Ginevra Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 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! Forgive me, boardies, for I have sinned. I binge-bought clothing, at retail. Also yarn and a sock loom. Somebody spank me. The longer version of the clothing binge was this: I needed to buy trousers for the funeral I was attending. I haven't had new dressy slacks for several years and I was considering getting a shirt or two as well. Went to Talbots and found the *perfect* pair of black slacks that fit me like they were custom tailored. So, yes. But look! This shirt also goes! And this shirt, too! But while I am at it, this is a nice pair of navy shorts for summer. And I need a belt for the trousers. DD also pointed out a grey scarf with owls printed on it - I love owls! And grey! And it goes with the shirt and trousers (and belt) for the funeral. I will look simply dashing...as I cry my eyes out for this poor family who lost their son. :( Anyway...maybe it was just stress relief. I'm going with that. Although that doesn't really excuse the additional skeins of yarn I just bought. *blush* DD is doing training for a Newborn Care Consultant job, so...voila! Some more babies for whom I can knit hats! :D I'm ridiculous, I know. She ordered some books on my Amazon that she needs for the class and all I can think is, "Oh, man, now Amazon is profiling me as having another baby!" :D 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 I had to place an Amazon order for vitamins, and there were a couple books in there too. I also started filling my cart again - Miss E says she needs bigger shoes *again* and I found some nice school sweaters for next school year. I also had a bunch of purchases over the past week that I already mentioned on the last thread. I decided to buy hot lunches for the rest of the school year, because I'm sick of packing them in the morning rush. It's only 6 more days! I bought my kids flowers for after their show last night. Totally silly and more than I expected it to cost! But oh well. I also bought my mom an Amazon gift card for her birthday. This week I have to buy some candle wax for a scout project. They assume people just have old half-burned candles around the house, but we don't.... Skipped horse riding again today. I just didn't want to rush around this morning after a late night. It's been so long since they went riding, I think I've saved like $500 just from that. :P Can't think of anything else off hand. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artichoke Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 I'm glad to see the thread this week. I'm struggling to not buy new deck furniture to go with our new hot tub. The hot tub was a planned purchase in January -- waited to get a super great deal -- and was just delivered two weeks ago. We had to build a deck extension so now I want to fill it up with pretty furniture, flowers, and other trinkets. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 I'm glad to see the thread this week. I'm struggling to not buy new deck furniture to go with our new hot tub. The hot tub was a planned purchase in January -- waited to get a super great deal -- and was just delivered two weeks ago. We had to build a deck extension so now I want to fill it up with pretty furniture, flowers, and other trinkets. I'd totally be buying furniture, flowers, and stuff. It's like Give a Mouse a Cookie. If you get a new hot tub, you're going to need a larger deck. If you get a larger deck, you're going to need furniture. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbecueMom Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 Spent a lot of money this week working on the house. The painting and floor prep is done! Tomorrow I finish putting the hall and living room floors in (vinyl plank). The old, nasty carpet was a major source of allergy problems. Plus, it just looked awful. DH and I sat down and made a spreadsheet of all the house projects and sorted then by priority. High priority = health/safety, medium = maintenance/efficiency, low = cosmetic/Pinterest and HGTV. I'm hoping this helps keep the unnecessary projects from sucking the house budget dry before we can get to the urgent stuff. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artichoke Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 I'd totally be buying furniture, flowers, and stuff. It's like Give a Mouse a Cookie. If you get a new hot tub, you're going to need a larger deck. If you get a larger deck, you're going to need furniture. Exactly! Hence the need to confess and hopefully hold strong :crying: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 I have been doing pretty good, I needed shoes and a shirt to go see a play and only spent $35 total. I signed DS up for a summer cartooning class I was not planning, but it was a good deal for 2 weeks, and he needs some opportunities to be social this summer. I REALLY want new patio furniture, but I just bought DD a new dresser and cute knobs so the furniture will have to wait. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Good week here. Almost all spending was house based and planned. Bought the annuals I needed for my planters and bought paint and brushes for my current project of scraping, sanding, reglazing, priming, and painting the outside trim on the downstairs windows. I finished two this week and also redid the trim around our back door. It was a LOT of work and took almost all week (135 years of paint!). Guys, there are 33 windows on this house, more than half are upstairs so no way can I reach those. I am never going to finish this project. But it feels SO GOOD to get at least some of it done. All of the windows have removable storm windows...so I need to do those, too. (See the above comment about never finishing this project) Other than that, the only non grocery spending was today when dh and I took a little road trip and ended up eating lunch at one of our favorite places. It's a restaurant that's attached to a cheese factory (creamery) and for $21 we had lunch for two and brought home a pound and a half of their cheese. Worth it. Barbecue Mom, I totally relate to your spreadsheet. We've had one forever and things seem to get added faster than we're able to check off existing projects. I don't even know how I would live in a new house without a ton of reno projects to do. Old houses aren't for everyone but we sure have enjoyed it. But man, is it a money pit. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 One unplanned gift expense when I saw the perfect item to send to a friend's daughter who had reason to celebrate. Having an extra hour on my hands one day lead to the disappearance of big bucks. I buy my bras from a bra shop which also sells bathing suits by cup size. I love this place because one is professionally fitted. They even do alterations on bras and swimwear if needed. It had occurred to me a few weeks ago that having a second sports bra would be nice--and it was also time to replace one of my underwires. Stepping into the shop, I saw a tankini that I liked. I swim a lot in the summer and it has been several years since I have purchased a new suit so I impulsively dove in. Last fall I bought one of those long sleeve swim shirts with sun protection for kayaking and other water activities. Looks like I'm ready for summer! Those of you who don't sew or knit might want to skip the rest of this. Those of you who craft and have stashes will understand. Earlier in the year, I picked up a lovely piece of cotton knit fabric. Nice knits are hard to find but I don't have a lot of experience sewing knits. Every time I work with a knit, I think "Wow, I like sewing knits!" In some respects they are easier to sew than wovens since they don't ravel but because of the stretch they do require a few different treatments (like stretching one piece while sewing it to another). Before working with my beautiful knit, I decided to make a mockup. I had in my stash a piece of knit that I found at a thrift shop for $3 as well as a basic knit shirt pattern also from a thrift shop for which I paid 50 cents. The shirt came together fairly well (one tricky spot) which leads to the question of Why Do I Shy Away from Sewing Knits? I actually have enough of the thrift shop knit left to make a second shirt (different neckline) before sewing up gorgeous knit. Two shirts for $3.50 plus the cost of thread (which is not cheap these days). More importantly though I am gaining greater confidence in sewing knits. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knoxinsox Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 (edited) The spending must be a kind of virus going around. I kind of made up this week for all my weeks of not spending....lest you think I am some paragon of virtue. Got the car registered finally. Paid off a bill that has been causing me anxiety. Felt so good at the 2 above items, that I spent $125 on Amazon using my Amazon giftcards that I had saved up. Bought birthday presents, new summer sandals, a package of wool socks, a hanging sock drying thingie, and a 36 pack of Prismacolor pencils (thanks to whoever mentioned it on the forum--but I got them for $29). Very random, all stuff thats been in my cart for a while, also "free" but it still feels like spending. Still felt really good, so I went to Aldi and stocked the pantry, fridge and freezer for the next couple of weeks. $223. Rewarded the kids for helping at Aldi, and pushing the 2nd cart. Chickfila $16. You would think that would be it, right? Oh no. We are on a roll!! Mama took the kids yard saling this morning. They were up at 6:30!!!! I started 2 houses down with a scooter, a grill, a stone flower pot. Feeling like that was a good start, we set everything on the front porch and kept going. Ya'll...I knocked so much off my yard sale list that I had to stop at Walgreens and get MORE CASH to go back. Jeans, house decor, a nice bookcase, art supplies for the kids, and the reason to go back with more cash---a Bernina serger for $40. Seriously. I've been looking for a serger for a long time--I felt good getting this one because of the brand and also my dad fixes commercial sewing machines so he's available to help me with repairs if needed. Also hit up the local farmers market and bought a shampoo bar. $5. Anyway, I have a full fridge, a clean house since we had company for supper tonight, a car that is legal to take on the road, and a serger. Feeling rich. Also feeling like I spent so much. My wash machine went out this week--stopped spinning--so we need to look at either fixing it or getting another used one. Good thing, it went out on the last load of 6. We can make it another week or so without washing. Edited May 22, 2016 by knoxinsox 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Knox-- a Bernina serger for $40? What a score! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knoxinsox Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Knox-- a Bernina serger for $40? What a score! Yes!! Such a score....its like a once in 20 years kind of score!! The last time I had such good luck with yard sales all in one day was in 1999 and I came home with a statue of Beethoven. Anyway, marking the serger off the list was huge--its been on there for many years. I've been doing some online classes on Etsy selling, etc in prep for launching a part time home business and really needed a serger to do the things I want to do. My dad told me I "stole" it. It really just felt like an answer to prayer. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie~Phlox Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Ok, the bleeding can stop now. Just graduated dd yesterday & had her open house. Sent out 85 invites & had a wonderful turnout. We spent about $350 on food & decorations & graduation. Some leftovers, but not a ton. Very thankful for friends & family, she got about $1400 & $90 in various gift cards. I'm ready to stop all the extra spending though. On a plus side, I made decorations that a few other people might use for a small fee, so I ca recoup a little money. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 I just signed my kids up for basketball lessons this summer. (I asked them first. They don't have any basketball experience and want to play school sports next year.) $47 per kid at the rec center. I think the rec center programs are pretty reasonable around here. Last night I looked into "real" golf lessons at a nearby course affiliated with the rec center. They don't sound bad actually (though I'd have to buy clubs). Maybe next year (or so) I will sign up for group lessons for the 3 of us. Is that crazy? They have a deal where you pay a price for 1 person and then each additional person is just a little bit more. They also have affordable summer "leagues" for beginner kids, but with our travel schedule, we can't do that. Also last night I pushed the button on yet another Amazon order. This was kind of a big one. I had to buy some clothes and shoes for the kids, and some whole food vitamins for me. I also went ahead and ordered the books I think my kids will use next school year, so they can study at home at a reasonable pace. I bought them from resellers, so they were reasonably priced. Now here's hoping the school doesn't change up the curriculum again. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 SKL, check to see if your community has First Tee. This youth golf program is well run and affordable. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 They do have First Tee, and it looks great. But my kids will be out of town for the scramble (among other dates), so it seems that would not be fair to the other participants. Also it is limited to the first 24 kids to sign up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baseball mom Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 Ds graduated this weekend! Spendy week for me too Ds birthday dinner Laundry detergent Bag of almonds Last minute field trip -- gas $ and ate out $ at special place near field trip. But a very good time with a special group of friends Ds a shirt for graduation -- of course will wear it other times too Haircuts for dss & me Can and bottled drinks -- were on sale and I like to have on hand for our picnics and spur of the moment trips Bought dss each a new travel cup Photo printing -- pictures for graduation table & some senior pictures to give out Graduation decorations -- while they were in stores. We are hoping to have a family & close friends for a "graduation party" in a few weeks Food for reception -- everyone brings food for reception after graduation Pizza night before graduation -- because I was busy and stressed and realized it was after supper time and no thought of supper We need to cut out any extra spending for awhile 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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