I've signed up for the Frugalwoods challenge, but I'll definitely set some specific goals.
1) Reduce alcohol spending from $50/mo - husband is trying to eliminate his drinking at home, and I'd rather have cake anyhow.
2) Meal plan for the whole month to eliminate last-minute grocery spending and pizza purchases.
2.5) Make sure there are delicious leftovers for husband to have lunches every day, so he doesn't "have" to go out and get food.
3) Stop buying worthless snacks at the grocery store - no more random Talenti pints, or single-wrapped pieces of cornbread, or energy bars that look tasty. Hopefully this will also lead to better health overall.
4) Don't spend any of my spontaneous money in January - I have more than enough books and clothes and shoes.
5) Sell at least 1 thing on Craigslist or to a pawn shop.
1) We haven't spent any of our alcohol budget! DH has been awesome with this - he has occasionally gone out for a beer with a friend, but he hasn't actually gone to a liquor store and purchased anything.
2) This mostly worked? DH is responsible for dinners on Tuesday so I have time to go to crossfit after work - we ended up ordering Chinese one night, and pizza another, unfortunately. I am doing better about trying new recipes to get more of a rotation going on, though. I made a chicken pot pie yesterday and just doubled it, so I have another in the freezer :) Other than the chicken, it's so dang cheap! Made my own (kind of sad) pie crust, and filled it with root veggies, basically.
2.5) Only semi-successful. He just likes to get out of the house, I guess.
3) I've almost made this one. I bought two savory granola bars to bring to work to prevent me from buying pop tarts from the vending machine, and I've only eaten one of them. Somehow it helps to know that they're there. Also, I bought a pint of Talenti Caribbean Coconut ice cream yesterday - apparently it's discontinued, and it's my favorite flavor :(
4) Yeah, spent my spontaneous money on some lularoe leggings on Facebook. I only spent $10 on myself, the other $25 was on leggings for my sister, but I still spent it on something I didn't NEED.
5) Success! I had a ring from an ex boyfriend from literally 15 years ago that I've refused to just give away, because it cost a few hundred dollars, and I convinced myself I ought to get SOMETHING out of the relationship. Sold it for $50 to a very nice older lady who "just LOVES rings!" She has plenty of silver ones, and now she's building up her gold ring collection, lol. I'm glad someone will finally enjoy it.
We also had a guy come from terminex for mouse remediation at the request of the owner of the other side of our townhome :( They have to do both sides at once, which makes sense since we share a wall, but man $500 is a lot :(
Overall, not super frugal, and we went over on groceries, but this month did help me pinpoint some problems, and I've eliminated a few recurring expenses which will help in the rest of the year.