't include milk delivery or prepaid CSA)
0/$50 eating out (including coffee)
3/$100 household
0/$500 put in savings
3/30 not buying clothes days
2/15 stay out of stores days
1/10 true no-spend days
2/20 planned/budgeted spending days
1/15 no spend days
0/8 no drive days
0/5 sell my stuff days
1/8 craft/enrichment activity ready after school days
3/30 tracked spending days
130.20/$500.00 grocery budget
I bought a lot of frozen fish and quite a bit of meat, so that was a big part of the expense...but still. That was a chunk for one day. If I'm going to stop eating out so much, we've got to have food in our house.
$15 for a blanket that felt like a lamb. Not necessary, but it will get used. Vermont is a cold place.
Yeah... So yesterday wasn't the non-spending day I had hoped. I had something stuck in my upper eyelid for 2 days and went to the doctor for it. I have a scratched cornea and was given prescription eye drops. DH bought me a big Starbucks as a sympathy gift, but I'll take it out of my lunch budget. Not a great day.
= no spending!
= necessary, budgeted spending
= necessary, unbudgeted spending
= unnecessary, unbudgeted spending
1-
mortgage payment, $32 for pizza to thank our niece and nephew for help with yardwork (comes out of entertainment allowance)
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$74.48 at Meijer for groceries (and only groceries, yay!) + $11 for apples at the market to make applesauce
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$45 for eye doctor, $15 for the prescription, and $5 for coffee
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$85.48/$500 groceries
$0/$500 savings
$5/60 work lunches
0/15 no-spend days[/QUOTE]
Budgeted, planned spending (includes groceries, gas, other necessary or well planned items- NOT impulse items)
No Spend
No Drive
Impulse, Unnecessary Spending
Eat Out
Nov.1-
Nov.2-
Nov.3-
Nov.4-
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