Nothing New/Mindful Spending Week 48

[Ginevra]

The "rules" of this challenge are self-defined. Anyone can join in at any time. The aim of the challenge (for me) is to combat consumerism, wastefulness, mindless buying, and overspending. It is meant to nurture creative problem solving, ecology, frugality, intentionalism, and resourcefulness. To support these goals, I seek to buy nothing new/unnecessary. I aim to use existing resources, borrow, hand-craft, and buy existing second-hand materials to the greatest extent possible. However, I recognize that life is unpredictable, and family life increases this factor exponentially, so I will buy new in the following cases, when a non-buying option does not present:

 

Food, health, and necessary household goods excluded.

Requirements for school, work, or health and well-being which cannot be obtained used.

Gifts, when a creative non-commercial option will not suffice.

Anything animal or gardening related that cannot be obtained used.

Fuel/energy sources.

 

Posts will appear each Saturday, referring to the week that is ending. Post your successes, creative solutions, relapses and weak moments. It doesn't matter if you have a weak moment! Just keep swimming!

Still a spendy week here. Today is DS11's birthday party; he turns 12 tomorrow. So, pizza for the party, drinks and chips, a bazillion nerf darts, a new nerf gun, and an ice cream cake from the local creamery.

 

DS17 got his driver's license today! Yay! I took him out to lunch at Wendy's.

 

This past Wednesday, I went to NYC with my son's school and saw Matilda on Broadway. Also got to see my sister, her DH and two kids for an hour because she lives in Queens and was able to meet up with me. I bought a souveneir at M&M Times Square, lunch and mini cupcakes at Juniors, and a slice of pizza from a pizza place before boarding the bus and coming back home.

 

Side complaint (irrelevant kvetching): three young ladies failed to meet at the bus stop on time and caused us to leave an hour late to go home. The bus driver was SO P.O.'d! What was most baffling about it was that they were communicating by cell phone with chaperones on the bus, were initially only 3 streets away from the correct place, but somehow managed to get farther away and increasingly mixed up. I have no idea how they could fail to realize that the streets/avenue numbers are not ascending, but are descending. I think of myself as a person with quite terrible orientation skills, but I still manage to realize that if you need to be on 45th and you are now on 42nd, the sign numbers need to increase.

 

Other money news: I hosted our co-op's Christmas Craft Day. I have not totalled my materials costs and my payments from craft day yet, so I cannot say if the co-op came out ahead at all yet. Last year, it was ahead, but only by a very small margin; something like $10. But the craft day went well and the kids got to go home with some very cute crafts.

[Jane in NC]

Lucky you getting to spend a day in NYC!

 

My nephew who lives about three hours away with his wife and darling son moved into their new home today. Like good frugalistas, they rented a U-Haul but this meant that they needed all hands on deck.  We obliged but did not make it to their current rental until the truck was half full. The house they bought is perfect for this young family.  When all was said and done, we were exhausted but nonetheless felt great having helped.

 

I have been buying more than usual but these are items destined to be gifts.  On our drive to my nephew's this morning, we stopped at a pecan processing place for nuts for baking as well as some specialty candy items for holiday gifts.  I have finished all of my holiday craft projects but one (how in the world this happened is a small miracle in itself!)  Not much more Christmas shopping to do.  On Monday I'll pick up poinsettias from an organization that sells them as a fundraiser.  One is for us while the others are thank you gifts to people who make my life easier.  While doing that errand, I'll inevitably pick up a few other small gifts--stocking stuffers for my husband and something for my brother in law.  Other than that, there is a gift for someone who is stumping me.  And then I should be done with the gift part of the holiday.  The food part is another story.

[Baseball mom]

$10 for pizza lunch for 2 dc and myself - friend and her dc came over for lunch.  We split the cost of pizza,

$30 at grocery

$5 for a couple items I forgot at grocery -- borrowed $ from ds, need to pay him back

$55 for 5 Christmas gifts

 

The gifts were are surprise find.  Stopped at a store to get some ideas.   Found these items on clearance and these items were some of the exact items on dss wish list.

 

[mommyoffive]

$10 for pizza lunch for 2 dc and myself - friend and her dc came over for lunch.  We split the cost of pizza,

$30 at grocery

$5 for a couple items I forgot at grocery -- borrowed $ from ds, need to pay him back

$55 for 5 Christmas gifts

 

The gifts were are surprise find.  Stopped at a store to get some ideas.   Found these items on clearance and these items were some of the exact items on dss wish list.

 

 

Wow.  Score on the Christmas shopping!

[SKL]

I added one item about $25 to my Amazon basket for a Christmas gift for our house.  A key finder thingy.  I thought about getting one for some of my siblings too, but not everyone is a ditz and they are not so cheap that you'd want to give them to everyone whether they need it or not.

 

So far it hasn't been a super spendy Christmas.  I think I'm done with all the kid purchases except for a couple small items (my kid has not written her wish list yet but I know she wants another case for her phone).  I might as well go ahead and buy my other kid's phone, which will be her birthday present in early January.  I will need to buy her case online regardless, so might as well do the phone that way too.  So whenever I get those requests, I will place another Amazon order, and hopefully that will be it for the kids.  The adults will get gift cards and some small item like nuts / candy / decoration / whatever inspires me as I shop.

 

The kids are back to riding on weekends when the farm is open.

 

I will probably send some Christmas presents to my sponsored international students.

 

I don't know of any other expenses creeping up.  Could be just forgetting something ....

[mommyoffive]

Another cheap week

 

Outside of grocery store, we didn't do much spending

 

We did a Christmas parade.  So cute and lots of fun touches.  Lots of free food.  

 

Breakfast with Santa $10 for the whole family for food, pictures, and trinkets.

 

Went to an old fashioned Christmas at our living history museum.  So cute.  And it snowed right on time.  The sleigh ride was great.  

That was free due to our membership.

 

 

Still haven't gotten any presents. 

I sold a few more things

 

I do need to pay the second half of dance already.  

[Ravin]

So far my only spending this week was for some grocery items. I did buy some junk food I probably shouldn't have, but that was only $2 plus tax.

 

This weekend have to take car in for noisy bearings. Last time they were under warranty. I doubt they will be this time.

[itsheresomewhere]

Score this week- DD wanted a punching bag for practicing her karate for Christmas. It is 140 new and I found on used for 15. Woohoo. It is faded but she won't care as she will just kicking it.

[mommyoffive]

Score this week- DD wanted a punching bag for practicing her karate for Christmas. It is 140 new and I found on used for 15. Woohoo. It is faded but she won't care as she will just kicking it.

 

Wow!

Great deal.