Uber Frugal February

[couponvan]

I'm out. DH came home with diamond studs....I did say I don't control his spending.

Wow. I'll admit that I'm impressed.

He forgot Valentine's Day....completely.
This is apparently VDay makeup, my birthday, and our anniversary rolled into one.  He did buy them at Costco, so it's possible to return them....Please don't make me.

[Sailor Sam]

I'm out. DH came home with diamond studs....I did say I don't control his spending.

Wow. I'll admit that I'm impressed.

He forgot Valentine's Day....completely.
This is apparently VDay makeup, my birthday, and our anniversary rolled into one.  He did buy them at Costco, so it's possible to return them....Please don't make me.

Shitfire, no! Keep those little buggers.

[swick]

I'm out. DH came home with diamond studs....I did say I don't control his spending.

Wow. I'll admit that I'm impressed.

He forgot Valentine's Day....completely.
This is apparently VDay makeup, my birthday, and our anniversary rolled into one.  He did buy them at Costco, so it's possible to return them....Please don't make me.

Shitfire, no! Keep those little buggers.

Do they make you happy?

Are you going to wear them?

Did DH buying them put you into debt?

Is there anything else that costs that much that would make you happier?

Only you know the answer to those :)


Wins:

Asked if we could have a meeting for my voluteer stuff via video conference saving me a bunch of time and bus fare.

[lemonverbena]

Well, we signed a contract for an $9000 roof yesterday. I'm planning on putting it on an 18 month 0% intro APR credit card. So this is me committing to the next 18 months of UFMs!

[recklesslysober]

Other than groceries being high because of us being sick, and spending birthday money, I'm still on track.

I'm loving being able to make higher student debt payments. I've gone from paying $1,000 principal 6 months ago, to paying $2,000 principal this month. If I keep this up my repayment schedule will be 7 years, probably less, rather than 11 years.

[Road42]

I had a frugal fail today when I bought the cheapest possible LED bulbs to replace the halogen ones that burned out in my daughter's room. Turns out the cheapest ones are half an inch too big to fit into the fixture correctly... so I had to make another trip to the hardware store.

On the plus side, I've been making more and more adventurous food by trying to cook every. single. thing. that comes in our CSA box and using up random ingredients I find in the pantry. All this means that this week's grocery shopping was $24.34 plus $17.75 for the CSA. Today: cranberry chocolate chip pumpkin bread (because I got a giant sack of cranberries in the farm box and found a can of pumpkin stuff on the back of the shelf). I threw on some sugar glaze on top, and will call it DH's birthday cake equivalent.

[frugalkristen]

Pretty good month so far -

1 - $4 (food - 3 "good" frozen pizzas with sale, coupons and Walgreens points), $40 (gas - 1st fill up since Dec 27th!)
2 - $0
3 - $142 (rug - bought a clearance remnant for the bedroom that I've really needed for 2 yrs)
4 - $57.13 (food), $75 (microwave on Craigslist - doesn't fit my space - UGH! - so I'll relist it)
5 - $22 (beer), $34 (paint)
6 - $0
7 - $0

8 - $0
9 - $0
10 - $0
11 - $106 (groceries - including $40 for cat food/litter)
12 - $0
13 - $0
14 - $0

15 - $0
16 - $0

Other highlights -

**Paid an extra $500 on my mortgage  (can't wait to pay that off!)
**Upped my 401K contribution - I can afford it so I took the jump.  I'm not a high earner and recently divorced so it's difficult to be as comfortable with a smaller paycheck but it's working out fine.
**Picked up 5 OT shifts at work this month - a couple already scheduled and a couple for people who called in sick.  Love that boost in my income!

I'm trying to go the rest of the month without spending anything except some paint to finish my living room/dining room.  Shouldn't be too expensive but will increase the value of my house so a win!

[katscratch]

Oh wow, some fantastic updates for halfway through! Nice job everyone!

[PJ]

Yesterday I ate all my meals at home, and DID NOT stop for coffee on the way in to work for an evening meeting even though I really wanted to.

Today I forgot to think about taking a lunch to work, so had to make a run to Tim Horton's mid-day for some food.  And coffee. 

Subconscious?  Maybe.  Delicious?  Definitely.  Though I didn't win on Roll Up the Rim to Win.  Bummer.

Ate at home for breakfast and supper though, and have planned ahead to identify further food to eat over next couple of days.

Also, got another expenses/mileage reimbursement check from work, and even though (because of recent thrift store shopping especially) my bank account is running a little on the low side as I wait for my next paycheque (I only get paid monthly), still I went and put the check directly on my credit card, bypassing my bank account entirely. 

Another evening spent at home with the lights mostly off, candles lit, hanging out on the couch with my laptop.  And a dog to warm my feet, and a cat to warm my side.

[nottoolatetostart]

Other highlights -

**Paid an extra $500 on my mortgage  (can't wait to pay that off!)
**Upped my 401K contribution - I can afford it so I took the jump.  I'm not a high earner and recently divorced so it's difficult to be as comfortable with a smaller paycheck but it's working out fine.
**Picked up 5 OT shifts at work this month - a couple already scheduled and a couple for people who called in sick.  Love that boost in my income!

Seriously impressive!!!! You are doing great!

[nottoolatetostart]

Yesterday I ate all my meals at home, and DID NOT stop for coffee on the way in to work for an evening meeting even though I really wanted to.

Today I forgot to think about taking a lunch to work, so had to make a run to Tim Horton's mid-day for some food.  And coffee. 

Subconscious?  Maybe.  Delicious?  Definitely.  Though I didn't win on Roll Up the Rim to Win.  Bummer.

Ate at home for breakfast and supper though, and have planned ahead to identify further food to eat over next couple of days.

Also, got another expenses/mileage reimbursement check from work, and even though (because of recent thrift store shopping especially) my bank account is running a little on the low side as I wait for my next paycheque (I only get paid monthly), still I went and put the check directly on my credit card, bypassing my bank account entirely. 

Good job on the check going directly to credit card.

That would have been funny if you won the Roll up to the Rim to Win during UFF. So ironic!

[nottoolatetostart]

Glad to see so many back!

I have been thinking a lot about my Feb goals.

Some of them are:
- continue walking to/from kids school and work. We both did it yesterday and have done so for weeks
- no clothes dryer for my needs. DH washes his own clothes but I do the rest (household, my clothes, kids clothes), so this should be quite a bit of saved dryer time
- tackle led situation in kitchen chandelier. In January, I ended up finding some e12 candelabra led's in my storage, so they look ugly but 38% of my chandelier are now on led. I need to get that number to 100% this month (I just dread buying anything). Will check out costco when I go
- keep grocery budget around 300 for our family of 4. Use meat sparingly for taste some nights, using up our pantry, making things from scratch. Last night, I finally made from scratch flour tortillas and they were AMAZING. Made them with tortilla press for first time. Win on learning something new and likely never buying store bought tortillas again
- continue selling stuff on Craigslist/ebay
- don't spend money, be resourceful, check Youtube or google for frugal solution before assuming I need to buy xyz
- keep going on being 1 car family (even though we luxuriously have 2)
- make Valentines for daughter's class using supplies around house
- my planned purchase is to fix imminent curtain rod siutation in living room. I found out I can attach wood dowels ($9 each) to create an extra long 14 ft rod. Will use clips I already own (maybe spray paint so they are all 1 color) and supplement sparingly. Project will be funded solely by a Craigslist sale I made this past weekend but should be around $40 tops (I priced out the west elm solution and it was closer to 300, but so, so pretty....hopefully my tutorial I found online goes simple)
- return target kids clothes purchased in December that I just found with tags on them....ugh
- spend time researching how to reduce water consumption. I did the food coloring in 1 toilet (passed!) and need to check other toilet. Maybe watch videos on conserving water while washing dishes? This water bill ( and the corresponding sewer bill (billed separately really bother me)
- make it to 139 pounds (I am at 141 or so now). Related because if I eat less and move more by walking for free outside, less alcohol too (continuing my January trend)

1 day down, only 27 to go!

While I have accomplished many of my goals here for the month, I still need to lose 2 ish pounds. I did set up a doctor appointment to have my blood work checked in April and it gives me 6 weeks or so to get back on track. We get 100 bucks for me going to do my preventative screen so the $100 motivation helps. I also did a wellness survey for $100 from his employer and my score was 74 (the average for my age group was 39 or so...yikes).

I have sold nothing on Craigslist or ebay. I feel quite lazy but also have not spent any money and have not driven the car but a couple times this month, so adhering well to UFF.

I found out that I could pay my electric bill via credit card. Since I get 1% cash back, it more than pays for the convenience fee of paying by credit, plus no monthly bills for awhile there since I charged the max. So I made like 5 bucks and saved time of mentally thinking about paying that bill. My savings rate will be lower this month, but I am more of an annual average savings rate kind of girl anyway. This would be great way to meet a credit card minimum spending bonus in the future too. I hate monthly bills!

My daughter's preschool class has the flu going around, even her teachers got sick. We kept her home this week instead of sending her to school, hopefully avoiding the worst and saving the money on health remedies and Dr vists, let alone agony and worry of sickness. Frugal, right? :0/

Ok, I am clearly going to be working on losing weight the rest of the month as everything else is under control  (for now).

11 days to go!

[Mezzie]

Yesterday I only ate what I brought to jury duty and remembered to get my free Metro pass for the remainder of the trial.

I WILL be eating out at least two days during the trial next week. We're in the center of the city and there's just too much good stuff I rarely have access to, but I will adjust my grocery spending accordingly.

[couponvan]

I'm out. DH came home with diamond studs....I did say I don't control his spending.

Wow. I'll admit that I'm impressed.

He forgot Valentine's Day....completely.
This is apparently VDay makeup, my birthday, and our anniversary rolled into one.  He did buy them at Costco, so it's possible to return them....Please don't make me.

Shitfire, no! Keep those little buggers.

Do they make you happy?

Are you going to wear them?

Did DH buying them put you into debt?

Is there anything else that costs that much that would make you happier?

Only you know the answer to those :)


Wins:

Asked if we could have a meeting for my voluteer stuff via video conference saving me a bunch of time and bus fare.

Nice on the video conference vs face to face.!

In answer to your question....

Do they make you happy? Yes - when we got engaged 20+ years ago, DH bought my engagement ring on store credit at 29% interest as a student - I paid for my engagement ring because I had money and didn't want our future selves to be paying 29% interest.

Are you going to wear them? Yes, but I admit they are hard to sleep in and I'm deathly afraid of losing them even though they screw in.  I'm afraid to take them off. Maybe it will help my back pain as I won't sleep hunched up on my side any more. FWIW,  if I decide I don't like them on my ears I will add them to said engagement ring...They'd fit nicely on it too.

Did DH buying them put you into debt? Nope, but he'll have to work another 2 weeks before he can FIRE. I'm still FIREing on schedule. ;-)

Is there anything else that costs that much that would make you happier? Well, I was asking for a 2013 Nissan Leaf....to replace my 2013 Pilot as our commute car.  I'm still asking pressuring him about that.

I am a consumer sucker....That being said, we got our Costco rebate check of $200 in the mail today from last year.

[PJ]

Yesterday I ate all my meals at home, and DID NOT stop for coffee on the way in to work for an evening meeting even though I really wanted to.

Today I forgot to think about taking a lunch to work, so had to make a run to Tim Horton's mid-day for some food.  And coffee. 

Subconscious?  Maybe.  Delicious?  Definitely.  Though I didn't win on Roll Up the Rim to Win.  Bummer.

Ate at home for breakfast and supper though, and have planned ahead to identify further food to eat over next couple of days.

Also, got another expenses/mileage reimbursement check from work, and even though (because of recent thrift store shopping especially) my bank account is running a little on the low side as I wait for my next paycheque (I only get paid monthly), still I went and put the check directly on my credit card, bypassing my bank account entirely. 

Good job on the check going directly to credit card.

That would have been funny if you won the Roll up to the Rim to Win during UFF. So ironic!

Where did I share this before?  If it was on this thread, I apologize!  I only know so many interesting facts, and I tend to repeat them.  Apparently I'm turning into an old fogey before my time.

A few years ago, I was told by someone in advertising or some related industry, that the reason Tim Horton's developed the "Roll up the Rim" contest was to discourage people from giving up coffee for Lent, or at least, to draw in more business to compensate for how their profits - really! - tended to drop during Lent.  It's (evilly) admirably clever...

[westtoeast]

Week 3 Update!

Feb 14: $0
Feb 15: $30 (pizza for my students-- bribery to get them to come to an after school event) $20 (fundraiser for my students' trip to DC)
Feb 16: $0
Feb 17: $55 (Groceries); $8 (EBay selling fee-- I hate this, it always gets deducted a few weeks after I sell something & I forgot it's coming)
Feb 18: $0
Feb 19: $0 (anticipated)

Total: $1265 out of 1400 (no major expenses left this month-- anticipated additional $30 in groceries)

Wins/Challenges: Ok, so this week was better! My groceries are still about $5-$10 higher than I'd like, but I'm also trying to relax about them a little. In order to save that extra $5, I would be cutting out some things I really do enjoy. I have a lot of food intolerances so I need to take the food joy where I can get it! I am going to try some strategies like buying more in bulk for next month, but also give myself a little slack if the food budget is a few dollars over.

I also got a new credit card in the mail yesterday-- Barclay Arrival Plus. I need to meet my spending limit so I made a purchase that I was going to save for later. I am going to actually deduct this strategically from my budget for the next month, because otherwise my spending number will not actually reflect my true spending. Is this fair to do? I bought a birthday gift for my SO. I also opened a new checking account and funded with my card, and used Plastiq to make some advance student loan payments with my card. I am counting none of this towards my Feb budget-- I will change the transaction dates on Mint so that the amounts come out of my March and April budgets. I may also buy a gift card or two for my local grocery store-- I will change the dates to the next few months as well so that I will have an accurate grocery spend. Spending to meet a CC limit really complicates keeping track of one's budget, but I have an upcoming travel expense so I think it is worth it!

[Jon_Snow]

Feb 13 - $10 - ferry food yet again - and we were able to subsist on the food stores of family and what we have stockpiled in our travel trailer (which never travels).
Feb 14 - should be $0 - DW and I do not feel the need to spend money to express our feelings for one another....or to "spice things up".   ;)

Okay, from the past few days:

Feb. 15 - $50 - gas for truck. More driving than anticipated. Boo.
           - $35 - we ate out. Some out of province family was in town and there was no real polite way opt out of it. Still, I drank water and we avoided our favourite appy in order to keep the tab reasonable.

Feb. 16 - $0 - Back on track. :)
Feb. 17 - $15 - Our Friday night involved me making Tacos. Had to grab some tortillas and a 6 pack of Pacificos.

Our food stores are just now showing clear signs of depletion. A more extensive food run will be necessary before the end of the month. Very happy that our happiness has not been impacted my our (more than usual) mindful spending this month.

Jon -  I loved your gardening pic. That must feel amazing! They are gorgeous. We should start a Gauntlet challenge of Uber Frugal Garden thread soon!

Hey, thanks! I just thought a splash of colour might be appreciated for those of us in the northern climes. And to serve as a reminder that Spring is around the corner! Not sure about a Frugal Gardening thread...I'm still in the ramp up phase and spend a fair bit of money on my food growing adventure. I'm seriously thinking about getting a greenhouse soon...which will blow any frugal intentions out of the water. But hot peppers are worth it IMO. :)

[Mezzie]

I will be going out to lunch to celebrate getting my taxes done this morning, and I don't feel bad about that at all.

I've continued saving by patiently waiting forvlibrary books. I just got one I reserved three months ago!

[frugalkristen]

Pretty good month so far -

1 - $4 (food - 3 "good" frozen pizzas with sale, coupons and Walgreens points), $40 (gas - 1st fill up since Dec 27th!)
2 - $0
3 - $142 (rug - bought a clearance remnant for the bedroom that I've really needed for 2 yrs)
4 - $57.13 (food), $75 (microwave on Craigslist - doesn't fit my space - UGH! - so I'll relist it)
5 - $22 (beer), $34 (paint)
6 - $0
7 - $0

8 - $0
9 - $0
10 - $0
11 - $106 (groceries - including $40 for cat food/litter)
12 - $0
13 - $0
14 - $0

15 - $0
16 - $0

Other highlights -

**Paid an extra $500 on my mortgage  (can't wait to pay that off!)
**Upped my 401K contribution - I can afford it so I took the jump.  I'm not a high earner and recently divorced so it's difficult to be as comfortable with a smaller paycheck but it's working out fine.
**Picked up 5 OT shifts at work this month - a couple already scheduled and a couple for people who called in sick.  Love that boost in my income!

I'm trying to go the rest of the month without spending anything except some paint to finish my living room/dining room.  Shouldn't be too expensive but will increase the value of my house so a win!

17 - $0
18 - $0.26 (walked to Walgreens for free toothpaste - but had to pay the tax.  :/  )

[Bracken_Joy]

2/1: $42 gas; $12.59 household; $79.79 groceries; $21 pharmacy; $25 headphones
2/2: $0
2/3: $20 charity; $495 bike and accessories
2/4: $0.77 grocery; $13.98 liquor store; then $13.98 liquor store when more people RSVPd
2/5: $33.37 groceries; $4.99 wine; $19.99 filed taxes
2/6: $46.99 panniers for bike; $59.95 new hair trimmer

2/8: $0
2/9: $5 bar; $2.40 coffee
2/10: $2 coffee; $273 grass fed local ground beef (72lbs)
2/11: $10 for 4 2.5lb weight plates; $29 gas
2/12: $50 sushi
2/13: $22 beard balm for DH; $4.98 caulk scraper; $88.33 costco groceries; $9.58 gas top off; $7.06 groceries
2/14: $401 car insurance

2/15: (+12.21 car insurance rebate); $24.83 groceries
2/16: $13.20 dog nails
2/17: $52 massage +$10 tip; $65 prepay for 10 yoga classes
2/18: $23 liquor store; $13.28 general household; $255 bras (don't worry- I won't keep all these, free shipping&returns from nordstroms. So I ordered 5 bras, and I'll return the ones that don't fit. My size is impossible to find locally). 

As you can see, Super Spendy February is still rolling for me ;) lol. At least I went through groupon and got discounts on the massage and the yoga! Plus, my bras are truly reaching dire status. In my eyes, the only inexcusably spendy spending has been all the drinking.

On the bright side, our savings rate is still going to look insane... got our VW settlement money ($19,926), got our costco rebate ($118), got our federal return ($2,220), and then the $800 from selling my wedding dress. So the income side has been totally bonkers this month. (And of course, that means our 2017 IRAs are now filled up. First year we've been able to do it before tax filing time!).

[horsepoor]

Ugh.  Going out to eat in this city is so expensive.   I don't even want to tell you guys what we've spent, and the weekend isn't over yet.

[Mongoose]

Still no "unnecessary" shopping. We've only bought listed groceries. I'm pretty happy that our usual levels are ok. I will eventually need to get pants but hate shopping enough that it'll wait until the these are threads.

[Jon_Snow]

Ugh.  Going out to eat in this city is so expensive.   I don't even want to tell you guys what we've spent, and the weekend isn't over yet.

I hear you. Our transgressions last night occurred in one of the most un-Mustachian "arenas" you could think of.


We bought the tickets in December so I'm not counting that cost. We ate before we got there...but had two beers each...the ugly truth below.

Feb 18 - $45 - 4 beers at hockey game + transit costs
Feb 19 - $0 - always nice to answer stupidness with a NO SPEND DAY

[PJ]

Ugh.  Going out to eat in this city is so expensive.   I don't even want to tell you guys what we've spent, and the weekend isn't over yet.

I hear you. Our transgressions last night occurred in one of the most un-Mustachian "arenas" you could think of.


We bought the tickets in December so I'm not counting that cost. We ate before we got there...but had two beers each...the ugly truth below.

Feb 18 - $45 - 4 beers at hockey game + transit costs
Feb 19 - $0 - always nice to answer stupidness with a NO SPEND DAY

I bet you had a great time, though!

So, I came home from work today and found one downstairs neighbour (the husband - it's a young couple that sublets from me) cleaning the car on the driveway.  It was a pretty nice day (though I spent it inside, working!) with lots of warm sunshine, and a lot of snow melting.  While I was chatting with the husband outside, the wife came out so they could go somewhere.  She excitedly told me that she'd done spring cleaning from one end of the place to the other today (good) and had the windows wide open all day (not good!)  Folks, it was a nice February day, but it was still a February day, in Canada.  All I could think was, "Hey!  That's my hydro and gas bill you're playing with!"  Oh well, I understand the urge to air the place out when there's a nice day in the middle of winter.  And I did get to lower the thermostat a little bit when they were away for a couple of weeks recently ...

[swick]

Frugal Wins: Baby shower went well and friends were super excited at the photography offer.

In trying to figure out Birthday plans for Hubby's grandma there was talk of fancy restaurants and all this stuff (that she wouldn't actually enjoy and generally lead to arguments between parents and grandma over who pays) so Hubs and I suggested we go over to her house and watch curling and bring a roasted chicken for lunch. We are not allowed to actually make anything because that is a bother and would put us out, but a chicken is apparently ok, so we consider that a win :)

Made a big batch of curry base yesterday which I turned into a pretty good roasted cauliflower and chickpea curry. Hubs said it was better than our local place and without the 50.00 minimum bill.

Frugal-ish? We spent 80.00 on tea. I have spent the last year trying to drink down our already overflowing tea supply. Hubby came home from work super excited about the idea of Tea Advent Calendars but was outraged at the price his co-worker's wife was buying them for. 

So naturally, he wants to make his own. He spent the weekend figuring out the flavours he wanted and cost comparing across suppliers and working out how much it would be per gift for Christmas and who would enjoy it and how we could customize it to the different people we have on our gift list.... I was able to do bring the price down, find some coupons and get some extra cc points. It is well within our cost per gift limit, it is a fun idea which will be appreciated and we will have a few frugal weekends of crafty time while we make the calendars.

[couponvan]

Frugal Wins: Baby shower went well and friends were super excited at the photography offer.

In trying to figure out Birthday plans for Hubby's grandma there was talk of fancy restaurants and all this stuff (that she wouldn't actually enjoy and generally lead to arguments between parents and grandma over who pays) so Hubs and I suggested we go over to her house and watch curling and bring a roasted chicken for lunch. We are not allowed to actually make anything because that is a bother and would put us out, but a chicken is apparently ok, so we consider that a win :)

Made a big batch of curry base yesterday which I turned into a pretty good roasted cauliflower and chickpea curry. Hubs said it was better than our local place and without the 50.00 minimum bill.

Frugal-ish? We spent 80.00 on tea. I have spent the last year trying to drink down our already overflowing tea supply. Hubby came home from work super excited about the idea of Tea Advent Calendars but was outraged at the price his co-worker's wife was buying them for. 

So naturally, he wants to make his own. He spent the weekend figuring out the flavours he wanted and cost comparing across suppliers and working out how much it would be per gift for Christmas and who would enjoy it and how we could customize it to the different people we have on our gift list.... I was able to do bring the price down, find some coupons and get some extra cc points. It is well within our cost per gift limit, it is a fun idea which will be appreciated and we will have a few frugal weekends of crafty time while we make the calendars.

That is a seriously awesome idea....And could be done with coffee as well as tea.  Please share pics of this on the DIY thread as you go along.

I just purchased tickets round trip to San Francisco/Maui over Christmas - two weeks for 5 people - $84 in taxes total.  I plan to use either Ritz Carlton nights or SPG rewards nights to cover the hotel costs, but I need to sign up and get the rewards points over the next few months.  This will be the kids' big Christmas present - we aren't telling them until Christmas. We got the tickets with the Chase Sapphire Reserve 200,000 UR points sign up bonus. (So technically when we signed up for the cards we spent either $100 more or $300 more depending on whether you count getting TSA Precheck as a $200 value or not). That spend happened in January though....

[swick]

I just purchased tickets round trip to San Francisco/Maui over Christmas - two weeks for 5 people - $84 in taxes total.  I plan to use either Ritz Carlton nights or SPG rewards nights to cover the hotel costs, but I need to sign up and get the rewards points over the next few months.  This will be the kids' big Christmas present - we aren't telling them until Christmas. We got the tickets with the Chase Sapphire Reserve 200,000 UR points sign up bonus. (So technically when we signed up for the cards we spent either $100 more or $300 more depending on whether you count getting TSA Precheck as a $200 value or not). That spend happened in January though....

Oh how I wish we had those sign-up bonuses in Canada, well done!!!

[nottoolatetostart]

Just wanted to check in to say hi. Had a great weekend and it looks like a lot of you did too.

Here are my updates:

Thermostat lowered another degree a couple days ago (3 degrees total since UFJ Jan 1) and no one has said anything (now down to 65, which is probably like the hot desert to some of you but baby steps here). Walked for errands. Car used to go to zoo (we have annual pass) and brought our own snacks for kids.

Still NOT using dryer - I think I am going to continue this habit indefinitely beyond February. I always hated folding clothes out of the dryer and putting them on my clothes drying rack thingy is oddly theraputic. They even smell better too!

The real testament to our week is that I feel really good that we only had 1 trashbag for trash pick up tomorrow. I didn't track previous weeks but just happened to notice today when we were playing outside. For us, I am super impressed with my family of 4 and eating every meal at home all week (except 1) that we only have 1 bag (recycling is separate container).

Also, I booked travel on Friday night for an upcoming wedding. We will be staying at same hotel with bride /groom and other wedding guests. That is non-negoitable (sp?). However, 6 months ago, I opened up Chase Sapphire Reserve to plan for this major event (groom is hubby's best friend). For 3 nights there, it would have cost $1300+ but with Chase points, cost is zero at the same hotel everyone else is staying at. Flights cost $22.40 for 2 tickets too (booked months ago with miles). In 2016, at one point, I was budgeting $2,500 for this weekend which is batsh%% crazy now that I think about it.  I am so glad to be aware of travel hacking.

Making a vegetarian meal tonight that I hope DH does not notice the missing meat. Dragon Noodles from Budget Bytes. Yum!  I didn't feel like walking to store for meat.

PJ - I love your Tim Horton story about Lent. Thanks for filling me in.

Jon Snow - your plans for greenhouse sound neat. I understand why you wouldn't want to do a frugal gardening thread. Game and beers looks so fun!

Swick - the rotisserie chicken sounds like great idea! So glad your friends liked the photography idea...who wouldn't???? I think I paid $200 or so for my son's newborn session. Eek. I am sure they were thrilled

Horsepoor - even if you spent the money on those restaurants, I hope you at least enjoyed it!

8 days in Feb left!!!

[nottoolatetostart]

I just purchased tickets round trip to San Francisco/Maui over Christmas - two weeks for 5 people - $84 in taxes total.  I plan to use either Ritz Carlton nights or SPG rewards nights to cover the hotel costs, but I need to sign up and get the rewards points over the next few months.  This will be the kids' big Christmas present - we aren't telling them until Christmas. We got the tickets with the Chase Sapphire Reserve 200,000 UR points sign up bonus. (So technically when we signed up for the cards we spent either $100 more or $300 more depending on whether you count getting TSA Precheck as a $200 value or not). That spend happened in January though....

Oh how I wish we had those sign-up bonuses in Canada, well done!!!

You must be amazingly patient to wait to share the news, couponvan. I would surely burst before then because of excitement of sharing the fun news.  Awesome job on redeeming those points too.

[horsepoor]

Horsepoor - even if you spent the money on those restaurants, I hope you at least enjoyed it!

8 days in Feb left!!!

Oh yes!  DC restaurants >>> Boise, Idaho restaurants. We had great BBQ the first night, excellent Indian the second night, yesterday pizza for lunch, and last night sort of a gastropub place with fish sauced Brussels sprouts and chutney lamb nachos and fancy cocktails. Hit an old school dive for lunch today with fried okra, Philly cheesesteak and corned beef hash.  One more dinner then back to eating down the cupboards until I go home on 3/4.  And the Brussels sprouts and an okra dish from the Indian place are going into my home cooking repertoire, so there's that.

[couponvan]

I just purchased tickets round trip to San Francisco/Maui over Christmas - two weeks for 5 people - $84 in taxes total.  I plan to use either Ritz Carlton nights or SPG rewards nights to cover the hotel costs, but I need to sign up and get the rewards points over the next few months.  This will be the kids' big Christmas present - we aren't telling them until Christmas. We got the tickets with the Chase Sapphire Reserve 200,000 UR points sign up bonus. (So technically when we signed up for the cards we spent either $100 more or $300 more depending on whether you count getting TSA Precheck as a $200 value or not). That spend happened in January though....

Oh how I wish we had those sign-up bonuses in Canada, well done!!!

You must be amazingly patient to wait to share the news, couponvan. I would surely burst before then because of excitement of sharing the fun news.  Awesome job on redeeming those points too.

  I'm good a forgetting things....so I'll likely forget until closer to Christmas myself. ;-)  DH is the elephant that never forgets so we don't miss stuff.

[katscratch]

2/01 -- $18.74 box wine...that was almost purchased 1/29 but I held out!
2/02 -- $0
2/03 -- $0
2/04 -- $103.77 Costco ($30.56 dog food)
             $22.08 Costco gasoline
2/05 -- $122.59 Home depot

2/06 -- $0
2/07 -- $0
2/08 -- $0
2/09 -- $0
2/10 -- $35.20 co-op -- loose leaf tea that was a LOT spendier than I thought! I also should've calculated before buying to make sure the scale at the register was reading correctly. Oops! and coconut ice cream on sale**
2/11 -- $24.27 grocery store
           $3.48 grocery store
           $11.02 wine
2/12 -- $0

2/13 -- $0
2/14 -- $74.16 -- 3 tickets to our bike shop party next month for 30 Days of Biking
2/18 -- $16.72 -- groceries
         -- $24.89 -- gasoline
2/19 -- $0
2/20 -- $0

....not a very frugal month after all but saying Yes to social opportunities is a big focus this year.

[horsepoor]

You guys are crushing it with travel hacking!  I need to get on that for a wedding I'm supposed to attend in California this summer.  Turning that into a <$200 expense would be pretty awesome.

[couponvan]

You guys are crushing it with travel hacking!  I need to get on that for a wedding I'm supposed to attend in California this summer.  Turning that into a <$200 expense would be pretty awesome.

If you're 1 person, it can work easier to hack...otherwise I feel like you need to be planning approximately 11 months ahead.  I have a hard time committing 11 months ahead! Heck, in 11 months I could be living in a different area.  If that's the case, I'll be paying $50 fees for cancelling the itinerary for each leg.

[nottoolatetostart]

Horsepoor - even if you spent the money on those restaurants, I hope you at least enjoyed it!

8 days in Feb left!!!

Oh yes!  DC restaurants >>> Boise, Idaho restaurants. We had great BBQ the first night, excellent Indian the second night, yesterday pizza for lunch, and last night sort of a gastropub place with fish sauced Brussels sprouts and chutney lamb nachos and fancy cocktails. Hit an old school dive for lunch today with fried okra, Philly cheesesteak and corned beef hash.  One more dinner then back to eating down the cupboards until I go home on 3/4.  And the Brussels sprouts and an okra dish from the Indian place are going into my home cooking repertoire, so there's that.

You guys are crushing it with travel hacking!  I need to get on that for a wedding I'm supposed to attend in California this summer.  Turning that into a <$200 expense would be pretty awesome.

If you're 1 person, it can work easier to hack...otherwise I feel like you need to be planning approximately 11 months ahead.  I have a hard time committing 11 months ahead! Heck, in 11 months I could be living in a different area.  If that's the case, I'll be paying $50 fees for cancelling the itinerary for each leg.

LOL....my mantra is in life between my hubby, kids, and mortgage, I have enough commitment in my life. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING else should be non committal. But flights kind of don't work that way. :0(    Hopefully it will work out for you! Sounds fabulous!

[nottoolatetostart]

Week 3 Update!



I also got a new credit card in the mail yesterday-- Barclay Arrival Plus. I need to meet my spending limit so I made a purchase that I was going to save for later. I am going to actually deduct this strategically from my budget for the next month, because otherwise my spending number will not actually reflect my true spending. Is this fair to do? I bought a birthday gift for my SO. I also opened a new checking account and funded with my card, and used Plastiq to make some advance student loan payments with my card. I am counting none of this towards my Feb budget-- I will change the transaction dates on Mint so that the amounts come out of my March and April budgets. I may also buy a gift card or two for my local grocery store-- I will change the dates to the next few months as well so that I will have an accurate grocery spend. Spending to meet a CC limit really complicates keeping track of one's budget, but I have an upcoming travel expense so I think it is worth it!

I would not worry too much about it on the budgets with your credit card. As long as you are using the faux spending for stuff you would have spent in 2017 (and not new shoes, purses, gadgets, frivolous stuff) it should all balance out right when you do your year end reports, right? 

[nottoolatetostart]

I will be going out to lunch to celebrate getting my taxes done this morning, and I don't feel bad about that at all.

I've continued saving by patiently waiting forvlibrary books. I just got one I reserved three months ago!

Envious you got your taxes done. We are still waiting on statement from one more investment house. Way to go, you!

[nottoolatetostart]

Ugh.  Going out to eat in this city is so expensive.   I don't even want to tell you guys what we've spent, and the weekend isn't over yet.

I hear you. Our transgressions last night occurred in one of the most un-Mustachian "arenas" you could think of.


We bought the tickets in December so I'm not counting that cost. We ate before we got there...but had two beers each...the ugly truth below.

Feb 18 - $45 - 4 beers at hockey game + transit costs
Feb 19 - $0 - always nice to answer stupidness with a NO SPEND DAY

I bet you had a great time, though!

So, I came home from work today and found one downstairs neighbour (the husband - it's a young couple that sublets from me) cleaning the car on the driveway.  It was a pretty nice day (though I spent it inside, working!) with lots of warm sunshine, and a lot of snow melting.  While I was chatting with the husband outside, the wife came out so they could go somewhere.  She excitedly told me that she'd done spring cleaning from one end of the place to the other today (good) and had the windows wide open all day (not good!)  Folks, it was a nice February day, but it was still a February day, in Canada.  All I could think was, "Hey!  That's my hydro and gas bill you're playing with!"  Oh well, I understand the urge to air the place out when there's a nice day in the middle of winter.  And I did get to lower the thermostat a little bit when they were away for a couple of weeks recently ...

Oh dear, PJ. What a funny, but not funny, story. Sorry! At least they sound like decent tenants trying to do right thing

[nottoolatetostart]

Horsepoor - even if you spent the money on those restaurants, I hope you at least enjoyed it!

8 days in Feb left!!!

Oh yes!  DC restaurants >>> Boise, Idaho restaurants. We had great BBQ the first night, excellent Indian the second night, yesterday pizza for lunch, and last night sort of a gastropub place with fish sauced Brussels sprouts and chutney lamb nachos and fancy cocktails. Hit an old school dive for lunch today with fried okra, Philly cheesesteak and corned beef hash.  One more dinner then back to eating down the cupboards until I go home on 3/4.  And the Brussels sprouts and an okra dish from the Indian place are going into my home cooking repertoire, so there's that.

Sorry everyone for my multiple posts. As you may recall from UFJ, I did not buy new PC so doing individual responses on my phone and no fancy copy & paste.

Horsepoor - your meals sound amazing! You had me at chutney lamb nachos...
Are you kidding me?!??!?! Wow. Enjoy the East Coast! We are having good weather this week (I am smidge north of you)!

[nottoolatetostart]

2/01 -- $18.74 box wine...that was almost purchased 1/29 but I held out!
2/02 -- $0
2/03 -- $0
2/04 -- $103.77 Costco ($30.56 dog food)
             $22.08 Costco gasoline
2/05 -- $122.59 Home depot

2/06 -- $0
2/07 -- $0
2/08 -- $0
2/09 -- $0
2/10 -- $35.20 co-op -- loose leaf tea that was a LOT spendier than I thought! I also should've calculated before buying to make sure the scale at the register was reading correctly. Oops! and coconut ice cream on sale**
2/11 -- $24.27 grocery store
           $3.48 grocery store
           $11.02 wine
2/12 -- $0

2/13 -- $0
2/14 -- $74.16 -- 3 tickets to our bike shop party next month for 30 Days of Biking
2/18 -- $16.72 -- groceries
         -- $24.89 -- gasoline
2/19 -- $0
2/20 -- $0

....not a very frugal month after all but saying Yes to social opportunities is a big focus this year.

You sound like you are doing really well. I think your spending looks better than mine!

[Jon_Snow]

Feb 20 - $0

Second consecutive NO SPEND DAY. Can we make it three? Four in a row?

I hope so, because starting on the 23rd things are going to get FUGLY for my UFF. But you know what, not doing this thing, not spending what I'm going to spend...would affect my happiness to an unacceptable degree I have decided. I still think the end of month numbers will be pretty decent.

[couponvan]

One more week to go....
2/20 - 3 Kids had the day off school and went to a movie. $40.

I went to four different insurance companies to get insurance quotes. Good lord do I hate shopping for insurance. Public Service Announcement to mustachians if I didn't make it here already - At Allstate, they charge an effective 20% interest rate for auto insurance installment payments, and have upped their "Easy Pay" monthly fees to $5.50 on all other plans.  That's over $60/year to write more checks vs. 1 per year.  It's a no brainer to me to pay in full each policy renewal.

[LindseyC]

My goal is to always have my monthly bills at $2000 and under, with the exception of money I throw into savings and at debt. This month for me ends on the 23rd (because I track by my credit card statement) and I don't intend to buy anything in the next two days so I am reporting a little early.

Monthly spend $2029.50. (I can post an exact breakdown if anyone is interested)

I technically spent $74 on items I did not need to survive, but nothing ridiculous.

LED lights $15.00 
Candle $5.00 
Plants $12.00 
Wire $2.00 
Vase (thrifted) $3.00
Pens $2.00 
Socks $24.00 
Winter hat (thrifted) $4.00
Purse (thrifted) $2.00
Random item $5.00

Wins for Uber Frugal Friday: I spent ZERO on eating out, takeaway and/or convenience food. A huge win for me!!

[Road42]

3 week totals:

Food: 557.23
All other spending (everything except mortgage and insurance): 1205.87

Wow. I have to say, I am feeling super psyched because I do not feel deprived or majorly restricted in any way. It does help that every time we eat out I have a stomachache afterwards (ah, the mysteries of IBS). And it also helps that the whole family is super on board. Every time I read one of the posts here about what do about a spouse's behavior, I get a new wave of gratitude about my marriage.

I am pumped for the last week! And I say, bring on Frugal March!

[Sailor Sam]

Spending week 1
2/1: $27.19 on pizza;  $76.92 Patreon subscription
2/2: $0
2/3: $15.71 groceries;  $30.79 gasoline
2/4: $89.63 groceries
2/5: $0
2/6: $0
2/7: $2.47 coffee;  $9.80 stamps;  $39.99 internet

Week One: $292.5

Spending week 2
2/8:   $0
2/9:   $1.73 spatula
2/10: $29.93 restaurant
2/11: $29.72 restaurant;  $30.06 groceries
2/12: $0
2/13: $16.39 audible subscription
2/14: $0

Week Two: $107.83

Spending week 3
2/15: $43.83 Turbo Tax
2/16: $14.14 dentist reward;  $15.00 coffee pre-load
2/17: $115.08 violin rental;  $7.29 friday treats;  $53.70 gym membership
2/18: $34.23 costco gasoline;  $55.24 costco groceries;  $60.06 costco household;  $69.98 b-day gift
2/19: $23.00 restaurant;  $1.62 redbox
2/20: $58.86 groceries;  $4.95 toll
2/21: $0 (yay!)

Week Three: $556.98

Ouchie. I debated not going to Costco, to make the numbers look better. But frugality isn't deferred spending. My changes at Costco are few, and it would be pound foolish to pass the opportunity over.

Of all that, $61.05 is pure self indulgence. Same as last week. And the week before. That might simply be the baseline I'm happy with.

[katscratch]

2/01 -- $18.74 box wine...that was almost purchased 1/29 but I held out!
2/02 -- $0
2/03 -- $0
2/04 -- $103.77 Costco ($30.56 dog food)
             $22.08 Costco gasoline
2/05 -- $122.59 Home depot

2/06 -- $0
2/07 -- $0
2/08 -- $0
2/09 -- $0
2/10 -- $35.20 co-op -- loose leaf tea that was a LOT spendier than I thought! I also should've calculated before buying to make sure the scale at the register was reading correctly. Oops! and coconut ice cream on sale**
2/11 -- $24.27 grocery store
           $3.48 grocery store
           $11.02 wine
2/12 -- $0

2/13 -- $0
2/14 -- $74.16 -- 3 tickets to our bike shop party next month for 30 Days of Biking
2/18 -- $16.72 -- groceries
         -- $24.89 -- gasoline
2/19 -- $0
2/20 -- $0

....not a very frugal month after all but saying Yes to social opportunities is a big focus this year.

You sound like you are doing really well. I think your spending looks better than mine!

I'm definitely spending more on groceries than I was hoping, but I've done great with no impulsive stops!

[Dicey]

Other highlights -
**Paid an extra $500 on my mortgage  (can't wait to pay that off!)
**Upped my 401K contribution - I can afford it so I took the jump.  I'm not a high earner and recently divorced so it's difficult to be as comfortable with a smaller paycheck but it's working out fine.

Seriously impressive!!!! You are doing great!

Gulp. I read this and had a slightly different reaction. My question is "Are you stuffing your available retirement vehicles chock full before you prepay your cheap-ass mortgage?" Your future self will adore you for learning why putting the cart (investing for retirement) before the horse (mortgage pre-payment) is so utterly life-changing and can actually accelerate your arrival at FIRE.
So yay for you, I hope?

[andy85]

Day    Feb.
1    $187
2    $22
3    $7
4    $68
5    $5
6    $41
7    $-   
Week 1 Total:    $329

Day    Feb.
8    $60
9    $30
10    $0
11    $0
12    $163
13    $0
14    $47 
Week 2 Total:    $299

I've been sick for like a week and have spent about $50 on drugs....so that's kind of a bummer. Otherwise, it's been going good.

Day    Feb.
15    $0
16    $0
17    $721 $601
18    $53
19    $54
20    $0
21    $7 
Week 3 Total:    $835 $715

edit: backed out principal payment of mortgage

[Mongoose]

The spending continues:

$5 copay for DS at dr. Appt.

$17.12 for lunch (for 3, because Mom didn't get anything made before we left the house to drive to unplanned Dr appt). Good news is that the lunch leftovers stretched into dinner. Oh, and it wasn't Whole30 compliant either.

$57 for summer t-ball/baseball (total for 2 kids...that passes for cheap around here)

Got the credit card bill for eyeglasses and summer camps yesterday. You don't want to know.

Sigh... I really want to actuate a uber-frugal month. We have a trip next month but might just roll that in as well. We have been talking as a family about just self-catering/picnicking which would bring cheaper and probably easier with food allergies.

Don't suppose anyone wants to go for an uber frugal March?

[LindseyC]

Mongoose - I am totally up for an Uber Frugal March. I'd actually like to do the whole year.