Author Topic: Savetember  (Read 48665 times)

Melody

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #150 on: September 08, 2015, 06:31:34 PM »
Have a lovely economical weekend planned. Helping out with sports on Friday, hiking on Saturday, party at a friends on Saturday night (with a family dinner at a restaurant in between... Going with a group so it will be split bills but a cheap restaurant so I can manage this, it's rare to be able to get us all in one room) and lunch at my boss's house on Sunday (as a thank you for our team... How sweet!). Will need to buy a tank of petrol, but all in I expect to pay $50 for fuel and $20 for the restaurant. I will also need some groceries (another $50 or so). I think I can be at $250 or so half way through the month so on track for only spending $500 this month with the exception of rent and bills (phone/internet/utilities/vet). This is a gigantic improvement over other months :-)

choppingwood

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #151 on: September 08, 2015, 07:38:55 PM »
I think I can be at $250 or so half way through the month so on track for only spending $500 this month with the exception of rent and bills (phone/internet/utilities/vet). This is a gigantic improvement over other months :-)

Good for you! Sounds like a fun weekend planned.

elledub

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #152 on: September 09, 2015, 01:22:08 PM »
I'll report in. My goal for Savetember was zero discretionary spending. I've blown that already on the 5th I spent $12.57 on gas for my dirt bike but only burned up a quarter of it (however that was really fun :-). Today was $28 on school pictures so up to $40.57 already and it is only the 9th. This is an interesting experience as I've never focused on a no-spend month. I'm actually finding it relaxing and relieving  me of chores to go get this or that or do this or that. I don't even have to debate anything because the answer is no or wait until October. It is like a big fat easy button.

Melody

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #153 on: September 09, 2015, 06:22:43 PM »
Urgh ended up taking the guy I am sort of seeing to the pub for his birthday which was $19 (ouch! I forgot how expensive drinking was) but it was a nice night and I think I can still come in budget for the month. I am actually not finding $500 for everything except bills to be too painful, so it's certainly making me reassess my normal budget. I could do this every month as long as I had a holiday bucket and a clothes bucket. (So not ready to do no clothes shopping long term. The attrition rate is shocking! But lately have been focusing on only replacements for broken stuff with no additons to the wardrobe. )

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #154 on: September 09, 2015, 08:39:53 PM »
Broke my 'no alcohol' plan to celebrate me getting a job. It'll be rolled into the general grocery budget. We got a bota box, and it was on sale ($16.99) and then ibotta is doing a $1 rebate, so it works out to a $4/bottle price. And luckily we didn't do it as an impulse purchase- we thought about it, we haven't bought alcohol in over a month, and we're sharing with friends for a celebration. Seemed reasonable, although not in keeping with our original plan.

Melody

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #155 on: September 10, 2015, 03:44:29 AM »
Savetember is rapidly becoming "zero food wastage" and "eat all the food in the house" month. I am literally planning how many free meals I can score. This weekend I am on track for 3 (friends catering for me at their houses) so not only am I not spending money going out, I am going to be able to avoid food shopping until Sunday (with the exception of bread... Need bread).

Tigerpine

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #156 on: September 10, 2015, 04:23:56 AM »
I bumped up my 401(k) contribution to 30% for the rest of the year.  With matching and everything, that means a total of 38%!  Still won't max it out, but at least I'll make up for some lost time.

Still eating the pot roast I made with my crockpot on Monday.  I'm pretty certain I can make it last until the weekend.

I also got my coworkers involved to remind me to call the landlord to get the refridgerator/freezer replaced (I get so caught up with my job that I completely forget about things like that until it's time to go home.)  So now I have a working freezer again!

I'm also finally getting my ex-girlfriend off of my cell phone plan.  That will save a bunch!

Nancy

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #157 on: September 10, 2015, 04:58:54 AM »
Savetember is rapidly becoming "zero food wastage" and "eat all the food in the house" month. I am literally planning how many free meals I can score. This weekend I am on track for 3 (friends catering for me at their houses) so not only am I not spending money going out, I am going to be able to avoid food shopping until Sunday (with the exception of bread... Need bread).

Nice! I loathe food waste, but this challenge has made me realize how deep my stocking up tendency is. Usually if I'm running low on something, I'll buy its backup so I'm never in a position where I'm baking somethng and find out I have no yeast. This month, there have been so many times where I've held a replacement item in my hand at the grocery store, knew its counterpart at my house would not last the month, willed myself to put the item back on the shelf,  and then figured out a recipe substitution with items I already have. I'm glad I didn't have time to stock up before starting this challenge.

Free fruit at work has been a major score for me, but the reason I've been crushing my food budget is the ample produce from my veg garden. It's astonishing how much food it produces.

Melody

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #158 on: September 10, 2015, 06:08:56 AM »
Tommorrow morning is tinned salsa beans and egg for breakfast... The bread at the convinience store was $7 and I didn't have time to get to the supermarket (where it is $2) so the challenge made me consider a non toast breakfast.

Anje

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #159 on: September 10, 2015, 07:14:26 AM »
So far this month:
$ 60 for petrol (one tank that will last me 2/3 of a month)
$ 105 for food for 2 weeks.
$ 6 for the catchall-cathegory of random things. Went towards fishing equipment - so far got in return 3 portions of fish.

So far so good.

choppingwood

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #160 on: September 10, 2015, 08:08:38 AM »
I bumped up my 401(k) contribution to 30% for the rest of the year.  With matching and everything, that means a total of 38%!  Still won't max it out, but at least I'll make up for some lost time.

Still eating the pot roast I made with my crockpot on Monday.  I'm pretty certain I can make it last until the weekend.

I also got my coworkers involved to remind me to call the landlord to get the refridgerator/freezer replaced (I get so caught up with my job that I completely forget about things like that until it's time to go home.)  So now I have a working freezer again!

I'm also finally getting my ex-girlfriend off of my cell phone plan.  That will save a bunch!

Good for you! You are just moving along in every way.

mom22boys

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #161 on: September 10, 2015, 12:14:45 PM »
Progress so far:

1 - 401K @15% and MEGA back door @38% of my pay check ....can't wait until pay day!
2 - Still waiting to sell my stock. Have a price in mind for the stock to hit before I sell. I have plenty in Efund just incase it takes a while.
3 - $0 going out to eat
4 - Groceries at $82.51 (love YNAB for tracking to the penny). Like a few others, I'm trying to use what's in my freezer/pantry.
5 - $68 on unnecessary purchases. Immersion blender (to make more mayo/sauces at home for Whole30 challenge), bathroom mat (since I decided I WON'T turn on my in floor heat in my bathroom this winter, save $$$) and a padded mat for in front of the stove (since I'm cooking everything at home this month). I got them all at Costco on sale, not that it makes the purchases more justified.  But, to make up for this, I'm going to sell some things on my local FB garage sale site.

I'm considering selling a fancy pants buffet which I paid $2500 for before my MMM discovery (major face punch delivered already by myself). I might see if I can see it for $1300.  Not sure if high tickets items will sell on the FB garage sale site though.  Still decided on whether to try it or not.

1967mama

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #162 on: September 10, 2015, 01:43:25 PM »
Here to deliver myself a face punch:

Just took 8 year old son and I to McDonald's for lunch on our way home from ER. He had jammed his finger on a basketball last night at the neighbours and this morning its all swollen. Turns out its only sprained. He is in a little splint.

At the very least, I'm in Canada so didn't have to pay for said ER visit :-/ It was total sympathy food and I just couldn't face coming home and cooking lunch. What a wimp.

johnny847

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #163 on: September 10, 2015, 04:48:53 PM »
My goal was zero non grocery spending. Strictly interpreted I have failed, but here's why:

I bought 2x $500 Visa gift cards that have a $5.95 fee, but this was to meet a minimum spend requirement for my BoA travel rewards card which has a $200 signup bonus.
I booked tickets for myself and my parents to go on vacation to New Orleans. I used miles and only paid 9/11 security fees of $5.60 per segment.
I bought little Dixie cups to ice my knee with. Cost $2.46.

The first one "doesn't count" because I will more than make up for it when the signup bonus posts.
The second one "doesn't count" because I would have had to spend more miles (and may not actually had enough) if I forced myself to book it later. The alternative was of course not to book these tickets at all and not go on vacation. But I literally have more miles than I know what to do with. Also, my parents will be paying for basically everything else on this trip so it costs me next to nothing to go.
The third one...I actually kinda forgot that I had a no spending thing going on when I bought these. No excuse here. At least they were only $2.46.

Incidentally, I haven't bought any groceries yet this month, but I will soon.

lbmustache

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #164 on: September 10, 2015, 06:11:11 PM »
Here to deliver myself a face punch:

Just took 8 year old son and I to McDonald's for lunch on our way home from ER. He had jammed his finger on a basketball last night at the neighbours and this morning its all swollen. Turns out its only sprained. He is in a little splint.

At the very least, I'm in Canada so didn't have to pay for said ER visit :-/ It was total sympathy food and I just couldn't face coming home and cooking lunch. What a wimp.

Aw well, it's an injury. A rare treat isn't too bad. For a mustachian twist, there are more expensive places than McDonald's. :P

Grocery spending is going well this month. On track to spend $150-$200 instead of $200-$250.

Bajadoc

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #165 on: September 10, 2015, 08:11:43 PM »
"Savetember," I love that. I have it easy, I enjoy saving more than spending. The dear wife is coming along, slowly but surly.

Anje

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #166 on: September 11, 2015, 04:58:07 AM »
So far this month:
$ 60 for petrol (one tank that will last me 2/3 of a month)
$ 105 for food for 2 weeks.
$ 6 for the catchall-cathegory of random things. Went towards fishing equipment - so far got in return 3 portions of fish.

So far so good.
Went to store to get milk last night. Found ground beef and mozarella on sale due to short expiration date. The rest, as they say, is history. Future me will feast on cheap lasagne. $19 out.

JJNL

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #167 on: September 11, 2015, 05:32:02 AM »
Here for an update. My goal was to reduce spending on groceries. So far, I am on schedule to do that. Here are the numbers:

Week 1: 27 euros at Lidl
Week 2: 3,70 at the Turkish greengrocers' and 17,74 euros at Dirk supermarket (= shopping for next week I did today)

The coming weeks' numbers are partially so good because I had the flu for a few days and hence ate less so had food leftover. However, I've noticed that I ALWAYS have food left over: I am basically forever eating last week's veggies. This is why I tend to go for things that will keep, that means I don't have to throw them out at least... Will try to stop myself from overshopping.

Also, I've devised a tie-in project: cook with 1 weird back-of-cupboard ingredient a week. I like to experiment and try new things in the kitchen, but this does tend to lead to leftover dry ingredients languishing at the back of my cupboards. This week's intended victim: polenta. Bought a 1kg bag of it to use as a breakfast staple while hiking, but have never really learnt to cook anything else with it (and prefer a yoghurt and muesli breakfast while not hiking). On the menu for this week is a veggie-and-polenta-casserole from BudgetBytes. Yumyum (I hope)!

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #168 on: September 11, 2015, 06:08:24 AM »
Decided to spend an extra $12ish to buy fruit leather trays for my dehydrator for apple and pumpkin season.

kander

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #169 on: September 11, 2015, 11:32:51 AM »
Here to deliver myself a face punch:

Just took 8 year old son and I to McDonald's for lunch on our way home from ER. He had jammed his finger on a basketball last night at the neighbours and this morning its all swollen. Turns out its only sprained. He is in a little splint.

At the very least, I'm in Canada so didn't have to pay for said ER visit :-/ It was total sympathy food and I just couldn't face coming home and cooking lunch. What a wimp.

Don't be to hard on yourself, 1967mama. Everyone needs comfort food sometimes and I think that a visit at the ER is a very good reason.

wordnerd

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #170 on: September 11, 2015, 07:29:33 PM »
I've bought lunch at work a couple of times so far this month. I know I'm doing it because I've been stressed, but I need to get back on track. <le sigh>

Melody

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #171 on: September 12, 2015, 05:37:01 PM »
urgh, my plans for an economical weekend got derailed :-(
my friend was supposed to cook me dinner on Friday night but when I got to her house she'd had a full on day at work, wasn't organised and wanted pizza. So I ended up paying my share ($9) towards it. I did however minimise the damage by offering to do the pick-up run and using a coupon. My friend did provide beer though and we had a nice Friday night so that ok. My plans for a hike were destroyed by a thunderstorm, so we ended up doing lunch, a movie and a session at the rockclimbing gym at a cost to me of $50 (it was my turn to pay for food, but we used coupons for the cinema and the climbing gym). This is a LOT more money than what I would even normally spend on a weekend but it was a good day.  On the upside I still haven't had to buy petrol (as the movie/climbing gym were close to home, and we drove in and walked to remaining portion to avoid paying for parking (as this it's cheaper to drive than use the bus). Next two weekends should be pretty cheap: next weekend, staying at my parents house and catching up with friends from that town. Will need to buy petrol ($50) and will likely go to the brewpub for lunch (approx $25), but already have beer in the fridge to take to the house party.
The weekend after is a sports competition. I still need to pay comp fees (approx $20) but beyond that should be able to have a cheap weekend. I am sure there will be a "wind down" drink to buy at the pub ($5 or so) but I don't expect to spend a ton of money. Despite yeasterday's blow out, I think I can still get through this month with all Non-Bill spending under $500 as long as I keep focused on the groceries. The only other stuff I need to pay for is sports classes (about 5 of them between now and the end of the month at $8 each).

Nancy

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #172 on: September 12, 2015, 05:45:56 PM »
Earpiece on my sunglassses broke. Found a stick, whittled a new earpiece, and stuck it on with tape. Perfectly good! Sunglasses live another day.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #173 on: September 13, 2015, 08:57:34 AM »
We still haven't had to buy gas this month, which is awesome. DH hasn't had to travel for work this month yet, and we haven't been out of town to visit our families, so that saves on spending. Otherwise, we did quite a few miles out to a hike (90 miles total), but it was totally worth it and we're still over 1/2 tank. Wondering how long we can last! Probably until I start driving for work next week, depending on my schedule.

Considering most months we have 4 or 5 fill ups, this is exciting. (To be fair, we usually fill up at 1/4-1/3 tank remaining; for DH's unpredictable work, it's a good idea to keep the car plenty full).

Buying a birthday present for a family member today. Using a gift card I got from selling books a while back, and combining that with a craigslist sale since it'll take me downtown. So we'll basically make money on buying this relative a birthday present! Wish I had saved the books from the last goodwill donation to resell those, too, for more credit, but I didn't think we'd be headed downtown any time soon. That'll be the plan for the future though!

Tigerpine

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #174 on: September 13, 2015, 09:44:47 AM »
Here's an update.

So far I've spent $405.98 this month.  That includes everything, such as phone, internet, Netflix, food, etc.

That averages to just over $31 per day.

Actually, this is a marked improvement over this time last month, but it's just too much.  Hopefully with the Crockpot, food costs will go down (they already have), and the phone will go down once the ex is off.

lbmustache

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #175 on: September 13, 2015, 10:14:05 AM »
Ralph's was having a massive sale on good quality chicken. 50% off!!! Got a ton of drumsticks - between them and rice I will have some good cheap meals for the rest of this week.

Melody

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #176 on: September 13, 2015, 05:25:58 PM »
Here's an update.

So far I've spent $405.98 this month.  That includes everything, such as phone, internet, Netflix, food, etc.

That averages to just over $31 per day.

Actually, this is a marked improvement over this time last month, but it's just too much.  Hopefully with the Crockpot, food costs will go down (they already have), and the phone will go down once the ex is off.

For some of us a $0 month may not be desirable. I think the idea of Savetember is to have a "bad-ass" month, whatever that is for you. I'm looking at dropping discretionary spend by 65% this month. It's still a lot more than $0, but the benefit is I have been having a great month and have still be able to socialise and as a result will be drawing up a new budget that makes every month look a lot more like Savetember. I can't believe how much waste there was previously (lifestyle inflation was the culprit as my wages have risen rapidly over the last three years). So Savetember could just be about re-setting lifestyle inflation for you... that's what it is for me.

Tigerpine

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #177 on: September 13, 2015, 06:24:15 PM »
Here's an update.

So far I've spent $405.98 this month.  That includes everything, such as phone, internet, Netflix, food, etc.

That averages to just over $31 per day.

Actually, this is a marked improvement over this time last month, but it's just too much.  Hopefully with the Crockpot, food costs will go down (they already have), and the phone will go down once the ex is off.

For some of us a $0 month may not be desirable. I think the idea of Savetember is to have a "bad-ass" month, whatever that is for you. I'm looking at dropping discretionary spend by 65% this month. It's still a lot more than $0, but the benefit is I have been having a great month and have still be able to socialise and as a result will be drawing up a new budget that makes every month look a lot more like Savetember. I can't believe how much waste there was previously (lifestyle inflation was the culprit as my wages have risen rapidly over the last three years). So Savetember could just be about re-setting lifestyle inflation for you... that's what it is for me.
Thank you for your kind words.  I might come across as negative, but that's just because I want to do so much better.

The truth is, I really am pretty happy with life.  I've accelerated some plans, and I have a renewed focus about my current life goals.  And I continue to be amazed at life's little things.  For example, the new freezer in my apartment froze a pork roast solid in only a couple of hours.  I thought that was just the craziest thing (the old freezer had completely forgotten how to freeze anything.)  I'm amazed at how we can communicate on opposite ends of the Earth with really no effort at all.  It's truly a wonderful life.

Melody

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #178 on: September 13, 2015, 06:26:37 PM »
Agreed. I am also trying to focus on the good things in life and what I want out of life this month. Like you, always wanting to be more bad ass and save more, but pretty happy with the progression on the way. And to the people who can do a $0 month, that's awesome!!!

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #179 on: September 14, 2015, 06:27:12 AM »
Ended up needing to spend a lot of $ this weekend. Bought a staple gun and a chem sprayer for my side job business (covered with my earnings but still a bummer, as I try to save 100% of my earnings from that). Decided that I really needed a boiling water bath canning pot that didn't boil over when doing quarts, so splurged on a rather nice 8 gallon  stainless steel brew kettle/stock pot that will have utility beyond canning - and worked marvelously yesterday when I put up 23 quarts of tomatoes.

Also spent over $100 at the FM but so far all of our food spending has been within budget. Should eke out under budget even with a few bushels of apples picked later this week or next week.

Rosy

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #180 on: September 15, 2015, 08:55:04 AM »
Well, so far the projected savings are on target and even surpassed by $889. Yay!:)

Food I am dissecting down to the penny for the first time ever this month - so, we'll see what the bottomline looks like. So far it doesn't look too far out of line, but of course there will be room for improvement, which is the reason for this exercise.

Eating out has almost tripled this month, mostly due to birthday celebrations and Mr. R. taking a vacation, so we are indulging ourselves a bit. Needed a new battery for my car and spent too much on gift cards for the b-days (in my opinion, not Mr. R's)
I'd rather see a bit more cash in his account.

Having some financial discussions while he's off - funny how it is much easier to discuss over a margarita on the beach:)

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #181 on: September 15, 2015, 09:45:49 AM »
Some planned spending:

Bought 2 new scrub tops for my new(!!!) job. Realized I could re-use the pants from school, since they didn't have the school logo, just the tops. Saved about $30 there. Although now my pants are black and navy, and it's hard to find tops that match both those colors. I think I did a reasonable job, though. So now I have 3 pants and 3 tops, which will get me through 3 12's in a row. Anything shorter than a 12 and I can just do laundry if I have a longer string of shifts.

I slightly "cheated" the budget though. We still had a MasterCard gift card from our wedding, for $50, so we used that for the tops. Figured it counted as 'starting up our married life' expenses, and now I won't lose the gift card before I get a chance to use it!

I have a 10% off lifetime loyalty card which really impressed the cashier lady- I guess they gave them out "AGES AND AGES ago"- I got mine back in high school because they carried the cheapest dress socks. Made me laugh/feel old. It was the second one she's ever seen, and she's worked for the company for 3 years. Glad I kept it for all these years, because they changed their computer systems too, so it's only if you still have the physical card will they honor it.

All told, the 2 tops came to $43. We used another $3 to get DH a lacrosse ball for pressure point work, and then I used the rest for a coffee. First coffee we bought out in over a month! All of it went on the gift card, which is now used up.

A few miscellaneous expenses came up, but I think all are justified. We had to buy an extension cord ($6.99 on amazon) so that we can easily move the AC unit from one room to another- saves us having to buy a separate dehumidifier, since it has a "dry" setting. So $7 to avoid spending over $100. We also need to buy new bolts for our toilet seat. Should only be a couple bucks, but has to be spent- one of the bolts sheared clean off. Stupid plastic junk. And we'll have to renew registration on the car soon, and get environmental testing- forgot these expenses in the estimate of this month.

Otherwise, we're still on track this month. Keeping our spending low. Still haven't filled our cars yet, but will need to Thursday. Grocery spending is a bit high, because it's been a restocking month, but it's still within budget. (Also, we include meds in this, which we only have to buy every few months, and they're all falling on this month).

All in all, it's going pretty well! Still doing $200/week into DH's tIRA. So there will be about $1,200 total "financial" spending for this month- $800 into IRA, $400 went to loans.

velocistar237

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #182 on: September 16, 2015, 11:44:05 AM »
We've spent about 30% less on food, just by eyeballing which calories are expensive and not eating as much of those. We did get a parking ticket, which made for a very not fun evening. It motivated me to sell some things I've been meaning to sell. I now have several items listed on eBay. We had a stroller with a snapped frame, and I fixed it and sold it on Craigslist for $45. There's a good possibility that we'll come in at $500 less than a typical month, even with the parking ticket, and income should be a little higher than normal, too. We'll see how it goes.

My wife is taking a personal finance class and has been looking a lot more at our finances. She said she was surprised at the sheer volume of little purchases that add up. If we can get used to this level of spending, it could pull retirement in by about a year.

Susan

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #183 on: September 17, 2015, 01:42:15 PM »
So far, I've spent 60 apart from groceries. Most of it (48) was spent on gifts. The rest on a few beers and some personal care supplies. Pretty happy with this month up till now.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #184 on: September 18, 2015, 08:36:13 AM »
Ugh, I hate the unexpected charges. Had a $75 service fee for our AmEx Blue Preferred Card. And in a way it doesn't "count", because we're getting a $150 statement credit next month for meeting the spending limit, but Mint shows it as an outflow and so it sticks in my mind that way.

Megma

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #185 on: September 18, 2015, 01:44:59 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!)

Nice seeing everyone's updates!

I'm not doing great...my spending on my trip has been a little high. I had booked a hotel by the metro station BUT since I'm in Middle East it's still hot as hell here so I've succumbed to taxis far too many times. But it's over a 100 degrees at 10pm, higher during the day and humid so whatever.

Tomorrow I'm also going to the fabric market, which is a personal weakness. I'm normally on a self imposed embargo, except for special situations, when I have a chance to buy things that I can't get at all locally (ie on sale isn't a reason).

Ugh so much rationalization...since I've spent nothing at all on gas and only $30 on groceries this month (thanks work travel!) I might still make the total under budget goal, even with the trip.

Rosy

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #186 on: September 18, 2015, 02:06:34 PM »
Update - just received bonus money $214.75 - so savings have exceeded expectations for the month of September. Yay:)

Budget is on track and so far it looks like the food budget, which I've never itemized before, is looking even better than expected. May be too soon to call it - we'll see.
According to the FDA chart we are thrifty, he he.


Faraday

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #187 on: September 18, 2015, 03:15:16 PM »
forummm and the gang - we at my house are on-target to match August August, even though I've made a couple smallish mistakes, ($25-$35) work done in the past for future savings continues to pay handsome dividends:

- 2 cheap phones $23 (Moto X Androids on Republic Wireless)
- TV antenna and $8 Netflix
- A great deal of insourcing work
- no debt

We may need to sacrifice some money this month for winter prep. I am working on energy-saving insulated window treatments, some custom-designed storm windows (our vinyl windows have no storm windows available....gaa!), and adding solar to the hot water heater.
« Last Edit: September 18, 2015, 07:21:50 PM by mefla »

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #188 on: September 18, 2015, 04:22:37 PM »
Had a decent amount of food spoil when our fridge was running hot. Stupid me, no excuses, has never once cleaned the condenser coils in 10 years of owning the fridge. *facepalm*

Would blow the grocery budget if I replaced what spoiled and stuck to the original plan but should be able to adapt and get through remainder of month at minimal expense.

Rural

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #189 on: September 18, 2015, 04:51:10 PM »
Had a decent amount of food spoil when our fridge was running hot. Stupid me, no excuses, has never once cleaned the condenser coils in 10 years of owning the fridge. *facepalm*

Would blow the grocery budget if I replaced what spoiled and stuck to the original plan but should be able to adapt and get through remainder of month at minimal expense.


  Sounds like we live in the same world. We lost everything perishable in the fridge last weekend. Fortunately most everything was in the deep freezer, which is fine.


I'm currently trolling eBay for a part that is no longer manufactured, but if it doesn't turn up in a month or so, I think we're going to "have" to buy new fridge.  Right now we're limping the old one along, kicking it on manually sometimes because the troubled part is the thermostat. We hope. It isn't the compressor, and while the coils were undescribably nasty,  cleaning them has not fixed the intermittent not coming back on problem.


 If we buy, we may very well buy used. Haven't decided yet.


Also this month, we had to pay car insurance. It's budgeted for On a monthly basis, but the six month premium did hit this month.


 I need to cook up some meals to put in the deep freezer, because I don't trust that refrigerator over the course of the long days that we're gone.

1967mama

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #190 on: September 18, 2015, 05:03:39 PM »
I can semi-relate to breaking down fridges -- my larger deep freeze is on the fritz. It is running way more than it should. Googling indicated that its either the gasket (we already have to keep a heavy toolbox on the top to keep it closed) or the thermostat. If its the thermostat, I'm not sure that we will replace it as the freezer is already old (at least 15 years) and I have a non-handy husband with a very demanding office/travel job. I saw a much smaller one at Costco yesterday for around $329. I may end up buying a new one for the increased efficiency as well as to allay my fears about the losing the contents which is currently 45 chickens and a dairy box of last spring's side of beef. I have a full cow two sides of beef arriving at the end of October and don't want to be waking in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, wondering if my freezer is working.

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #191 on: September 18, 2015, 05:19:31 PM »

So far this month:
Still at $ 60 for petrol (will need to fill very soon)
$ 198 for food for 3 weeks - I just need fruit and vegies for next week, though. Plan is 250 for the month.
$ 8 for the catchall-cathegory of random things. Went towards fishing equipment and some cotton cloth.

So far still good.
Tomorow I'm stopping by to look at a new pan, though. $ 50 for a replacement for my old and battered one is a very good deal.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #192 on: September 18, 2015, 05:19:55 PM »
1967mama - Would a smaller one give you enough space? Two sides of beef is a LOT of meat. Plan on roughly 5 cuft of freezer space per 100 pounds of meat IIRC.

Rural - with raw produce I wouldn't worry too much about temp fluctuation. So, for the rest of the more sensitive stuff, do you have a cooler/ice chest large enough to fit what you need? Simply keep that stuff in there and rotate reusable ice packs in and out of the deep freeze every 12-24 hours as needed.

There was a homesteading book I read where the family didn't even own a fridge. They used that ice chest method plus the large deep freeze as a matter of course to increase their energy efficiency.

Rural

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #193 on: September 18, 2015, 06:36:37 PM »
1967mama - Would a smaller one give you enough space? Two sides of beef is a LOT of meat. Plan on roughly 5 cuft of freezer space per 100 pounds of meat IIRC.

Rural - with raw produce I wouldn't worry too much about temp fluctuation. So, for the rest of the more sensitive stuff, do you have a cooler/ice chest large enough to fit what you need? Simply keep that stuff in there and rotate reusable ice packs in and out of the deep freeze every 12-24 hours as needed.

There was a homesteading book I read where the family didn't even own a fridge. They used that ice chest method plus the large deep freeze as a matter of course to increase their energy efficiency.


 Not worrying about produce, you're right  – it lived through last weekend, it llived through yesterday afternoon/last night, no problems. I'm doing something sort of like what you mention, but with frozen two-liter bottles of water in the fridge itself. Seems to be keeping my milk cold enough to be just fine when the fridge does go out – one frozen two liter on each side of the milk, in direct contact.


 We do have a cooler, but  it currently lives in the car because it's packing my husband's lunch to school every day. He doesn't have access to the faculty lounge like I do to use the refrigerator, and our schedules don't mesh well enough for me to just get it out for him.


 The thing I'm struggling with most is that my meal plan for those long days has relied fairly heavily on leftovers, usually in the crockpot and just reheated when we get home in the evenings. That's what I think is going to have to change – I'm thinking of freezing a meal's worth in the deep freezer overnight, taking it out in the morning,  and then if the fridge dies again while we're gone, it just thaws a little faster. I think that would work. 


Also thinking of things I can make fast straight from the deep freezer. French bread pizzas are one definite idea, but when we get home quite late, my level of tired is such that anything that takes more than 10 minutes is right out.  I'm dealing with some chronic pain right now that just wipes me out at the end of a long day, and that's complicating things a little bit.   I may actually buy one or two frozen convenience meals. I hate the things, but I think they're better than a late night emergency run for fast food somewhere,  especially given how far it is to a fast food place from here.


 Damn, writing all that out makes me wonder if I shouldn't just give up and buy a refrigerator. Don't wanna, though.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #194 on: September 19, 2015, 07:50:04 PM »
Had a stroke of good luck today! Was starting to crave a meal out (no restaurant spending for nearly 2 months now). Shortly before dinner time, our neighbor texted and offered us a free cheese pizza! She had babysat for the owner, but is on a diet right now. Large, delicious, perfectly cooked pizza. Easily a $25 pizza she gifted us.

Now to remember to scoop the communal yard for dog poo tomorrow to maintain neighborliness!

1967mama

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #195 on: September 19, 2015, 08:36:51 PM »
GC,

I know. It really wouldn't be enough freezer space, even though we have the other smaller deep freeze (10 cu. ft) in the basement. Ugh, I don't want to have to buy another big freezer, but I suppose I could give one to one of the older kids when they start their own homes. We are kind of at critical mass with the oldest turning 24 this fall (still living at home) and the youngest at 8 and a lot of them in between. So we are thinking about downsizing the home within the next 5 years as the oldest 4 move out. We shall see. Unfortunately, its my larger freezer (14 cu. ft) that is dying. I guess it is wishful thinking that I could get away with it at this time...haha.

Alchemilla

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #196 on: September 20, 2015, 01:33:32 AM »
Not doing too badly here except for one DD needing new ballet shoes and the other new wellies. Cheap wellies last her about a fortnight.

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #197 on: September 20, 2015, 05:27:33 PM »
My Savetember has not been as successful as I had hoped.

I decided that it was time to move/find a new job which turned into a road trip (approx. $300) for a job that will pay more in a higher col but more livable area (still waiting on call back).

A small medical procedure ($50) and a (much needed time with family) flight home ($150).  Total $500

10 more days to refocus before trying again in "Soctober?"


Melody

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #198 on: September 23, 2015, 02:59:54 AM »
Well I stuffed up today ... Have been looking for a good hiking/travel pack for a while and haven't seen one I liked that met all my requirements, of course today one of the outdoors stores was having a sale so I couldn't resist peeking in... And there is was, my dream pack marked down from $230 to $140. Savetember went out the window as I have been looking for one that had all the features I wanted at a good price (women's harness, light weight, not a bright colour, waterproof, camelback, big enough for an overnight hike, not so big I feel silly carrying it on a day hike). I don't feel too bad as this has been on my want list for about 6 months and I have an overnight hike planned in two weeks time plus a trip to New Zealand (loads of hikes planned) at the end of the year.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Savetember
« Reply #199 on: September 23, 2015, 09:41:50 AM »
Savetember is going well, although we will be tight on the groceries. Stocking up this month was a huge factor. We also decided to combine supplements/pharmacy with our groceries, since they come with our subscribe and save order. It's making me feel the squeeze a bit, but I like it- I was hesitant to lower the numerical goal for our grocery budget (DH already things $800 for 3 adults and 2 dogs is too low)- so this is a good way to push ourselves without moving the number we're aiming for.

We'll see how clever I feel if we break our 3 month run of meeting grocery goals!

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!