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March Financial Accountability Week 1! (3/1-3/7)


Runningmom80
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I fell off the wagon last month. We needed a bunch of things, so that didn't help.

 

My goals for this month are:

 

Under $50 for curricula and books (I spent a lot last month)

No Starbucks

Groceries under 1,000

Stay away from Target

 

.

 

Challenges ahead:

We are taking a road trip to house hunt this month, most of our expenses will be paid for, but I'm still nervous about spending. I'm packing a lot of food due to DS' allergies, so that will help.

 

Also, Easter baskets. I need to keep myself in check.

 

Also, spring clothes shopping. I'm finally at a point, (post-twins) where I feel comfortable buying myself a decent wardrobe. I will do it on the cheap, but my spring & summer wardrobe is in dire need of an update. The kids need a few more pairs of shorts, and everyone needs sandals.

 

 

I'm going to go back to updating my post everyday, I did better in January when I did that

 

3/1 - $172

3/2 - $ some obscene amount at whole foods that I can't remember right now

3/3 - $59

3/4 -

3/5 -

3/6 -

3/7 -

 

Groceries: 94/1000

Curric: 0/50

Misc: 78/200

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I am going to keep up. I think it is helping me to monitor my spending. Things I've learned: 1) "depriving" myself of something I know I will buy eventually, like a book for school, is stupid. Just find the best price and buy it, assuming you have the money. 2) Having a little fun money is critical for me. 3) Don't let DH shop for groceries :D

 

My goals are:

1) Groceries under $700.

2) Continue to pump money into savings, as much as possible.

3) Continue picking up extra work which means $$ and pump that into savings too.

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OMGosh how is gas so expensive? It was only 3.80 but my total to fill up my tank came to $70....weird! It's normally 58 or so. Anyway. It has to last me two weeks. I plan on buying Teacher File Box tomorrow through HSBC. That will be $70 in my curriculum column.

 

3/1: $8 dining out, $70 gas, $9 to rebuy the pet food locally that amazon messed up on.

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I'm sticking with it, too. Can I just give a shout-out to Runningmom and Halcyon for putting this up and keeping it going? :hurray: I tracked expenses for years and years, but I fell off the wagon at some point last year. Part of the reason was that I had nothing to compare with anymore. My years-ago grocery goals were moot and many other alterations over the years gave me no point of reference for what is "doing well" with the expenses. These accountability threads solve those problems, while also giving me camaraderie and...well, accountability. :hurray: So, thank you, everybody, for participating!

 

My goals are pretty much the same. Under $600 for food groceries. Under $100 for other household groceries. No non-essential clothing purchases. Make my next hair color appointment with one of the two stylists that friends have recommended, to spend less on my hair. Risk it, for cryin' out loud. :toetap05: I've also committed to assessing my mutual fund accounts at the end of every month and calculating my gains or losses. I avoided looking at them for a loooong time because it was so very depressing. I also have two underperforming funds for my two teens; I'd like to either shut them down or just open two more successful ones. My youngest child has the most successful college fund. :toetap05:

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Also, Easter baskets. I need to keep myself in check.

 

Don't know if this is a strategy that would work for you (allergies and food choices), but last year, I used coupons and CVS rewards to great effect. I'm not really a couponer, but for Easter baskets, it was a great strategy. I got candy at a discount and received a lot of CVS reward "bucks," which I then used on toiletries, some of which were also couponed. It worked well. I plan to use this strategy again for Easter baskets.

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OMGosh how is gas so expensive? It was only 3.80 but my total to fill up my tank came to $70....weird! It's normally 58 or so. Anyway. It has to last me two weeks. I plan on buying Teacher File Box tomorrow through HSBC. That will be $70 in my curriculum column.

 

3/1: $8 dining out, $70 gas, $35 to rebuy the pet food locally that amazon messed up on. So we have two months worth now of dog food.

 

 

When I paid my husband's company fuel bill, it was literally twice as much as typical months. I had to look at it carefully, because I thought they must not have received last month's payment. But nope. They did. It's just twice as much. :svengo:

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I missed most of last month! We got our tax returns back and I planned and sorted it all out so I'm very happy with the outcome. We have a few items we needed to purchase with a little of the money so the beginning of the month is going to have a large planned expense.

 

I track the stuff we spend out of our checking account, I don't list the stuff I spend on my weekly "allowance".

 

3/1 - treat for dh: KFC $20, groceries: $25

3/2 - planned spending $20 (at a birthday party)

3/3 - planned spending $300 (dh's snake needs a larger tank :bored: )

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I fell off the wagon last month. We needed a bunch of things, so that didn't help.

 

My goals for this month are:

 

Under $50 for curricula and books (I spent a lot last month)

No Starbucks

Groceries under 1,000

Stay away from Target

 

 

Oh, my. No Starbucks? :eek:

I tried this in January. I didn't last too long. I have no willpower when it comes to coffee and chocolate.

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Just got back from the mall. $18 on vans for DS 6 which is a really good deal. He doesn't need them yet, but i like having stuff ready when they outgrow things. I also spent $35 on pants for the same DS. My dd needs pants too, but Im not finding any to fit her tiny waist.

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Oh, my. No Starbucks? :eek:

I tried this in January. I didn't last too long. I have no willpower when it comes to coffee and chocolate.

 

 

Yeah, I realized at its probably not going to work, especially when we drive 8 hours to Philadelphia with 3 kids in the car. Well, actually, I should think about bringing wine for that. ;)

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I need to budget for new eyeglasses for 4 children and for me. Ds wants to play baseball, so I need to budget that fee and probably new shoes as well as the gas expense.

 

I also need to pay for the ACT for two of the boys, and CAT tests for all 4 children.

 

No more treats for me, but I think I will give myself a $20 book budget, so I don't feel completely deprived.

 

3/1 - $0

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It's such a nice day out and I'm getting ancy. I really want to go to Whole Foods because I've never been, but I'm afraid of how much I'll spend. I think I'll give myself a limit of $40 over the basics I need to get just to be safe.

Just bring cash, no credit card. It's easy go over there!

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Plunging into March with wild spending abandon. :leaving: Not really, but it seemed like it. I ordered on-line a roll-away bed to have here for my MIL to spend the night when desired. At about 7:26 a.m., I asked dh what he thought we should do about having a bed available for his mother. By about 7:45 a.m., I ordered the bed. Totally uncharacteristic of me. Dh couldn't believe it. :laugh:

 

I also went out for groceries. Spent $119.76 on Food groceries. Some other piddly amounts on cards, tissues, etc.

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Spent $54 yesterday on a proclick, spines, and a usb drive. I think i am switching over to more digital materials for homeschooling....I spent $60 last year just on getting stuff bound at my local copy store....this should help me save $$$ over time. I have at least 18 years of homeschooling ahead of me if all goed well.

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I went shopping for our grand-babies...I got 23 outfits for $135 by shopping at a great consignment shop. I actually posted pictures on my blog so my dd could see what I'll be sending...if you want to see just check out my blog.

 

I'm also making bibs, burp cloths and blankets this week...my only cost was for supplies. I spent $100 and will make 16 burp cloths, hopefully 6 bibs and 5 blankets.

 

I'm staying home the rest of the week and schooling and sewing so no money will be spent.

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3/1 -- $64 birthday dinner

3/2 -- $232 mostly groceries ($20 was supplies for school, $50ish was household/toiletries)

3/3 -- $59 ear piercing (my 11 yo dd's birthday present), $56 clothes for DH, $15 medicine, $5 coffee/hot chocolate at church, $20 American girl braces (my 7 yo is getting braces next week -- I splurged and purchased the braces stickers/headgear/retainer kit for her doll), $50 waterpik (for aforementioned new braces), $22 picture frames

 

Wow, super expensive day!! I think I need to stay inside and not spend any more money for the rest of the day.

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Goals:

Groceries: $800

Hair: $70

Kids' activities: $1300

Wedding shower I'm throwing: $200

Easter Dinner: $350

Easter Gifts: $350 (don't judge! :) We need an excuse to buy something totally awesome for dd. Easter it is!!)

Car repair: $600

Unexpected expenses: $400

 

 

Spent:

Groceries: $100/$800

Hair: $15/$70

Kids' activities: $170/$1300

 

I went over last month's goals and realized I left NO wiggle room. We had a couple of unexpected expenses. Nothing I could do about them! So, I added that to my goals for the month. I increased the grocery line a bit.

 

The things I've already bought this month are the normal stuff. Groceries and a haircut. Dd had a gymnastics meet that was out of town. We spent about $170 on hotel and gas and entry fees and food. There is another HUGE payment to be made for rowing this month. Ugh.

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I knew March was going to be bad...

 

3/1: $197 for son's swim team apparel

3/2: $7.00 Starbucks

3/3: $173.00 Costco

 

I went browsing at Ikea last week for a new couch; wanted the Ektorp, but knew dh would not like it. We lucked out today in a major way. We left to go couch shopping. At the first store we got a phone call about one we had liked on Craigslist. If we could be there in 45 minutes we could have it for $500. We got a leather $2,400. sectional with chaise lounge, barely 6 months old. It's beautiful. It takes up our entire family room but dh and kids are ecstactic.

 

3/3: $500.00 new couch

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3/4 $70 for TFB. Also......we bought a new television. :ph34r: We have been looking for a good one for a few months (right price, right size, plasma) and DH was at Best Buy picking up a new DVD player (oh year, forgot about that...but ours broke and that's how I do my workouts!!! $30 only) and he called and said they had one more tv that fit all our specs marked down and did he think I should get it....I did some quick online research and found that the tv is a good 80 less than anywhere else, so I told him to do it. I am afraid to say how much it cost...but in our defense, we haven't gotten a new television in 11 years and our picture pretty much stinks..... $650

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3/4 $70 for TFB. Also......we bought a new television. :ph34r: We have been looking for a good one for a few months (right price, right size, plasma) and DH was at Best Buy picking up a new DVD player (oh year, forgot about that...but ours broke and that's how I do my workouts!!! $30 only) and he called and said they had one more tv that fit all our specs marked down and did he think I should get it....I did some quick online research and found that the tv is a good 80 less than anywhere else, so I told him to do it. I am afraid to say how much it cost...but in our defense, we haven't gotten a new television in 11 years and our picture pretty much stinks..... $650

 

See??? this is a GOOD purchase!!! You've been doing the research. You found a good price and jumped on it. Good job!

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3/1 -- $64 birthday dinner

3/2 -- $232 mostly groceries ($20 was supplies for school, $50ish was household/toiletries)

3/3 -- $59 ear piercing (my 11 yo dd's birthday present), $56 clothes for DH, $15 medicine, $5 coffee/hot chocolate at church, $20 American girl braces (my 7 yo is getting braces next week -- I splurged and purchased the braces stickers/headgear/retainer kit for her doll), $50 waterpik (for aforementioned new braces), $22 picture frames

3/4 -- $38 gas

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3/4 $70 for TFB. Also......we bought a new television. :ph34r: We have been looking for a good one for a few months (right price, right size, plasma) and DH was at Best Buy picking up a new DVD player (oh year, forgot about that...but ours broke and that's how I do my workouts!!! $30 only) and he called and said they had one more tv that fit all our specs marked down and did he think I should get it....I did some quick online research and found that the tv is a good 80 less than anywhere else, so I told him to do it. I am afraid to say how much it cost...but in our defense, we haven't gotten a new television in 11 years and our picture pretty much stinks..... $650

 

Enjoy it! We will need a new tv when we move, it's been 8 years for us. I'm not looking forward to that purchase, we've been price shopping, so hopefully we will get a good deal.

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I knew March was going to be bad...

 

3/1: $197 for son's swim team apparel

3/2: $7.00 Starbucks

3/3: $173.00 Costco

 

I went browsing at Ikea last week for a new couch; wanted the Ektorp, but knew dh would not like it. We lucked out today in a major way. We left to go couch shopping. At the first store we got a phone call about one we had liked on Craigslist. If we could be there in 45 minutes we could have it for $500. We got a leather $2,400. sectional with chaise lounge, barely 6 months old. It's beautiful. It takes up our entire family room but dh and kids are ecstactic.

 

3/3: $500.00 new couch

 

That's awesome! IMO, Ikea couches aren't that comfortable anyways. :)

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3/1 -- $64 birthday dinner

3/2 -- $232 mostly groceries ($20 was supplies for school, $50ish was household/toiletries)

3/3 -- $59 ear piercing (my 11 yo dd's birthday present), $56 clothes for DH, $15 medicine, $5 coffee/hot chocolate at church, $20 American girl braces (my 7 yo is getting braces next week -- I splurged and purchased the braces stickers/headgear/retainer kit for her doll), $50 waterpik (for aforementioned new braces), $22 picture frames

3/4 -- $38 gas

3/5 -- $0 snowstorm so we're staying home & saving money!

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I lost track again. :ph34r: The good news is, it's all on my debit card, so not all hope is lost. :hurray: We leave for our house hunting trip tomorrow, so I will update when we return.

 

I may not get a chance to post the new thread on friday, can someone else do it if I don't get to it by mid morning?

 

Have a great week everyone! Send me good house vibes (and also no snow storm traffic vibes)

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3/1: $128.77 groceries $47.50 gas

3/2: 0

3/3: 0

3/4: $9.76 exchanged some jeans for my DD for a skirt and some sweaters, $6.80 stopped at Rite-Aid for some cough drops and a Dr. Pepper.

3/5: Somehow the tip of my knitting needle broke clean off.....in the middle of my knitting project. So ordered another set $12.99

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I know I'm late to the party, but can I still join in? I really need this right now.

 

We were doing quite well, no debt but the mortgage and a DR emergency fund of $1000. But then I blinked. Dh had to take a pay cut. I got so overwhelmed I started just throwing money at the cc statements instead of paying them off, life happened. And the next thing you know, we now have some debt. Not a lot by most standards, but enough to make me physically ill if I think about it enough.

 

But now I am taking a stand and putting a stop to the problem. I paid off one cc today. I will begin to get the other one whittled down to size. If I got incredibly serious about it, I probably could get it done in about 5 months. I need to revise my budget to meet our current income and expenditures. I need to get my lazy butt busy and bring in some income.

 

I just refinanced our mortgage, but with less than 5 years left and a low balance due, after closing costs, we will only save about $150. But that's better than not saving it.

 

Right now, our biggest problem is probably my impulse buying at the grocery store and for my 14yo dd. The second biggest problem is gas prices. We live in a rural area and it costs me approximately $8 just to drive anywhere - store, library, post office, doctor, etc. The first problem must be tamed the second one may not be completely controlled, but it can be reduced if I manage my trips more carefully.

 

I know what I need to do, now it's just down to the doing.

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