Nothing New/Mindful Spending Week Four

[Ginevra]

I hope you don't mind if I slightly alter the name of this challenge, since several members view it this way. :)

 

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. 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!

So, finishing up Week Four and I have stayed on track with my goals. I bought a snowsuit for DS10 at a consignment shop for $8. I also replaced his tennis shoes (daily wear shoes) with a $10 pair of FILAs. He loves them! I also found an additional pair of khaki pants for DS15 to wear to school ($8), and an UA warm-up that was not strictly necessary, but that I knew he would love ($10). DS15 also needs a replacement pair of every-day shoes, but I am 99% certain we are BUYING THOSE NEW. Sorry. Don't mean to shout. :D But he has man feet. Man feet are gross. Looking at used shoes in man-foot size skeeves me out. So even I have my limits.

 

I discovered a fascinating book at the library: The Handbuilt Home by Ana White. She has a great blog, too (of course). She makes furniture. Great stuff that I could really get behind. I really love that she's a chick! And most of her contributors are chicks! I really want to build some furniture and furnishings. I am starting, though, with a refinish project I have planned to do off and on (whenever I am not planning to just throw these tables onto the next Salvation Army truck). I want to fix up my abused coffee table. Assuming that goes well, I will also do the end tables and sofa table that go with it. So I'll be rockin' the DIY!

[itsheresomewhere]

I like the ana white site.  Before making any cuts on her plans- read the comment sections first.  It is not uncommon for measuring mistakes.  People will fix what is wrong and put it in the comments.  

 

I bought some organizing stuff for the kitchen and some hangers for DS. I spent about 35 so not bad.

[MomtoCandJ]

Let's see we had dh's $281 truck repair, spent about $60 on dd2's birthday gifts and cake, other than that just the usual. Hoping not to do anything unusual this week. We have our taxes done and waiting for our refund to start home renovations :) I'm so stoked to have matching flooring from the kitchen all the way down the hall (there are four different floorings in that one area) and a new stove with a self cleaning oven.

[LifeLovePassion]

Spent money on plywood, sheetrock and plumbing supplies! But sure is cheaper than hiring out the job.

[Chris in VA]

Just an Ana White comment--we built a loft following her directions and it's AWESOME. :hurray:

 

Carry on.

[Hikin' Mama]

I really like this challenge because it has made me think before buying something just because it pops into my mind. I'm fairly frugal, but I do buy little unnecessary things that all add up. For example, I have realized that I was giving into my coffee whims while out and about much too often. They are only about $2 a pop (I'm an Americano girl), but they do add up. It has also made me think more about bigger purchases and whether or not I really need them. For example, I began attending a yoga class in November. It (and my whole gym membership) is free to me because I teach a Cross Fit class for homeschooled teens. I really want some yoga clothes, but I know I don't "need" them. My t-shirts and running shorts with compression shorts underneath work just fine. I'm even spending a bit less on groceries. :)

 

So thanks, Quill! Sometimes a person just needs a little motivation. And if you make furniture, please post pics!

[Garga]

Considered buying Amazon Prime because they're having a deal through midnight tonight, but we weren't sure whether we'd really save the price of the subscription. Decided to start keeping track of things we order on Amazon (s&h) and looking into their movies/tvshows to see if they'd be things we watched.

 

Maybe we'll get it after research but maybe not. Either way, it's money still in our pocket until we're sure it's worth being spent.

 

Took the boys to Sweet Frog as a reward for good behavior. $12.00.

 

Bought the science curric I want to use for the rest of the year. Curric is an allowable expense for me. I bought the cheapest "used--good" teacher's guide I could find. If the words are on the page, that's good enough for me. Don't care if it's battered and highlighted.

[Saraswati]

My main goal for the challenge is to stop and think before I make a purchase, and to then add that extra money to our savings account budget every month. Aside from a spontaneous stop for some new workout outfits, I did really well this month. I started a section in my bullet journal to note things I consider purchasing to think about - every item on my list was deemed unnecessary after a few days. I've stayed well within my set budget that I planned out using YNAB - which I absolutely love, by the way! We've stopped going out to eat several times per week and adopted a complete whole food diet - nothing in a package. We've been cooking together as a family and my kids are eating vegetables faster than I can buy them - I never thought I'd live to see that! 😊

[BarbecueMom]

Still nothing new, but headed to Lowe's tomorrow to get a ballpark figure on house project costs. We did end up with Taco Bell for lunch, due to a rushed morning over a miscommunication about basketball picture day. Hmph.

 

One fascinating (or depressing) thing about this challenge is seeing which parts of my budget just don't work, without the smoke screen of Target and Amazon purchases. I know now that my grocery budget is truly unrealistic, it's not just random junk throwing it off. I didn't realize how much doctor and chiro and Rx copays were adding up each month. I don't know where all the cash runs off to though. Still working on that mystery.

[prairiewindmomma]

Nothing new this week except for home repair/prep purchases totalling $120.

 

The weather was warm enough that we put off the sleeping bag purchase for another year. I still need to go shoe shopping for dd.

 

I am busy eating through my pantry. I think I am noticing the biggest gap/waste there. I have not been spending a ton of time in the kitchen but my pantry has a fair number of time intensive ingredients. So...i am giving myself 8 weeks to clear out my freezer and pantry.

[Ethel Mertz]

The bad news is that I read Hunter's current minimalist thread and bought some new books. It takes talent to read a minimalist thread and then buy something new.

 

The good news is that I stopped myself after 3 (or maybe 4) books and requested other books from inter-library loan.

 

In other good news: we have mostly been eating out of our pantry and freezer and have kept grocery shopping to a minimum. However, that is about to change as we really need to replenish things. I've also gotten more in the habit of thinking "what's for dinner?" earlier in the day, thus eliminating expensive take-out.

 

I am trying to whittle my Amazon Subscribe and Save monthly delivery items to 5 - not always possible, but at least I'm eliminating some unnecessary items.

[73349]

I've set a budget for each month for Feb.-June. Looking at what I expect to have to pay for, it's no wonder my savings has been dwindling.

 

I borrowed and read Not Buying It (thanks to whoever suggested it!), and despite the dated political stuff, it's really thought-provoking.

[LucyStoner]

I am taking several bags of clothes to St. Vincent's this morning. These things are either too big or too short or just not ever making it out of my drawers. I shed anyhing with holes or stains that is not worth repairing. I have a list of clothing staples I need to replace. Hopefully I can find them in the next month or two at thrift shops. I am a very long torsoed person and tall and my new rule is no shirts that are too freaking short. It's not a bargain thrift find if I never wear it because it's too short.

[Jaz]

This thread is a great idea.

 

We wanted to buy some current tv shows off Amazon but decided to wait for them to come on Prime or Netflix.

 

We reworked our budget just about every month last year as my dh took a salaried position. I think we may finally be on track!

[sunflowerlady]

Last week's victory was not buying cosmetics at CVS.

 

This week I will be meal planning and grocery shopping.

[LucyStoner]

I got in and out of Trader Joes without buying any wasabi salmon candy kale pita chip salted carmel chocolate dipped pomegranate pine nut type thingys. So there's that. Woot.

[Guest]

Still nothing new, but headed to Lowe's tomorrow to get a ballpark figure on house project costs. We did end up with Taco Bell for lunch, due to a rushed morning over a miscommunication about basketball picture day. Hmph.

 

One fascinating (or depressing) thing about this challenge is seeing which parts of my budget just don't work, without the smoke screen of Target and Amazon purchases. I know now that my grocery budget is truly unrealistic, it's not just random junk throwing it off. I didn't realize how much doctor and chiro and Rx copays were adding up each month. I don't know where all the cash runs off to though. Still working on that mystery.

I'm curious about this. Do you have a written or computer budget? I'm not sure quite what you mean by "smokescreen" purchases...are you saying you set a "grocery" budget, but buy things at Target and Amazon that *are* groceries, but that you haven't calculated previously as groceries?

 

In my budget, I have "Food Groceries" as well as "Non-Food Groceries." I calculate them from every source. So, if I pick up cucumbers at a farmer's market, I calculate that as "Food Groceries." The PITA part about this is that I have a lot of receipt-parsing to do when I come home from a big shopping trip; i.e., I go through my Costco receipt, pulling out Food, Non-Food, Clothing, Gifts, Pets, etc. and so on. I do this with ALL mixed-category shopping. The awesome part about it is that my results are never vague. I can look back and know what is actually required to feed our family, vs. expenses for cleaning/beauty/hygiene supplies, not to be mixed up with pet supplies, which are also not confused with gift expenses.

 

I have always done this by hand in the past, but it is much easier with YNAB.

[BarbecueMom]

I'm curious about this. Do you have a written or computer budget? I'm not sure quite what you mean by "smokescreen" purchases...are you saying you set a "grocery" budget, but buy things at Target and Amazon that *are* groceries, but that you haven't calculated previously as groceries?

 

In my budget, I have "Food Groceries" as well as "Non-Food Groceries." I calculate them from every source. So, if I pick up cucumbers at a farmer's market, I calculate that as "Food Groceries." The PITA part about this is that I have a lot of receipt-parsing to do when I come home from a big shopping trip; i.e., I go through my Costco receipt, pulling out Food, Non-Food, Clothing, Gifts, Pets, etc. and so on. I do this with ALL mixed-category shopping. The awesome part about it is that my results are never vague. I can look back and know what is actually required to feed our family, vs. expenses for cleaning/beauty/hygiene supplies, not to be mixed up with pet supplies, which are also not confused with gift expenses.

 

I have always done this by hand in the past, but it is much easier with YNAB.

I do a budget on paper, but I put all consumable purchases in the same general "grocery/household" category. So if we have to buy TP and diapers and dishwasher tabs one month, I know not to plan several expensive ingredient dinners. If we are well stocked for the month on paper and toiletries, I can buy the steak and beer. It was too much of a hassle to separate the categories because they would both fluctuate so wildly and I'd end up "borrowing" every month anyway.

 

The problem was running into Target or jumping on Amazon and using money budgeted for food or household consumables for other stuff, usually replacing items (broken clothes hangers and dishes, nonfunctioning kitchen gadgets, missing washcloth napkins, ruined pillows, etc.). Because I don't really have a separate category for "Child Destruction and/or Adult Clumsiness", I thought those things were tipping the budget over. Nope, budget is still way over, even though I've just done without whatever needs replacing this month. Not double like it was, but still much higher than hoped for. I think I'm just way underestimating how much food/household goods six people eat/use in a month, especially when there's very little dining out and cooking is a hobby.

[Soror]

I spent $5 on snacks the other day when out. Otherwise we've done well, I've been so busy cleaning, decluttering and organizing that I haven't had time to think about shopping. I'm starting to make a mental list of some things I'd like to spruce up the place (like replacing my beloved lamp that I accidently broke a few weeks ago :( ) but I want to keep an eye on Goodwill and be patient. I'm going to need some spring wardrobe items but I'm not ready to start shopping yet. I want to think before shopping so I make sure to get what I'll really wear.

 

eta- I love Ana White's site. I've never been brave enough to build anything yet but I have aspirations. Actually someone mentioned last week I think about Ikea's Trofast storage so I looked up some plans from her and another site (cannot remember the name now but she is also a chic builder). I've wanted something for shoes in my entry way but I've yet to find anything I really like but the Trofast looked perfect for the purpose. Once I get some other odds and ends done I'm contemplating attempting it. I think I could do it fairly cheap and it seems within my ability :)

[Runningmom80]

Well, what started in an attempt to use up my scrap fabric ended in a medium sized order to fabricworm.com. DD had a pretty cheap quilt from overstock that was on the wrong side of a red candy cane induced vomitfest right after Christmas. She's been using two "summer" blankets that belong to her brothers since she ruined her quilt.  I guess we could have done this until the summer, but I had a great idea to use stuff I already have to make her a quilt, except I didn't have enough that went together.  :lol:

 

So there's my unplanned purchase of the week!  I better stay home until next week, and off the computer!

[Ethel Mertz]

Phooey. Big Blizzard of the Century bearing down on us tomorrow. Since I so smartly had declared January to be "eat out of the pantry/freezer month," we had a very expensive trip to the grocery store along with everyone else and her sister. Note to self: declare "eat out of the pantry months" for fall and spring (and not in winter storm season or hurricane season).

 

Given that we are in the last week of January, I still think that our grocery bill will come in lower than budgeted.

[Guest]

Phooey. Big Blizzard of the Century bearing down on us tomorrow. Since I so smartly had declared January to be "eat out of the pantry/freezer month," we had a very expensive trip to the grocery store along with everyone else and her sister. Note to self: declare "eat out of the pantry months" for fall and spring (and not in winter storm season or hurricane season).

 

Given that we are in the last week of January, I still think that our grocery bill will come in lower than budgeted.

Yeah, I was in the stores today, along with a bazillion snow-panicked people. That was...not a lot of fun. Today was not a good day in the spending department, even though I did bring this challenge back to mind two hundred times and I did not buy chocolate! I even (twice, in different stores!) walked down the candy aisle and said, "WHY am I even walking down this aisle? It will only waste my money and make me fat!"

 

I bought materials for stripping and refinishing my coffee table. I bought a blender - the first non-crucial new object of the year. I ordered two audio books quite impulsively off Amazon. He needs to read the books for school, but he struggles enough with reading; audio will help him tremendously. Though the books are a wise purchase and within my "rules," it bugs me a little that I didn't just work it out with my existing resources.

[Soror]

Quill- I have a blender I'm getting rid of, too bad you don't live closer :)

 

I do 99% of my grocery shopping at Aldi's and Krogers so it isn't bad to separate, I might have 3 items a week at most. I avoid Wal-Mart like the plague, it is such a time and money sink, dh and I swear it is a guaranteed 1 hr and $100 if the whole family goes in there, we usually do that a few times a year. No Target here, either that is lucky or a curse :)

 

I forgot earlier that I bought some plates at Goodwill, it was a planned and needed purchase and used. We tend to break a lot of plates at my house, so we were running short on salad plates, which is what the kids generally use. They had some bigger bowls, that I'm going to go back for today, if they're still there. I bought a big bowl from there in Dec and I just love the size and shape, it is perfect for salad or stir-fry, wide but not very deep. I'm kind of kicking myself that I didn't buy the 2 I seen the other day the same size (so both dh and I can have one at the same time!), but it is good practice to make myself wait.

 

LucyStoner- I did the same thing with my closet, which is why I need some new spring clothes. Also, I just never bought much at my current size as I keep on thinking I'll return to normal, this spring however no matter what size I am I will get some clothes. I'm getting better at picking out what I'll truly wear but sometimes I still bring home a dud, usually it ends up costing more than I want to spend to buy what I really like and will wear but as you said, buying 10 things and not wearing them makes no since and for all the stuff I've brought home from the Thrift Store and never wore it is time I realize that it isn't always cheaper to buy used. I'm going to try to make a list before I go shopping this time and hit the thrift stores some but if I cannot find something that I love, then I'm hitting somewhere else. I need some spring shoes as well. I literally wore a hole in my Sanuk's and my flip flops are starting to come apart. I'd like 1 pair of slip ons and one decent pair of sandals. It seems I can never find my size shoes at Goodwill, so I'm not banking on finding those but maybe I can score a decent deal online.

 

I've been clearing out my pantry as well, I actually gave some of my prepper stash to a friend. I wasn't using it, wasn't going to use it, it might as well go to someone who will.  It is another of those things hanging over my head in guilt, like the books that I bought but didn't read. I'm sending it all to Goodwill or selling it, if I'm not using it and haven't for awhile there is no sense keeping it around.

[Annie G]

Bought dd a dress and shoes for her senior inquiry presentation. It's a big deal- she's been working on a project for two terms and she has to present it in front of faculty, her advisors, and it's open to the public. After her presentation, anyone can ask questions, though only faculty does.  Nothing like a pop quiz in front of a few hundred people! Anyway, bought her a new dress and shoes and in the process did something I have never done before. Bought something at Kohl's that was NOT on sale. Stunning!

 

Dh and I went to see American Sniper, and I used my movie points to pay for the admission cost and paid out of popcorn for a popcorn and drink to share. 

 

I ordered an arm band to hold my iPhone while I work out. A necessary expense, I truly believe.  Plus, I chose on that was $10 instead of the $40 ones I saw at Best Buy. 

 

The upcoming week looks to be way less spendy. 

[prairiewindmomma]

I'm thinking of buying a garment steamer. Dh's "wrinkle free" clothing is no longer so after so many washes. I normally have a large stack of work + Sunday clothes to deal with weekly. I also have to wash all of our curtains quarterly because of the kids' allergies.  I'm looking at some of the handheld ones. They are under $30 and they would store compactly with our other laundry items under the washer & dryer.

 

Anyone want to talk me into or out of it? I don't mind paying for a professional press a few times a year, but I don't want to create a regular dry-cleaning bill.

[MomtoCandJ]

Blah dd1 has "formal day" this week for Catholic schools week, we don't have a "formal" dress for her so I need to find one in the extreme cheap

[itsheresomewhere]

I'm thinking of buying a garment steamer. Dh's "wrinkle free" clothing is no longer so after so many washes. I normally have a large stack of work + Sunday clothes to deal with weekly. I also have to wash all of our curtains quarterly because of the kids' allergies. I'm looking at some of the handheld ones. They are under $30 and they would store compactly with our other laundry items under the washer & dryer.

 

Anyone want to talk me into or out of it? I don't mind paying for a professional press a few times a year, but I don't want to create a regular dry-cleaning bill.

That one by joy mangano? On HSN works really well. Much cheaper in the long run than a cleaning bill.

[Annie G]

Blah dd1 has "formal day" this week for Catholic schools week, we don't have a "formal" dress for her so I need to find one in the extreme cheap

 

I always hated the special dress up days at AWANA or theater. They wanted the kids to be cowboys, favorite superhero, dress all in a certain color...sports themed....it was endless. For most people it was fun. For me, it was torture. Gathering stuff we didn't have, borrowing from friends meant getting it from them AND returning it to them..buying stuff when we couldn't borrow. 

 

Hope you can find a formal dress at a super low price, and that dd enjoys it. 

[Guest]

Blah dd1 has "formal day" this week for Catholic schools week, we don't have a "formal" dress for her so I need to find one in the extreme cheap

If you are on FB, you can try sending out a request to borrow. That might work.

[Soror]

Big ugh here, ds has about $200 more in auto expenses for his old car, camp fees due for Scouts and a trip to the city on Friday. On the plus we did taxes and that looks good, even though we increased our deductions. We were really hoping to get further ahead with our savings but it is what it is, thank goodness we're watching our other spending and hopefully next month is better.

[Deee]

YNAB is shining a very harsh light on my grocery spending (is it unreasonable that I am miffed that one skinny man and one skinny man-child can eat so much?). Beans on toast and rationed toilet paper until Sunday (although that may not be a good combo). And I'm staying well away from that minimalist thread of Hunter's!

 

Seriously, though, apart from groceries, we are on budget. I have half of next month already covered. I'm enjoying it. Its quite empowering.

[MomtoCandJ]

That's what I've been doing for a dress for Dd. She and Dh have a father-daughter dance in February, so I've asked around. Several have been offered, Dd just needs to try them on.

We found one, borrowing one from one of her classmates. All the other days we have covered (nerd, sports, Camo/animal print and PJ). They are having etiquette classes and a little dance on Formal day

[Soror]

YNAB is shining a very harsh light on my grocery spending (is it unreasonable that I am miffed that one skinny man and one skinny man-child can eat so much?). Beans on toast and rationed toilet paper until Sunday (although that may not be a good combo). And I'm staying well away from that minimalist thread of Hunter's!

 

Seriously, though, apart from groceries, we are on budget. I have half of next month already covered. I'm enjoying it. Its quite empowering.

I hear ya, my ds is a small kid and eats as much as dh and I. I guess we should be thankful they are such good eaters.

[readinmom]

This is going to be a painful spending week.  We need a new vacuum.  

We will probably order a washer/dryer tomorrow.  

Dd's tuition bill is due for 2nd semester.  

 

A serious hit to the bank account.  

We'll have to make some serious cutbacks to offset the spending.  

 

 

[LucyStoner]

$6 and change at the dollar store for school supply type things.

 

It is looking like my son's party will be at the swimming pool. That's $155. I will bake a cake, which will mean some supplies but overall not much. I am thinking of serving lemonade, iced tea and snacks. There will be a lot of parents hanging around I am sure so I want to have something kids will eat but adults will enjoy. Maybe wrap sandwiches, I can make those at home and take them.

[sunflowerlady]

I am considering the need to get my dd a cell phone. She will be 16 in April so it could be an early birthday gift. We are getting to the point that she is off doing things away from home more often and I want her to have a phone.  

 

Thinking it through here a little bit- Dh has a Tracfone flipphone-I have a Tracfone android smart phone. I usually let dd take my phone if it is in the evening and dh and I are out and about together and dd is somewhere else. Then she can contact us on his phone. If it is during the day and I am home and dh is at work she has my phone and can call me at home.

 

I can get one for a hundred dollars that includes 1200 minutes,1200 texts and a certain amount of data. It is the same as the one I have. 

 

I think I might do it. I will get my phone back then. :)

[prairiewindmomma]

purchases so far this week:

garment steamer--arriving today from amazon

birthday present--the "fun" one is on the way from amazon, the rest of the presents for child are filling specific needs (still in the works)

 

purchases I still need to make:

silver dress shoes for dd

toner for printer

new exterior lights for house (they literally fell apart, sigh)

 

[Annie G]

We need printer paper, which is pretty inexpensive.  Back when we volunteered for a theater group our kids were part of, we used our printer at home to do a lot of the work. They gave us ink and paper, but the paper was the long legal size, and it's been in our cabinet for about 4 years, unused. I grabbed some of it, and with my trusty rotary blade, mat, and ruler, cut it to the right size.  So far I've cut about 100 sheets, which will last us several months.  Dh thinks I'm crazy, but we needed paper and we're not ever going to use the legal size...so I solved both problems. Done. And free.  Five minutes of my time.

 

Happily, I save old rotary cutter blades for cutting paper so I didn't ruin one of my good blades. 

[Soror]

Well, dh's work boots officially fell apart, so there is $200, the good news is that he will keep them 2+ years. Cheap boots are not an option, he needs thick cushion for standing on concrete, waterproof to protect from chemicals and steel toe to protect from equipment. We've tried cheaper and in the end they don't work as well and we end up paying more as we have to replace them so much.

 

So-

$200 - Scout camp

$200- boots

$13- cup and mouth guard for sparring- we bought these new :)

50c- gumballs :)

$200+ car repairs

 

Any extra money from this week is officially gone  :(

 

I'm trying to plan our trip on Friday on the cheap, dh is doing some work on his car to get it ready for the longer trip. Perhaps we should pack lunch? I'd like to do something a little special with ds as a treat for finishing his Cogmed and the girls have requested something from the GF bakery since we don't have one here. I'd love to go rockclimbing. I don't know I might use some of my personal funds and pack a lunch to save money there.

[Annie G]

 

 

I'm trying to plan our trip on Friday on the cheap, dh is doing some work on his car to get it ready for the longer trip. Perhaps we should pack lunch? I'd like to do something a little special with ds as a treat for finishing his Cogmed and the girls have requested something from the GF bakery since we don't have one here. I'd love to go rockclimbing. I don't know I might use some of my personal funds and pack a lunch to save money there.

 

Doing something special to celebrate finishing Cogmed seems like a great idea, and you're doing it mindfully by considering packing a lunch.  With no GF bakery nearby, a trip to one sounds like a reasonable splurge. 

 

You've had quite an expensive week! I'm not sure which I'd rather have- some unexpected expense popping up every week or one horribly expensive week every once in a while.  I think the latter, but I might be a weirdo. 

[sunflowerlady]

So I went ahead and ordered the phone for dd. I ordered one for dh too since he has expressed interest in getting a smartphone. They will be early birthday presents for dd and dh. 

 

Two smartphones with 1200 minutes 1200 texts and data- $211.92

 

 

[Soror]

Doing something special to celebrate finishing Cogmed seems like a great idea, and you're doing it mindfully by considering packing a lunch.  With no GF bakery nearby, a trip to one sounds like a reasonable splurge. 

 

You've had quite an expensive week! I'm not sure which I'd rather have- some unexpected expense popping up every week or one horribly expensive week every once in a while.  I think the latter, but I might be a weirdo. 

Thanks for your thoughts. I am trying to be mindful, I can tend to be too zealous at restricting at times and also too loose at others, so I'm trying to think of a middle ground. It is really special for us to have that one on one time but maybe instead of rock-climbing we could visit a special attraction that is free, I don't know I think we'd prefer rock climbing. At the bakery I can just pick out one thing for them to share instead of packs of cookies and cupcakes for each one individually, I think I can do it in $10. 

 

I think I'd rather not have the expenses period but I guess that is life? Thankfully dh has an extra check this month and has been working extra, here's hoping next month is better, surely, right? Our budget this month is pushing 2x as much as usual and 1/4 of that has been various kid expenses, which will thankfully be much less this month. The auto expenses we had been putting off but it had come to the point that we needed to take care of it before it was unsafe or led to worse problems, dh's car is 21 years old, so it is expected.

[prairiewindmomma]

We've had an expensive week too...non-optional medical stuff that is $$$.  I ended up combining my need to minimize belongings with my need for cash.  I sold  a bunch of furniture and stuff that's not going to make the move. Rather than being able to put that money to a new couch as I had hoped, it's covering some of the gap.  

 

Our snowblower has also died. Rather than replacing it, we bought another shovel.

[BarbecueMom]

I bought McDonalds ($15) yesterday because we're at the point of "cook from scratch or starve" because we're down to ingredients, and we were running short on time. Ick.

 

Finally got my hands on the Thug Kitchen book and want to cook all the things! It is going to require me to buy a few ingredients I don't normally have in the house. Specifically something for anxiety and noise-canceling headphones. My mother *says* she's fine with cooking something for herself if she doesn't like what I make, but what actually comes out of her mouth is a lot of huffing and, "Why don't you make normal food?" and, "I don't know what to eat! What should I eat? I know you have kids yelling and helping but someone please tell me what to eat! Oh ew I can smell peppers, I can't eat now!" I've been snarking and snapping too much lately over that kind of stuff.

 

DS6 needs (okay, wants) a sushi mat, DS1 really needs a new car seat, DH needs an inversion table, I need a ton of dental work, and the cat just started pretending the carpet is a litter box so she needs a trip to the vet. Oh well, we did okay this month. Next month may be expensive.

[73349]

I bought printer paper, because we were completely out. The good thing about that is I went to a store (where I bought only the paper) instead of Amazon (where I would ask myself what else I wanted).

[LucyStoner]

I spent $59 on Beast academy 4B and 4A. My son doesn't need them but he wants them anyways and 3A-4A are proving helpful for my 3rd grade nephew and a little girl I tutor sometimes. Also, I can keep them for my little guy in a couple few years. So I decided why not. When a kid wants a math book, you try to say yes. My son is somewhat asynchronous in math, so if this is a fun way to reinforce concepts/provide review, I'll go for it. Still, he's doing great with AOPS and Lials so I think it's a rather silly expenditure.

[Hikin' Mama]

Well, I caved and bought Lion Brand coffee from Hawaii. While coffee is a necessary purchase in this house (if my family members want to enjoy their lives, I must have coffee), having it shipped from Hawaii is not. But, but, but, I bought it on a special: buy 4, get 2 free. Also, what I really want to do is GO to Hawaii. So see, I'm saving money and jet fuel by just ordering the coffee. (Justify much? Ha ha!) Can't wait for my shipment to arrive!

[sunflowerlady]

Oh dear, I do not need to go be checking out yummy coffees online. Coffee time in the morning is my favorite time of day. I can see myself being very tempted.

 

OK, we have a habit of spending money on eating out. I need to work on that. Maybe limit it to a couple of times per month.

[BarbecueMom]

$2.50 at a new local donut shop this morning as a surprise treat for the kids. And $16 at Trader Joes for smoked paprika and some veggies to hold us over until I can get to Costco and Aldi. Between the Super Bowl and potential snow, I'm not sure I'm ready to brave the stores, although I need to come up with enough canned goods to pay off my library fines tomorrow.

 

Browsed a couple second hand stores, but didn't buy anything.

[prairiewindmomma]

Uh, Talenti gelato called my name and I answered.... $20 to stock my freezer...