Author Topic: No Spending (Until May 1 and even then, you know, only if you HAVE to)  (Read 3518 times)

TansyPants

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Mustachians of the word:
I am newly come to join your ranks and as such have some past mistakes to correct. As such, I am committing all my remaining earnings for this month, as well as most of my current account balance, to paying off debt.

As a student working part time this is still not an awful lot of money but at the end of the month I should be able to throw an extra grand at a $2,500 debt (this is already down from $3,800 two months ago when I started reading this blog and realized THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!!) One more month baby!

I would also like to take the time to thank you all for convincing me that maybe the time is finally right to apply for a credit card. I have never owned one as, until recently, I was convinced that having one would instantly cause me to spend far more money than I had and wind up in a pit of hopeless despairing consumerism.

(Don't worry, my rent is paid, my freezer is full, and I am retaining enough cash to stay above my account minimum, and to pay bills due in the first part of next month.)

So, two weeks of budget restrictions to go into your choice of investments/debt payments. Who's with me?

ace1224

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i'm in! i'm going to try and not even get gas

TansyPants

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NoFool: Not even no spending but selling extra! Going above and beyond!

ace1224: Good for you! Are you a cyclist, a walker a hypermiller or are you improving trip planning/not travelling?

ace1224

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its a combination of all of those.  i bought a bike and am now biking to work unless i have to take my son to school.  i work like 3 miles from my house, live 1 mile from the library, and 1/4 mile from the grocery store so i'm trying very hard not to take my car those places (unless it its raining, im not hardcore yet)
every wed we eat dinner at my parents so i do drive the family there 12 miles round trip.  so for the rest of the month i'm trying to make the 1/2 tank in my suv (very anti-mustachian i know) last.  it says i have 130 miles to empty so i think i should be okay.  fingers crossed!!

TansyPants

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Hopefully the weather remains nice then! Good luck!

TansyPants

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This thrown guntlet may be the best thing to happen to me all year. In the past I've had a long day and ppicked upp a tub of icecream or a bag of chips (or both!) on my way home. This habit was messing with my weight as well as my wallet. This last week it's been really easy to eat healthy because going to the store is simply no longer an option. I may have to implement this every month. After rent and groceries, spend no money.
I will admit, i am borrowing the boyfriend's credit card to make a costco run with my parents on monday. Feels like cheating? But it's for necessary groceries and otherwise would be bought at twice the price from fresh direct. Also, paying with someone elses money, which makes me uber aware of how much i'm spending.

ace1224

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it was cold this weekend and i'm a weather weenie so my kid and i just did art projects inside and watched nature documentaries on netflix.  i didn't spend any money so that's good!

frugalcoconut

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I'm going to try to hold off on making any extraneous purchases through May 9th (since my credit card cycle closes on May 8th) ... and although I need to do a grocery run for some non-food items (e.g. I'm out of garbage bags!), my goal is to use up all of the food that's already in my fridge/freezer so that I'm not purchasing more needlessly. 

ace1224

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i spent 6 dollars paying for my kid's field trip next month, the gas is hanging on so that's good.  other than that i think i might make it! the dog got a hold of one of the library books so i may have to shell out to replace it this saturday when we make our trip there. 

ace1224

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whoo hoo i made it! i creeped into the gas station on fumes today (8 miles to empty) but i made it!