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~~~No Spending in June~~~a support group...please join us at any time!

13K views 597 replies 77 participants last post by  Crunchy*VT*Mom 
#1 ·
Our goal is to spend nothing extra in June.

The plan is simple: vow not to spend any money on unnecessary things, come on here every day and tell us how you did for that day.

The act of writing it down will help you spend less. Knowing you are going to come on here and report your spending will help you spend less.

You are allowed to spend money on essentials like food, gas, electricity. You don't need to tell us about those things. You know the difference between things you NEED and things that are extras.

If you need it, buy it.

If you buy it and you didn't need it, then come on here and fess up.

Please join us for support and comraderie as we SAVE our MONEY for the month of June. You are welcome to join us at any time, it doesn't have to be June 1st.

Good luck , MDCers!! Let's make June our month!!!
 
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#2 ·
1. Please introduce yourself and tell us anything you think it would help us to know about yourself.

2. Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of June.

3. Please tell us your game plan -- what are your goals and how do you plan to approach no spending for a month?
 
#3 ·
1. My name is Prudence and I live in Burlington, Vermont with my husband and two daughters.

2a. We spent too much on our mortgage, so every month money is tight. We are the CLASSIC example of people who are house-poor. We made a mistake. Now I'm trying to remedy it by cutting our budget to the bone.

2b. DH is a teacher and there will be no money coming in during the summer months. We're living on our savings and I want to keep as much of that money as possible in the bank.

2c. I want to live a more frugal and simple lifestyle. I'm a compulsive shopper -- I do it for entertainment -- but I know there is a better way to live, so I'm trying to teach myself how to enjoy myself without aquiring new things all the time.

3. My game plan is to write down everything I spend. To come on here and record it because I find being held accountable helps me not spend. I'm also thinking in terms of gas=money. So I'm trying to walk everywhere in my community and learn how to enjoy myself more at home -- out of the stores. Budgeting is a skill and I'm trying to learn it.

 
#5 ·
I'm Back!!!

I saw this and had to post before logging off MDC


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

I'm Carla. I'm a SAHM to two busy kids, I have a DH who doesn't make much (part time cashier) so we have always been frugal out of necessity.

2. Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of June.

We want to buy a house in the next few years and you need money to do that


3. Please tell us your game plan -- what are your goals and how do you plan to approach no spending for a month?

Basically not to spend any money on anything that is not planned or budgeted for. I will stay out of the stores that tempt me most unless there is specifically something I need to get and NOT browse. Evaluate why I feel we need things and see if there is any way around things if we do need them.
 
#6 ·
OK- I am rolling the 3 into 1! I'm Kate - We just moved the beginning of May & with that move I became a SAHM. Dropping a large chunk of household income (a little under half). I really want to continue to SAH w/ Emma and maybe eventually HS her. We have been REALLY unfrugal this last month getting stuff for the house! I really need to learn how to get our groceries/gas/extras under $500/month. I will be starting to watch 1 baby ( more to get my fix than anything!
) the end of June. We have a decent amount in savings right now but I don't want to blow through it all. I have been doing better at grocery shopping 1x a week instead of 3 or 4 times a week. My hardest issue is produce - we like it fresh! I am making a run to Sam's to stock up a bit today on regular things. Our garden is half done. I need to get some more plants to plant & put in a few more seeds.
I have a list of a few things I do need to buy this month (watching sales)
Start buying Emma's Birthday gifts (not even too sure what she is getting yet - definately some outdoor things though! a retractable clothes line or 2.
I definately have a hard time with self control when it comes to shopping (eating out is a huge one too!)
 
#7 ·
1. Please introduce yourself and tell us anything you think it would help us to know about yourself.
My name is Kristen . I am a mommy of 3 and trying for another one! We live in Northern VA, which is soooo expensive! Would love to just sell our house and move to a rental in the country. We are actually taking steps to do this!

2. Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of June.
We need to start spending less because, right now at this moment my husband is quiting his job! Yikes! He is going to go into business with another guy. We have money in savings but we only want to use that to pay bills. We have spent way to much money in the past and have to stop!

3. Please tell us your game plan -- what are your goals and how do you plan to approach no spending for a month?
I think my main thing is going to be trying to just stay away from stores that I tend to spend to much money at. Like Target! I know that all of us have enough clothing to last the whole summer. We cloth diaper so we don't have to worry about that, until we finally do have another babe. I also like to buy organic, but it's so expensive I'm going to have to really only buy what we really need. I'm gonna need some support ladies!!
 
#8 ·
My name is Kathirynne, and I'm a single, WOHM to 4 children.

I recently spent $1,900 to fix my car, and my daughter is going to be the flower girl for my sister's wedding in July, so there isn't any room in the budget for frivolity.

I plan to just not spend.
I have full cupboards, and my children have everything that they need to finish the school year, so that just leaves basic monthly bills and fresh veg. (to the tune of less than $100 at the grocery for the month).

I am also going to work about 1/2 an hour earlier, and eating lunch at my desk, to painlessly put in some overtime (about $150 extra for the month.
)
 
#9 ·
Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of June.
We've had in increase in income and have been spending more because of it.

Goals for the Month of June:
-pay our car insurance in one lump sum this June instead of spreading out payments over the year.
-pay off as much as possible on credit cards
-save money for small vacation in July/August

What I *will* spend money on:

Ok, I just went grocery shopping and stocked up on the staples. My goal will be to spend $100 *max* on groceries this month. That would include milk, fresh fruits and veggies, and if any meat goes on sale. I have a small garden on our balcony. Lettuce, chives, basil, parsley, cherry tomatoes and green peppers. I love going out there to get some lettuce for a salad!
:

City wide garage sale coming up this weekend. It only happens once a year. I NEED to go. Limiting myself to $40 for small misc stuff. OR $100 if I find good useful furniture. I've already written out a list of stuff we need/could use. I'm super excited.
:


And because it's our first anniversary this month and there's also a long party weekend, I'm saying $100 entertainment budget. Could be more, could be less. We haven't really done much together or gone on any trips so if the opportunity arises, I will certainly go away for the weekend and spend a small pile of money.

But I swear, other than that, I won't spend any money. Wait... I better throw in an allowance for DH's coffee etc: $25
 
#10 ·
1. Please introduce yourself and tell us anything you think it would help us to know about yourself.

My name is Amanda and I live in southern VT (waves to Prudence). I have four kids, two boys who are 7 & 8 and two girls who are 3 & 4. We homeschool.

2. Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of June.

a) in general: We're trying to maximize our money so that we can a) put money into making our house market-ready, and b) pay off our remaining debt as quickly as possible. Our long-range plan is to sell our house, buy land, and build with as little debt as possible; mortgage-free is our ideal.

b) for June specifically: We have a major family vacation coming up in August and I need to extract money for that trip from our June and July budgets. This will not be an easy task; I would like to come up with about $200 in June (and again in July) for this.

3. Please tell us your game plan -- what are your goals and how do you plan to approach no spending for a month?

I plan to to cook as much from pantry and garden as possible, buy no extra or "fun" stuff when buying groceries, and buy nothing non-perishable unless it is a true, unavoidable, un-postponeable need. I will make a greater effort to bake more food from scratch to lessen our convenience food use. I will pack my car with snacks and water so we are not caught away from home without a snack.

I will consolidate my driving as much as possible and avoid long car trips.

If I don't have what I need, I'll make do for another month, or utilize Freecycle, or the swap shop, or network among friends to get what I need for free.

I will continue trying to save on electricity and oil by minimizing our use as much as feels reasonable.

I will work hard in my garden this month to ensure free food later in the summer!!!

I will not go to town, and most importantly not set foot in a store, unless it is absolutely unavoidable. The less I go into stores, the less I spend.

I will work to regain my co-op working member discount, which expires at the end of May, even though it's a pain in the butt.
 
#11 ·
1. Please introduce yourself and tell us anything you think it would help us to know about yourself.
Hi, I'm Grace, I'm 27, live in Austin, Texas w/ my partner and menagerie (two dogs, two cats, and at least one foster dog). Work at a university in grants management. Finishing my masters degree. No kids.

2. Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of June.I am a compulsive shopper with credit card debt and I am trying to get myself under control.

3. Please tell us your game plan -- what are your goals and how do you plan to approach no spending for a month?I'm re-vamping my strategy this month. I'm giving myself a cash-only budget and leaving all the cards at home (after I return from my trip on the 9th--I don't feel comfortable traveling sans plastic). I'm not yet 100% sure on the size of the budget--it depends how much I spend while I am on vacation. I'm particularly trying to stop eating out so much and to stop buying clothes. I sort of need the clothes, as most of what I have doesn't fit, but I'm just going to have to make do.
 
#12 ·
I'm Michelle, I live in Toronto and stay home with my two boys, 5 and 2.

I want to cut out the little expenditures, stopping for coffee/lemonade on the way home from school etc. We're fairly frugal on the big stuff, its the little stuff we need to get under control.

I also bought groceries for last minute meals this week to try and avoid the its dinner and I don't feel like cooking routine. I'd like to go from takeout every 2 weeks to once this month.

We need to spend nothing extra this month to help with our snowballing, we've been doing okay but need to kick it up to see some results.
 
#13 ·
1. Please introduce yourself and tell us anything you think it would help us to know about yourself.

Hi, I'm Jenny. I live in Maine and am a homeschooling SAHM to one three year old girl.

2. Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of June.


Because I noticed a HUGE difference in our finances after participating in the no spend challenge last month. I paid off both of our credit cards, contributed more to savings and put extra money towards the mortgage principal for the first time since we bought the house (over three years ago!) I am hoping to add more to savings and pay on the principal again this month.

3. Please tell us your game plan -- what are your goals and how do you plan to approach no spending for a month?


*No recreational shopping...at all.
*Eat at home
*Enjoy free fun at home/nearby
*Enjoy what I already have!
 
#14 ·
I've been waiting for this thread!

1. I'm Kim, I'm a sahm to 4 kids, as you can see in my sig. My dh works really hard and makes enough for me to stay home... sometimes I feel bad because big families are expensive and I know I could be more frugal! We bought our house, which I love, 2 years ago and it was about as much as we could afford. We plan to stay here forever, all of our close friends live in the same neighborhood- but it gets pretty tight at times, probably because we're always fixing up something!
:

2. We don't need anything (except more money!)...I KNOW I can do it, but I'm a habitual shopper. I need to break the habit. I used to be so cheap, and somewhere I lost that, I need it back!!!

3. My game plan:

a. Stay out of stores. Stay home except for groceries every 2 weeks. (This is my usual, I just need to eliminate the extra trips for fluff purchases).
Work on the garden, play with the kids, see friends, etc....but NO shopping.

Thanks for the support, I'm really hoping to do well!!!
 
#15 ·
Hi Kim, Welcome! I know what you mean about the house -- I feel the same way. I loooove this house. It is my dream house and I could live here for the next thirty years and be completely happy -- when I was growing up I always imagined living in a house like this...that is why I'm willing to sacrifice in other areas so we can stay in this house.

Don't get me wrong, this house is very modest. It is much smaller than the house we just moved out of...but it is located within walking distance of a gazillion things (downtown) and it is light and airy and beautiful with a huge fenced yard for my girls to play in.

I'm with you -- I want to garden and spend time in this house and play more with my kids and my friends -- and spend less time in the stores and less time worrying about how I'm going to pay the bills from my shopping.

Great to have you on board again Carla and Scrap and Amanda and Grace! Let's take last month one step further.

Welcome Kate! Both to the no-spending thread and to SAHM-dom. I love staying home with my girls! Definitely in our "profession" you have to watch every penny.

Kristen -- I hear you about Target. That store is my downfall too. Good luck with your move out into the country.


Looking forward to hearing more from you, Kathirynne, Michelle and Heather!
 
#16 ·
Hi! I'm Kelly! I'm a SAHM to my 2 month old son, CJ, from NC. I did the May challenge and I'm determined to do much better in June!!!

My goal for June is to make up a menu plan and only shop from my list. We moved into our house a year ago and I haven't really done anything as far as decorating the inside or outside so thats what I'm working on. I'm trying to do the inside by using only things I already have (so far so good on that one) and outside I want to mainly plant bulbs (they're half off now) for next year.
I'm also revamping my stragety for June. I've found that if I tell myself that I can't spend any money outside of necessitaties then I do it anyway. But if I give myself an allowance so to speak then I do really good. So I'm going to say that I can buy "extras" but I have to wait until the next week and if I can remember what I wanted before I leave the house and I still want it then I'll get it as long as we can afford it (I'm talking about small purchases not huge amounts though)

I need new summer clothes also. I have ONE pair of non-mternity jeans that I can wear and 2 pairs of maternity (one is alittle too big though) jeans that I can wear. So I'm giving myself a $40 clothing allowance for some new summer shirts and capris.

Glad to be aboard for another month!

Kelly
 
#17 ·
1. Please introduce yourself and tell us anything you think it would help us to know about yourself.

I am Emily I am a sahm to a fixing to be 2yo dd and have another DD due the beginning of july. My husband works 1 ft job,1 pt job and I babysit 3 kids about 24 hrs a week.We live in North Carolina

2. Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of June.

We have to finish getting all the babys things and well we never have the extra money to do so so we are shopping 2nd hand,etc to get ready for our princess.We also, spend SO much eating out every month that we want to try to not eat out at all the whole month of June to see how much we can save.

3. Please tell us your game plan -- what are your goals and how do you plan to approach no spending for a month?

We plan not to eat out period only homecooked meals and to just stick to our budget to see how much we can save for the month and put up for when I have our DD.
 
#18 ·
Argh, jumping right in here. DH gets paid on the 15th of the month and the money I take then has to last me all month (for groceries, gas, etc). He pays the bills out of the remainder. Anyway....it's the 29th and I just fixed a miscalculation in my checkbook and discovered that I have only about $20 left to get me through to the 15th.
: I shop monthly so we have plenty of food, plenty of pantry stuff, some small things growing in our garden, and we can make do food-wise. I will have to budget gas very carefully, but we homeschool and always have the option of staying home.

Every month I try to build a cushion in my savings, but then I end up dipping into it or depleting it entirely. Every month I to take my one chunk of money from DH's pay and do my best to make it last all month. Lately I've been taking $1000...but still needing to ask him for more a couple of weeks into the month (which is not the plan). This month I tried very hard to spend only on necessary stuff, fairly minimal groceries for our family of six (granted, we try to eat organic and buy local so it's $$$er than it could be), gas, a few needed household things... And I tracked all the groceries DH bought on my behalf, etc (i.e., me taking responsibility for our entire grocery budget because I make those requests) and the total is just over $1500 for all of my spending! (Embarassing confession! Posting online for the world to see!) I am floored by that number. Absolutely. Must. Do. Better.

I think I'm pretty much already doing the "right" things, but the belt is going to have to get tighter. I wish we could go completely no-meat, but one of my kids would wither and die. I think I'm going to have to compromise my values to save my budget, though, in some areas. We are gluten-free and dairy-free, also cane-sugar free, and have a number of picky eaters (two at least are sensory-based) so it's not easy for us to eat for cheap. I could put some things off until the next month, but then I just have to make it up later and it just postpones the spending instead of eliminating it. Argh.

Sorry, just venting. The month of June hasn't even begun, and here I am already. I feel even more motivated to make June a no-spend month now. Prudence, thanks for keeping this thread going!
 
#19 ·
I think it's really helpful to keep the spending tally and see how much you're actually spending on the things you know and accept are expensive (like good food) and how much is just for stuff, you know? That's what's really getting me. I know I've spent a lot on shoes or whatever--and it's necessary, and that's fine--but everything else is another story.
 
#20 ·
I totally went & filled the pantry/freezer today as well as toiletries that didn't have a supply. So hopegully it should be an ok month spending wise! We'll see. I am hoping we can really make this work w/ me only watching 1 kiddo!
 
#21 ·
1. Please introduce yourself and tell us anything you think it would help us to know about yourself.
I'm Nina, SAHM to one baby girl in Calgary, Alberta.

2. Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of June
DH posted some pretty impressive OT hours in May and I've been spending money knowing that we have some extra coming in. We were also over for April. I really need to crack down because we're saving for a house and I'm considering starting a home business when my mat leave is over in November.

3. Please tell us your game plan -- what are your goals and how do you plan to approach no spending for a month?

NO unbudgeted spending! No conditions, no allowances. We're going to look at the extra money we have and allocate it. Then that's the cut off.
 
#22 ·
Hey, I'm hopping over here from the May Challenge. I'm hoping to do even better this month!

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

I'm Jessica. I live in the Atlanta area with dh and dd (Although I'm originally from VT, so I'll give Prudence & Amanda a shout out!). DH has been unemployed for 2 months now. So far, we're getting by on my salary and haven't had to dip into savings. I'm hoping to continue that.

2. Please tell us why you have decided to spend nothing (or spend significantly less) for the Month of June.

Necessity *see above*

Luckily, DH's last job paid reasonably well, so we were able to pay a few things down/off. However we still have a home equity line of credit that we're chipping away at, mortgage, student loans, car payments, etc.

It's amazing to think that we're getting by on less than 1/2 of what we were making before....where did all the money go???

3. Please tell us your game plan -- what are your goals and how do you plan to approach no spending for a month?

I'm going to continue what I was doing in May....no frivolous trips to the store, no eating out, finding free things to entertain ourselves.

In June I'm also going to try to not use my dryer. I have a deck that would be perfect for drying clothes, and all I need is a rack.

I'm also going to try to meet more moms that live near-by so I don't have to drive all over the city for playdates.

Instead of just posting every day about how I did THAT DAY, I'm going to keep a running tally throughout the month so I can see what everything adds up to.

 
#23 ·
Who am I? I am Kathee. I have a DD, almost 11 months, and a DH who is in the military. I am sort of SAHM, but I work part-time at a job where Katie is with me literally the whole time (I nanny).

Why spend less? I'm appalled at the disappearance of our money. We could easily spend significantly less, but the willpower thing is something that we don't do well with unless it's an "all or nothing" proposition. Our downfall is eating out, and stopping by to pick up "just one thing" and coming out with 25 other things. We're also looking to take our first vacation in a while in Sept., and I'd like to not "worry" about finances while we're on vacation (I'm the money worry wart). My job, which is erratic pay/hour wise, is ending sometime this month. I also know we spend waaaaay too much on frivolous stuff, and I'm looking at tossing some extra money into the Mutual Funds/IRA/Savings.

Game plan I've got DH on board with the promise of tossing a significant chunk of the "saved" money at him to spend on whatever he wants, NQA, at the end of the month. I've also promised to keep him stocked in soda pop
. He's agreed to use the bank card ONLY for gas. I've made a list of meals for the next four weeks, using ONLY items we have in the house. I have a lot of basics I can use, and I *will* with a plan. I've allocated $25/week for milk, pop, fresh/frozen fruit/veggies (yeah, I'm being tough on myself), and $50/week for gas, which will probably be more than we need. I'll probably be stopping on the 28th of June, actually, since the 29th is our anniversary, July 1 is our DD's first birthday, and we're driving up to the in-laws and throwing a party that weekend. So, my month is sort of truncated. We are set as far as things to do; I'll just need to remember to bring food/snacks if we go on an outing (we have memberships to the museums, zoo, etc., so they're free (except for parking at a couple of the museums), and we go to one or the other at least twice a month. Plus, our complex pool is free.)

I will be happy to end up with only $25 worth of "splurges" each week.

Question: What do we post? Do we post EVERYTHING we spend money on? Ie...when the rent or electric is due, do I post that, or do I just post things that are *not* recurrent bills?
 
#24 ·
1. I am Jenn, we live in NW PA. Dh works full time and I am a sahm w/ my 3.5 yo dd.

2. Ay. Well. Last February, following the Dave Ramsey babysteps, we became debt free. We were so happy we celebrated for months and now we are back to having almost no emergency fund. I am really embarrassed, not even sure HOW it happened other than just living it up. So, now we have to use this next paycheck to get everything back on track which means we will be pretty broke until mid-June. Then, once that is taken care of we have to stay focused and keep living below our means so we can build back up our savings. We are focusing on saving 6months worth of expenses.

3. Game plan: We are back to (almost) the beginning. The list of fun free activities is back on the fridge and dh is back to packing lunches and riding his bike to work. I am going to do a pantry challenge and try to limit our groceries only to $25 worth of fresh fruit and veggies a week (give or take, I have no interest in starving us but if I stick to in season and farm stands that shouldn't be hard). The good thing is that it's summer, so there is alot to do.
 
#25 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by milosmomma View Post

.

It's amazing to think that we're getting by on less than 1/2 of what we were making before....where did all the money go???
I ask myself this all the time. I used to work and when I quit (I was making more than DH), we seemed to have more money than ever. Now we are even able to get by on half of that. We have nothing to show for the wasted money, so I don't know what happened to it, but I'm glad that we smartened up in whatever we did
 
#26 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by katheek77 View Post
Question: What do we post? Do we post EVERYTHING we spend money on? Ie...when the rent or electric is due, do I post that, or do I just post things that are *not* recurrent bills?
I think you just do whatever works for you. Last month, I only tracked MY spending (my personal money) not my household joint spending. This month, I'm going to be a little bit more honest with myself and do both.
 
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