Author Topic: Savetember  (Read 48666 times)

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #50 on: September 01, 2015, 09:25:44 AM »
First 2 hours have been a success.

Hey me too! Clearly, I just need to stay in my pajamas at my computer the rest of Savetember. It's been working so far- no money spent yet!

bloomability

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #51 on: September 01, 2015, 10:01:21 AM »
Situation: nothing easy/already prepared to grab for lunch today
Default: buy lunch
Today: hastily put together a lunch
Result: not spending an unplanned $10; not wasting food I already bought

I intentially bought groceries with this situation in mind. Why was it such a challenge to make lunch?!?

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #52 on: September 01, 2015, 10:07:00 AM »
Situation: nothing easy/already prepared to grab for lunch today
Default: buy lunch
Today: hastily put together a lunch
Result: not spending an unplanned $10; not wasting food I already bought

I intentially bought groceries with this situation in mind. Why was it such a challenge to make lunch?!?

Okay, so you've identified a major trigger for yourself! That's a huge step. How will you fix it?

My preferred method is to batch cook chili or spaghetti sauce and freeze it in individual portions. I also do apple sauce this way. Then I will just pull bags out, toss into my stuff, and away I go. I also know people who always have sandwich fixings on hand to ensure they don't buy out- not the most economical, but cheaper than going out to eat.

What's your current system?

bloomability

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #53 on: September 01, 2015, 10:56:56 AM »
Situation: nothing easy/already prepared to grab for lunch today
Default: buy lunch
Today: hastily put together a lunch
Result: not spending an unplanned $10; not wasting food I already bought

I intentially bought groceries with this situation in mind. Why was it such a challenge to make lunch?!?

Okay, so you've identified a major trigger for yourself! That's a huge step. How will you fix it?

My preferred method is to batch cook chili or spaghetti sauce and freeze it in individual portions. I also do apple sauce this way. Then I will just pull bags out, toss into my stuff, and away I go. I also know people who always have sandwich fixings on hand to ensure they don't buy out- not the most economical, but cheaper than going out to eat.

What's your current system?

Thanks! I need to realize that I purposefully pick non time consuming things to eat so I always have time. I just like to be prepared, and when I'm not? disaster.

With my particular job, I'm visiting clients all day with no access to a fridge or microwave. That particular batch system doesnt work for me. I eat out of a lunchbox!

I shop and prep food most Sundays and cook a hot meal each evening while prepping lunch. I just didnt have something prepared because yesterday was long and stressful and miserable. Dinner was actually grapes and peanut butter.

I'm rambling and over explaining. anyway! Food is my biggest focus for this month - meal planning, no waste, etc., etc., for health, energy, finances, overall adulting.

Circling back to Savetember - I could have a nice surplus at the end of the month if I work hard to change my spendy food habits.

1967mama

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #54 on: September 01, 2015, 11:09:23 AM »
Just after midnite, I cancelled an online order I was working on that totalled $43 in the cart -- my first two hours were also a success!

Nancy

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #55 on: September 01, 2015, 11:55:46 AM »
I'm joining this. I'm focused on my food budget and miscellaneous spending. My plan is to eat what I have in the house and avoid replacing items when I run out. I want to be more flexible in how I cook and figure out how to make meals with whatever is available, as opposed to automatically buying my favorite groceries. As for misc, I've had a one-off expense each month for the past few months. It's a trend I'm ending. If I don't absolutely need it, then I'm not getting it.

Edit: I'm going to leave my wallet at home tomorrow. Just bringing my ID, license, and maybe an emergency $20 in case I get in a wreck.
« Last Edit: September 02, 2015, 03:09:19 PM by Nancy »

forummm

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #56 on: September 01, 2015, 12:16:50 PM »
I have a small roof leak. Just got a quote for $900. Oof. I'm trying to figure out other options.

Megma

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #57 on: September 01, 2015, 12:29:41 PM »
I'm in for Savetember! August hit me hard - tenant in my extra room moved out at the beginning of the month = no rent and return of majority of a security deposit. I don't even get lower utility bills because I don't pay them!

Groceries were also over budget for August (joint bday party for me and bf resulting in more food and booze than normal) so I want to get that under control. I will be gone for a full week for a work trip but my dad will be staying with us another week so we'll see how that pans out.

Tacked on to my work trip I have 2 days of vacation in a very pricey city with a spendy friend, I will try to keep the meal/shopping costs under control and I already paid for my extra hotel nights. I am very unlikely to ever visit this city again in my life so I also want to enjoy it a little bit.

So my Goals are:
- Spend overall under my monthly budget (Aug was over!), including the $150 in additional taxes I need to pay and my trip
- Keep Groceries & Restaurants (harder than normal with dad visiting & vacation) under budget for the month
- Keep overall vacation days spending below $250 for food/shopping - this is a lot but is is a very expensive city (the Federal per diem rate for meals and incidentals is 183/day!)

Faraday

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #58 on: September 01, 2015, 06:22:32 PM »
I'm joining this. I'm focused on my food budget and miscellaneous spending. My plan is to eat what I have in the house and avoid replacing items when I run out. I want to be more flexible in how I cook and figure out how to make meals with whatever is available, as opposed to automatically buying my favorite groceries. As for misc, I've had a one-off expensive each month for the past few months. It's a trend I'm ending. If I don't absolutely need it, then I'm not getting it.

Nancy, I gotta cheer you on for this. We tried this in July and August. It was a little tough at first - we realized a kind of "panic" sets in when you run out of something and have to keep running on what you already have. But it gets easier as you realize you still do actually HAVE FOOD YOU CAN EAT and it's OK.

Plus, when you do eventually go to the store, it makes you feel even that much better when you get good deals on the items you are restocking! It's a kind of buying low and leveraging, but with groceries.

Megma

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #59 on: September 01, 2015, 06:29:59 PM »
I'm in for Savetember! August hit me hard - tenant in my extra room moved out at the beginning of the month = no rent and return of majority of a security deposit. I don't even get lower utility bills because I don't pay them!

Groceries were also over budget for August (joint bday party for me and bf resulting in more food and booze than normal) so I want to get that under control. I will be gone for a full week for a work trip but my dad will be staying with us another week so we'll see how that pans out.

Tacked on to my work trip I have 2 days of vacation in a very pricey city with a spendy friend, I will try to keep the meal/shopping costs under control and I already paid for my extra hotel nights. I am very unlikely to ever visit this city again in my life so I also want to enjoy it a little bit.

So my Goals are:
- Spend overall under my monthly budget (Aug was over!), including the $150 in additional taxes I need to pay and my trip
- Keep Groceries & Restaurants (harder than normal with dad visiting & vacation) under budget for the month
- Keep overall vacation days spending below $250 for food/shopping - this is a lot but is is a very expensive city (the Federal per diem rate for meals and incidentals is 183/day!)

Ok, that might be the shortest challenge ever...I got home today to a broken a/c unit and it's still summer here in the south! And bf works at home so we need to fix it. I will try to keep to the challenge as much as possible but this will probably blow the staying under budget plan.

bsmith

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #60 on: September 01, 2015, 06:34:15 PM »
I'm in. My August spending was super low, and I'm pleased. My goal this month is to keep expenses low and sell a bunch of hobby crap online. I buy it, take what I want, and then need to sell the rest, but selling is is PITA, so I've procrastinated. I want to keep expenses low, sell that crap, and then not spend the income from it.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #61 on: September 01, 2015, 07:03:17 PM »
Ok, that might be the shortest challenge ever...I got home today to a broken a/c unit and it's still summer here in the south! And bf works at home so we need to fix it. I will try to keep to the challenge as much as possible but this will probably blow the staying under budget plan.

Hopefully it's something simple like a burned out capacitor. Is the condenser just suddenly not turning on? Or is it running but just not getting cool?

Check the circuit breaker first, but a capacitor is like a $10 part and that's the most likely reason for the compressor to suddenly fritz.

Carolina on My Mind

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #62 on: September 01, 2015, 09:36:49 PM »
I'm getting in on this challenge.  I've spent a ton this summer and need some moral support to get back on track!


kaposzta

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #63 on: September 02, 2015, 03:54:26 AM »
I'm in! I'm trying to save more than 50% of my take home pay this month, which is not a high ratio (as I usually save around 55%), but this month I've already had a few unforeseeable expenses (student loan 3% of take home pay, dentist 6%).

Alchemilla

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #64 on: September 02, 2015, 04:34:47 AM »
I'm in after Abundantly Alcoholic August!

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #65 on: September 02, 2015, 06:04:10 AM »
I'm in! I'm trying to save more than 50% of my take home pay this month, which is not a high ratio (as I usually save around 55%), but this month I've already had a few unforeseeable expenses (student loan 3% of take home pay, dentist 6%).

How is a student loan unforeseeable?

Megma

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #66 on: September 02, 2015, 06:48:36 AM »
Ok, that might be the shortest challenge ever...I got home today to a broken a/c unit and it's still summer here in the south! And bf works at home so we need to fix it. I will try to keep to the challenge as much as possible but this will probably blow the staying under budget plan.

Hopefully it's something simple like a burned out capacitor. Is the condenser just suddenly not turning on? Or is it running but just not getting cool?

Check the circuit breaker first, but a capacitor is like a $10 part and that's the most likely reason for the compressor to suddenly fritz.

It's running but the air coming out is not cool. My dad came to look at it and he thinks that it probably needs coolant added or a valve somewhere is broken - neither of these things did he think we can fix ourselves, so the HVAC man is on his way today.

I was surprised he said I should not try to add to coolant myself (this is a man who has remodeled his whole house himself and has a part-time maintenance man gig) but I know nothing about A/C units so I went with his judgement.

Mikila

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #67 on: September 02, 2015, 06:50:02 AM »
I am in as well.  This Summer's expenditures make me want to eat ramen for the next few months to get back on track.  Outside of bills and groceries, we are spending the minimum necessary. 

I am looking forward to seeing everyone's progress.

forummm

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #68 on: September 02, 2015, 07:45:44 AM »
Ok, that might be the shortest challenge ever...I got home today to a broken a/c unit and it's still summer here in the south! And bf works at home so we need to fix it. I will try to keep to the challenge as much as possible but this will probably blow the staying under budget plan.

Hopefully it's something simple like a burned out capacitor. Is the condenser just suddenly not turning on? Or is it running but just not getting cool?

Check the circuit breaker first, but a capacitor is like a $10 part and that's the most likely reason for the compressor to suddenly fritz.

It's running but the air coming out is not cool. My dad came to look at it and he thinks that it probably needs coolant added or a valve somewhere is broken - neither of these things did he think we can fix ourselves, so the HVAC man is on his way today.

I was surprised he said I should not try to add to coolant myself (this is a man who has remodeled his whole house himself and has a part-time maintenance man gig) but I know nothing about A/C units so I went with his judgement.
If you go to the compressor unit (the big box outside) and can hear the fan come on, but not the compressor itself, it's probably not a coolant issue. Either it's something like a capacitor (cheap) or a dead compressor (expensive). And if it were a coolant issue, it would mean you had a leak somewhere.

1967mama

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #69 on: September 02, 2015, 07:55:38 AM »
I would love to surprise my husband with $$ left in the bank account at the end of the month! He does all his tracking every 2 weeks and I more keep track of the day to day. We are double tracking bright now but I'm trying to switch us over to an online budget while he continues with the way he's kept a spending record on paper for us for many years. So it would be sweeeet for him to be pleasantly surprised September 30th!

AllieVaulter

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #70 on: September 02, 2015, 10:28:04 AM »
I mentioned Savetember to DH, but apparently I wasn't explicit enough.  Yesterday he bought 4 months worth of dog food (it was a good sale), and some supplies for fishing (less than $20 worth).  He was so upset when he realized the challenge was to not spend money this month!  The dog food puts us near $100 of not necessary spending, so we probably won't be setting any records, but we'll keep trying.  And now we're on the same page.  :)

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #71 on: September 02, 2015, 10:34:42 AM »
megma - you need specific licenses and equipment to add/handle refrigerant, if that is indeed the issue.

AllieVaulter - There's nothing wrong with stocking up because of a deal. IIRC forummm did this back in July's challenge when there was a killer sale on peanuts.

bsmith

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #72 on: September 02, 2015, 10:37:41 AM »
Quote
I'm in after Abundantly Alcoholic August!

Yeah we did this, too. Thought about breaking alcohol out into it's own line item in YNAB, but then decided to keep it mixed in with groceries.

Megma

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #73 on: September 02, 2015, 11:06:14 AM »
megma - you need specific licenses and equipment to add/handle refrigerant, if that is indeed the issue.


Well that explains my dad's reaction, I did not know this! HVAC guy is coming this afternoon, so we will get it fixed soon hopefully.

Forummm, the compressor looked ok to me and my bf when we went outside to look at it...not that we can tell anything about it aside from the fact it was running!

Thanks for the tips everyone! :-)

Alchemilla

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #74 on: September 02, 2015, 11:07:53 AM »
Quote
I'm in after Abundantly Alcoholic August!

Yeah we did this, too. Thought about breaking alcohol out into it's own line item in YNAB, but then decided to keep it mixed in with groceries.

That deninitely helps with the denial about how much its costing us. Back to home brew in October!

bsmith

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #75 on: September 02, 2015, 11:11:30 AM »
Quote
Quote from: bsmith on Today at 10:37:41 AM

    Quote

        I'm in after Abundantly Alcoholic August!


    Yeah we did this, too. Thought about breaking alcohol out into it's own line item in YNAB, but then decided to keep it mixed in with groceries.


That deninitely helps with the denial about how much its costing us. Back to home brew in October!


Yeah we throw those cardboard circles from boxed wine into a little container. Counted them up the other day and wished we hadn't. $10-$15 a pop!

forummm

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #76 on: September 02, 2015, 12:39:11 PM »
megma - you need specific licenses and equipment to add/handle refrigerant, if that is indeed the issue.


Well that explains my dad's reaction, I did not know this! HVAC guy is coming this afternoon, so we will get it fixed soon hopefully.

Forummm, the compressor looked ok to me and my bf when we went outside to look at it...not that we can tell anything about it aside from the fact it was running!

Thanks for the tips everyone! :-)

You can't see the compressor running--only hear it. The fan (what you could see spinning) is not the compressor.

I mentioned Savetember to DH, but apparently I wasn't explicit enough.  Yesterday he bought 4 months worth of dog food (it was a good sale), and some supplies for fishing (less than $20 worth).  He was so upset when he realized the challenge was to not spend money this month!  The dog food puts us near $100 of not necessary spending, so we probably won't be setting any records, but we'll keep trying.  And now we're on the same page.  :)

I say always take advantage of a good value. If the dog food was a great price, and it was something you'd buy anyway, you're lowering your costs for future months. I bought like 20 pounds of cheese last month when it was on sale, and peanuts the month before that.

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #77 on: September 02, 2015, 01:59:41 PM »
We need this after last month... will see if DH is on board for Savetember.
My husband didn't really get it when asked him about this. After all:

(1) I make 95% of our purchases, necessary or not. So, really it's up to me.
(2) We are amazingly good most months, just not last month.

Maybe this is a moot point for us. We just spent $6.73 at Goodwill today (got 3 items). We probably will not buy much for the rest of the month, other than groceries.

bsmith

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #78 on: September 02, 2015, 02:10:33 PM »
Quote
I bought like 20 pounds of cheese last month when it was on sale, and peanuts the month before that.

I just discovered cheese at Sam's is half the grocery store price. I bought the five pound bag and froze four. We're cheese rich! Not as much as you, with your showy 20lbs, though.

kander

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #79 on: September 02, 2015, 02:12:11 PM »
Our spendings on the first 2 days of September:

€13,22 on groceries

Also some money went to utilities and insurance, but since I can't change anything about that I'm not going to track it.


And I've taken €30 of our bank account. We'll pretend we've already spend it and then at the end of the month.... kaching :P (it's not much, but if this works I'm planning to take €40 next month and build it up)

AllieVaulter

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #80 on: September 02, 2015, 02:41:02 PM »
I mentioned Savetember to DH, but apparently I wasn't explicit enough.  Yesterday he bought 4 months worth of dog food (it was a good sale), and some supplies for fishing (less than $20 worth).  He was so upset when he realized the challenge was to not spend money this month!  The dog food puts us near $100 of not necessary spending, so we probably won't be setting any records, but we'll keep trying.  And now we're on the same page.  :)

I say always take advantage of a good value. If the dog food was a great price, and it was something you'd buy anyway, you're lowering your costs for future months. I bought like 20 pounds of cheese last month when it was on sale, and peanuts the month before that.

I always appreciate a sale on necessities.  And my DH is a sale finding fiend (just one of the many things I love about him).  I just found his reaction hilarious.  What he actually said was, "Man!  I should have bought these yesterday!" 

Nancy

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #81 on: September 02, 2015, 03:16:46 PM »
Nancy, I gotta cheer you on for this. We tried this in July and August. It was a little tough at first - we realized a kind of "panic" sets in when you run out of something and have to keep running on what you already have. But it gets easier as you realize you still do actually HAVE FOOD YOU CAN EAT and it's OK.

Plus, when you do eventually go to the store, it makes you feel even that much better when you get good deals on the items you are restocking! It's a kind of buying low and leveraging, but with groceries.

Thanks for the encouragement! I already feel panic just thinking about running out of my favorite foods. Good on you for pulling it off two months in a row! You'll be my inspiration.

1967mama

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #82 on: September 02, 2015, 04:33:30 PM »
Took kids and neighbour kids to a free museum today and then we all came home to our house and I made popcorn for them all and they are watching a dvd together. Free feels good!

Melody

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #83 on: September 02, 2015, 06:18:11 PM »
I am in. I like "savetember" much more than stingy September, the start of spring which was what I was thinking of it as. Incredibly I managed to spend 100% of my pay check last month (a holiday, planned purchase and gigantic vet bill pushed me over the threshhold) which has scared the beejeezus out of me (I used to always joke i couldn't spend it if I tried) so redemption is needed. I haven't spent anything so far, though will need to buy some medication today ($6) and may need some groceries (is coffee a need when I can get it at work free?) The one exception is I am likely to buy a scooter (small motorbike) this month and sell my car. So obviously spending money on the bike and associated safety gear will not count as it's a short term spend to save money in the long run on car operating costs and should let me increase the stash by $5k or so.

MrsPrettyInPink

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #84 on: September 02, 2015, 10:08:56 PM »
I'm so in! 

I'm new to MMM, but jumping in feet and fist first.  :)

Trying to save and have something left over at the end of the month. 

1967mama

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #85 on: September 02, 2015, 11:38:25 PM »
Put a Playmobile-type Advent Calendar in my Amazon cart when I found it for almost 50% off. Was about to click "buy" and then came to my senses as I read the reviews that it was really junky. Whew! Glad I came to my senses. This will happen many, many times this month.

michaelrecycles

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #86 on: September 03, 2015, 12:23:47 AM »
I'm in! As with a few others here, summer was a bit spendy. This was for good reason, namely a couple road trips that I thoroughly enjoyed. But it's time to reign it in.

So far this month, I've:
  • Tax loss harvested during the market downturn, reducing my taxable income about $1500. (Thanks to the Chinese market for making it possible. Thanks to CanuckExpat for the prompt through his recent post; I rarely have dry powder when stocks are "on sale," but now I have an alternate course of action. And thanks to Vanguard for making it super easy to execute.)
  • Rolled over an old HSA into my employer-sponsored HSA that will save me on quarterly investment fees and a $45 annual fee.
  • Taken advantage of a Chase new checking account bonus offer. Maybe an hour's worth of time at home and at the bank for $300.

Now to focus on regular expenditures.

Anje

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #87 on: September 03, 2015, 05:13:51 AM »
I'm in too.

Got some repairs to do after august. I went over on my "other" post buying a vacuum (I used up all of septembers budget, as it happens) and my "clothes" post getting new shoes. Don't regret either for a second, but this month I don't need anything and so will not spend anything on those 2 posts (except if a ridicolously low sale for frying pans comes up - I will need one of those in the next few months)

Will also try to keep up the good work from august and manage on $ 250-300 on food (am in northern Europe - my usual budget is 430/month.)

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #88 on: September 03, 2015, 05:20:37 AM »
Put a Playmobile-type Advent Calendar in my Amazon cart when I found it for almost 50% off. Was about to click "buy" and then came to my senses as I read the reviews that it was really junky. Whew! Glad I came to my senses. This will happen many, many times this month.

A minimum 48 hour cooling off period between adding to cart and checkout is (almost always) a good practice. Some folks even make it more like a month.

I quite frequently come back to things I've saved for later and remove them.

Nancy

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #89 on: September 03, 2015, 07:12:22 AM »
Do you wait until the end of the month to sweep your additional savings into your taxable investments or do you invest the money at the beginning of the month so you have no choice but to stick with your lower budgets?


KMMK

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #90 on: September 03, 2015, 07:35:01 AM »
Well, my first two days were good, but day 3 is probably going to involve some spending. A friend wants to go camping and it's probably the last really hot day of the summer, so I'm going to go. At least I can consider this spending to fall under my socializing exception.

Faraday

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #91 on: September 03, 2015, 07:38:35 AM »
Do you wait until the end of the month to sweep your additional savings into your taxable investments or do you invest the money at the beginning of the month so you have no choice but to stick with your lower budgets?

Nancy - I have a dedicated Money Market account at my credit union I use as a "cache for cash" (ha). I accumulate money into that account - it can't be accessed via ATM and can't be electronically drafted.  This keeps me and the DW from doing anything with it unless we go to the credit union and do something.

However, online, I can MOVE money between all the accounts. So when I have enough cash in the cache, I squirt it in the direction I want to take it by pushing it to the checking account then immediately using the checking account to electronically draft the money.

The one exception to that, is when the equities markets started to decline last week, i went ahead and moved $2k into Roth IRA. That allowed me to get at least 7 more shares of the fund I'm in for the same price as last time.


kaposzta

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
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  • Posts: 90
  • Age: 40
  • Location: Hungary
    • Years Until FIRE Calculator
Re: Savetember
« Reply #92 on: September 03, 2015, 07:44:15 AM »
I'm in! I'm trying to save more than 50% of my take home pay this month, which is not a high ratio (as I usually save around 55%), but this month I've already had a few unforeseeable expenses (student loan 3% of take home pay, dentist 6%).

How is a student loan unforeseeable?

I always pay the same amount at the beginning of the month, but a few days ago they informed me that I need to pay more this month. I don't know why. I made the payment, because it's a small amount, and it will decrease my balance anyway.

AllieVaulter

  • Bristles
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  • Posts: 304
  • Age: 39
  • Location: Portland, OR
Re: Savetember
« Reply #93 on: September 03, 2015, 08:36:08 AM »
I'm so in! 

I'm new to MMM, but jumping in feet and fist first.  :)

Trying to save and have something left over at the end of the month.

Welcome MrsPrettyInPink!  Joining a group for accountability can definitely help you save money.  We're glad to have you.  Good luck and may your frugality muscles always be strengthening.  :)

choppingwood

  • Pencil Stache
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  • Posts: 531
Re: Savetember
« Reply #94 on: September 03, 2015, 10:58:59 AM »
I'm having a quiet start to the month. Spending a few days at home on projects where I have the supplies: salsa yesterday, cabbage rolls today, and fall cleaning. Bought a bottle of cleaner so I can clean floors and trim, but that's it so far.

Next week will be harder: a trip to the city to buy clothes, an electrician comes to visit, and a trip one town over for a job interview.

bsmith

  • Stubble
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  • Posts: 166
  • Location: Texas
Re: Savetember
« Reply #95 on: September 03, 2015, 11:46:38 AM »
I needed to go to the grocery store Monday, but I'm holding out and eating out of the pantry/freezer. Made a loaf of bread yesterday to help. Grocery store tomorrow, then.

Alchemilla

  • Stubble
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  • Location: England
Re: Savetember
« Reply #96 on: September 03, 2015, 01:01:43 PM »
Spending so far...

sellotape
dishwasher tablets (in bulk, ebay)
a fitted sheet to replace one that DH ripped (sounds exciting but isn't!).
« Last Edit: September 03, 2015, 01:05:07 PM by Alchemilla »

kander

  • Bristles
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  • Posts: 262
Re: Savetember
« Reply #97 on: September 03, 2015, 01:02:19 PM »
Our son needed new clothes because he grows very hard. He went from size 86 to 98 for pants. So I've bought some at a budget store and some second hand clothes. It still was a lot of money, but now I have a lot of clothes for him and I hope that he doesn't need anymore clothes this winter then what he has now... Only shoes maybe.

Today I've spent:

€117,50 on clothes
€2,69 on stuff for our house (a toilet roll holder)
€19 on groceries
€2,20 on food outside the house

It wasn't a great day for saving.... I'm sorry....


JJNL

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  • Age: 45
  • Location: The Netherlands
  • Zuinigheid met vlijt bouwt huizen als kastelen
Re: Savetember
« Reply #98 on: September 03, 2015, 04:18:00 PM »
Count me in too - although I'm going to be spending money on the holiday I'm taking at the end of the month so my overall savings rate is not going to be something to write home about. I've already saved up for that, so I'm going to put the challenge to work on my normal, everyday spending and just try to keep that as low as possible. Main focus: groceries!

Melody

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  • Age: 35
  • Location: Australia
Re: Savetember
« Reply #99 on: September 03, 2015, 05:22:39 PM »
Put a Playmobile-type Advent Calendar in my Amazon cart when I found it for almost 50% off. Was about to click "buy" and then came to my senses as I read the reviews that it was really junky. Whew! Glad I came to my senses. This will happen many, many times this month.
Don't buy anything online that you don't need immediately... Add it to your cyber Monday shopping list!!!I am on a shopping moratorium until black Friday/cyber Monday where I can buy all the stuff on my list.