Author Topic: Frugal March!  (Read 4697 times)

LindseyC

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Frugal March!
« on: March 01, 2018, 08:28:32 AM »
I didn't see a thread for march so thought I would start one. Tracking every dollar (publicly) has really been working out for me this year, so I am going to continue into March.

1. I am aiming for as many no spend days as possible.
2. To lower my grocery budget by half (I am well stocked up and have $60 in points and a $25 GC to use)
3. I'm skipping eating out entirely
4. I want to earn an extra $200 (outside of my day job, tricky because I work crazy hours this month)

Rosy

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #1 on: March 01, 2018, 11:27:56 AM »
I'm in!:)

My goals for March:
1. Meet and exceed my monthly savings goals - plus - stay within budget!
2. Look into side hustles - will update and set $ goals later in the month.

TX2RVA

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #2 on: March 02, 2018, 10:23:57 AM »
I'm in -- I hope this time I don't get a visit from Murphy.  My goal is to adopt frugal mindset once and for all.  I have moments of awesomeness but then I fall back into old habits.

Goals for March
1. Stay within budget for all categories - especially food ($400)
2. 20 No Spend Days
3. Absolutely no non-essential spending (don't even open the Amazon app darn it!)
4. Detail my car inside and out -- frugality means taking care of what I already have
5. Make 5 crafts with items from my stash (no new materials)
6. I also need to research legit side-hustles and make a plan for April. 

LindseyC

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #3 on: March 02, 2018, 04:16:11 PM »
I love that both of you are looking for side hustles, like me! Last month I made $315 flipping stuff and so far I made $20 on the first day of March. I work a lot of hours in March thru June at my day job, so for now I am keeping the flipping as an easy hobby.

I am also working on exploring my current craft stash like you TX2RVA. Just last night I made a "lamp" out of a damaged vintage camera and flash attachment. I used a lamp cord I got at the thrift store for $1, so the whole project was $4.

My next project is spray painting a wrought iron metal candle holder thing I bought for $15. It's going outside on my front porch and will hold battery operated candles to add some interest to my porch at night. I have been looking for something to fill this blank large wall for a few years that was outside durable.

Megs193

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #4 on: March 02, 2018, 05:55:16 PM »
February was the first time I joined a frugal challenge and it really made me more mindful of what I spend.  My goals for March are:

1. 10 no-spend days. The main places I shop at are within 5 miles of my house so I tend to split up errands instead of grouping them which means I don't have many days where I don't spend money. I'm going to try to do a better job this month.
2.  Only eat out twice a week. Once for lunch with a friend and onc for dinner with my family
3.  No purchases from amazon (this is politically motivated but will still save me money since amazon is my weakness)

Greyweld

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #5 on: March 02, 2018, 09:32:03 PM »
I'm in. I want to reign in some of the slacking I've been doing.

1. Stick to the $200 grocery budget. I know we have enough food in the house to sustain us for a month, so to spend more than our budget is pretty much just us being picky about food.
2. Track grocery store spending to see what is food vs. household goods such as paper products and cleaners.
3. No going out to eat at all. I had been really good about this for a while, but have loosened my resolve when friends asked enough. I need to be firm: I don't go out to eat.
4. Be stingy with gas. Carpool with partner in the electric car. If I have an errand to run for the day, run it during lunch hour; I don't need to take the gas-guzzling SUV out at all if I think ahead.
5. No personal purchases or gifts to each other.
6. Gifts to friends, if needed, can be cooking them dinner. Maybe giving them a book we already own.

Basically, just the needs in the budget, and those more carefully than usual.

TX2RVA

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #6 on: March 03, 2018, 03:16:56 PM »
I love that both of you are looking for side hustles, like me! Last month I made $315 flipping stuff and so far I made $20 on the first day of March. I work a lot of hours in March thru June at my day job, so for now I am keeping the flipping as an easy hobby.

I am also working on exploring my current craft stash like you TX2RVA. Just last night I made a "lamp" out of a damaged vintage camera and flash attachment. I used a lamp cord I got at the thrift store for $1, so the whole project was $4.

My next project is spray painting a wrought iron metal candle holder thing I bought for $15. It's going outside on my front porch and will hold battery operated candles to add some interest to my porch at night. I have been looking for something to fill this blank large wall for a few years that was outside durable.

Take photos please! I’m always looking for inspiration and those projects sound cool!

Morning Glory

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #7 on: March 03, 2018, 04:51:46 PM »
I'm in, goal for this month is to get the grocery spend below $400 (family of 4, includes all food, alcohol, baby supplies, personal care, and household consumables). This is more of a marriage problem since DH does 90% of the shopping and hates not having a full larder (not joking, he will say things like "we are running low on cereal " when there are six boxes in the cupboard), so wish me luck.
Last month's figures were
$2722 bills (mortgage, utilities, home repairs, medical, car insurance)
$490 groceries
$66 my non-grocery spending
Did not track DH's non-grocery spending
$3277 total


LindseyC

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #8 on: March 04, 2018, 05:18:18 AM »
Take photos please! I’m always looking for inspiration and those projects sound cool!

Here is the camera light and the metal piece I bought (haven't painted it yet)
« Last Edit: March 04, 2018, 05:21:02 AM by LindseyC »

westtoeast

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #9 on: March 04, 2018, 12:02:45 PM »
I'm in again. Last month I was under overall budget, but over in some categories. 

Goals:
1. Stay under $100 for transportation (including bus pass cost)
2. Rideshare apps ONLY for appointments I can't get to in time on public transit
3. See "how low I can go" under budget for groceries (I overspent a bit this week, so I'll need to balance with an uber-cheap week)
4. No clothing spending (easy, I don't need anything)
5. No personal care spending (this means not opening my Amazon app... I'm well stocked on all personal care products like face serum, sunscreen, makeup, soap, supplements, etc... there is zero reason to purchase any more.)
6. No eating out
7. $400 side hustle income (I'm on track to earn $280ish so far, so I need to find a few more writing or tutoring gigs. I just finished a contract that had been providing steady work, but won't any more)


Rosy

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #10 on: March 06, 2018, 07:04:56 AM »
I'm in!:)

My goals for March:
1. Meet and exceed my monthly savings goals - plus - stay within budget!
2. Look into side hustles - will update and set $ goals later in the month.

Bummer!
Murphy showed up repeatedly since Mar 1 - so that just threw a big wrench into my plans for what looked liked the first good month in eight months.

Update:
WIN - Planned savings will occur - extra savings look very iffy, but I did score $300 from a bank bonus which is going to the savings stash.
LOSER - Budget - may be busted for the month, depending ...

Jenny Wren

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #11 on: March 06, 2018, 07:40:22 AM »
I gave up on February, but in the end didn't do too badly. It's already the 6th, but I'm all for new beginnings!

I'm setting a nice, simple goal to keep all extraneous spending outside of fixed bills below $600 for the month. This is groceries, gas, meals out, household items, etc for four people.

TX2RVA

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #12 on: March 07, 2018, 09:30:45 AM »
@LindseyC - That's awesome.  I saw all your flipped treasures in the other thread.  I'm really impressed with your level of crafting! 

@Rosy - I'm sorry about Murphy, same thing happens to me last month by way of major car repairs.  UGH!  I hope the rest of March is nice and uneventful.

Here is my update so far (going forward I will track how much I spend on my spend days. I could go look in YNAB but I"m feeling lazy)

03.01.18   No spend
03.02.18   Spend
03.03.18   Spend
03.04.18   No spend
03.05.18   No spend
03.06.18   No spend

I travel for work from March 8-12.  I won't count any money spent on food/hotel because I'll be reimbursed.  The goal is to continue with a streak of no spend days until the end of next week when I need to buy groceries.

westtoeast

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Frugal March!
« Reply #13 on: March 07, 2018, 03:25:41 PM »
Update 1

1. Stay under $100 for transportation (including bus pass cost) ((So far, so good))
2. Rideshare apps ONLY for appointments I can't get to in time on public transit ((Success))
3. See "how low I can go" under budget for groceries ((Will need to be careful to stay on budget, already 1/3 through the allotted money!)
4. No clothing spending ((Success))
5. No personal care spending ((deleted Amazon app, Success so far))
6. No eating out ((success, but feeling really tempted for some reason))
7. $400 side hustle income (I'm on track to earn $280ish so far, so I need to find a few more writing or tutoring gigs. I just finished a contract that had been providing steady work, but won't any more) ((Earned $320, no luck yet figuring out the final $80))

Tasks:
— Apply for writing gigs
— Try to find anything I can sell from my own home

Morning Glory

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #14 on: March 08, 2018, 04:36:58 AM »
Week 1 grocery breakdown (all shopping done by DH):
55.84 ****ing energy drinks
16.58 wine
7.37 household
52.71 food
Total =132.60
Yep, he spent more on energy drinks than actual food. Hopefully they last him all month, we had a conversation about it after he bought them. He is also really good at finding deals so the food would have cost more if it had been regular price. But still, ****.

My non-grocery shopping so far has been $1 (coffee out of the machine when I had to stay late at work)

Megs193

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #15 on: March 08, 2018, 08:43:40 AM »
So far I’m really happy with how I’m doing this month. I am on track and not spending unecessary money.


1.  10 no-spend days - so far I have 3
2.  Only eat out twice a week - last week I had lunch with a friend and ice cream with my family
3.  No purchases from amazon (this is politically motivated but will still save me money since amazon is my weakness) - this is killing me but I haven’t bought anything.

LindseyC

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #16 on: March 10, 2018, 06:30:55 AM »
I have been battling a really bad cold for the first 10 days of March, while also working at home on a massive project for my day job. The days have all blended together in a rinse and repeat sort of way. I have tracked spending on my phone, but not as an each day item. So I know my budget is great this month and the majority of days have been no spend but I do have a few items out of budget.

I spent $17 on random house items.
I earned an extra $50 on flipping items (while sick)
I invested $25 in an item I hope to refinish and flip for $150ish
Renovation budget went up by $13 but is still way below budget for the overall project
I did spend an unexpected $27 on medicines, however I easily have saved that on gas and health is a yearly budget item I always have a budget for.

This weekend I am still working on my work project. I am also going to list a few more items to sell and do some simple Reno chores cause I am still feeling under the weather.

westtoeast

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #17 on: March 13, 2018, 10:30:14 AM »
Update 2

1. Stay under $100 for transportation (including bus pass cost) ((no new spending this week!))
2. Rideshare apps ONLY for appointments I can't get to in time on public transit ((Success-- I've finally broken the habit))
3. See "how low I can go" under budget for groceries ((Spent $60 this week, but that included a few boxes of granola bars to put in suitcase for a trip next month...))
4. No clothing spending ((Success-ISH... I realized I didn't have a swimsuit that fits and I need one for a trip next month, picked one up for $20 on Amazon. Also bought a second pair of favorite shoes on sale and tucked them away in the closet for the future.))
5. No personal care spending ((deleted Amazon app, success so far))
6. No eating out ((Purchased a drink at a work meeting at a restaurant))
7. $400 side hustle income ((Earned $390, another $25 pending job completion-- gotta make sure to line up more work for the future still...))

I also spent $20 on compression travel pouches and booked hostels and transportation for my trip next month. However, I will take all that from my travel fund, so I'm not including it in my budget. I have about $70 more of random travel necessities sitting in my Amazon cart... this stuff adds up! It's stuff like earplanes, purell wipes, blister band-aids, etc.

Overall, I'm feeling really happy about the month so far. This is the first time I've felt really successful with a challenge! I'm only 1/2 through my "Misc" budget category, and that includes a ballet ticket that I purchased. Yay!

Megs193, I agree about Amazon. I'd like to reduce my use for political reasons too... I am just having trouble resisting the convenience. If I went out shopping for the things I usually order, I'd spend many many hours on public transportation. Plus, those cheap prices! Maybe I will make a "no Amazon orders" goal for April.   

TX2RVA

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #18 on: March 13, 2018, 10:54:34 AM »
Update:

Goals for March
1. Stay within budget for all categories - especially food ($400) - ($236/$400) - I'd say this is on track but need to slow down
2. 20 No Spend Days -- on track (10/20)
3. Absolutely no non-essential spending (don't even open the Amazon app darn it!)-- humm, Girl Scout Cookies and eating out today at lunch are non essential so I'd say I need to improve in this area for the remainder of the month
4. Detail my car inside and out -- Too cold
5. Make 5 crafts with items from my stash (no new materials) -- I've started 2 projects that I need to finish. I have another on deck, need to figure out two more.
6. I also need to research legit side-hustles and make a plan for April. haven't started

Rosy

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #19 on: March 13, 2018, 06:07:22 PM »
I'm in!:)

My goals for March:
1. Meet and exceed my monthly savings goals - plus - stay within budget!
2. Look into side hustles - will update and set $ goals later in the month.

Bummer!
Murphy showed up repeatedly since Mar 1 - so that just threw a big wrench into my plans for what looked liked the first good month in eight months.

Update:
WIN - Planned savings will occur - extra savings look very iffy, but I did score $300 from a bank bonus which is going to the savings stash.
LOSER - Budget - may be busted for the month, depending ...

UPDATE:
1.  I did my own taxes today for the first time in my life.
     $246 Refund
Used H&R Block for free online e-file.

2.  Sometime this week I plan on taking an online driver safety course - which will save me 10% on car insurance.
     $180 annual savings.

3.  FREE - free is a good thing:) Yesterday, we got a big package of Uncle Ben's rice in the mail, along with an extra coupon for another free package of Uncle Ben's rice any flavor.
I even liked the stir-fry chicken recipe that they included. 

Still haven't done anything about making a few bucks online, too much going on this week, but I am feeling a little better about this month now.

Seeing @TX2RVA posting about making 5 craft items from her stash reminded me, I'd really love to finish two sets of jewelry. Necklace and earrings - one modern style with black onyx stones and another in an Egyptian style with lapis and coral and turquoise and gold plated findings. I started both last year and never finished - stuck on the deliberation of altering the design.   

Morning Glory

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #20 on: March 15, 2018, 01:29:20 PM »
Week 1 grocery breakdown (all shopping done by DH):
55.84 ****ing energy drinks
16.58 wine
7.37 household
52.71 food
Total =132.60
Yep, he spent more on energy drinks than actual food. Hopefully they last him all month, we had a conversation about it after he bought them. He is also really good at finding deals so the food would have cost more if it had been regular price. But still, ****.

My non-grocery shopping so far has been $1 (coffee out of the machine when I had to stay late at work)

Week 2: I did some of the shopping as well this week, here is our breakdown
21.65 drinks for DH (some of this is regular soda instead of the more expensive energy drinks, we are working on it)
35.89 diapers/wipes
2.32 household
92.40 food
Total =152.26 (yeah I don't think we'll make it under $400 for the month unless DH commits to no more spending except maybe milk, we totally could live on what is already in the house, but I just don't think it's gonna happen)

My discretionary spending for week 2 was about $4 (2 more work coffees at $1 each, my coffee maker at home was too scaled up to make very much, cleaned it with some vinegar so I can make extra to take to work) the rest was sales tax on a gift for my son that I bought with an old Toys R Us gift card that I wanted to use before they go out of business

On a bad note I had to throw out some baking supplies because moths got into them, so I need to check out the local thrift stores for some airtight containers.

TX2RVA

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #21 on: March 16, 2018, 07:33:25 AM »
I'm in!:)

My goals for March:
1. Meet and exceed my monthly savings goals - plus - stay within budget!
2. Look into side hustles - will update and set $ goals later in the month.

Bummer!
Murphy showed up repeatedly since Mar 1 - so that just threw a big wrench into my plans for what looked liked the first good month in eight months.

Update:
WIN - Planned savings will occur - extra savings look very iffy, but I did score $300 from a bank bonus which is going to the savings stash.
LOSER - Budget - may be busted for the month, depending ...

UPDATE:
1.  I did my own taxes today for the first time in my life.
     $246 Refund
Used H&R Block for free online e-file.

2.  Sometime this week I plan on taking an online driver safety course - which will save me 10% on car insurance.
     $180 annual savings.

3.  FREE - free is a good thing:) Yesterday, we got a big package of Uncle Ben's rice in the mail, along with an extra coupon for another free package of Uncle Ben's rice any flavor.
I even liked the stir-fry chicken recipe that they included. 

Still haven't done anything about making a few bucks online, too much going on this week, but I am feeling a little better about this month now.

Seeing @TX2RVA posting about making 5 craft items from her stash reminded me, I'd really love to finish two sets of jewelry. Necklace and earrings - one modern style with black onyx stones and another in an Egyptian style with lapis and coral and turquoise and gold plated findings. I started both last year and never finished - stuck on the deliberation of altering the design.

Congrats on doing your taxes! I'm such a cheapy cheapskate I've never paid anyone else :) 

Please post photos of your jewelry if you finish the projects.  :)

westtoeast

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #22 on: March 20, 2018, 05:35:23 AM »
Things are getting a bit rockier over here. I’m down to $50 more for groceries and just $10 more for miscellaneous! Eek.

I’m also having some incredibly strong urges to buy clothing... and not just any clothing, but new not on sale clothing from the spring catalogs that show up in my mailbox. It must be springtime getting to me. I need to really double down and restrain myself.


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TX2RVA

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #23 on: March 20, 2018, 07:03:11 AM »
Things are getting a bit rockier over here. I’m down to $50 more for groceries and just $10 more for miscellaneous! Eek.

I’m also having some incredibly strong urges to buy clothing... and not just any clothing, but new not on sale clothing from the spring catalogs that show up in my mailbox. It must be springtime getting to me. I need to really double down and restrain myself.


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@westtoeast - I get like this when the weather gets warmer but luckily for me it is going to snow tomorrow so I'm in no danger :) 

Go through your closets/drawers and declutter and organize.  Then try to make new outfits from clothes you already have by pairing items in a way you haven't done in the past.  When I get the spending trigger organizing the things I already own usually kills the impulse to spend. 

For the food, check out Budget Bytes Snap Challenge: https://www.budgetbytes.com/category/extra-bytes/snap-challenge/ 
There are also many $3 food challenge videos on YouTube. 

Good luck! You can do it!

westtoeast

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #24 on: March 21, 2018, 04:52:21 AM »
Things are getting a bit rockier over here. I’m down to $50 more for groceries and just $10 more for miscellaneous! Eek.

I’m also having some incredibly strong urges to buy clothing... and not just any clothing, but new not on sale clothing from the spring catalogs that show up in my mailbox. It must be springtime getting to me. I need to really double down and restrain myself.


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@westtoeast - I get like this when the weather gets warmer but luckily for me it is going to snow tomorrow so I'm in no danger :) 

Go through your closets/drawers and declutter and organize.  Then try to make new outfits from clothes you already have by pairing items in a way you haven't done in the past.  When I get the spending trigger organizing the things I already own usually kills the impulse to spend. 

For the food, check out Budget Bytes Snap Challenge: https://www.budgetbytes.com/category/extra-bytes/snap-challenge/ 
There are also many $3 food challenge videos on YouTube. 

Good luck! You can do it!

Ooh, nice idea! I actually am getting released from work at noon today because of the snow storm, so I'll be stuck inside. Perfect time to "shop my own closet." It is true that I haven't looked at my summer clothing for many months... they are all boxed up. I'm sure there are some cute things in there I forgot about. Maybe I can also purge a little and get rid of items I didn't wear all winter.

And thanks for the link-- I'll definitely try some of those out!

Megs193

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #25 on: March 21, 2018, 07:59:56 AM »
So far I’m really happy with how I’m doing this month. I am on track and not spending unecessary money.


1.  10 no-spend days - so far I have 3
2.  Only eat out twice a week - last week I had lunch with a friend and ice cream with my family
3.  No purchases from amazon (this is politically motivated but will still save me money since amazon is my weakness) - this is killing me but I haven’t bought anything.


I realized we are three weeks into March and I haven’t updated

1. 10 no spend days - I’m up to 6. I am behind but today is a snow day for us so it will get me to 7 and I’ll have Be extra careful for the rest of the month.
2. Only eat out twice a week - last week I had an awful sinus infection so I didn’t meet this goal.  We got take out 4 times because I felt to awful to cook. So far this week I haven’t eaten out at all but I have lunch plans for tomorrow.
3.  No purchases from amazon - This is absolutely killing me but I have stuck to it so far. We are going to Europe in a little over a month and I need a travel purse. It’s $15 cheaper on amazon so I think I’m going to let myself buy it in April.

Morning Glory

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #26 on: March 22, 2018, 07:30:12 AM »
Week 1 grocery breakdown (all shopping done by DH):
55.84 ****ing energy drinks
16.58 wine
7.37 household
52.71 food
Total =132.60
Yep, he spent more on energy drinks than actual food. Hopefully they last him all month, we had a conversation about it after he bought them. He is also really good at finding deals so the food would have cost more if it had been regular price. But still, ****.

My non-grocery shopping so far has been $1 (coffee out of the machine when I had to stay late at work)

Week 2: I did some of the shopping as well this week, here is our breakdown
21.65 drinks for DH (some of this is regular soda instead of the more expensive energy drinks, we are working on it)
35.89 diapers/wipes
2.32 household
92.40 food
Total =152.26 (yeah I don't think we'll make it under $400 for the month unless DH commits to no more spending except maybe milk, we totally could live on what is already in the house, but I just don't think it's gonna happen)

My discretionary spending for week 2 was about $4 (2 more work coffees at $1 each, my coffee maker at home was too scaled up to make very much, cleaned it with some vinegar so I can make extra to take to work) the rest was sales tax on a gift for my son that I bought with an old Toys R Us gift card that I wanted to use before they go out of business

On a bad note I had to throw out some baking supplies because moths got into them, so I need to check out the local thrift stores for some airtight containers.

During week 3 we spent 98.30 total
38.91 food
17.79 diapers
17.64 alcohol
15.08 energy drink/soda for DH
8.88 household

Zero discretionary spending for me!!!!

Morning Glory

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Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #27 on: April 01, 2018, 06:54:33 AM »
Week 1 grocery breakdown (all shopping done by DH):
55.84 ****ing energy drinks
16.58 wine
7.37 household
52.71 food
Total =132.60
Yep, he spent more on energy drinks than actual food. Hopefully they last him all month, we had a conversation about it after he bought them. He is also really good at finding deals so the food would have cost more if it had been regular price. But still, ****.

My non-grocery shopping so far has been $1 (coffee out of the machine when I had to stay late at work)

Week 2: I did some of the shopping as well this week, here is our breakdown
21.65 drinks for DH (some of this is regular soda instead of the more expensive energy drinks, we are working on it)
35.89 diapers/wipes
2.32 household
92.40 food
Total =152.26 (yeah I don't think we'll make it under $400 for the month unless DH commits to no more spending except maybe milk, we totally could live on what is already in the house, but I just don't think it's gonna happen)

My discretionary spending for week 2 was about $4 (2 more work coffees at $1 each, my coffee maker at home was too scaled up to make very much, cleaned it with some vinegar so I can make extra to take to work) the rest was sales tax on a gift for my son that I bought with an old Toys R Us gift card that I wanted to use before they go out of business

On a bad note I had to throw out some baking supplies because moths got into them, so I need to check out the local thrift stores for some airtight containers.

During week 3 we spent 98.30 total
38.91 food
17.79 diapers
17.64 alcohol
15.08 energy drink/soda for DH
8.88 household

Zero discretionary spending for me!!!!

"Week 4" actually contained ten days, but it was still bad bad bad, total was 284.02
Here goes:
114.44 food
117.71 alcohol (I didn't subtract the amount of a mail-in rebate because they take so long to get)
20.43 baby diapers and formula
24.24 DH drinks
7.20 household

My discretionary spending was $6 for some second hand shirts for my son

Our month totals were
298.46 food, not bad, there were a few things that I wouldn't have bought but this is ok
151.93 alcohol (DH buys things when they are on sale, we could probably skip a couple months now)
116.81 DH drinks, half of this was before I talked to him about it, maybe next month will be better
74.11 baby supplies (baby is drinking more formula now, so this might increase for the next few months)
25.77 household (mostly newspapers)
Total = 667.08
Without energy drinks and alcohol we would have been within my $400 goal

Total spending: 3034
2357 bills
667 groceries
$10 my spending
Did not track DH non grocery spending
We still came in under February's number because we didn't have a medical bill or car insurance this month

How did everyone else do?
« Last Edit: April 01, 2018, 07:07:55 AM by MrsWolfeRN »

LindseyC

  • Stubble
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  • Posts: 239
  • Location: Ontario
Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #28 on: April 02, 2018, 02:03:53 PM »
I went a little off the rails this month. It was crazy busy and despite recording my expenditures I did not stick to my eating out budget at all. The good news is my groceries were way low and I made a profit of $600 flipping items. I definitely need to record here daily though or I lose motivation and don't track daily, so items add up before I write them down.


Some good news, I bought some vintage second hand furniture to refurbish and refresh some of the spaces in my house. Everything I bought, I sold the current equivalent I had for more! So I will have some really great new items that cost me nothing and a little extra money to use to refurbish them - without touching my regular budget or my flipping profits.

westtoeast

  • Bristles
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  • Posts: 355
  • Location: East Coast City
Re: Frugal March!
« Reply #29 on: April 04, 2018, 05:04:42 AM »
I went a bit off the rails too. I got through MOST of March with pretty limited spending, and avoided unneeded Ubers and eating out. But now it turns out I'm moving living spaces and ended up needing some items (shelving, for example). I did look at my Buy Nothing group and got some hangers from there, but nothing else I needed was popping up. I certainly could have waited longer. Anyway, between the organizational items and a new bed, I've spent a few hundred more than planned. I also had an unplanned medical expense. Alas!

But being uber-frugal for the first three weeks of the month definitely put me in a better situation to handle these expenses! Thanks all!