My challenge for Feb: I'd like to see how many days I can go with zero spending. I know that I have to renew my gym membership on Feb 15, so I have planned for that and am omitting it from consideration. But other than that: my house is full of food, the gas tank is full, and I have no spendy social obligations for the next few weeks.
And when I do have to spend, I'll attempt to scrounge up some petty cash to cover it (e.g. a jar of coins, get bottle deposit refunds, etc.). [No side gig here.]
So here goes:
Feb 1. $0
Feb 2. $0
Feb 3. $0
Feb 4. $0
Feb 5. $71.48 (40 for daughter, 31 for baby gifts)
Feb 6. $0
Feb 7. $3 drink at intermission for daughter
Feb 8. $0
Feb 9. $0
Feb 10. $0
Feb 11. $25 school fee for daughter (field trip)
Feb 12. $0
Feb 13. $0
Feb 14. $0
Feb 15. $45 on two theatre tickets and parking
Feb 16. $48 dinner out with daughter
Feb 17. $0
Feb 18. $0
Feb 19. $105 charitable contribution (planned)
Feb 20.
-$154 !! rolled coins! deposited coins in bank!
Feb 21. $38 dinner out with friends
Feb 22. $12 groceries, $6 household supplies and...
$27 for more goddamn baby gifts!
Feb 27. $35 gas. First fill-up of the month! hot damn I lasted a full four weeks on a single tank.
Feb 27. $88 groceries
Feb 27. $17 household supplies (shampoo, conditioner, kleenex)
Feb 24-29. $20 for parking, various places and times.
Running Total: $541 -$154 (coins) =$387.Wrapping up frugal February:My total discretionary spending is not tiny: $541. But this thread helped me to focus my spending on the experiences that are important to me: outings with friends or daughter, tickets to arts events, and a charitable contribution. Outside of those categories I spent very little. And I also added to the coffers by rolling $154 worth of coins -- Yay!
Lesson learned: I spend too readily on unnecessary gifts. There are a couple of new babies in my extended family; I already bought baby gifts in Dec, and again in early Feb, and then again in late Feb! This is simply unnecessary. So I'm adding a page in my spreadsheet to plan and budget for gifts. I forgot to return the last set of gifts (See Feb22 entry above) -- but reviewing this thread reminded me that I still have to do that. I think I will have time to do it tomorrow.
I ended the month with a major grocery shopping spree. But overall my grocery spending ($100 for Feb) is way below budget and my restaurant spending outside of planned social events was zero (so, no coffees, lunches out or snacks). And my fridge is well stocked with fresh food for the next two weeks. So I'm off to a good start for a Miserly March!
I'm happy to have participated in this challenge! Thanks all.
