Author Topic: Spendless September  (Read 8933 times)

catccc

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Re: Spendless September
« Reply #50 on: September 17, 2018, 11:40:15 AM »
Okay, I said I wasn't doing numbers, but here are some, anyway.  I'm aiming to stay under $3,200 for September.  Yes, that would be an improvement!  YTD through August is $39,800, an average of $4,975/month.  But we had some travel earlier in the year ($6,551), and that is a lot of it.

We are at $1,395 right now with $1,767 of anticipated expenses for the balance of the month.  (Anticipated expense include $1,526 of rent and utilities, plus some estimates for other items.)

This month I paid up front for a couple of after school care programs that are held a couple times a week through early December.  I'm not going to spread those out, just keeping it cash basis for simplicity's sake.

clarkai

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Re: Spendless September
« Reply #51 on: September 17, 2018, 08:56:02 PM »
Totally forgot to post our spending:

Misc: $2.39 (Store bought brownie treat after a long day of work- disappointing. Next time I'll just save up enough brownie points to make a batch at home.)
Food: $30.11
Electronics: $32.30 (Had to replace a couple cellphone chargers- one was left behind in Belgium, and the other was lost when one of the housemates moved out. Alas.)

Not so bad so far! And the food budget is doing pretty well. Wish we didn't have to buy the chargers, but that's the rub. Although technically the need for the chargers was originated in July and August, so if we were more on top of things we would have dealt with it before Sept, but we didn't.

Update!

We're sitting at $155 for food- because my partner did a bulk purchase of olive oil ($52) that's on sale. We've also bought most of the ingredients for this coming week, so we'll see how it goes. I think we'll definietly make our goal of $300, and we might make our $200 dollar goal, maybe.

On the other hand, we've spent ~$300 building a shed for bikes, which is very necessary, as our house contains 6 people and 8 bikes, and all the bikes are in the living room right now because there's literally nowhere else to put them. We commute every day and don't have a car, so I feel like it's a good trade off.

Aside from that, I spent $1 on a child's jacket to rip the sleeves off and put over my bike handles as a windshield. So far, it's working better than the gloves that finally wore out ever did.

Aside from that, it's pretty much mortgage and utilities.

middo

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Re: Spendless September
« Reply #52 on: September 18, 2018, 03:57:27 PM »
18th September update (over half way)

Food:  $303 / $500
Non-food groceries:  $117 / $200
Alcohol and eating out:  $481 / $100   OMG
Medical:  $354 / $450   (includes of health insurance)
Transport:  $291 / $400

Total:  $1546 / $1850

It's going to be a challenge from here.  Going to the football two nights in a row, and getting their late so we had to buy food there has really blown out the Alcohol and eating out numbers.  Once a year...

Penn42

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Re: Spendless September
« Reply #53 on: September 19, 2018, 07:36:58 PM »
I'll go ahead and stop in by this thread!

Here are my September expenses thus par in fantastic list form!

Rent - 250
FU - 150
Groceries - 72.79
Car Insurance - 48.45
Transportation expenses - 61.02
Phone - 17.30
Chase Southwest Annual Fee - 69
MISC - 34.37
Fun Money - 38.77

Total - 741.7

Upcoming expenses in the last third of the month will be some more groceries, my internet bill, and probably a date night out (which would fall into the Fun Money category).  Trying to keep it to $900 this month.



zeli2033

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Re: Spendless September
« Reply #54 on: September 23, 2018, 05:25:23 PM »
Spending as of 9/23:

Groceries/Household Goods: $659 / $700
Restaurants/Cafes: $64 / $75
Personal Care: $179 / $179
Transport: $204 / $75
Utilities: $45 / $50
Entertainment (incl. subscriptions): $54 / $50
Total: $1,205 / $1,129

Well.. An unexpected car repair reared it's ugly head this month, pushing our auto/transport expenses up pretty significantly. At least it was pretty minor in the grand scheme of things and we could easily cashflow it (a feat that would not necessarily have been true a couple of years ago). If that hadn't have come up, we would only be at ~$42. But oh well!

Doing well on the food front. We completed the grocery shopping for the rest of the month so we should be able to hold the line under budget for that line item. All in all, still a pretty good showing that I hope we can maintain for this last push.

catccc

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Re: Spendless September
« Reply #55 on: September 24, 2018, 08:40:21 AM »
Unexpectedly ate out this weekend, but it was worth it, IMO.  Despite what I would consider less than gung-ho efforts to cut expenses this month, we ARE doing better than usual.  About 1 week to go!  We are already past our previous month total estimate of $3,162 (currently just shy of $3,300), but that's still good, and it will still be the lowest spend month if we stay under $3,457.

haypug16

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Re: Spendless September
« Reply #56 on: September 25, 2018, 08:44:59 AM »
September 25th Update
Health/Medical = $87.83
Utilities = $100.94
Groceries = $229.07
Gas/Bus = $32.75
Cellphone = $119.72
Pets = $80.46
Dining Out = $160.57
Entertainment = $10.99
Donations = $35
Fitness = $4.99
Clothes = $104.58
Misc = $22.64
Total spend $969.54

6 days left to go and I think I will make it somewhere close to my stretch goal of $1,188. I just have a $100 medical bill and then need to buy food for the rest of the month. I may get another pair of maternity pants as well but will try to get those at the thrift shop.

haypug16

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Re: Spendless September
« Reply #57 on: September 27, 2018, 09:00:22 AM »
September 27th Update
Health/Medical = $187.83
Utilities = $100.94
Groceries = $238.51
Gas/Bus = $32.75
Cellphone = $119.72
Pets = $80.46
Dining Out = $185.02
Entertainment = $66.29
Donations = $35
Fitness = $25
Clothes = $104.58
Misc = $51.59
Total spend $1,227.69

4 days remaining in the month. I just went over my stretch goal of $1,188 but well under my goal of $1,588. This weekend I'll be going to the Big E (bid county fair type thing in MA) Tickets are $15, then I'll be buying some food for maybe $30, and possibly some Christmas gifts if I see anything good, then probably getting dinner with the people we're going there with. So it's probably a $100 day. Other than that no more expenses except groceries of maybe $20. So I should still come in under budget by a couple hundred bucks. :)

zeli2033

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Re: Spendless September
« Reply #58 on: September 28, 2018, 08:09:58 AM »
Whelp - we fell into a pizza this week. And a couple of beverages as treats during the work week.

Groceries/Household Goods: $675 / $700
Restaurants/Cafes: $99 / $75
Personal Care: $179 / $179
Transport: $204 / $75
Utilities: $45 / $50
Entertainment (incl. subscriptions): $54 / $50
Total: $1,256 / $1,129

clarkai

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Re: Spendless September
« Reply #59 on: September 28, 2018, 06:01:03 PM »
We ended up spending $309 on food this month, going over our budget by $9 for two adults. I think that's pretty good, especially considering that some of that is a bulk oil order, and we didn't sort out dish soap, tp, etc from the grocery bills. Cool beans.

middo

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Re: Spendless September
« Reply #60 on: September 29, 2018, 04:03:46 PM »
30th September.

Food:  $527 / $500
Non-food groceries:  $208 / $200
Alcohol and eating out:  $1036 / $100   OMG
Medical:  $388 / $450   (includes of health insurance)
Transport:  $526 / $400

Total:  $2685 / $1850

I thought about not posting my numbers for this month, because I am embarrassed by the alcohol and eating out figure.  But, it is what I spent.  It turns out that when you eat out with your adult children, and go to the pub with them, you spend way too much.

Most of the other figures I am reasonably happy with.  They are a little bigger than my targets, but less than my normal recurrent spending.  Next month...

zeli2033

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Re: Spendless September
« Reply #61 on: September 29, 2018, 06:18:19 PM »
30th September.

Food:  $527 / $500
Non-food groceries:  $208 / $200
Alcohol and eating out:  $1036 / $100   OMG
Medical:  $388 / $450   (includes of health insurance)
Transport:  $526 / $400

Total:  $2685 / $1850

I thought about not posting my numbers for this month, because I am embarrassed by the alcohol and eating out figure.  But, it is what I spent.  It turns out that when you eat out with your adult children, and go to the pub with them, you spend way too much.

Most of the other figures I am reasonably happy with.  They are a little bigger than my targets, but less than my normal recurrent spending.  Next month...

I completely understand where you're coming from. At many times I have been...ashamed/embarrassed/insert-chosen-feeling to either start a gauntlet challenge or report my progress in one due to how I felt about the progress I'd made/not made/whatever.

Ultimately I think a willingness to be honest with ourselves and others here is one of the best ways for us to change if that's the goal. If we aren't real about where we're at, it's easier to shove it in a corner and stop paying attention to it. And if we don't pay attention to it, the odds of us actually being able to address it are slim to none. Cue cycle of consumerism we came here to avoid (this is my experience at least).

Thank you for being honest and showing us what progress looks like because it IS progress that you posted. You posting may show someone else who feels the same way that they're not alone and they can be honest about where they're at too. And being honest about it is the first step to doing something about it :)

Penn42

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Re: Spendless September
« Reply #62 on: September 29, 2018, 07:26:26 PM »
I'll go ahead and stop in by this thread!

Here are my September expenses thus par in fantastic list form!

Rent - 250
FU - 150
Groceries - 72.79
Car Insurance - 48.45
Transportation expenses - 61.02
Phone - 17.30
Chase Southwest Annual Fee - 69
MISC - 34.37
Fun Money - 38.77

Total - 741.7

Upcoming expenses in the last third of the month will be some more groceries, my internet bill, and probably a date night out (which would fall into the Fun Money category).  Trying to keep it to $900 this month.

Final total ended up at $941.14.  I forgot that my annual $30 safe deposit box fee is in September and the $941 figure also includes $26.09 I will be reimbursed for that I spent working on a project for a coworker. That doesn't really count, but I like to track each transaction that appears on an account.  So into the spreadsheet it went.

middo

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Re: Spendless September
« Reply #63 on: September 29, 2018, 10:09:57 PM »
30th September.

Food:  $527 / $500
Non-food groceries:  $208 / $200
Alcohol and eating out:  $1036 / $100   OMG
Medical:  $388 / $450   (includes of health insurance)
Transport:  $526 / $400

Total:  $2685 / $1850

I thought about not posting my numbers for this month, because I am embarrassed by the alcohol and eating out figure.  But, it is what I spent.  It turns out that when you eat out with your adult children, and go to the pub with them, you spend way too much.

Most of the other figures I am reasonably happy with.  They are a little bigger than my targets, but less than my normal recurrent spending.  Next month...

I completely understand where you're coming from. At many times I have been...ashamed/embarrassed/insert-chosen-feeling to either start a gauntlet challenge or report my progress in one due to how I felt about the progress I'd made/not made/whatever.

Ultimately I think a willingness to be honest with ourselves and others here is one of the best ways for us to change if that's the goal. If we aren't real about where we're at, it's easier to shove it in a corner and stop paying attention to it. And if we don't pay attention to it, the odds of us actually being able to address it are slim to none. Cue cycle of consumerism we came here to avoid (this is my experience at least).

Thank you for being honest and showing us what progress looks like because it IS progress that you posted. You posting may show someone else who feels the same way that they're not alone and they can be honest about where they're at too. And being honest about it is the first step to doing something about it :)

Thanks for that. We had a chat about our spending literally an hour ago, and "not going to the pub/restaurant" was my wifes first suggestion, which I heartily concurred with. Homebrew and home cooked next month.

And yes, it is progress.

haypug16

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Re: Spendless September
« Reply #64 on: October 01, 2018, 08:20:38 AM »
Final September numbers
Health/Medical = $187.83
Utilities = $100.94
Groceries = $266.15
Gas/Bus = $32.75
Cellphone = $119.72
Pets = $80.46
Dining Out = $191.27
Entertainment = $96.29
Donations = $35
Fitness = $25
Clothes = $104.58
Misc = $110.62
Total spend $,1350.61

Goal was $1,588 so I came in ~$230 under :) Even though some of my categories were higher than I budgeted (Dining Out) I still had my lowest spend month of the year. Now I just need to keep this momentum going though the rest of the year I may be able to get close to my yearly spend goal.

catccc

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Re: Spendless September
« Reply #65 on: October 01, 2018, 10:09:02 AM »
Well, it was one of my lowest cash out months, but not the lowest.  Glad to be along for this ride.  Anyone starting a low spend challenge for October?  This was great for me!

Percolate

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Re: Spendless September
« Reply #66 on: October 02, 2018, 10:41:00 AM »
Final tally

$675.30 - Rent + Utilities
$176.36 - Groceries
$43.13 - Internet
$22.43 - Gas
$18.78 - Renter's Insurance
$15.72 - Audible
$14.67 - Car Insurance
$10 - Refill of Laundry Card
$0.50 - A stamp

Total $979.88 / $1000

Probably the lowest spending month of my adult life, which gave me a savings rate of about 87% for the month. I don't think I can sustain it though, it felt like I was doing some kind of fasting. Didn't buy anything new, didn't eat out once. The last time I bought socks was around this time last year and they're starting to have holes in them so I found myself eyeballing the calendar for when I could spend money again and adding stuff to my Amazon shopping cart in preparation.

It's kinda cool to see this is as near the minimum I might need to live on my own though. A friend is planning on moving in with me a couple months from now which would cut some of the bigger expenses in half as well.

magnet18

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Re: Spendless September
« Reply #67 on: October 09, 2018, 01:14:27 PM »
I haven't forgotten about the thread I started!  I finally sat down to tally it up and the numbers are embarrassing, but knowing is the first step to getting better


Normal Expenditures   $2,081.95   
Mortgage & Rent   $85.03   
Dog   $61.57   Unexpected vet trip
Utilities   $108.19   Includes phones & Music
Insurance   $244.38   
Gas & Fuel   $254.36   
Groceries   $752.98   !?!  Need to investigate, usually much lower
Alcohol & Bars & Parties   $112.49   Bechelorette party
Eating Out   $78.08   
Misc   $14.95   flexjobs subscription
Charity   $250.00   Remainder of 10% earmarked in tithe account
Shopping   $119.92   Wife got some much needed clothes
      
Repairs/Maintenance   $940.91   
Auto Parts   $207.96   Oil changes and Battery for Jeep I need to sell
Home Improvement   $732.95   Replace Furnace
      
Infrequent Expenditures   $1,733.76   
Tuition   $1,321.72   paid 4x per year
Vacation   $412.04   
      
Debt Paydown   $2,143.25   
Car Payment   $353.78   
Motorhome Regular Payment   $367.59   
Motorhome Principal Payment   $1,421.88   
      
Income   -$9,479.17   
Taxed   -$6,698.22   Income after witholding
Tax-free   -$2,780.95   401K & HSA

So if I count my motorhome principal as saving, my total spend was
About $5500, $1400 of that being tuition
I calculate a savings rate of only 42% :(
Optimism though, worst case if I lived like this every month, I could still retire in my 30s

I already spent $1000 on a new toilet for this month, and plan to spend $1000 on a woodstove, then things should slow down considerably.  November and December should have savings rates in the 60s-70s