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No/Low Spend January Week 2 (1/7-1/13)


Runningmom80
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I will be doing the same as you, Amber. I did okay last week. Totals seem high, but they include all the recurring monthly expenses that we get hit with at the beginning of every month, so hopefully this week will be better. Also, we had a vet bill to deal with. I stuck with my grocery budget, and everything was within my budget overall, so that's good. We are on target to be BELOW our average monthly expenditures, and that means any extra goes towards our emergency fund, so I am happy.

 

I am hoping today will be the first of my 5 planned no spend days!

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Here's my tally post

 

So far I've spent $76 on Anyang that isn't gas, groceries, or bills. I'm pretty happy with that, seeing as $30 was company's form my twins to see the ped.

 

I'm getting my haircut today, so that's going to blow this week, but I did cancel the color, so it could have been much worse! I also need to order some school supplies.

 

1/7 - $150 blech

1/8 - $0

1/9 - $5 (wine for dinner guests)

1/10 - $7 coffees

1/11 - $51 shoes for kids

1/12 - $5 the happiness project kindle

1/13 - 0

---------

Total for month: $294

 

No spend days 3/10

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DH needs to swing by Whole Foods & Trader Joe's tonight to pick up some items & I need to place an order through vitacost. I'm hoping the rest of the week we're at $0 additional spending from what we're doing today! We'll see!

 

1/7: $31.41 groceries

1/8: have to get kids natural cold & cough meds after school lessons, hoping for under $8!

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So far, other than budgeted expenses (gas, groceries, bills) I have spent $1. I broke down and bought a coffee at church yesterday. My coffee pot broke (as in shattered all over the floor). I had enough change to buy the coffee.

 

 

Wow! Good job! I don't think anyone could blame you for the coffee. :)

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GOOD JOB!

 

 

Really? I was feeling badly as my totals are higher than everyone's. In my defense, I am putting everything on there, including monthly health club fees, newspaper subscriptions, grocery and gas...vet bills...but still. Anyway, thanks. I haven't spent anything outside of our budget and today is my very first no spend day of the month!!

 

Oh my. Just found out that DH's car tires need to be replaced asap. Shoot.

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Well, we just made official with DH's work that we will be moving from OH to PA this summer. Anyone want to do no spend for 6 months with me? Lol!

 

 

I am in, for LOW spend. I told DH just how many years our mortgage would be reduced if we prepaid a bunch, and he was stunned. It seemed to be the first thing that actually motivated him, so I want to ride that wave LOL.

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Almost everything is budgeted now that we are doing a cash envelope system. So I'm using this month to keep track of everything so I can see exactly what we are spending in the cash categories.

 

 

Grocery: $233.02

Gas: $60

Eating Out: $10.68

School: $20

No spend days: 3 (out of 6)

Total Spent: $323.70

 

The only expected purchases this week are groceries and going to see the Hobbit. We've been planning on going since we heard it was coming out. DD and I will be going tonight using two tickets we already have to see it in 2D (3D gives us headaches). DH and DS will be going Wednesday night and seeing it in IMAX 3D.

 

1/7: $16.25 (The Hobbit with DD)

1/8: $0

1/9: $13 (The Hobbit for DH and DS)

1/10: $149.66 ($88 doctor's appt, 56.99 RX, $4.67 groceries)

1/11: $10.76 ($3.79 crickets, $6.99 Kindle book for next lit unit)

1/12: $502.85 ($300.00 DD's birthday, $192.35 groceries, $10.50 lunch)

1/13: $27.43 (fast food...slight change in schedule messed me up for dinner...either eat out or eat really late)

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I'm looking for 10 no spend days, as well as groceries under $600 & dining out under $125.

 

1/1 -- $0 (Yay me!)

1/2 -- Walgreens $9 (various Xmas clearance)

1/3 -- Groceries $83, Children's Place $38 (leggings for under skirts & hat for middle dd)

1/4 -- DH wanted pizza, and I am weak... $17

1/5 -- Groceries $66, Pet Supplies $7, Children's Place $7 (needed to return 1 item from the 3rd and I picked up another pair of leggings)

1/6 -- Groceries $29, Curriculum $5 (had $15 in TRU rewards and bought a CSI kit for $20)

1/7 -- this was supposed to be a no - spend day, but... $75 for a new car battery & $35 for gas, since DH had to take my car to work this morning. Sigh

 

Groceries: $178/$600

Eating Out: $17/$125

No Spend Days: 1/10

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1/1 $0

1/2 $0

1/3 $0

1/4 $85 hair cut and color (already budgeted, but it seems kind of frivolous!), $10 Panera (lunch out by myself after hair appt, couldn't resist), $10 Walgreens (face cream), $0 Victoria's Secret!! Used an expired coupon for free panties (P.S. their coupons don't really expire! and a $10 voucher they sent me for my birthday)

1/5 $0

1/6 $14 over budget on groceries

1/7 $0 (the library is a wonderful source of free entertainment when you just need to get out of the house!)

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Wow! Everyone's doing great! :001_smile:

 

My goal is no spending outside of basic groceries. (This is just for me, not dh. Unfortunately. And of course we still have the normal bills... electricity, mortgage, insurance, etc.) The boys do have 2 extracurricular events they would like to do this month, so I will set aside $40 for that. And maybe $5 for one soda/ice cream type outing, but that's it.

 

1/1 $0

1/2 $19.76 on groceries

1/3 $0

1/4 $0

1/5 $96.01 on groceries

1/6 $0

1/7 $0

 

I'm going for a maximum of 3 spending days per week, so I'm doing okay on that so far.

 

I'm also combining this with a year long "finish those projects" quest. It seems that I like to shop for craft supplies more than I actually like to finish things, and that has got to change. Yesterday I got out all my random skeins of yarn and have started crocheting a shawl-type wrap for when I'm reading. Next will be a weird tv-watching-blanket made up of all the odd greens/blues/grays that I have left over. No new supplies 'till I've finished with what I've got! Ugh. :nopity:

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I'm going to post the whole month to see if there is a pattern to our spending. I am keeping track of all spending outside of bills on auto-pay (i.e. power, phone, insurances, etc.) My goal is to keep all costs as low as possible & eat mostly from our pantry/freezer/garden.

 

1 Jan---$0

2 Jan---$0

3 Jan---$6 (2 x 2 litres milk)

4 Jan---$0

5 Jan---$2 sausage at sausage sizzle for DH+ $28 lotto tickets for us & mil+ $8.90 fish bait for ds#2

6 Jan---$0

***Week 1 subtotal =$44.90

 

7 Jan---$11 seed raising mix +$6 (2 x 2 litres milk)

8 Jan---$24 for two books dh bought on TradeMe (but he sold some scrap metal for $35)

9 Jan---$16.50 for two more books dh bought on TradeMe (but mil gave him $10 from the winning ticket we gave her last weekend)

10 Jan---$6 (2 x 2 litres milk) + $8 fish bait + $18 med (to replace some that expired in '95 :ohmy: )

11 Jan---$80 four stationary motors from TradeMe for ds#2 to rebuild to help finish the quadbike he's rebuilding+ $8 fishbait + $22 beer for dh + $30.50 shorts & sunscreen for dd

12 Jan---$37 for two books dh bought on TradeMe + $18.70 for coffees for dh, me, dd, & ds#1 (dd shipped out today & the captain told us to take her for a coffee when we dropped her off, so that $$ was on Captain's orders :001_cool: )+ $14 Lotto

13 Jan---$18 dive tank rental (for dh to do a job for dd's ship as they lost something overboard & his tanks are old & empty)

***Week 2 subtotal =$317.70

 

January total = $362.60

No Spend days = 4

Groceries/Food = $18

Beer/Eat Out = $42.70

Unexpected income = $45

 

My goals for January:

#1---Spend as little as possible as estimated monthly income is $0.

#2---Eat mainly from our pantry / freezer / garden.

#3---Learn to make do or do without whenever possible.

#4---Use our month of summer holidays to help instill healthy habits.

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Week One:

Total so far cash: $228.62

Total spent so far credit card(paid off monthly): $159

Amount transferred to savings: $50

No Spend Days: 0/5

Nothing outside of budget so far.

____________________________________

Week Two:

1/7: $0

1/8: $50 cell phone bill on cc

1/9:

1/10:

1/11:

1/12:

1/13:

 

Week Two Totals: $0 cash, $50 cc.

Amount Transferred to Savings: $0

No Spend Days: 1/5

Nothing outside budget so far.

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I'm looking for 10 no spend days, as well as groceries under $600 & dining out under $125.

 

1/1 -- $0 (Yay me!)

1/2 -- Walgreens $9 (various Xmas clearance)

1/3 -- Groceries $83, Children's Place $38 (leggings for under skirts & hat for middle dd)

1/4 -- DH wanted pizza, and I am weak... $17

1/5 -- Groceries $66, Pet Supplies $7, Children's Place $7 (needed to return 1 item from the 3rd and I picked up another pair of leggings)

1/6 -- Groceries $29, Curriculum $5 (had $15 in TRU rewards and bought a CSI kit for $20)

 

 

 

 

1/7 -- this was supposed to be a no - spend day, but... $75 for a new car battery & $35 for gas, since DH had to take my car to work this morning. Just found out that DH bought $11 worth of toys from the clearance area while waiting for the car. So adding that.

1/8 -- $0

1/9 -- $25 gift for family member, $36 chess tournament entry fee

 

Groceries: $178/$600

Eating Out: $17/$125

No Spend Days: 2/10

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Welp. I had a doozy of a day. $50 at target ($30 for DS' Flovent in my defense) $70 for my haircut. Gulp.

 

Just wondering if you are in a high COL area? Yikes....$70 for a haircut is such a bummer. We used to live in metro Atlanta and things like haircuts were much higher than where we live now. Also, I've been going to a hairstylist that recently graduated from "hair school" and she is cheaper than many other stylists in town, but does a fantastic job....I got lucky!

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Just wondering if you are in a high COL area? Yikes....$70 for a haircut is such a bummer. We used to live in metro Atlanta and things like haircuts were much higher than where we live now. Also, I've been going to a hairstylist that recently graduated from "hair school" and she is cheaper than many other stylists in town, but does a fantastic job....I got lucky!

 

 

No, we are in a very low COL area actually! But I'm picky about my hair, and only go every 3-4 months. That's including a tip as well. $55 was the rate, I gave her a few bucks extra tip because last time I gave her less than 20% I didn't have enough cash with me.

 

I never really thought it was that much, my friends all pay the same, or more. Maybe I need to call around...

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I pay about 40 for a cut, and 80 for cut and color where i live, which is not a tremendously high COL place. But the woman I go to is just beginning her business. i also only go once every 6 months. I want to go more for highlights but don't want to spend the money.

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I pay about 40 for a cut, and 80 for cut and color where i live, which is not a tremendously high COL place. But the woman I go to is just beginning her business. i also only go once every 6 months. I want to go more for highlights but don't want to spend the money.

 

The next time I go, I'm getting highlights underneath, so I don't have the root problem. I won't go again until spring though. For me, cut and highlight is around $120 before tip. I just can't afford to do that every 8-10 weeks.

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I restocked this weekend at Aldi--produce and milk 25.00

We ate out twice--once with gift cards and once on us. Total was 20.00 out of pocket

Nothing else spent so far...

I will go again on Saturday and restock produce and milk --I have 30.00 to spend and then my budget recycles for payday on the 15th.

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Borrowing Halcyon's format :D

 

Total non-budgeted spending: $38.10

Total no Spend Days: 5 (counting today)

 

1/7: $0

1/8:

1/9:

1/10:

1/11:

1/12:

1/13:

 

 

I forgot to add my goal for the month: No spending beyond my weekly "allowance." I take cash out of the bank each week for groceries, gas, eating out, etc. When the cash is gone, I'm finished... or supposed to be finished spending for the week. So, all my no-spend days actually mean that I didn't buy anything for which I didn't have cash in my wallet. They may not actually be zero dollars spent but rather zero "extra" dollars spent, if that makes sense.

 

Today, I'll be heading up to CVS for a few things, but I will be paying cash for it, unless I overspend. Then I'll have to fess up to it here.

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I've had 4 no-spend days. Besides groceries:

$40 on a new vacuum (the old one broke and was completely unrepairable)

$25 on some organizational products that I have been waiting to go on sale

$150 in unplanned charity donations. We were planning to up charitable giving this year, though we hadn't decided on an amount, and these were for friends who had emergency health issues so I feel okay about it.

 

No eating out at all or library fines, which are my weak spots! I really like having these accountability threads!

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Week 1 total: $80 for groceries.

 

Week 2: Nothing so far, but I am working on a shutterfly scrapbook. 50% off and I'm using up the rest of my Christmas money. I'll probably order it tonight. Won't be leaving the house until saturday at the earliest. :) So no other expenses most likely.

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I feel like a bull in a china shop today and yesterday. These were not unnecessary expenses, but - shew! - anyway.

 

1/7: 151.00 Rx I also bought taco shells and tortillas, but I don't have the receipt in front of me. It was around 4.00.

1/8: 78.00 on-line Land End. Their down coats are deeply discounted. I got one for dd. Also spent $330 signing dd up for Driver's Ed. :svengo:

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Man, I'm feeling like I spend a fortune on groceries! I really don't know how to get it lower though. My DS has lots of food allergies, so we buy lots of specialty foods. It's very discouraging whenever I try.

 

 

Pity party over. :)

 

 

I spent $97 yesterday JUST on food. Crazy. Not even a weeks worth of food.

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1/7: $518 for new tires, $80 for weekly grocery shopping

1/8: $0

 

DH's truck has an oil change appointment Thursday and I want to buy more apples tomorrow. Saturday, we are going to return some clothing that didn't fit from Christmas and have our weekly family lunch out. Other than those expenses, I should be spending very little for the rest of the week. I give myself $20 a week so spend at will, so I really don't count that.

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The next time I go, I'm getting highlights underneath, so I don't have the root problem. I won't go again until spring though. For me, cut and highlight is around $120 before tip. I just can't afford to do that every 8-10 weeks.

 

My color job is even worse than that. I'm dreading it, but I haven't successfully figured out a way around it that still satisfies my vanity. :tongue_smilie: I do have a friend that got her license in the last few years, so I thought about calling her and asking if she's willing to try and duplicate what my stylist does, but I'm not sure how to not sound rude - "Hey, J! I'm spending a fortune on my hair and was hoping you, with less experience, could do the same thing for way less!" And then - what if I don't like the job she does? That would be unbearably awkward.

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My color job is even worse than that. I'm dreading it, but I haven't successfully figured out a way around it that still satisfies my vanity. :tongue_smilie: I do have a friend that got her license in the last few years, so I thought about calling her and asking if she's willing to try and duplicate what my stylist does, but I'm not sure how to not sound rude - "Hey, J! I'm spending a fortune on my hair and was hoping you, with less experience, could do the same thing for way less!" And then - what if I don't like the job she does? That would be unbearably awkward.

 

 

Ha! That would be a tad awkward. I'm really picky about my hair, and have had some hair disasters, so I'm not willing to try out too many new people. That's why I just stopped going so often. I used to go every 8 weeks, and got color every time. Now I go every 12-16 and get color every other time.

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Ha! That would be a tad awkward. I'm really picky about my hair, and have had some hair disasters, so I'm not willing to try out too many new people. That's why I just stopped going so often. I used to go every 8 weeks, and got color every time. Now I go every 12-16 and get color every other time.

 

Yeah. I used to be able to stave off color for months, but now the grey means business. :glare:

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1/1 $0

1/2 $0

1/3 $0

1/4 $85 hair cut and color (already budgeted, but it seems kind of frivolous!), $10 Panera (lunch out by myself after hair appt, couldn't resist), $10 Walgreens (face cream), $0 Victoria's Secret!! Used an expired coupon for free panties (P.S. their coupons don't really expire! and a $10 voucher they sent me for my birthday)

1/5 $0

1/6 $14 over budget on groceries

1/7 $0 (the library is a wonderful source of free entertainment when you just need to get out of the house!)

1/8 $0 (Used a gift card at Starbucks....so, what happens when my gift card runs out??? :nopity: That will be a sad day.)

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