Nothing New/Mindful Spending Week 40-something

[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. 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!

Sorry about that title! I don't know why by My Content hasn't showed my posts since October. i think it's week 46, but I can't llok at last week's any more and I'm too lazy to go figure it out.

 

Things I spent money on: I finished buying a photo gift from Shutterfly for each of the kids in my photography class at co-op, most were magnets, a couple were mousepads. Also had prints made of each student's 3 nice photos, to make into an art sheet with their name. We had an art show the last day and I was just overjoyed at the responses from the parent's and kids. So much fun!

 

I also bought a few more crafts supplies for the craft day thing at co-op and will do so again now that people have been signing up. It's interesting that one of my last-minute additions is turning out to be a popular choice. It's a miniature Christmas Tree made from a pinecone. There are already 12 kids signed up to do this craft.

 

Mt kids all need haircuts in the worst way! I have been too busy to get it together and make that happen.

 

I meant to pack two Operation Christmas Child boxes, as we have done in years past, but honestly, It just is not happening this year. I didn't have a good opportunity to go shopping for the things, forgot to get the tags, don't have the boxes and am supposed to turn them in to church tomorrow. :/

 

Downloaded the fifth Percy Jackson book last night for DS, so we can continue uninterupted.

 

How is everyone else doing?

[Annie G]

Arrived home from a funeral Monday night and haven't spent any money since except on food. We really stock up this time of year so it was a higher spend week food wise but I stock up on things to use through the winter. 

 

Every year I maintain a list of expected expenses- I go ahead and budget for birthdays, insurance premiums, gym memberships, etc.  Stuff that only gets paid once or twice a year. I put the money aside, mark my list 'money set aside' and then it's there. I delight in seeing how far ahead I can get it saved- and to that end, I budgeted Christmas and have had that money put aside for months. But here it is a month away and I haven't bought the first gift. Haven't even thought about it.  You'd think that having the money put aside would encourage me to get it done. Nope.  I simply cannot get excited about gift giving.  

 

I think I need to spend some time on Amazon and just pick stuff and ship it.  But my year long mindful spending habit has left me with no real desire to buy stuff.  It would help if my gift recipients actually needed stuff. But they don't. 

 

I'm done complaining now.  And actually I'm really happy- it's been a really good week!

[Annie G]

So...with our months of mindful spending under our belts, is anyone else revisiting holiday traditions/spending habits and making any changes? 

 

Some things here are nonnegotiable. Our annual day in Chicago to go to the Christkindlmarket , a museum, and dinner out are things I won't scrimp on.  But I'm cutting back on excessive holiday baking and spreading it our between now and New Year's and asking family members what specific things they really want.  

 

Are you guys making any changes or are you already comfortable with your holiday spending?

[Guest]

So...with our months of mindful spending under our belts, is anyone else revisiting holiday traditions/spending habits and making any changes?

 

Some things here are nonnegotiable. Our annual day in Chicago to go to the Christkindlmarket , a museum, and dinner out are things I won't scrimp on. But I'm cutting back on excessive holiday baking and spreading it our between now and New Year's and asking family members what specific things they really want.

 

Are you guys making any changes or are you already comfortable with your holiday spending?

I am changing a little bit, but it has more to do with my trash reduction goals than the mindful spending, although it helps the spending, too. I decided last year that I have an absurd amount of gift-wrapping paraphenalia, and most of it is "trashy." So, no new paper or tags. No new gift bags or boxes; I already have a bazillion. What happens most years is that I get absorbed in all the cute Target gift wrap and want to get wrap in a theme or color family. But the outgrowth of this is that I have enough half-rolls (and some spankin' new, never-opened rolls) and miscellaneous sheets with ten remaining gift tags that were not my favorites, and so on, heaped up waiting to be used. So, no new stuff in this category.

 

Also, I don't have such an enormous amount of gifts to buy. We don't exchange gifts on DH's side anymore; we used to do a name-draw thing for the kids but we stopped doing that too. So we will do something for MIL, but it may even be tickets to a show or something similar; she doesn't need or want any physical stuff.

 

In my extended family, we have just been exchanging between the family sets, rather than individuals, so that is easy.

 

There was recently a post a Project 333 about no-spend/binge buying Black Friday and alternative ways to think about black Friday. I thought it was an interesting post, although it seems meant more for the 20-something crowd and not as much for moms. Still interesting, though, about not buying just because, "Oooh! Look what a deal!" Which is a point of view I much agree with.

[SKL]

I think I have decided to forego the "put your kids' art on a gift" fundraiser since I am over a week late submitting my order now.  I don't know how much $ that saved me.  :)  I am also saving the cost of the Christmas horse parade, since we will be out of town spending money at Disneyland etc. next weekend.  :P

 

I did order the nuts, $469 of which maybe $100 will be reimbursed to me.  A necessary evil.  ;)  At least the products are tasty.

 

This week I will have to push the Amazon button on Christmas gifts, my niece's and daughter's birthday gifts, and some books for my book-a-holic.  I don't know how much that will add up to, but hey, it's Christmas.

 

We are also getting some finishing touches done on the house.  We are paying a guy to do some work since we don't have time.  We also had the maids come an extra time to help get the house ready for a houseguest.

 

I had my sister take the kids this weekend, as they have been dying to get together.  I will pay my sister something since she needs the money.

 

And the trip to Las Vegas, Grand Canyon and Disneyland is coming up this week.  Not sure how much that will hit me, but I'm pretty sure it won't be cheap.  :P  (Though Vegas tends to be a cheap place to stay.  It's Disneyland that will bust the budget.  It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing though.  I don't plan on ever going back with the kids.)  And I am saving the money I would have spent on the Thanksgiving wine for the extended family dinner.  So that's a wash, right?  Uh, probably not.

[Annie G]

Gift giving has been greatly pared down in recent years. I usually get badgered to make a Shutterfly calendar for my dad but no siblings have sent me any pictures this year so I'm sending him some pistachios and calling it a day. I love sending pistachios because they play pool or corn hole and eat pistachios. The kids, grandkids, and great grandkids all associate pistachios with my mom and dad's house. So that's cool. 

 

My inlaws- not my problem. Dh has no ideas and probably won't send them anything other than a card. They need nothing and don't even open/use gifts we've sent them in the past. 

 

I buy a few things for the kids who still live with us and they really like to unwrap things, as does dh. I really wish I would just make fabric bags to reuse year after year but they wouldn't like that so much and since it's just a few gifts, I guess I can deal with it. 

 

Thanks for the heads up about the Project 333 blog post- I have a certain 20 something dd who needs to read it...and embrace it.  Off to go read it. 

[SKL]

Oh, did I forget to mention that I had to replace my computer that I just bought last week?  That was fun.  I had to pay over $100 for the difference on the new computer.  Company expense, but still.  Frustrating.

[Desert Strawberry]

I went to Ikea yesterday. I needed hangers and some more toy boxes. I got a few other items, too, and we had lunch. All told, not including gas (under $30), I spent $50. 

Then we went to the mall, just to check it out, because I have not been. It's huge, and opulent. Aquarium, carousel, very nice food court, arcade, Rainforest Cafe, movie theater, toy store. I might not go back for fear of being a ton of cash. I spent $3 on much needed jewelry.

 

Most of my purchases will pay for themselves in the long run. Tea towels for raising dough, 2 for 79 cents each, a hanger thing to dry clothes faster, and the hangers for laundry. I figured out that if I hang clothes to dry on the hangers, they dry faster, I get more on the line (which means I'll need less line at the new house), and I save time and energy by not having to hang everything twice.

[Desert Strawberry]

So...with our months of mindful spending under our belts, is anyone else revisiting holiday traditions/spending habits and making any changes? 

 

Some things here are nonnegotiable. Our annual day in Chicago to go to the Christkindlmarket , a museum, and dinner out are things I won't scrimp on.  But I'm cutting back on excessive holiday baking and spreading it our between now and New Year's and asking family members what specific things they really want.  

 

Are you guys making any changes or are you already comfortable with your holiday spending?

Unfortunately, it seems being tight at Christmas is nothing new for us. We aren't necessarily spending less, because we never spend a lot. This year, we are stocking up on used gifts, reducing the number of gifts, and giving edible treats. I think we will likely spend something like$15 per kid. 

We need a new tree, and I'm splurging on dollar store ornaments-the super glittery ones. 

Our main gift will be our new house.

[Hikin' Mama]

This was last weekend, but I went to visit my son in college. Dd went with me. There was extra gas expense, one breakfast out, and a cheap hotel. My son does have his own apartment, but it's a studio and we could have stayed there, but I decided I would rather give him his space. Also, my sleep patterns ( menopausal woman) are different than his, so when I wake up at 4 a.m. it is kinda hard not to wake him up. We went there a couple nights and made dinner. We also went to campus and played pool and went bowling. My dd and I drove to the coast on Friday while poor son was in class and working on his group project. We visited lighthouses and walked the beach, so minimal $ there.

 

Christmas will he about the same. Dh and I have never done Christmas gifts for each other; it's just not that important to us. My parents, brother, and I quit exchanging gifts a long time ago. Again, getting gifts isn't our love language, I guess, and we all have what we need. There are always people who need help at the holidays, so we do that instead. I am so happy with that arrangement. I already bought ds and ddil a vacuum, which is what they wanted and needed. Dd gets to go on a trip with us in January and is taking her best friend, who is like my second dd. That is her Christmas gift. My middle son will not tell me anything he wants. He has done this every year of college (this is his third year), because we are helping him with school and he insists he wants nothing else. I'm going to pin him down at Thanksgiving. :) So I only have my grandkids to buy for. I am ordering that on Amazon, because I can have it shipped free to them, and I'm going to wait for Cyber Monday in case there is a deal.

 

Also took the cat in this week for her shots. Although, I consider that regular spending, because in my mind it is maintenance. Bought a hard rubber bone for the dogs.

 

I have scored 3 free turkeys in the last 3 weeks. My grocery store gives a free turkey with $100 purchase, and you can include the price of the turkey in the 100. I've bought groceries twice and dh bought turkeys and hams for our employees, so he got one too. We love turkey here!

[Deee]

No Christmas prep is allowed here until DS14 and I have had birthdays like everyone else. Which means all decorating, buying and wrapping have to happen after the 14th. Luckily, we have a small family.....

D

[Annie G]

No Christmas prep is allowed here until DS14 and I have had birthdays like everyone else. Which means all decorating, buying and wrapping have to happen after the 14th. Luckily, we have a small family.....

D

 

I've been unknowingly honoring that tradition on your behalf. g  I rarely get around to that until the week before Christmas.  We often try to set the tree up on Thanksgiving weekend but it usually gets assembled...and then sits bare until a week before Christmas.  

 

Do you leave your tree up until New Year's or Epiphany? I'm awful- once Christmas is done, I am ready for the tree to be down. 

 

Hope you and ds have a great birthday!

[La Condessa]

I'm really trying to keep the holidays to a strict budget this year.  I've done really well this month with keeping our food spending in-budget, despite Thanksgiving.  (I was hoping to stock up on frozen turkeys, though, but our grocery spending was low enough I've only been able to get one extra.)  For Christmas, I've already got the main course in the freezer, because our local grocery store had a great sale on meat.  We live rurally, and here we can pay $5 for a permit to go cut a Christmas tree out in the woods.  Decorations won't cost anything, between what we've got and homemade things, like popcorn garlands.  Gifts are what I am really working on right now. 

 

I knew what my dh really wanted, a shiny technology we can't afford, but I squeezed about 1/3 of the cost out of the gas budget, found a used one on ebay, and split the cost of it with my in-laws for him.  For the kids, I'm trying to do "something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read". 

I am making them each a big comfy floor pillow for the "need", and sewing each of them something to wear.  The things to wear will be almost free, because I am upcycling other items or using fabric from my stash, but the floor pillows will have some expense for the materials.  I am waiting for the sale next weekend before buying the minky fabric for those.  I am making a romper for my youngest son out of a sweater that didn't fit me and some pjs that were too small for him, and it's turning out super cute.  That will cost a spool of thread and some buttons.  For my older son, I am making a new bathrobe.  I had a couple of nice dark green towels that got bleach spattered on them, so I am using them to make a spotted stegosaurus robe, with spikes from an old yellow towel going up the back and hood and a tail behind.  I have plans for a couple of really cute outfits for my girls from my stash fabric, but I am worried about running out of time before Christmas, so I am going to make the tops first and just give those if I don't have time to sew the courderoys to go with them.

 

I have a copy of Ferdinand the Bull I bought for my older son last month for $3, and a nice hardbound used copy of Swan Lake for my younger daughter yesterday for $5.  I decided to use the copy of Black Ships Before Troy I was saving for next semester's schooling to give to my oldest daughter for her book, so I just need to get a book for my little boy.  So, I still need to figure out the "something you want" category.  I have $50 set aside for this.  I want to get some nice farm animals for my youngest son, and I'm not sure, maybe some toy whales for my older son.  My girls have american girl dolls, so there are lots of options there for things I could make for them, but I am worried about time.  I'm not sure what I could buy for them that they would really want.  Dd2 especially loves legos, too, so those are always appreciated, but they are also expensive.

[Hikin' Mama]

I'm really trying to keep the holidays to a strict budget this year. I've done really well this month with keeping our food spending in-budget, despite Thanksgiving. (I was hoping to stock up on frozen turkeys, though, but our grocery spending was low enough I've only been able to get one extra.) For Christmas, I've already got the main course in the freezer, because our local grocery store had a great sale on meat. We live rurally, and here we can pay $5 for a permit to go cut a Christmas tree out in the woods. Decorations won't cost anything, between what we've got and homemade things, like popcorn garlands. Gifts are what I am really working on right now.

 

I knew what my dh really wanted, a shiny technology we can't afford, but I squeezed about 1/3 of the cost out of the gas budget, found a used one on ebay, and split the cost of it with my in-laws for him. For the kids, I'm trying to do "something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read".

I am making them each a big comfy floor pillow for the "need", and sewing each of them something to wear. The things to wear will be almost free, because I am upcycling other items or using fabric from my stash, but the floor pillows will have some expense for the materials. I am waiting for the sale next weekend before buying the minky fabric for those. I am making a romper for my youngest son out of a sweater that didn't fit me and some pjs that were too small for him, and it's turning out super cute. That will cost a spool of thread and some buttons. For my older son, I am making a new bathrobe. I had a couple of nice dark green towels that got bleach spattered on them, so I am using them to make a spotted stegosaurus robe, with spikes from an old yellow towel going up the back and hood and a tail behind. I have plans for a couple of really cute outfits for my girls from my stash fabric, but I am worried about running out of time before Christmas, so I am going to make the tops first and just give those if I don't have time to sew the courderoys to go with them.

 

I have a copy of Ferdinand the Bull I bought for my older son last month for $3, and a nice hardbound used copy of Swan Lake for my younger daughter yesterday for $5. I decided to use the copy of Black Ships Before Troy I was saving for next semester's schooling to give to my oldest daughter for her book, so I just need to get a book for my little boy. So, I still need to figure out the "something you want" category. I have $50 set aside for this. I want to get some nice farm animals for my youngest son, and I'm not sure, maybe some toy whales for my older son. My girls have american girl dolls, so there are lots of options there for things I could make for them, but I am worried about time. I'm not sure what I could buy for them that they would really want. Dd2 especially loves legos, too, so those are always appreciated, but they are also expensive.

I admire your creativity! The things you're making for your kids sound really awesome!

[Jane in NC]

Hi everyone.

 

I have enjoyed reading your updates while off on adventures--and picking up the pieces after our return.

 

We are hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year but my sister in law is bringing most of the menu.  I think she is grateful that someone else is cooking the turkey/dressing/gravy.

 

Clearly a glance at the calendar indicates what time of year it is, but I was not prepared to see the Christmas ads flashing from the screen on the airplane or for discussions of Black Friday sales.  I normally have several gifts sewn or knitted by now.  This year? Zip.

 

Sigh.

 

It will also magically come together as it always does.  At the moment I am just grateful that my dear son is home for Thanksgiving!

 

 

[MomtoCandJ]

Dd1's birthday is Thanksgiving day and we just got back from my mom's. We are done spending on anything besides necessities until Christmas (though I still need to check with dh about Black Friday)