Uber Frugal January

[frooglepoodle]

Went hiking with the family this morning since state parks had free entrance today. There are at least two that are closer than the one we visited, and the woods were more or less the same as the ones behind our house, but it has a nice picnic spot by the river (we packed PB&J) and I'd been wanting to visit for a while. So we could have done better, but could have done a lot worse!

[starbuck]

I'm joining in as well! I'm curious how low we can go for our family of three. I'm a SAHP now and although we can more than afford living on just the one salary it would be nice to have a real financial reset to find our new equilibrium. Spent this morning writing out the meal plan for the week. Family hike this afternoon followed by a trip to the grocery store. We'll watch a DVD I got from the library tonight.

I'm really hoping to get a handle on our grocery budget this month. It typically is around $400-450 for two adults and a toddler, but now that I'm staying at home I know I can do much better than that. I'm going to stick to the smaller grocery store for normal groceries, and permit 1 Costco trip this month. I have a lot more impulse purchases at the large grocery store just because there's so much more selection and unforeseen 'deals' that are too hard to pass up.

[MrsDinero]

I'm in.  I signed up for the Frugalwoods challenge too.

I finished totaling up last years expenses and WHEW!!! it was way above our previous years.  We had some costly medical expenses and travel expenses.  Believe it or not adding a second baby didn't not increase our expenses by much.

I've gone back to basics by tracking every expense.

[Juslookin]

Today was great. Warmer, sunny weather outside for us in western Pennsylvania.  We slept late, had a nice home cooked breakfast and went outside to enjoy the sunshine.  Cleaned out the garage, burned some scrap wood and personal papers and then took naps.  Best. Day. Ever.

Oh, and we didn't spend one red cent.  Happy Uber Frugal January!

[Mtngrl]

We're already pretty black-belt, but we're accepting this month's challenge to up our game -- even cheaper meals at home, I cancelled my Audible.com membership, and we cleared out and unplugged the extra refrigerator in the garage.

[HappierAtHome]

Off to a good start, with a freezer full of homemade meals :-)

We ended up getting a lot of our shopping-errands done in December (not an attempt to deliberately shift spending, just a result of having the time and energy required to go buy things we needed) which will make January look even better / keep us out of the shops and thus away from temptation.

[CloserToFree]

Psyched for this month and set some goals for us-- know these numbers will seem high to many but for context "my" spending (some groceries, some bills like mobile phones, but mostly discretionary stuff; DH pays most of the real utilities/mortgage/etc.) has been hovering around $1,200-1,500/mo for most of 2016. It was a real wake up call to run the numbers on 2016 spending yesterday and to realize we have a LOT more to do on the frugality front.  For the challenge I'm addressing two areas: "my" spending (all on CCs) and our joint grocery shopping (DH usually does most of this but I'm taking over for January). Groceries are for two adults and one ravenous toddler.

January goals:
Discretionary expenses:
Groceries: $600 (compared for $1,000+ average for 2016- YIKES)
Massages: $60 (medical related so not cutting out - partially paid for by insurance)
Rxs/Co-pays: $40 (again medical)
Gas: $20
Drinks w/ a friend (pre-scheduled and she's going through a rough time so don't want to cancel or scale back): $30
Clothes: 0
Home: only any mandatory repairs (if needed and can't be delayed), no buying things for the house
ATM: 0
Uber: 0
Parking: 0
Fast food/coffee/eating out (other than during 1-week vacation and pre-scheduled drinks w friend): 0
Gifts: 0 (use Target gift card for kid's bday gift in Jan.)
EDIT (forgot a previously arranged Craigslist purchase for a used kid thing):
Kid stuff: $45

Plus Fixed Expenses:
Mobile: $98 (2 lines) (goal: try to switch to lower plan)

Total: $848 $893

I did some advance meal planning and did a $150 grocery run today (NOT at Whole Foods- trying to avoid that place this month) that I'm hoping will last us through at least 1-1.5+ weeks.  Made a meat sauce to freeze and got supplies for 5-6 of our favorite relatively frugal meals (major sales on pork loin and the ground beef for the meat sauce!) along with all the staples for breakfasts, lunches and snacks.  Greek yogurt was on sale so I got enough to last us probably the whole month. I felt a little silly starting off Uber Frugal January by spending $150 but I'm hoping doing the shopping all at once and with specifically planned meals in mind will help curb overall grocery spending. Fingers crossed!

Note: we have a pre planned vacation in the middle of January and are working up a separate target budget for that (including meals out but nothing too extravagant, and we're going to try to prepare at least some of our own meals since our hotel suite has a kitchen).  Flights paid for and hotel going on DH's CC.

How's everyone else feeling/doing so far?

[I'm a red panda]

Day 1:
Me- no spending
DH- bought a pair of shoes that have been on the replace list for months (tried replacing them 3 months ago but didn't like the pair and returned them). He used an Amazon giftcard balance, so no out of pocket.

[Anatidae V]

We are doing well! Yesterday was lunch with family at their place, so we stuffed ourselves and ate a light dinner at home. We were given a free high chair too!

Our grocery adventure started with cleaning out the fridge and freezer yesterday, and the pantry today. We have a lot of "novelty" food that was obscuring how many of our "staples" we had, so now those are out on the bench and we'll be meal planning to try them out, around our easy meals. That should quash any desire to eat out for fun.

[EricNYC]

In!

A couple notes:

The big thing I want to cut down is eating out. I get take out lunch a lot at work. I work right by Wall Street, so it costs a ton. No eating out period, only buying actual groceries. I'm allowing myself a single exception: one of my colleagues is leaving and if we have a farewell lunch for him I'll get something small.

I want to try to bike more and take the subway less, but I acknowledge that weather and other conditions might get in the way (I know, I know, but I have poor eyesight so I'd rather be cautious than have an accident in an unfamiliar area when it's icy and dark outside).

There's one exception I have to make: current lease ends on the 31st so I need to lay out some cash for a deposit, moving, and maybe a credit check. I've been scoping out buildings in the area I want to move to so I can avoid paying a broker fee.

[Fresh Bread]

I'm failing miserably at this - but at least my spending today was considered. And in a way some of it will save money in the long run: got a rubber lint remover for dog hair (instead of countless sticky rolls) and a keep fresh sachet for the fridge veggie drawer which makes them last longer. My reworking of our kitchen cupboards & counters to reduce clutter and make cleaning easier led to me buying a couple of clever in-cupboard storage solutions for $20, but at least I had a voucher for $10 off. And then we had coffees out...

Got groceries for the month ex milk, fruit and veg for $150 but used points for $110 of it. Cashed in points from online surveys for a $25 supermarket voucher to use on the milk etc later in the month. We've got a stack of reduced meat in the freezer and plenty of staples in the cupboard.

Collected $10 from selling 2 pairs of shoes so clawed a bit back that way too. Got about $50 of other things listed but not that hopeful.

[Dicey]

In my pre-FIRE days, before MMM existed, I used to do this every February. Now I'm juggling other stuff and spending is pretty well dialed down, so I'm not going to play. I have signed up to follow, because I plan on doing some serious cheering on from the sidelines. Good luck to everyone!

[tortoiseshell]

Day one went well; the only thing on the spending spreadsheet so far is my offering at church, which I am not changing in any way this month, and today will be spent cooking so I will not be leaving the house.

[nessness]

Didn't even leave the house yesterday, so so far so good. No plans today except going to the library so hopefully I can keep it up.

[jesse_runs_far]

Day 1: $0 (great brunch at a friend's house, then sledding at a local hill)


Day 2: Planning to try a yoga class, but a friend has a 'bring a friend' pass for me to use. Then a few groceries, and I need to pick up a new calendar (hoping for a good sale now that it's 2017!)

[TightFistedScot]

Mandatory expenses

Mortgage: 1761.00
Insurance: 75.00
Electric: $55.00
Gas bill: $112
Internet: $56
Netflix: $8.00
Cell: 45.20
Transit pass: 117.00

Total:  2,229.20

Credit card bills from Xmas spending:
Mastercard: $130.15


Flexible expenses

Groceries (will save my grocery receipts and calculate)
Week 1: $30.00
Week 2:
Week 3:
Week 4:
(Aiming for under $500)

Alcohol: Aiming for $0

Restaurant eating: Aiming for under $60. Only reason it isn't $0 is that a woman I recently started seeing is having a birthday, and I would like to take her out to celebrate. I don't think it's fair to make her suffer just because her birthday happens to fall during a time I am doing this weird personal challenge.

Entertainment: $7.00 so far. Wanted to make this 0, but I took a friend to a movie using a BOGO coupon that was going to expire. But did not buy popcorn, which for me is a feat! :P

[MonkeyJenga]

In!

A couple notes:

The big thing I want to cut down is eating out. I get take out lunch a lot at work. I work right by Wall Street, so it costs a ton. No eating out period, only buying actual groceries. I'm allowing myself a single exception: one of my colleagues is leaving and if we have a farewell lunch for him I'll get something small.

I want to try to bike more and take the subway less, but I acknowledge that weather and other conditions might get in the way (I know, I know, but I have poor eyesight so I'd rather be cautious than have an accident in an unfamiliar area when it's icy and dark outside).

There's one exception I have to make: current lease ends on the 31st so I need to lay out some cash for a deposit, moving, and maybe a credit check. I've been scoping out buildings in the area I want to move to so I can avoid paying a broker fee.

Have you checked out the NYC Meetup thread? We may have something this month, you should come!

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/meetups-and-social-events/nyc-meetup-on-sunday-june-22nd/500/

Restaurant eating: Aiming for under $60. Only reason it isn't $0 is that a woman I recently started seeing is having a birthday, and I would like to take her out to celebrate. I don't think it's fair to make her suffer just because her birthday happens to fall during a time I am doing this weird personal challenge.

What if you cooked her something fancy? Not going to a restaurant doesn't necessarily equate to suffering.

[katscratch]

I'm failing miserably at this - but at least my spending today was considered. And in a way some of it will save money in the long run: got a rubber lint remover for dog hair (instead of countless sticky rolls) and a keep fresh sachet for the fridge veggie drawer which makes them last longer. My reworking of our kitchen cupboards & counters to reduce clutter and make cleaning easier led to me buying a couple of clever in-cupboard storage solutions for $20, but at least I had a voucher for $10 off. And then we had coffees out...

For me this is the whole point of the challenge-- changing my mindset (and mindless habits) around spending.  Seeing how many dollars I can save is a side benefit.  So I say you're off to a great start!!

[Mezzie]

I resisted a very tempting offer of In-N-Out and instead ate things that from my fridge that are close to their expiration date. I wish I could say it was a *healthier* choice, but as it was mostly leftover party food, not so much. Still, it was the frugal choice, and it was delicious.

Today I'm going to attempt creating a month-long meal plan so I can plan my trips to various stores accordingly. I can't get everything at Aldi's, but if I alternate between Aldi's and Winco and supplement fresh fruits and veggies from the farmer's market, I think I'll do pretty well.

I see a lot of freezing in my future.

[scissorbill]

I resisted getting Panera after a run with my friend even though I have a gift card.  That gift card will serve me better in an emergency.

[I'm a red panda]

Today I did not buy either of the two target beauty boxes. My kryptonite because I never buy beauty products so the samples are fun to try...

And these ones looked like they had good stuff :(

I also had DH dye my hair using some leftover dye. Because I had planned to get it cut this month (it's been a year) but now I won't.

[gaja]

Packed lunch, and shared it with a coworker when it turned out the cafeteria was still closed because of the holidays. Dinners the last three days have been things we had to eat before they went bad. New years eve and -day were no spend days. Today we need to pay postage for the last Christmas presents, and it also looks like we miscalculated the coffee stash. I thougth we had at least an extra pound, but apparently we are down to the last bag. It might last us to the weekend, but since we are going to the post office anyway we might just as well get that bag of coffee too.

[MustachingInIreland]

Joining in as well! Partly because my unnecessary spending (fast food, books...) has increased more than I'd like, and partly because I want to go back to university in September and am trying to figure out if quitting my job would be an option or if I definitely need the income.

[Kwill]

I just found this thread today, so I haven't had time to really make a plan. But I'll try to participate to some extent. The big thing I'd like to cut out is buying lunch at work. This month, I'll try to bring lunch every day and be more intentional about other times I eat out. My grandparents gave me some money for Christmas that they asked me to please use on something frivolous this time, so I might get a coffee or other gift card that I can use for occasional treats throughout the year.

[EricNYC]

Have you checked out the NYC Meetup thread? We may have something this month, you should come!

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/meetups-and-social-events/nyc-meetup-on-sunday-june-22nd/500/

I did not! Haven't checked the forum since I registered in the summer... I'm posting there to tag it so I can remember to come! Winter is often the hibernation season to me, having some more reasons to get out and do stuff is awesome.

[Bracken_Joy]

Off to a good start. Did NOT buy coffee yesterday, even though both NYE and New Years Day ended up being insane... I responded to 2 roadside emergencies in 12 hours. (Soap boxes: please make sure your dog's tags have a current phone number, please carry a first aid kit in your car, and for the love of god please wear your seatbelt!)

Spend New Years morning snowshoeing with DH, which was lovely. Already owned the snow shoes, so just gas for the trip to visit the In-Laws.

Went over all the Uber Frugal day 1 email questions with DH. Made a food plan with him. We're going to aggressively eat through fridge, freezer, and pantry.

Played with numbers in Mint. Not sure yet if I'll work this month, but even if I don't, if we can rock this month Uber Frugally, we can save nearly $3k.

[I'm a red panda]

I need to pick up a new calendar (hoping for a good sale now that it's 2017!)

You can google image search calendar pages & print as needed? Just a suggestion :) not sure if that would work for you!

Here is a fabulous website for free calendar and organizer printables if you don't want to make your own. (Though making your own is pretty easy too...)
http://scatteredsquirrel.com/printable/

[EngineerYogi]

DH and I reassessed our goals and have set aggressive savings goals in order to achieve FI within the next 8 years. I did a review of YNAB and we have plenty of areas where we can make significant cut backs.

We have a small group of friends who are supportive and prepared to do dinners/brunch at each others' homes, go for bike rides and play board/card games (we got 3 new ones for Christmas).

Day 1: no spend :)

[Bracken_Joy]

DH and I reassessed our goals and have set aggressive savings goals in order to achieve FI within the next 8 years. I did a review of YNAB and we have plenty of areas where we can make significant cut backs.

We have a small group of friends who are supportive and prepared to do dinners/brunch at each others' homes, go for bike rides and play board/card games (we got 3 new ones for Christmas).

Day 1: no spend :)

Woohoo! I know not eating out will be a huge change for you guys, especially for socialization. I'm cheering for you! You can do eeet!

[recklesslysober]

Only purchased groceries and loose tea so far.

[Juslookin]

DH drove me to the store today, in his free gas to us, company car.  We picked up a couple of small items, marked down chicken breasts, one red pepper and a container of ricotta cheese.  We came home and DH, DS and I did some meal prep for the week using mostly what we have in the house.

DS made some egg and ham burritos using up leftover New Years Day ham.  (The ham was a gift, what a great practical gift it was).
DH made some chicken fajitas and I did roasted chicken with squash.  Check out these guys on youtube, https://www.youtube.com/user/ClassyChefStef, their recipes are pretty basic, use normal ingredients and minimal time in the kitchen.  I have nothing to do with them, I just stumbled upon them one day when searching meal prep and we've done a bunch of their meals so far.

So we ate lunch at home and portioned up about 8 meals in the fridge for quick grab and go lunches this week and a dozen breakfast burritos. We topped the whole shebang off with a tray of baked ziti.  That is being portioned out and put into the freezer for DS to grab for when he is at work.  We're teaching him that it's cheaper and healthier to make your own meals rather than always buying out or taking lunch meat.  Since he started paying his own way a bit more he sees the logic in it.  Win - Win!

[nottoolatetostart]

I'm in. Joined on FW's site too.

Here is what I am going to do:

- clean out pantry and freezer and minimize groceries buying to fruits, veg, eggs, milk. I cancelled Blue Apron for month
- clean out garage so we can do mini- challenge of going from 2 to 1 cars. Going to park 1 car in garage all month so I can get a little bit closer to convincing hubby to sell 1 car
- return some crap we don't need to buy a clothes rack (or find  1 on Craigslist ) DH has been wanting to run dehumidifier in our bedroom but I read that letting clothes dry in your bedroom adds humidity. We normally run the dryer (shame, I know). He loved this idea. Win, win, win. I HATE sound of the humidifier and dealing with it, let alone electricity costs of it
- turn thermostat down 2 degrees more
- we live in central PA, it is January, but I am going to commit to walking my kids to my daughter's preschool for 20 out of 26 sessions (13 sessions multiplied twice for pick up and drop off - she goes only 3 days/week).  That's 40 min of extra walking for me each day!
- laptop died in Nov  so holding off another month of not buying 1, maybe delaying indefinitely
- stopped my data usage on my cell while I am running around. Fixed our free Viop phone so my hubby can use it for his work calls to China....saving mobile minutes and I didn't need to buy new phone. I will also make calls on the Voip this month.
-our  only bills this month are utilities and pre-K tuition (200). I prepaid many bills a few months ago (just my general MO), including mortgage, so maybe my bills are <$500 this month?
-eating out is out, out, out this month (this is not a problem for us anyway - we like being at home anyway).
- no other spending other than necessity (gift cards are excluded from this challenge though)

Already since yesterday, I took kids to playground while it was sunny and warm at 43 degrees. Getting creative with meals, including making beans from scratch. Walked to grocery store for lettuce today even while it was 36 degrees and drizzly out. 25 min of walking! Plus, maybe more importantly, it put me in such a GREAT mood to be home in my snuggly home eating homemade soup (lunch entirely from pantry/freezer though) with my family after being in the cold. Really grateful. I am also planning on quitting gym membership when my contract expires in May, so I worked out 3 times in the last couple days in our basement instead of driving to gym ( I know, I know, it is clown like and nonsensical). So a little more savings there. I also cut my coffee down to 3 cups saving 33% compared to making 4 cups normally. I don't always drink that 4th cup anyway.

Our savings rate is annually 57% (trying to push over 60 percent this year), but hoping to sell some work clothes on ebay to push it to >90% this month. I already made $165 from selling a blazer.

[CloserToFree]

We have a small group of friends who are supportive and prepared to do dinners/brunch at each others' homes, go for bike rides and play board/card games (we got 3 new ones for Christmas).

This is so great.  We have a few spendy friends but it's been awesome to have 1-2 frugal friends who I can be upfront with about wanting to stay in/do dinner at each other's houses instead of going out, etc.  Solidarity helps! 

[CloserToFree]

One thing I'm doing today to help the mission: going through my email and unsubscribing from all those promotional emails from clothing brands, restaurants, etc.  It'll help avoid temptation to not be bombarded with sales and special offers on this stuff for sure.

The other thing on my list: to look back at prior years when I've spent $$$ on clothes or other material things to reaffirm my dedication to zero spending like this.  For example, $1,200 on Banana Republic clothes alone in 2 years (several years ago, but still).  Ick!  I have zero desire to do that again now that I've seen the light on how new clothes really does NOT add to my happiness.

[TightFistedScot]

Restaurant eating: Aiming for under $60. Only reason it isn't $0 is that a woman I recently started seeing is having a birthday, and I would like to take her out to celebrate. I don't think it's fair to make her suffer just because her birthday happens to fall during a time I am doing this weird personal challenge.

What if you cooked her something fancy? Not going to a restaurant doesn't necessarily equate to suffering.

Under normal circumstances this would be the thing. Actually I made her prime rib roast for the last meal we shared ;)

But we will also be out of town for the entire day for a commitment so I wouldn't have time to cook that day.

[Mtngrl]

Here is a fabulous website for free calendar and organizer printables if you don't want to make your own. (Though making your own is pretty easy too...)
http://scatteredsquirrel.com/printable/
[/quote]

I used these free printables to put together a 2017 planner, which I keep in a three-ring binder. I liked that I could personalize it with a menu list and shopping list for each week and to-do lists for each day, plus goal-setting pages, etc. And I was able to get just what I wanted for pennies.

[starbuck]

Here is a fabulous website for free calendar and organizer printables if you don't want to make your own. (Though making your own is pretty easy too...)
http://scatteredsquirrel.com/printable/

Wow that is a great website. Thanks for sharing!

[EricNYC]

Cool! I'll definitely be using that printable planner.

Just made my first purchase of 2017. Ran down to the grocery store to pick up some stuff I needed, like milk, chili/smoothie ingredients, etc.

Since I didn't buy anything dumb and unnecessary/unhealthy, like prepackaged meals or a bag of chips and some guac for a snack, any cooking I do is a huge success as far as I'm concerned! Outside food, my spending is very tame for a young professional in NYC, if not for a mustachian.

One small step for a 'stache, one great leap for FI...

[swick]

Having a good start!

Hubs did spend some Christmas money on some specific things we have needed for the house. They were planned purchases though. 

Decided to organize our liquor cabinet, we hardly ever drink so have amassed a rather large collection. Have a few bottles gifted to us that we can take if we do any socializing. Also found a bottle of rum with a bunch of vanilla beans in it I totally forgot about. Given we are out of vanilla extract it is perfect timing! I also took out the vanilla beans and am drying them in the dehydrator to make vanilla bean powder since they are still good but we don't want to buy more rum.

[katscratch]

I love scattered squirrel's designs!  I've used some of hers before - it's hard to find free templates in a half-page size that are designed for half-size. 

I realized my average spending per month last year was higher than I thought - I pulled the report for the entire year but I started using nYNAB in the spring.  On one hand I'm a little aghast at what I spent when I could have knocked out half my debt, but on the other hand I am totally confident I'll beat those numbers by a mile this year.

My kiddo called last night to ask if he could order a pizza for himself and his friends while at his girlfriend's house -- then caught himself saying, "Oh wait, it's the challenge month now, never mind" -- but we budget separately for his food/spending and it turned into a really great conversation about imposing rules on everyone in the household vs sharing goals.  He bought the pizza :)

I am getting pretty inspired by the comments here and on fb about eating through the freezer.  I have garden produce in my deep freezer that will taste so, so good in these winter months. 

[MonkeyJenga]

I got sick after buying vegetables a week ago. I've been afraid to check on them. I finally did, and everything's ok! I'm going to make stew tonight. Note to self: use sweet potato in freezer.

Haven't spent any money yet. I'm going to Urgent Care though, and depending on how sick/contagious I am, I may do a drop-off laundry service. And buy unhealthy, counter-productive pity food.

I was supposed to go see Rogue One with a boy tonight, but that was rescheduled due to my ailment. I figure that avoided expense can balance out paying someone to clean my clothes and eating gummy bears.

[katscratch]

It took me more years than it should have to realize that taking care of myself when I'm ill includes doing what is necessary to get better -- it's amazing how those little things that let you just rest actually make a big difference when you're on your own.  It also took me many years to realize that cooking my own food, however, was still important ;) so good on you for making stew!  And feel better!

[jesse_runs_far]

I need to pick up a new calendar (hoping for a good sale now that it's 2017!)

You can google image search calendar pages & print as needed? Just a suggestion :) not sure if that would work for you!

Here is a fabulous website for free calendar and organizer printables if you don't want to make your own. (Though making your own is pretty easy too...)

Thanks! I'll try this for my work calendar. I'll still likely buy one for home though. I didn't end up going today though, so $0 spent on calendars ;)
http://scatteredsquirrel.com/printable/

[I'm a red panda]

Day 2: $0 spending for me and DH.

Also canceled a $5 quarter subscription, though it won't change anything for this month.

[MonkeyJenga]

It took me more years than it should have to realize that taking care of myself when I'm ill includes doing what is necessary to get better -- it's amazing how those little things that let you just rest actually make a big difference when you're on your own.  It also took me many years to realize that cooking my own food, however, was still important ;) so good on you for making stew!  And feel better!

Thanks katscratch!

[Anatidae V]

Our spending is still at $0. Today we have to buy groceries to host my family and feed is for the week. Since our fridge, freezer and pantry are now clean, planning should be a breeze! We can even see how many snacks we have at a glance, so no need to buy any treats.

[OmahaSteph]

No unnecessary spending here, just regular bills. By some miracle we had today off so I used it to cook and meal prep. My InstantPot was going all day, lol. First cooked one of the whole chickens we bought last month, saved the drippings to later cook rice. Shredded the chicken then threw the carcass back in the IP with frozen veggie scraps to make two large containers of stock. Used the shredded chicken, some brown rice and a can of sliced carrots I was gifted through my Buy Nothing group, plus some other ingredients I had on hand to make a copycat recipe of Stouffer's Grandma's chicken vegetable rice bake. Turned out great. The recipe makes two casseroles, one we ate half of tonight (other half is tomorrow's dinner) and a second casserole I put in the freezer. WINNING!

Here's the recipe in case anyone is interested.
http://www.mommyskitchen.net/2012/10/copy-cat-stouffers-grandmas-chicken.html?m=1

[rachellynn99]

I was not frugal today to the tune of $38.00. I'm not proud but felt like I should disclose it, even if it's just to myself here on this thread.

I did do some other frugal things though today.
Went  to the library- they had an amazing bluegrass duo there today. So we listened to it for about 45 minutes. Then we all got some books. I got one on "frugal freezer cooking" so we'll see how that goes.

I had a few Brussels sprouts getting old, so I stir fried those in with our broccoli for dinner.

Bought our animal feed for the month: goat, chicken, rabbit. Should be done with that for at least a month. We just got rid of two of our goats, so that leaves us with three, and should decrease our feed bill.

[Cyrddin]

I'm in! Previously planned spending today of $30, but won't be buying anything else but groceries and gas for the rest of the month. Looking forward to this challenge to really get our food spending under control.

[Bracken_Joy]

UFM day 2!
Entertainment: worked out at home. Watched an episode of "Parts Unknown" on my mom's netflix account- she's currently on a plane without Wifi, so no worries about kicking her off.
Spending: $18 in groceries- a bunch of produce, and some pantry staples (mustard and BBQ sauce)

You know, when you're succeeding at an UFM, it's not that exciting of a write-up most days =P We ALMOST ended up in a corner though. We were going to help a friend move a couch, then go to a meetup with them. This would likely have been at a restaurant or bar, and we're doing no drinking and no spending! Scheduling conflicts prevented this though, and someone else helped with the couch. We rescheduled for later in the week, and it won't involve going out!