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General Discussion => Throw Down the Gauntlet => Topic started by: HappierAtHome on December 11, 2017, 03:54:41 PM

Title: Uber Frugal January
Post by: HappierAtHome on December 11, 2017, 03:54:41 PM
It's that time of year again - time to challenge yourself to spend less and save more than an ordinary month.

Are you signing up for the FrugalWoods Uber Frugal Month Group Challenge (http://www.frugalwoods.com/2017/12/08/transform-your-life-join-the-january-uber-frugal-month-group-challenge/)? Are you setting a stricter than usual budget? Cutting out particular expenses altogether? Share with us! Let's cheer each other on!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bracken_Joy on December 11, 2017, 04:00:11 PM
Sign me up, although I still have to get the husband committed ;) But it'll be a good month to try- lots of medical expenses and a very restricted diet will mean a- no alcohol spending and b- motivation to cut back elsewhere and c- something else to keep my mind busy! And of course, post-Christmas spending!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: ixtap on December 11, 2017, 04:06:59 PM
I think it is great to do the Frugalwoods challenge once to clean house a bit.

Other than that, I have found the monthly challenge threads to help keep me on track with the little things. Would folks be willing to combine for January, so that some are working through Frugalwoods while others are setting personal goals?
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: HappierAtHome on December 11, 2017, 04:13:04 PM
I think it is great to do the Frugalwoods challenge once to clean house a bit.

Other than that, I have found the monthly challenge threads to help keep me on track with the little things. Would folks be willing to combine for January, so that some are working through Frugalwoods while others are setting personal goals?

The point of this thread is to be whatever monthly challenge you want to set for yourself (doesn't have to be FrugalWoods) - sorry that wasn't clear enough in my introduction!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bracken_Joy on December 11, 2017, 04:54:00 PM
I think it is great to do the Frugalwoods challenge once to clean house a bit.

Other than that, I have found the monthly challenge threads to help keep me on track with the little things. Would folks be willing to combine for January, so that some are working through Frugalwoods while others are setting personal goals?

That's probably more where I will be too =) I'm sure my grocery budget will be bonkers, for instance, since so far I have been able to ascertain I can eat virtually nothing, and the antibiotics will make me want to eat nothing else either. I'm sure whatever I *do* manage to consume will be the most costly possible option, knowing Me. ;)

I need to think about my goals. Certainly would like to try for: zero alcohol spending, zero restaurant spending, zero clothes spending.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: pachnik on December 11, 2017, 06:55:35 PM
Count me in too! 

First goal will be to stop spending on eating out on my own - this is mainly buying coffee + the odd scone.  Just want to look at my spending with a more critical eye.   
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: frooglepoodle on December 12, 2017, 04:30:55 AM
I’m in! We’re finally getting a handle on expenses in our new home so I’m excited to see how low we can get our spending. DH is on board, we just need to set specific goals.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Linea_Norway on December 12, 2017, 06:49:44 AM
I also like to stay focussed on a monthly basis.

Goals for January:
1) Stay active. If possible, go cross country skiing. Or go hiking to work, winter not being an excuse.
2) Don't buy stuff at the cafeteria at work. This month I bought 3 things, one expensive cake thing, one lunch and one coffee bread. 3 unnecessary things too many.
3) Don't buy too many veggies in a row. Just eat up what you have before anything spoils. This usually goes well, but sometimes I loose focus and buy mindlessly.
4) Don't buy more stuff that I don't really need. This month I bought a couple of things (second hand) that I could have lived without.
5) I don't need new clothes.
6) Go to bed on time to be in better shape during the day. Not use half an hour extra on reading in bed.
7) Like December: no more drinking alcohol on normal weekdays, except for Friday. Also, max 1 bottle of wine per week (for the 2 of us).
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: NinetyFour on December 12, 2017, 07:07:04 AM
I think I'm in!

2017 has been my spendiest year in quite a while.  I guess I felt like I had pretty much met my savings goals and then let the purse strings loosen...the results were a bit...interesting!  :/

This month, it looks like my grocery bill will be much smaller than the average from Jan - Nov, and I'm really stoked about that.  I would like to also keep it down in January.

And basically not spend any other money on extra crap that I don't need.

And minimize the clown car driving...
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Enigma on December 12, 2017, 07:13:13 AM
Too late...  already planned a cruise for January that was planned in August.  Haha maybe I will try my Uber Frugal Feb.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: westtoeast on December 12, 2017, 02:45:49 PM
Oh good, I'm glad this thread has already been created. I'm coming off the least MMM couple of months I've had since discovering the forum. Yikes. January will be a month of redemption. My big goal is just to stick to the new 2018 budget I put in place. I did also sign up for the Frugalwoods challenge again-- I've done it twice already, so I may not read everything but those little emails each morning will be a good reminder for me.

I'm going to post my budget (minus rent and student loans) for accountability.

Transportation (Bus, Train, Uber) < $100
Phone Bill < $30 (fixed)
Groceries < $250
Medical < $40 (fixed)
Fitness < $50 (Gah! I haven't paid for fitness in years. But I really need a once a week class to motivate me right now. I'm choosing to consciously spend this money for my health.)
Misc Expenses < $200 (this includes any personal care, household, or entertainment expenses-- the lower the better here)
Clothing = $0
Eating Out = $0

TOTAL SPENDING GOAL: $675


Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: MaybeBabyMustache on December 12, 2017, 03:16:47 PM
January is typically a pretty good month for us, as we're coming off of that New Year's high, where my motivation is usually at its peak. :-)

Still working on our January goals, but here's what I'm thinking:
-No eating out (minus a planned work trip, but all of those meals will be expensed)
-Lose 3 pounds
-Run 40 miles
-Max out our 401Ks (mostly generated by our yearly bonuses)
-Stick to the budget in all categories
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: ixtap on December 12, 2017, 04:49:34 PM
I am going to try this get the grocery spend down to $300 for January, including the restock when we get home on Dec 28.

I am also going to set a goal to exercise 15 days. Every time I try to do every day, I end up hurting my back.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Mongoose on December 13, 2017, 08:49:25 AM
I'm in...but only for the specific goals. I didn't find Frugalwoods super applicable to my current situation but it would've been awesome a few years ago.

We have a big trip in January so I want to focus on how we can have the most fun without overspending. Plus traveling with my celiac kid can get stressful. Preplanning is a must or mom gets horribly anxious!

Initial thoughts on goals for January
1. Keep trip food budget close to normal grocery budget. We have microwave, refrigerator, cooking facilities at both stops so I'm planning on mostly buying food at grocery stores and cooking. We have two dinners and one breakfast out planned. DH and I will probably eat lunches out for 5 other days. I guess I need to start investigating how we can do this without decimating our budget and expanding our waistlines. Time to get creative.
2. Maintain exercise schedule. Pretty much a must do because I have a 7k trail race scheduled for the end of the month.
3. Keep up with the housework, laundry etc. so it doesn't get out of hand.
4. Limit activities to free or those covered by the local pass we plan to get. All of the attractions we want to visit are covered. I'm still debating the value of the pass because it depends on what we go to. I need to look it back over with DH before we commit.
 
I am going to try this get the grocery spend down to $300 for January, including the restock when we get home on Dec 28.

I am also going to set a goal to exercise 15 days. Every time I try to do every day, I end up hurting my back.
Definitely allow yourself rest days if this is happening. Your body needs time to repair and strengthen muscles between exercise sessions.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: ixtap on December 13, 2017, 09:04:04 AM

 
I am going to try this get the grocery spend down to $300 for January, including the restock when we get home on Dec 28.

I am also going to set a goal to exercise 15 days. Every time I try to do every day, I end up hurting my back
Definitely allow yourself rest days if this is happening. Your body needs time to repair and strengthen muscles between exercise sessions.

I have a degenerative disc. In November I was trying to work.up to long walks every day, with a couple of five mile walks. I still have hopes that I can get there if I work towards it more slowly.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: haypug16 on December 13, 2017, 09:47:57 AM
I'm in. I've been having my most frugal months lately and want to carry it forward into 2018. Most of my budget categories are fixed amounts that are fairly low. My goal for Jan is to set and keep the variable categories low as well;

Groceries = $200
Dining Out = $100
Entertainment = $50
Clothes = $0 (modified after joining the No Clothes Shopping Challenge)
Personal & Household items = $10
Misc = $75

The misc category is my most challenging. I'm sure I can lower Dining out more but currently my average is $200 so halving it I think is a good starting point.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: chaskavitch on December 13, 2017, 10:19:09 AM
I've signed up for the Frugalwoods challenge, but I'll definitely set some specific goals. 

1) Reduce alcohol spending from $50/mo - husband is trying to eliminate his drinking at home, and I'd rather have cake anyhow.
2) Meal plan for the whole month to eliminate last-minute grocery spending and pizza purchases.
2.5) Make sure there are delicious leftovers for husband to have lunches every day, so he doesn't "have" to go out and get food.
3) Stop buying worthless snacks at the grocery store - no more random Talenti pints, or single-wrapped pieces of cornbread, or energy bars that look tasty.  Hopefully this will also lead to better health overall.
4) Don't spend any of my spontaneous money in January - I have more than enough books and clothes and shoes.
5) Sell at least 1 thing on Craigslist or to a pawn shop.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Kerowyn on December 13, 2017, 01:44:15 PM
I think I'll join in. My husband and I have been spending more than I think we ought to be, and I could use some accountability. I don't think I want to set goals, but I want to list out every expense on a daily basis so I can look at them with a critical eye and ask myself if we really wanted to spend that money. I think it's too easy for us to convince ourselves in the moment that we need something, and that might be why our spending is high. We could probably opt for cheaper alternatives on some things, as well.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Rosy on December 13, 2017, 03:49:44 PM
I'm in for January 2018.

2017 was the most $$$ I have spent in one year in 15 years, it's all sorted out now, but I'm still left with an unexpected car payment, which throws a wrench into my major goal of $50K by the end of next year, 2019.

Main goals:
1. - 0 - credit card balances - every month in 2018
2. Save 100% of SS money each month - all of 2018
3. Don't buy anything - unless it is absolutely necessary or already planned.

See how comfortable my new budget is and re-evaluate both my new budget and my new goals for February.
I'm saving up for both a (long, expensive overseas) trip in Aug 2018 and the $50K goal - we'll see how it all shakes out when I'm three months in.
Maybe the best thing for me would be to just find a way to make $256.05 extra income each month, to offset the car pmt.

So my challenge really is - what can I do to bring in or save $256.05 a month in 2018?



Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Jenny Wren on December 13, 2017, 05:26:40 PM
I already signed up for the Frugalwoods challenge, but since I don't do Facebook anymore it is helpful to have a place for accountability and camaraderie on this forum! :)

We do have a trip planned for January, four days for our anniversary and to check out a possible grad school option for myself. Flights and the air bnb are already paid for, and we have a budget set for meals, etc. We probably won't fiddle with that too much, other than to try and optimize what spending we do and challenge ourselves to come in under budget. Other than that, though, the mantra for January is SAVE, SAVE, SAVE!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: lexde on December 14, 2017, 09:12:06 AM
I’m in! I’ll see if I can get Spendypants SO on board.


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Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: AmandaPanda on December 14, 2017, 11:39:59 AM
I already signed up for the Frugalwoods, so this will be great!  I don't want to ask the husband to get on board with this until I've set an example, so this will only be about my personal spending and grocery budget, and as much as I can influence regarding our family budget (activities with kids, etc.)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bracken_Joy on December 14, 2017, 11:44:19 AM
I already signed up for the Frugalwoods, so this will be great!  I don't want to ask the husband to get on board with this until I've set an example, so this will only be about my personal spending and grocery budget, and as much as I can influence regarding our family budget (activities with kids, etc.)

Personally, I think that's fantastic and wish more people would do the same. Lead by example, and let your spouse come to you, once they've seen your own work and positive changes. =) Honestly, all finances come down to "what's in our sphere of control", I think too many people just assume their spouse should be in that sphere!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: pachnik on December 14, 2017, 12:09:34 PM
I already signed up for the Frugalwoods, so this will be great!  I don't want to ask the husband to get on board with this until I've set an example, so this will only be about my personal spending and grocery budget, and as much as I can influence regarding our family budget (activities with kids, etc.)

Personally, I think that's fantastic and wish more people would do the same. Lead by example, and let your spouse come to you, once they've seen your own work and positive changes. =) Honestly, all finances come down to "what's in our sphere of control", I think too many people just assume their spouse should be in that sphere!

+1.  I signed up too with Frugalwoods.   

Completely agree on setting an example for spouses rather than naggin.   When I signed on here, there was a lot I could do by myself:  stop buying coffee out every morning, stop unnecessary spending on stuff etc.   It took maybe a year or so of this and then my husband paid off his car + his credit card debt.  Now, he also saves a third of his income like I do.  It can happen!!!!

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bee21 on December 17, 2017, 08:51:57 PM
I am in. Next year is going to be an expensive year.

January is extra tricky, as it is school holidays and back to school time around here. Plus we have a kids' bday party to organize. 2 bdays to attend. Maybe plane tickets to buy for mid year if I find a good deal.

I will concentrate on keeping the groceries down and low cost kids' entertainment options. Luckily I already bought most of the back to school stuff, so realistically, all I have to buy them is a pair of school shoes each.

The most expensive part will be vacation care for 2 kids at 85$ EACH a day. I hate that part.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: akzidenz on December 18, 2017, 06:26:01 PM
I'm in. I generally want to be quite frugal (minimize eating out, walk the literal extra mile to Trader Joe's instead of Whole Foods, save 50%+ of my income). But the two thematic goals I have are:
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: abhe8 on December 18, 2017, 08:15:32 PM
I'm in. We are finally settling in to our new budget after moving in Nov. My goals are:

1. Meal plan, clean out pantry and freezer and no eating out.
2. Minimize clothing and household expenses. (With the exception of taking things to be altered.)
3. Start listing things for sale. I have several big boxes that really need to go.
4. Exercise everyday, in some manner. Running, hiking and yoga are my favorites.

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Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bayou Dweller on December 19, 2017, 07:53:15 AM
Beginning with my first paycheck of 2018, I'm maxing out my 401k. I'm extremely excited, but also pretty nervous. It's going to decrease my take-home pay by over $500 a month.

I'll still have plenty of money for bills and groceries, but I'll have to monitor my savings and keep enough cash around for the 1st of the month bills. I think I can do it though, I'm very optimistic about this. I know it doesn't sound like much but I'm going from saving 5k a year in the 401k to 18k (roughly). That doesn't include employer match and whatnot, but it still just feels like it's not enough and retirement is so far away.

Anyways... That's my Uber Frugal January: putting more into the pre-tax account. Hopefully that'll be my Uber Frugal 2018 ;)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: lemonverbena on December 19, 2017, 11:51:55 AM
Yeah, I needed to hear this...

I already signed up for the Frugalwoods, so this will be great!  I don't want to ask the husband to get on board with this until I've set an example, so this will only be about my personal spending and grocery budget, and as much as I can influence regarding our family budget (activities with kids, etc.)

Personally, I think that's fantastic and wish more people would do the same. Lead by example, and let your spouse come to you, once they've seen your own work and positive changes. =) Honestly, all finances come down to "what's in our sphere of control", I think too many people just assume their spouse should be in that sphere!

I'm going to try to limit telling my spouse just once that if we're careful this month we can pay off our roof loan. Then I'll post a chart with our spending on the fridge as a silent reminder.

Goal: pay off remaining $1436 roof loan
Method: eat through the pantry and the emergency food (that stuff should get rotated out every once in a while anyway), cancel entertainment subscriptions, no visits to my favorite thrift store, no home improvements we don't already have supplies for, no eating out
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: AmandaPanda on December 20, 2017, 08:14:12 AM
I noticed I'm already playing games with myself to keep January frugal:

"Self, you should stock up on those sweet potatoes and broccoli that are on sale before the first of the year so you don't have to spend money on that in January."

"Self, maybe you should try to make plans with that friend on December 30 so you don't spend that money in January."

I mean, I would spend the money either way, but it's artificial January savings, right?
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bracken_Joy on December 20, 2017, 08:18:55 AM
I noticed I'm already playing games with myself to keep January frugal:

"Self, you should stock up on those sweet potatoes and broccoli that are on sale before the first of the year so you don't have to spend money on that in January."

"Self, maybe you should try to make plans with that friend on December 30 so you don't spend that money in January."

I mean, I would spend the money either way, but it's artificial January savings, right?

Definitely an urge I have to fight. People do this all the time with dieting. ("I just have to eat all this junk from my house first! I can't waste it!"). Definitely a tricky one to avoid! I usually let myself "get away" with a small one, like the sweet potatoes, so I have the willpower to say no to the 'plans with friends' ones. =) I'd be interested to know if anyone else has a way around this!

(I'll admit though, that's part of why I love doing this January- last year I had social fatigue and tons of leftover food and booze from the holidays, so it worked well to be a budget "win" month. By doing a challenge at the same time, I felt like it was under my control, not inevitable anyway, haha).
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: alleykat on December 20, 2017, 09:26:41 AM
I am in for January.  I need to define my "frugal."  However, I need to reign it in some and be mindful and January will be a good time to start. 

I have never followed a budget and am considering doing so this year.  I am curious what everything adds up to be at the end of the year.  I created one at the beginning of 2017 but I am bad at keeping diligent with the upkeep.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: AmandaPanda on December 20, 2017, 09:31:20 AM
The sweet potatoes are 18 cents a pound.  They are never that cheap!  For the friends thing, I will have to be creative as far as planning activities that aren't dinner/drinks.  That is a go-to, especially after work.  I've already decided no "purchases" until at least winter is over, so socializing will be my biggest hurdle.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: TartanTallulah on December 20, 2017, 02:24:56 PM
I noticed I'm already playing games with myself to keep January frugal:

"Self, you should stock up on those sweet potatoes and broccoli that are on sale before the first of the year so you don't have to spend money on that in January."

"Self, maybe you should try to make plans with that friend on December 30 so you don't spend that money in January."

I mean, I would spend the money either way, but it's artificial January savings, right?

Last year, when I decided that I was going to make some specific no-spend resolutions for the year I avoided the "stocking up in advance" temptation by starting with immediate effect even though it was only the somethingteenth of December. This also kept me away from the post-Christmas sales.

I'm going to try to tighten up our spending in January, but that's with a view to keeping it tightened up at least until the middle of the year so that I can maximise my tax-advantaged savings in what I intend to be my last part-year in my job.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: monstermonster on December 23, 2017, 10:25:14 AM
I'm in!

I'm already pretty frugal, but here are some areas where frugality can factor in next month:

Things that won't be frugal
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: 2Birds1Stone on December 23, 2017, 01:07:02 PM
I'm in, with the exception of a planned and budgeted car maintenance (new tires, brakes, synthetic oil change). Which I am way overdue for. 
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: chasesfish on December 23, 2017, 01:16:30 PM
I love these, especially just to eat down my pantry
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: gaja on December 23, 2017, 04:04:12 PM
DD11 is getting the reigns for January, within some thresholds;
-all bills are automated, or entered into the online bank under supervision
-we will do two major grocery runs, paid by me. But she has to write the shopping lists.
-she has control over all the cash we had in the house, a total of around $500. That has to cover the rest of the food, eating out, clothes, etc. In short; everything we would go to the shop and/or pay by card for. It also includes online shopping.  If there is anything left at the end of the month, she can keep it.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Nederstash on December 26, 2017, 10:08:09 AM
My January budget is as follows:
All bills: 1310.4
Groceries: 180
Other: 100 (2 birthday gifts, baby gift, a little surprise for my mom and a medical bill)
Total: 1590.4

Income for January is 3210 so if I do this, I have a savings rate over 50%!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: AmandaPanda on December 28, 2017, 09:35:03 AM
I know it's not January yet, but the sweet potatoes were not purchased, and I did not make plans with a friend for December 30. Instead, people are coming over the first Friday in January to eat some food I already have in my freezer.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Zola. on December 28, 2017, 02:25:59 PM
I'd love to do this, but I am going to New York in January - oops!

I am doing dry Jan though - no drinking of alcoholic drinks. I will still try to be uber frugal in Jan
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Cgbg on December 28, 2017, 04:18:25 PM
I’m in! No specific dollar amounts, just a cutting back of spending.

My pantry and freezer are bursting so most of my savings will come from spending little in the grocery stores. I’m not quite used to just cooking for DH and I. Our teenaged boys apparently ate a lot of food. Now that they are off to college I should be cutting back grocery spending a bunch.

I don’t need to buy any clothes in January. I’m trying to drop weight anyway.

I have lots of crafty project to fill time and more than enough supplies. Early start to homemade projects for Christmas 2018!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bracken_Joy on December 28, 2017, 04:50:18 PM
So looking forward to this. Going to try out YNAB for January.

Rules for myself:
-No alcohol spending
-Groceries under <specific $>
-No clothes, unless an item wears out
-Eat down the freezer and pantry
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: ixtap on December 28, 2017, 10:07:50 PM
Grocery shopping involved three stores lately. DH must have eggs and I can't bring myself to spend full price knowing that there are cheap eggs at Aldi's. Today, I sent him out for his own eggs.

Yes, I realize it isn't January yet, but we just got back from visiting the relatives and needed to restock.

Grocery Spend: 69/300
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: frugalkristen on December 29, 2017, 03:28:04 PM
I'm in.  I have a lot of meat in the freezer so grocery shopping will only be fresh veggies and maybe a snack or two.  No spending other than groceries (and a trip to the hairdresser - I'm very overdue but have a gift card which will cover everything except the tip).  It will also be a no alcohol month.  AND I want to lose 6 pounds.  It will all be a challenge!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Jenny Wren on December 29, 2017, 03:42:13 PM
I know it's not January yet, but we have an epic snow/ice storm happening so I got out this morning to do our big monthly grocery shop. I did very well.

Thus far, we are at $154/$400 January grocery budget.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: CodingHare on December 29, 2017, 03:50:06 PM
My January goals (Not financial):

- Drink alcohol only on special occasions (IE my birthday.)  Should help both with health and with budget!
- Instead, drink my 64oz of water a day.  I've already increased to about 48oz a day, so I just need to refill my water bottle one more time per day.
- Meal prep breakfast and lunch to save $$ and feel better.  Overnight oats and the Instant Pot we got for Christmas should help here!
- 5K training.  I have a 5k in March, so January and February are my training months!  I've run 5ks before, so this is a relatively easy goal.
- Finish my existing hobby projects before buying any new ones.  No hobby spend in January unless I somehow plow through my backlog or the item is absolutely needed to finish a project (IE, quilt batting).
- Remember that 50% improvement is still improvement, so not to treat myself too harshly if I fall short of perfection on my goals.

Financial Goals (Year long):
- Maintain maxing of 401k and HSA
- Max ROTH IRA this year
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: recklesslysober on December 30, 2017, 11:41:05 AM
Following for inspiration but not sure what my goals are going to be this time. Last year the UFJ was my lowest spending month ever!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: pancakes on December 31, 2017, 10:42:05 PM
I’m in.

We are finally set up with most appliances and basic household things so no more excuses. Our loose goals are:
x stop buying lunch so often (Mr Pancakes hasn’t taken lunch to his new job once yet but we had no fridge at home until very recently...)
x stop drinking so much during the week.
x don’t buy so much coffee (yay freebie coffee machine!)
x get back into cloth nappies

And overarching all of those is trying to reduce our waste.

This will be our first ‘typical month’ on this income. I hope we will add at least $2000 in savings at the end of the month.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on December 31, 2017, 11:38:25 PM
I'm signed up for the Frugalwoods Challenge - following along here for accountability.

I don't have any specific goals, but figure this is a good opportunity to reevaluate my budget and make sure that my spending is aligning with my goals and I'm being efficient and effective with how I spend my money.

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: katscratch on January 01, 2018, 12:51:46 AM
Signed up. Last year was really great for me.

Main goals this January:
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Prairie Gal on January 01, 2018, 08:49:16 AM
I am in!

Goals:
 - Cut grocery spending by $50
 - No clothes shopping
 - No restaurant spending
 - Figure out how to lower my internet/phone/cable bill
 - Bring in an extra $100 by selling stuff or another side hustle
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: frooglepoodle on January 01, 2018, 09:09:07 AM
Goals for UFM participation:


We've made the conscious choice to keep our fitness memberships and some paid activities for our 2 year old. We live in a semi-rural area and options for free, indoor activities are almost nonexistent.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: hal on January 01, 2018, 09:11:46 AM
I'm in! December and November were a little ridiculous as we finally bit the bullet and bought furniture. Before, we had hand-me-downs. But it definitely affected the budget.

My specific goals for January are...
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bracken_Joy on January 01, 2018, 09:22:43 AM
Ooofdah. Yep, paycheck came in from last month... $1800 less than "usual." (Not that we really have a usual, but less than... average, I guess). It's possible going WAY over will be essentially beyond my control (medical spending upcoming- MRI). But I am going to be as brutal with everything else as possible, to try and lessen the impact.

Things I can do:
-If I'm offered a shift, so long as it's a client I am comfortable working with, I will take the shift. (Although I put 80% to my 401k, so this'll be little "visible inflow" but that's fine
-As I put away Christmas things and bring things out, if I find stuff to sell, try to sell them
-Grocery shop alone and meal plan, don't rely on husband cooking so much since he cooks more expensive meals
-NO ALCOHOL SPENDING. For real [self], you can do this. You've done it before.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: littlelykke on January 01, 2018, 09:26:04 AM
I'm in!

we should be eating our pantry anyway. So:
- No new clothes or shoes, we both have enough
- No funshopping (books, magazines, etc. my soft spot...)
- Groceries under 250 this month

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: suzziesnow on January 01, 2018, 09:31:58 AM
I'm in!
This month there will be NO online shopping for crap (no matter how good the deal is, if we don't need it I don't buy it)
Grocery bill will be cut by $50 a week.
Have an energy audit on our house.
Combine trips for errands
NO new craft materials-finish what I started!!
Get outside everyday ( I need new boots both casual and snowshoeing boots are shot so I am going to buy one pair to fill in for both)
Start my side hustle!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Wanttobehome on January 01, 2018, 09:44:36 AM
No spending other than groceries and petrol.
No buying lunch at work
No eating out / takeaway
No unnecessary driving
Nothing........
Enjoy and use what I already have
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: gaja on January 01, 2018, 09:59:57 AM
DD11 has confiscated all debit and credit cards, and presented her cash based budget for the month. The parents got $20 each for spending money, she and her sister got $25 each, and there is $100 for food (in addition to two scheduled grocery trips). After a bit of discussion, her father got $50 for a doctors visit, and little sister got $10 to buy pencils (late birthday gift). She hasn’t allocated all the money yet, so we’ll do a revised budget next Sunday.

DD’s dinner plan said noodles today. The chicken was off, so we had to heat some bolognese sauce instead. Still; no food bought today.

The weather was horrible today, so instead of playing outside like they normally do, the kids spent $10 on going bowling.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bracken_Joy on January 01, 2018, 10:04:18 AM
Gaja- I *adore* what you're doing with your kids to teach them about money. So, so cool. I'll keep that in mind for my own (hopefully) kids one day =)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: katscratch on January 01, 2018, 10:35:31 AM
I too love that you're letting DD11 take the reins! It's such a different dynamic than just participating with you.

I don't feel like leaving my house again today in this cold. No spending is easy with a windchill.

I should inventory what's left in the chest freezer and start making a plan to empty it over the next month or two.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: horsepoor on January 01, 2018, 10:50:36 AM
Following.

I'm hoping to keep January pretty frugal to help cash flow my horse's latest vet bills.

Not yet sure about groceries, because we've been eating more carbs (so cheap!) to cut down on grocery bills, and we're both feeling rather pudgy and blah.  Need to inventory the extensive amount of food in the house and come up with a waistline-friendly plan that doesn't blow up the grocery budget.

Related to vet bills, Miss High-Maintenance horsey needs to go on a pricey supplement before finishing her medication course in a couple weeks.  I'm holding off hoping that I get an email with a % off offer to at least reduce the first month's cost.  Will take a harder look at her entire nutrition plan and try to make it as cost-effective as possible.

If I have to travel for work, I'll minimize spending to pocket as much per diem as possible.  When per diem drops into my account, it gets shunted directly towards said vet bills.

We'll probably go out to dinner once this month before a show we have tickets for on the 19th.  Otherwise, no eating out except on work travel.

Next week I'm starting a detail into a higher-profile position for four months and a blazer or suit is expected for certain meetings and briefings with higher-ups.  I already tried and failed at finding a bargain at TJMaxx, Nordstrom Rack etc.  Next weekend I'll try some thrift and consignment stores.  I shouldn't really need it until at least the end of the month and can spend some time searching before buckling and paying anything close to retail.  I will not buy any other clothing pieces for this detail (or in general while shopping for the blazer).
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: ixtap on January 01, 2018, 11:04:39 AM
Jan 1: Happy New Year! And happy anniversary to the Ixtaps. We went to a blow out party last night, but are back to our usual frugal selves today. Free sailing, eating at home. My no spend count will not include groceries, but I am tracking the total on that. Just found out I am expected to bring 100 servings of dessert to an event on Friday. No idea who came up with such a ridiculous number, and still looking into whether or not I can get reimbursed, but I hope to make do within my budget.

No spend 1/31

Grocery Spend: 69/300
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: monstermonster on January 01, 2018, 12:05:04 PM
...Here's a struggle. Meeting with clients; don't have an office; my home is too far from CBD. Usually do coffee on the business account. Should I try to find a free place to meet or chalk it up to cost of doing business?
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: katscratch on January 01, 2018, 12:15:19 PM
...Here's a struggle. Meeting with clients; don't have an office; my home is too far from CBD. Usually do coffee on the business account. Should I try to find a free place to meet or chalk it up to cost of doing business?

Cost of business. I am more lax in my rules when it comes to building relationships.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: katscratch on January 01, 2018, 12:19:07 PM
ummmmm so I am *not* a shopper. I don't get a thrill from strolling aisles or scrolling websites. Last year cured even my foofoo candle coveting when at stores. And yet I just found myself browsing vacuum sealers for jars and hair removal wax warmers for the last hour on Amazon! Whaaaaat hahahaha I am clearly losing my mind in this little cold snap we're having. But I want my lettuce to last two weeks so I don't have to be outside more than necessary hahaha! ...I have no idea how that turned into depilation. The magic of Amazon knowing their audience.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bee21 on January 01, 2018, 02:20:24 PM
The month does not start well. Husband just ordered 50$ worth of stuff for the boat from ebay and I bought a 4$ book from amazon.

And now, back to the studio😍.

Food looks good,  spent 98$ (usual weekly budget is 150-170) so I am pleased with it. I also ambushed my new boss while the big boss was away and he kindly approved my leave request to cover most of the school holidays, so I will need childcare only for 3 days. (170$x3). Kids are expensive.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Jenny Wren on January 01, 2018, 02:29:32 PM
I've decided on a few measurable frugal challenges for the month:

1) Groceries under $400
2) At least 23 no spend days
3) No clothing or gift purchases
4) Entertainment spend under $150

I set a hard entertainment budget because we have a mini-trip (already booked and paid for) that is a combination move research/anniversary trip, plus one event with younger son that will require a food purchase.

Thus far:
Grocery 173.02/400
No spend 1/31
Clothing/gifts 0/0
Entertainment 0/150
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: HappierAtHome on January 01, 2018, 03:33:14 PM
Off to a frugal start - husband is too tired to go bulk food shopping today :-P

(Really just delayed spending, but it struck me as funny).
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: 1967mama on January 01, 2018, 03:48:11 PM
2018 Day 1

Could be an epic fail :-/ Husband has taken kids and teens to the mall. On the upside, they all have Christmas money and gift cards burning holes in their pockets.  Hopefully, he is able to snag a good post-Christmas deal on new runners for the 10 year old.

Roasted a whole cauliflower for lunch that was languishing in the fridge and made a loaf of bread.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: pancakes on January 01, 2018, 04:55:09 PM
Not so frugal start - purchased a coffee grinder but I had gift cards and it was heavily discounted. This will also assist in my goal of not purchasing take out coffee.

I did discover that there is a bulk Greek/Mediterranean grocery shop around the corner that has really good prices on all kinds of groceries. Between there and Aldi, we should be able to keep our food spending under control.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: clarkai on January 01, 2018, 09:38:18 PM
We're in! I feel like we do pretty ok, but I want to do better. Things we're doing:

- no more cafes for reading/writing. Make coffee at home and go to the library instead
- Talk roommates into lowering the thermostat by 1-3 degrees (currently set to 70 while people are home, and 60 when people are gone/asleep).
- Encourage roommates to use lights more efficiently (turn them off when you leave a room!!!!)
- Only buy used clothes (my work wardrobe needs re-stocking)
- Consult each other over every purchase that isn't groceries.
- Do a better job of eating leftovers. Reduce food costs by 10%
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 01, 2018, 10:46:08 PM
Day 1: Success

No spend day. 

My mom cooked brunch AND our family's traditional New Year's Day dinner of pork and sauerkraut.   Yum.  I love being home for the holidays --- will be sad to head back to DC (and work) tomorrow.

Spent a lazy day watching the Rose Parade, Winter Classic, and College Football Playoffs. 

Set up my financial spreadsheets for 2018 and develop a template that I hope to use to compile a price book, so that's a win.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bee21 on January 02, 2018, 03:49:01 AM
Day 2- success. No spend day.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bracken_Joy on January 02, 2018, 07:13:46 AM
Well, my MRI has been approved by my insurance (thank goodness). Depending on how fast they get around to billing, this may or may not post this month. If it does, my cashflow for the month is wrecked, but hopefully how awful my accounts look will motivate us to constrict all other spending.

(I've found this is a very good psychological trick to play on ourselves, and was one factor in option to get our car last year on loan instead of paying cash- we used the cash to invest, and having the car payment on the budget makes the cashflow look a lot tighter. Likewise, with a low interest rate on our remaining student loans, keeping paying minimums has been good for this as well. It helps keep us feeling like the budget is tight. Given our explosive income growth the past couple years ($60k to $115k in 2 years), this has been a good tactic for us I think).

Still struggling to "get" YNAB, but at least I'm figuring the mechanics out, so hopefully I'll sort it out during the free trial well enough to know if I want to keep going. I want that pretty, pretty data analysis!

Husband helped the gym owners at his BJJ place spec for running wires for a new security system last night. Really hoping free work from an electric engineer gets us some free membership time or at least free gear!

Forgotten budget expense: it's my [main] patient's birthday, and I work with them on their birthday. So I need to buy a birthday present. Have an idea already though, so hopefully won't be too spendy (hoping for sub-$10). We'll see! Fairly picky child, so something from my "gift stash" won't work sadly.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: dlcp on January 02, 2018, 07:37:24 AM
I created an account just to join in. My main goal this January is to cut eating out to 0. Currently eating out is our biggest money waster, so it really is a challenge for us. I'm looking forward to seeing all the money that can be saved this month.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: monstermonster on January 02, 2018, 09:37:23 AM
Was already at work when I got asked to work a double so now I am on shift from 5:30AM -1PM and 3PM - 7:30PM. Please tell me not to go get coffee because I ran out of coffee before 7AM and it is very cold...need frugal support.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: katscratch on January 02, 2018, 10:19:40 AM
Was already at work when I got asked to work a double so now I am on shift from 5:30AM -1PM and 3PM - 7:30PM. Please tell me not to go get coffee because I ran out of coffee before 7AM and it is very cold...need frugal support.

NO COFFEE! The day might suck a little, but you'll get through it.

I'll join you and not drink (free breakroom) coffee the rest of my shift!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: AmandaPanda on January 02, 2018, 10:28:09 AM
Day 1 was a no spend day. Day 2 is shaping up that way as well.  We have a fridge full of food, and the husband suggested that for every purchase/outing, we consult each other prior to determine if it's a reasonable amount/purchase.  This should pretty much tamp down any fun groceries I would ever be tempted to purchase.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: horsepoor on January 02, 2018, 11:46:23 AM
Day 1: didn’t spend anything

Day 2: spent $10.60 for some stuff for cabbage/lentil stew...now I have to figure out what to do with half a cabbage...hmm. Trekked a few kilometres in a snow storm for the groceries and to the library to take out some audiobooks and a DVD, canceled Netflix. Will spend a few thousand on insurance :(

Roasted cabbage is easy and an awesome side dish.  I cut it in 1/2" thick "steaks" add some fat, salt and pepper and roast until it has nice brown bits.  Or you can cut in wedges and wrap in tinfoil and it will get nice and soft/sweet.

I've found this is a very good psychological trick to play on ourselves, and was one factor in option to get our car last year on loan instead of paying cash- we used the cash to invest, and having the car payment on the budget makes the cashflow look a lot tighter.

I play tricks on myself like that too - if I push a lot of money out of my checking account, then I feel poor until payday, even though 95% of purchases are made on a credit card, so my checking account balance on any given day is irrelevant.

Yesterday - Spend $26 on groceries, most of which was bacon and kombucha.  I usually make kombucha, but quit for winter because it doesn't ferment properly in the cold.  I recently realized that it stays toasty warm under the sink in one of the bathrooms, so I'm going to start a batch and see how it does in there.

Today I called and canceled an online purchase I made that was backordered.

I'm headed out now to return a pair of boots that didn't fit, and a jacket that I thought might fit the bill for my needed blazer, but isn't quite right.  Not sure if I have to pay FedEx for return shipping on the boots, but if so, using my AmEx that has a $5 off of $10 FedEx offer.

Called and upgraded shipping on my horse's meds to avoid having to go buy extras from the vet.

Made a knockoff of Tessamae's lemon/garlic salad dressing.

In my culinary adventures this morning I totally scorched coconut milk in our small sauce pan.  It was so bad that I really wanted to just throw out the pan, but I scraped it out and am soaking it in vinegar, and it looks like it won't be ruined.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: ixtap on January 02, 2018, 01:07:44 PM
My husband is eating more than usual, making grocery shopping hard and budgeting even harder. We were very active over vacation, so hopefully he will go back to normal. I also had to pick up cold medicine, so we are already nearly half way through the January grocery budget. Having the price of eggs triple in the last month hasn't helped!

No spend: 2/31 (only because I forgot to buy an air filter for the car)

Groceries: 129/300 (includes cold meds)

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: frooglepoodle on January 02, 2018, 01:37:54 PM
Day 1: didn’t spend anything

Day 2: spent $10.60 for some stuff for cabbage/lentil stew...now I have to figure out what to do with half a cabbage...hmm. Trekked a few kilometres in a snow storm for the groceries and to the library to take out some audiobooks and a DVD, canceled Netflix. Will spend a few thousand on insurance :(

Budget Bytes has two great recipes for beef and cabbage stir-fry, one Asian-inspired and one Southwestern/Tex-Mex inspired. They are big favorites in our house, and if you don't eat beef you can easily substitute another meat or meat substitute.

https://www.budgetbytes.com/2016/08/beef-cabbage-stir-fry/
https://www.budgetbytes.com/2017/02/southwest-beef-cabbage-stir-fry/

Today:
- Still housebound with sick toddler, so no spending!
- Husband adjusted his W-4 to reduce withholding to reflect that we're adding a second dependent to our household this year. This should increase his take-home pay so we can save more as he earns it, instead of making an interest-free loan to the government.
- Turned off cellular data for everything but maps on my phone. We use Ting, so if I can break my data habit, we can lower our phone bill.
- Meatless dinner tonight.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: monstermonster on January 02, 2018, 01:52:12 PM
Ugh, unexpectedly working a double at work has me thrown off, I ate my lunch at 10:30 and now am here til ~7:30 or 8 tonight.

Uber Frugal me would spend 50 minutes RT biking home to eat dinner at home, but that eats into most of my 2 hour break. 

Should I:

1) stick it out and go 10 hours without eating (I ate lunch at 10:30 because I start work at 5:30) and eat when I get home at 8PM
2) Suck it up and buy a damn $4.00 burrito even though it is uber frugal january
3) Bike 50 minutes RT home in freezing cold during a 2 hour break between shifts to eat already-made food at home.

If only I had known, I could've packed more snacks!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 02, 2018, 02:09:16 PM
Ugh, unexpectedly working a double at work has me thrown off, I ate my lunch at 10:30 and now am here til ~7:30 or 8 tonight.

Uber Frugal me would spend 50 minutes RT biking home to eat dinner at home, but that eats into most of my 2 hour break. 

Should I:

1) stick it out and go 10 hours without eating (I ate lunch at 10:30 because I start work at 5:30) and eat when I get home at 8PM
2) Suck it up and buy a damn $4.00 burrito even though it is uber frugal january
3) Bike 50 minutes RT home in freezing cold during a 2 hour break between shifts to eat already-made food at home.

If only I had known, I could've packed more snacks!

Tough call.  Maybe I'm not uber-frugal enough, but for me the point is to optimize.  If buying a $4.00 burrito allows you to work the extra shift and earn the extra money without exhausting yourself unnecessarily with a 50 minute bike ride or going hungry, then I say do it.

I wouldn't advocate spending $4 on lunch at work every day as a habit, but in this situation, it might be the optimal move.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: monstermonster on January 02, 2018, 02:48:40 PM
I wouldn't advocate spending $4 on lunch at work every day as a habit, but in this situation, it might be the optimal move.
I bought the burrito after negotiating for them to pay me for an extra half hour (double the cost of a burrito) due to the short notice they needed coverage. I admit I kinda wimped out because of the 50MPH freezing cold wind gusts (which biked me to work fast, but I will be fighting against on the way home.)

I'm getting more (much better paying, hourly-wise) work on my own business done without having to bike home so hopefully I make >$4.50 (including tip) I spent on a burrito in the next hour when I would've been biking...

Feeling like an Uber Frugal Failure on Day #2 though. :(
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: katscratch on January 02, 2018, 03:11:30 PM
I don't think that's a failure at all! Food is necessary. Optimizing your time and health are just as, if not more important, than the dollar amount you spend today.

If I get called back to work tonight before my train/bus/bike gets me home, I have a stash of tuna and peanut butter in my locker but if I know I'll be working past midnight I often end up getting additional food in the cafeteria and saving my stash for the pre-ride home.

It's not like you just mindlessly spent that $4 on soda or Amazon. You made a carefully considered purchase that is necessary for your circumstances today, in my book.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: MaybeBabyMustache on January 02, 2018, 04:26:33 PM
Day 1:
-Made lunch for everyone before our flight home
-Packed the remaining produce, & checked it into our suit case
-However, flight was delayed & ended up spending $10 on airport food for the kiddos.
-Made frozen pizza when we got home, rather than eating out.
-Also, Uber surge pricing was a fortune. Need to rethink our strategy next time. On our departure flight, my husband dropped us off + all of the bags in the car, and then went home & took an Uber pool. This saved about $40, given we had 4 people & a ton of bags. We normally travel lighter, but had a bunch of holiday stuff.

Day 2:
-Returned two pair of pants that weren't needed on our trip.
-Stuck to the grocery budget
-Made homemade hummus vs buying it at Costco
-Made do with what was in the fridge before grocery shopping. Really wanted to get a soup & salad out. Resisted the siren call.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: HappierAtHome on January 02, 2018, 05:13:09 PM
Mr Happier bought more cloth nappy shells yesterday (we only had three in the current size, which means sometimes we run out and have to use disposables while we wait for shells to dry - so I am happy with that purchase).

I'm doing a No Shopping Year, and so far haven't been tempted at all. This is great! I need to break my habit of mindless browsing of online shops.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: monstermonster on January 02, 2018, 05:32:15 PM
It’s only a failure if you fail to prepare for this possibly happening again. Can you keep backup soup or frozen food at work?
I keep a bag of powdered meal replacement (my normal breakfast) in my back pack at all times, it’s gross when just mixed with water, but it’s very filling and has helped me several times in a pinch.
Excellent ideas.

At this job we don't have hot water, a microwave, or personal storage at work. But I can probably bring a clif bar as backup food at least. I'm not sure this is a common occurrence, though (only been at this part-time job for a month, not sure how common covering doubles is.)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: frooglepoodle on January 02, 2018, 06:12:44 PM
Day 1: didn’t spend anything

Day 2: spent $10.60 for some stuff for cabbage/lentil stew...now I have to figure out what to do with half a cabbage...hmm. Trekked a few kilometres in a snow storm for the groceries and to the library to take out some audiobooks and a DVD, canceled Netflix. Will spend a few thousand on insurance :(

Budget Bytes has two great recipes for beef and cabbage stir-fry, one Asian-inspired and one Southwestern/Tex-Mex inspired. They are big favorites in our house, and if you don't eat beef you can easily substitute another meat or meat substitute.

https://www.budgetbytes.com/2016/08/beef-cabbage-stir-fry/
https://www.budgetbytes.com/2017/02/southwest-beef-cabbage-stir-fry/

Today:
- Still housebound with sick toddler, so no spending!
- Husband adjusted his W-4 to reduce withholding to reflect that we're adding a second dependent to our household this year. This should increase his take-home pay so we can save more as he earns it, instead of making an interest-free loan to the government.
- Turned off cellular data for everything but maps on my phone. We use Ting, so if I can break my data habit, we can lower our phone bill.
- Meatless dinner tonight.

Too frugal here to buy meat, lol, but I might be able to sub in kidney beans if the recipes look flavourful enough. Thank you!

Fair enough on the meat. :-) I think the Southwestern version would be delicious with kidney beans!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: lexde on January 02, 2018, 06:46:51 PM
January 1: no spend.
January 2: no spend.
Tomorrow I have to fill up my gas tank, but that appears to be the only spend I have to do this week. And I’ll make enough $$ in mileage to more than make up for my driving and oil change this month, too.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 02, 2018, 07:07:48 PM
Day 2: Meh

Spent $53.61 on dining out.  $48.61 on lunch for three - my parents REALLY wanted to go out to lunch together before I left for home.  And I insisted on picking up the tab, since I've been at their house eating their food, drinking their wine, and generally making a nuisance of myself for two weeks ---- and they haven't let me pay for anything.  Plus $5 tip for the bartender who served me several free beers while I waited for my flight at the airport.

With two more out of town trips this month there will be more restaurant spending, but I'm going to try to keep it to $150 for the month.

Frugal Wins:
~For my upcoming four night Atlantic City trip, I cancelled the only night that I was paying for and instead booked using Club Carlson points --- saving the $128 I had budgeted for that night.
~Took the metro home (with free transit pass provided by work) and walked the .75 miles home in the cold dragging my suitcase rather than taking an uber like I was tempted to.
~Hard-boiling some eggs for a snack tonight and breakfast tomorrow, plus pulled some frozen leftovers (fried rice) from the freezer for lunch tomorrow at work.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: hal on January 02, 2018, 07:33:40 PM
2nd day of no-spending, other than an auto-draft from my phone bill. My SO will likely go grocery shopping tomorrow to combine with a trip to return to library, so it might be our first day of spending.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Jenny Wren on January 02, 2018, 08:11:53 PM
The sun made a showing today. It's still in the teens, but sun! I took advantage of this to walk to the library and absorb vitamin D, while managing to stroll right past Starbucks without giving in to the allure of a toasty beverage.

Once home, I got hit by a craving for saag paneer, thanks to a friend's instagram post. Some googling revealed that paneer is ridiculously easy to make and only requires two ingredients -- milk and lemon juice. The recipe worked, and we will be enjoying delicious saag paneer tomorrow without the need to go out for it or to get overpriced paneer at the grocery store! Halloumi is the next cheese on my list to try making. Looks similar to making paneer, but it's then soaked in a salt brine.

Rest of the day spent at home working and puttering around. Classes start tomorrow, and homework assignments are already being emailed out by one of my over-achieving professors....

Grocery 173.02/400
No spend 2/31
Clothing/gifts 0/0
Entertainment 0/150
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: sjlp on January 02, 2018, 09:47:56 PM
My Uber Frugal January resolution is... no Uber! I have averaged about $75/month in the past. Beyond the cost, I really think it contributes to laziness, and I don't need more of that.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bee21 on January 02, 2018, 11:05:11 PM
Day 3- no spend day. Yay.

Took the kids to the library. Packed away the chrismas tree. Weeded the garden. Vacuumed my car.

The biggest frugal win is, the library didn't charge us for the book my daughter lost. I guess it is good to be a regular. The kids chose a few dvds, so we'll be watching them instead of going to the movies.

We are visiting friends tomorrow (= free entertainment) and I am planning to visit a small nature reserve and education centre with them on Friday. It is so hot and humid around here, I don't feel like walking long distances with them.

Next week is the older kid's birthday, so THAT is going to be spendy.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: jesse_runs_far on January 03, 2018, 06:30:11 AM
I'm in for the month as well! We were spendy pants in December and deserve face punches, but we're back on track this month!

My goals:
- purchase no coffee at work
- purchase no clothes
- put $500 in savings for property tax bill (in June)
- eat out of the pantry and freezer as much as possible

No coffee at work will be the hardest. We have a Tim Hortons in the building, and it's part of my 10am routine. But, we also have a Tassimo in the office, and I bought a large box of pods at Costco last year. I bought in cream this morning, so I'm all set!

Day 1 and 2 were no spend days, and day 3 is off to a good start (although it's only 8 am... but no spending planned!)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: pachnik on January 03, 2018, 07:09:01 AM
Jan 1 and Jan 2 were spent at home with a bad head cold.  Today I am venturing back to work.   I intend to spend nothing. 
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: wordnerd on January 03, 2018, 07:16:49 AM
I joined the FrugalWoods challenge and am really enjoying her emails. Today's on waiting 72 hours for any discretionary purchase is a great idea. I've often found that when I let something linger in my Amazon cart, it seems absurd later (though, there is probably some selection bias here; the ones I leave lingering are also probably the ones I know are not really good purchases). I'm excited to try this more systematically.

Today, I made progress on one of my stubborn goals--no purchasing coffee at the work cafeteria. It's wasteful. And, even when I bring my own cup, it's $1.28, which adds up. I haven't liked the breakroom coffee club on my floor, since it changed leadership (apparently I have strong feelings on coffee club governance). Yesterday, my husband was like, "Why don't you just use the one on X floor? All you have to do is leave 25 cents per cup." Sold! Now, I get exercise by walking to a different floor and will save slightly more than a dollar day. Cha-ching.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: monstermonster on January 03, 2018, 07:28:29 AM
The waiting period thing was interesting to me, I've been doing that for ~15 years. I have a 15-year-old spreadsheet of "things I want to buy" ranked by price, how much I want them, how many different utility functions it has. I rarely wait less than a month for a discretionary purchase, except eating out which is usually planned a week or so in advance. I always put even goodwill purchases on hold overnight.

It's fun to look back at the spreadsheet at what I wanted when I was an 18 year old punk compared to now a 30 year old yuppie. Back then I wanted adbuster's logo-less shoes (https://www.greenchipstocks.com/articles/sustainable-Sneakers/1038), bike stickers, touring panniers (which I bought then and still have now) and pretty planners.  Now I want pretty planners, bike bags, and professional grown-up shoes.

A new duvet cover has been on the spreadsheet for 7 years now, and I still can't make myself buy it because the price:cost ranking still isn't high enough!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: wordnerd on January 03, 2018, 07:50:25 AM
The waiting period thing was interesting to me, I've been doing that for ~15 years. I have a 15-year-old spreadsheet of "things I want to buy" ranked by price, how much I want them, how many different utility functions it has. I rarely wait less than a month for a discretionary purchase, except eating out which is usually planned a week or so in advance. I always put even goodwill purchases on hold overnight.

It's fun to look back at the spreadsheet at what I wanted when I was an 18 year old punk compared to now a 30 year old yuppie. Back then I wanted adbuster's logo-less shoes (https://www.greenchipstocks.com/articles/sustainable-Sneakers/1038), bike stickers, touring panniers (which I bought then and still have now) and pretty planners.  Now I want pretty planners, bike bags, and professional grown-up shoes.

A new duvet cover has been on the spreadsheet for 7 years now, and I still can't make myself buy it because the price:cost ranking still isn't high enough!

Ha! I may have to steal the spreadsheet idea. I get an unreasonable amount of joy looking back at lists from my former self. I wouldn't want to re-read my journal (too much opportunity for self-judging), but lists are the just the right amount of reminder of who I used to be.

I bought a duvet cover when I was 22 for my first big girl apartment. I still hate putting it back on after I wash it. Overrated.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: monstermonster on January 03, 2018, 07:56:21 AM
Here's my spreadsheet categories, in case it's helpful. Value is the value it represents (my core values are: community, creativity, travel, style, and health) and Emotion is the emotion it makes me feel. Reward for is if I can use a goal as a link to a reward - in the case of a really nice yoga shirt I want, for example, I get it when I get my splits consistently.

(https://i.imgur.com/OUooJzT.png)

I bought a duvet cover when I was 22 for my first big girl apartment. I still hate putting it back on after I wash it. Overrated.
We have an ikea one but I hate it - the colors match nothing, it's really beaten up. I want one that *I* chose and that matches the Lichenstein print in our room - but I just want it, and clearly not enough. I'm only ever asleep in that room anyway. It's been on the list for 7 years.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: wordnerd on January 03, 2018, 07:58:48 AM
@monstermonster --Thanks for the spreadsheet! I love it.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: TikiTime on January 03, 2018, 09:10:31 AM
Uber Frugal January, here I come!  My goals:

Eat from the pantry and freezers (yes, we have 2)
$200 grocery spend for 3 adults
No new restaurant spend (able to use already owned gift cards valued at $125)
Reduce entertainment/alcohol spend

Spent $5 on eggs and apple cider vinegar
5/200
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Serendip on January 03, 2018, 09:44:32 AM
You all are so inspiring!
We are trying to step off the spending train, my SO isn't convinced about reducing grocery/food costs
(he thinks my generous budget of $800 is too low! We regularly go out to eat and not in economical restaurants...and he really has a soft spot for cheese, wine and craft beer) But we have agreed to track food spending and are doing a 'no-shopping' year (his idea after reading a NY Times article)!

I haven't spent anything yet this year, went for a 2 hour snow-walk with a friend yesterday
and had a friend over for dinner last night but we ate tasty leftovers.

Tonight have a weekly date to go XC-skiing (it's local's night..so the ticket price is $7 vs $30)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bracken_Joy on January 03, 2018, 11:22:28 AM
Got my MRI. Did *not* get fancy coffee after. I usually reward myself for medical procedures with fancy coffees, but I skipped this time. I don't need the sugar and other crap in there anyway =) Making an extra coffee at home.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Kerowyn on January 03, 2018, 02:00:16 PM
Ugh, it's already day 3 and I haven't updated at all!

1/1: $1150 rent, $95.20 gas (heat and cooking). The gas bill looked really high to me but I looked at our past utilities spending in YNAB and it's not actually particularly high. It probably just feels that way because this is the first bill covering a really cold period.

1/2: Bought convenience food and groceries, not sure how much (will come back later). I remember my husband's convenience food cost about $13, which seemed like a lot to me. Next time we go to Wegmans and he decides to eat there (he grocery shops and sometimes eats while I knit and socialize), I may ask him to see if there's something he can get cheaper than the buffet by weight. ETA: Total food bill was 42.98.

It occurs to me that I should probably start eating the walnuts in the pantry. Ugh. I bought walnuts for a food-processor recipe, but our food processor died. I don't like the texture of walnuts, but they should be tolerable if I cook them with my oatmeal, maybe.

Today should be a no-spend day, unless this is the day the internet bill hits.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: littlelykke on January 03, 2018, 02:01:54 PM
My month is going splendid so far:

January, 1st. --> No spend-day, eating leftovers from NYE & the cupboard

January, 2nd --> Went to the supermarket for 1 zucchini, carrots & some cherrytomatoes to make a quiche. Had all the over ingredients already available. Also brought back empty beer bottles for refund. Thus: free groceries! We got almost 8 euro's back, after we purchased the needed groceries.
The quiche made dinner for 2 & the leftovers were today's lunch.

January, 3rd. --> Another no spend day! Made dinner with cupboard ingredients & the carrots we bought yesterday. Spend the whole day cleaning and listed some stuff on Craigslist. Already earned 40 euro's, for an hour of work. Hopefully some of the other stuff will sell too.

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: poko on January 03, 2018, 03:10:47 PM
I'm in as well!

I signed up for the frugalwoods challenge, too. Should be interesting. The FB comments are a very different than this forum, lol.

Did anyone else have trouble with yesterday's assignment? My 10,20, and 40 year goals are all: be retired. Hah. Also, I find it really hard to think that far ahead!

My goals for the month are:

and I have been doing a dry January for many years now so no booze spending will help too.

Anyone doing any other challenges? I'm trying to do Apartment Therapy's January Cure and 30 days of Yoga with Adriene, too.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Mongoose on January 03, 2018, 03:41:23 PM
Can I count yesterday as a negative spend day? I not only forgot to go to the store but I found $200 when cleaning my home office. That'll go a long ways towards keeping us on budget. We also received several unusual cash gifts...small amounts but all that will add up for our trip at the end of the month not having to be pulled out of savings.

On the flip side, some month in the past I managed to pull some money out of the bank and misplace $200. And I didn't even notice?!?!?!?! That seems...suboptimal...
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bracken_Joy on January 03, 2018, 03:43:54 PM
Got $10 in gift cards for studies I'm a part of. Starting the process on contesting a medical bill which will hopefully save me $180. Verified the imagine place was in network for my insurance before going in this morning. Cooking dinner based on what was in the freezer.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: gaja on January 03, 2018, 04:33:59 PM
Day 1: $10 for bowling (kids)
Day 2: scheduled grocery run (should cover 14 days): $163, plus windshield fluid; $9 (usually get that cheaper, but ran out on the highway in bad weather)
Day 3: 0

We are following DD’s dinner list so far. Today was pasta and tuna, yesterday we were supposed to have fish tacos, but the tortilla were off. So we used some potato wraps instead (“lompe”). The kids liked it, the adults chose to eat a sandwich instead. The shopping trip yesterday was also based on DD’s list, and came out $40 below what we normally pay. Partly because she forgot to add snacks and candy to her list. :)

We are tracking the expenses on paper this month. DD has entered all the receipts and categorized them in her notebook. In addition, we got a bill and the first paycheck today, so she has entered the bill into the online banking system, and balanced all the accounts. The next paycheck is up in a few days, and then she can start transferring to savings. It is up to her what she wants to do with it, I’m curious to see whether she wants to put everything towards loans, index funds, buy stocks, or something else completely.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: frooglepoodle on January 03, 2018, 04:54:53 PM
Gaja, I love that you are having your daughter manage the budget this month. She will learn so much from doing this!

Day 3: paid a utility bill and a medical bill, DH filled up the gas tank in the car he drives to and from work, and paid the fees for booking a flight with points ($22.40, but will be reimbursed within a few days with the Chase Sapphire Reserve annual travel credit, so does it count?)

I'm making good progress towards eating up the food in the fridge/Christmas leftovers. We are starting to run low on vegetables and I will need to grocery shop tomorrow or Friday.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: 1967mama on January 03, 2018, 05:03:46 PM

On the flip side, some month in the past I managed to pull some money out of the bank and misplace $200. And I didn't even notice?!?!?!?! That seems...suboptimal...

I just found $40 :-/ Happy-sad!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: NinetyFour on January 03, 2018, 05:06:31 PM
So far so good.

I have not spent anything so far this year.  I have kept myself cooped up at coup's house.  Have been eating food that she either bought for me on 12/26 (thanks, coup!) or directed me to eat from her pantry (yukon gold potatoes--yum!).

I checked my Ting phone bill, which I will pay this month.  It will be $17.61--the lowest it has been since last March.  (When I remember to turn the data off, that helps!)

I will be spending some money to get back home this weekend.  I don't want to ask someone to come and fetch me at the airport, so I will spend $40 on a taxi service.  (The $80 round trip is cheaper (though not by much) than airport parking would have been for 12 days.)

I will aim to get to the airport early so that I can get some free coffee at the United lounge.

Also, on Friday, I might buy some snacks so that I don't have to spend a small fortune on gross airport food.

I am considering cutting out caffeine as soon as I get home.  Also all tea (even the herbal kind).  This would save me $$.  Also, it would mean that I would drink LOTS more water, as that would be my only beverage.  Still pondering...  I do need to drink more water...

I think I have enough food at home to get me through the first week of work.  The only things I might run out and buy are apples and green veggies.

Oh, and I have some automatic charitable contributions ($55) that will occur in January (each month).

Someone did me the huge favor of checking on my house(s) while my tenant and I were both out of town.  I will be spending ~$50 on something as a thank you for her.

Also, I parked my truck/camper at a friend's house so that it would be covered in case of big snowstorms.  I will spend ~$30 on a thank you gift for him.

Other than that, it should be a pretty lean month!!  :)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: ixtap on January 03, 2018, 05:39:03 PM
We just seem so off kilter this month. I could not make decisions at the grocery store. Finally, three boxes of ginger snaps and a jar of lemon curd will give me 100 sample servings of a dessert for under $10. My grocery store evidently only has three flavors of icing: vanilla, chocolate and cream cheese, but in three different brands each?
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 03, 2018, 05:56:02 PM
Day 3: Success

Spent $9.21:

Frugal Successes:
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Jenny Wren on January 03, 2018, 07:18:01 PM
Everyone is doing so well!!

I started a spreadsheet for needs/wants last month (but it's not as cool and detailed as yours, MonsterMonster!) -- that made today's challenge from FW much easier to tackle.

Started winter quarter today and stuck to my resolve to use the free student buss pass instead of paying for a campus parking pass -- even with the sub-freezing temps and icy sidewalks! Luckily, I don't need to buy any books this quarter, since all my classes use the same books as the previous classes in the series. Plus, another no spend day!

Grocery 173.02/400
No spend 3/31
Clothing/gifts 0/0
Entertainment 0/150
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: horsepoor on January 03, 2018, 08:57:04 PM
Called and upgraded shipping on my horse's meds to avoid having to go buy extras from the vet.

This turned into quite the cluster.  After paying $29.95 for overnight shipping due to the pharmacy being slow filling the Rx, UPS had a weather delay and didn't deliver today, so I had to go to the vet and buy 2 days' worth of meds for $74 (minus $10 rebate).  I'll end up needing to purchase extras eventually anyway, but still annoying.  Would have had a no-spend day otherwise.

Tomorrow should will be no-spend though!  I have my lunch packed and will make coffee at work.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: alleykat on January 04, 2018, 05:16:51 AM
No purchases during the first 3 days, only bills.  Don’t know if I can have a Uber frugal month but I want to see how far I can go. 

What’s interesting is that I already cancelled an order of a mindless purchase and caught myself on other things I would have picked up if it wasn’t so cold outside to get to a store because I didn’t want to order products that would possibly freeze.  Awesome.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: dlcp on January 04, 2018, 07:23:22 AM
Sounds like everyone is killing it! My husband and I have done pretty well.

Jan. 1 - no spend
Jan. 2 - $45.00 charitable giving
Jan. 3 - no spend and on the road home my 11 y/o really wanted fast food. I explained what we are doing this January and said he could pay for it or just wait until we got home in an hour and he chose to wait.

All that is planned today is grocery shopping and my goal for the month is to keep it to less than
$500 this month. I have a lot of basics to buy because we just got back into our house after Harvey, so that's why it's a little high.

Have a great uber frugal day everyone!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Kerowyn on January 04, 2018, 07:41:17 AM
1/1: $1150 rent, $95.20 gas
1/2: $42.98 groceries and convenience food
1/3: $5 Planned Parenthood donation (this is a scheduled monthly donation--we have two other $5 monthly donations that will hit the accounts at some point this month)

I should also note that I budgeted $30 for my cell phone bill, but I'm on the family plan and my mom goes into a shared account on no apparent schedule (at least it's not apparent to me!) to get reimbursed, so I don't know whether this month's cell phone payment for me will be $0 or closer to $120.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: haypug16 on January 04, 2018, 08:19:33 AM
Jan 4 Update

Groceries = $200 ($0/200)
Dining Out = $100 ($0/100)
Entertainment = $50 ($27.48/50) saw The Greatest Showman on New Year's Day, it was fantastic. DH says he'll pay me back for the tickets but until then I'm marking it down
Clothes = $0  ($0/0)
Personal & Household items = $10 ($0/0)
Misc = $75 ($0/0)

So far this month is going well, I know it's early but I'm starting off right.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 04, 2018, 08:43:23 AM
Snow day here in DC, so I'm unexpectedly working from home.  Going to make it a no leaving the house and a no spend day.  It probably would have been a no getting out of my pajamas day if I had remembered to check OPM status before getting up and showering. 
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: westtoeast on January 04, 2018, 09:35:18 AM
Good job everyone! Happy Snow Day to those of us on the East Coast. Hope y'all keep power!

JAN BUDGET:
Transportation (Bus, Train, Uber) < $100 $8/$100-- This frigid weather is making Uber feel very tempting. Then I saw that thread about biking in below 0 weather and I felt like a wimp. So I'm really holding myself to this goal.
Phone Bill < $30 (fixed) $0/$30
Groceries < $250 $60/$250
Medical < $40 (fixed) $20/$40-- I've had 1 of 2 scheduled appointments, so I should stay on budget for this one.
Fitness < $50 $0/$50-- haven't signed up for any classes yet. Might try and see if I can motivate myself at home. I'm wishing there wasn't a blizzard right now, because I'd love to run outside.
Misc Expenses < $200 $16/$200-- Netflix & Hulu-- I got the Hulu for Handmaid's Tale, forgot to cancel. Oops. I'll get rid of it for next month. Keeping Netflix though!
Clothing = $0 $0/$0
Eating Out = $0
$0/$0-- found that I still have some money on a Chipolte gift card, so I'll use this if I really need a cooking break this month
TOTAL SPENDING GOAL: $675 $104/$675

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bracken_Joy on January 04, 2018, 10:18:41 AM
Today will be my first grocery trip(s) of the month. Hitting costco, but have a pretty short list, and no meat or eggs. Only buying a few things, since I'm still waiting to hear from my doctor when I start my meds/medical diet to go along with it. Spending will probably sky rocket at that point since I can eat like... nothing >.< Ughhh. Anyway, I should plan ahead and make a meal plan for that, but have a MASSIVE mental block about it.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: katscratch on January 04, 2018, 10:45:12 AM
Jan 1 $0 too cold to grocery shop so ate from the freezer as I should be doing anyway
Jan 2 $120 car battery troubleshooting, new battery, and installation by my kiddo
         $48 taking my kiddo and his gf out for dinner to thank them for spending 3 days in -10 to -15 F fixing my car
Jan 3 $8.81 groceries that should last through the weekend
         $0 at dance night, had tea before going and water while there. Take that, Bulleit Bourbon giving me the sideeye.

I bussed to work all days last week and this week except for today. Chose to sleep an extra hour and drive.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Hula Hoop on January 04, 2018, 11:32:50 AM
I'm planning a relatively frugal January after 2 weeks of travelling during December that cost a lot.  We need to spend at least some money on the following though:


Not going to buy any clothes for anyone or other unnecessary stuff and we're keeping the food budget low.  No eating out.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: littlelykke on January 04, 2018, 01:16:11 PM
Day 4:

Spend 15 euro's on groceries. Total spend on groceries: 15/250.

So far so good.

But.... I spend 100 euros on home decor (plants, 1 lamp for beside our bed & some wall decoration). On the upside, I used the 50 euros earned on Craigslist for this. Although I planned this expense, it still feels kinda unnecessary. But since we're selling our house this month & our house looked way too empty, cold & minimalistic in the pictures, we decided to spend it anyway. So before the photographer will take the real pictures of our house to go online, we created some pretty nooks. House looks much prettier overall (not just in the pictures, but in everyday life as well), so all in all I'm really very happy with this spending. Another 50 euros are planned for this purpose as well and that should do it :) Hopefully it'll work & we'll sell our house quickly!

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 04, 2018, 01:17:06 PM
Well, my no spend day was a failure. But, in kind of a good way. 

As I was doing a bit of organizing, I realized I only have ~3 weeks of contact lenses left.  Time to reorder.  And no need to pay for rush shipping (yes, I have been there and done that).  Instead of just reordering from 1-800-contacts which would have been $599 for a year's supply (with a $90 rebate), I did some research.  Ordered a year's supply from CVS for $365.   Also clicked through a portal giving 3 amtrak points/$ (~8.5% rebate) to pad my amtrak account for future trips.

No more spending for the day.  For real this time. 
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bracken_Joy on January 04, 2018, 01:26:26 PM
Stopped myself from buying a starbucks gift card, even though cardpool FINALLY got them back in stock, and they're 10.5% off. We go to starbucks so much less now than ever before that I'll just try to delay as long as possible. No planned road trips, which is when we mostly use them.

Costco spending was a little higher than expected, because ziplocks were on sale, and we're running low on gallon size. I picked up sandwich bag size too, but much to my frustration found we have an unopened box of 4 boxes already! And the returns like is BONKERS because of post christmas, so I don't want to return them. Ughhhhhh. I'm sure they'll be used eventually, but not for a long time- we move through them very slowly. Also forgot we needed new coffee, so the trip cost more overall than expected ($62 total, $20.18 of "general household" and ~$42 of groceries).

One more diagnostic procedure Saturday, unsure if my initial deposit to this clinic will cover it or if it'll cost more, we'll see. Still, actually making progress on my health stuff, so that's good.

DH wants new jiujitsu shorts, but has agreed to wait a month. Personally, I'm hoping the work he's been doing around the gym (helping them set up security cameras, and running cable for that) will mean a free month or some free gear or something. We'll see.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: NinetyFour on January 04, 2018, 04:02:01 PM
Dang--got hit with an annual fee for a credit card.  They say they won't waive it.  Grrr.  Also, an insurance company hit me with a $7 fee because their use interface was confusing and annoying.  I think I might have success arguing that one, but my first attempt didn't work.  Extra grrr...

I am considering taking myself out to lunch tomorrow at an Indian restaurant here near @couponvan 's house.  (Her DH recommended it.)  I do love me some Indian food, haven't had any for years, and won't have the opportunity again for who knows how long.  And it will probably be good food, because I get the sense that there is a strong Indian community in the area.  And I imagine that lunch will be cheaper than dinner.  Hmm...will ponder, and take a look at what else I will be spending money on this month...
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: hal on January 04, 2018, 04:06:43 PM
Today was a snow day for me, and tomorrow will be, too. That means it has been easy not to spend money, especially since we meal planned and bought groceries before Jan 1. Today, I got to work on the couch and smell the wonderful food in the slow cooker all day...
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Jenny Wren on January 04, 2018, 04:37:55 PM
Four days in!

Today was a most excellent day. Didn't spend but came out $150 ahead! I bought new shoes right after Christmas at REI. There was damage to the metal eyelet ring, which shredded the shoelace the first time I pulled them tight. Yesterday I sent in a warranty request to Keen, requesting new laces (I can fix the eyelet with needle nose pliers -- it just wasn't crimped properly). A nice apology email showed up a few minutes ago with a code for $150 off my next purchase, must be used within a year - and I get to keep the shoes! I didn't even spend $150 on the shoes originally because they were 50% off clearance, which Keen could see because I had to send them the receipt. I'd budgeted for new hiking/everyday wear shoes for the younger boy this spring, now he gets them for free. Still going to wait until after snow boot season to get them so he doesn't outgrow the new shoes before he gets a chance to wear them.

Grocery 173.02/400
No spend 4/31
Clothing/gifts 0/0
Entertainment 0/150
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Carrie on January 04, 2018, 05:57:43 PM
I'm in for a frugal month.
Today I filled the car up for $1.49/gal premium gas, $20 total (used discount on grocery points).  That should be the only time I fill up this month since the only time we drive is to take the kids to school (4mi/day total), and get groceries 1x/week (8 mi round trip).
No spend on 1/1, 1/3; 1/2 was $35 on groceries, 1/4 $20 gas, $43 wine/vodka..... need to work on this one. No spend planned for the next 2 days.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bee21 on January 04, 2018, 07:42:12 PM
Took the kids with a friend (and her 2) to a nature reserve for a walk and a picnic. It was great (and free). My friend also volunteered  to look after them the whole day next Tuesday, saving us 170 dollars in childcare fees. I am so grateful. I am also grateful for the kids being cute and well behaved as people keep inviting them over and volunteering to look after them.

Spent 136$ on groceries. A bit higher than planned, but meat was on sale so I stocked up and I am planning to do some batch cooking today.

Not  frugal but fun: the weather looks great so we are doing a long weekend away on the boat. We  have fuel budgeted for this, and we have plenty of drinks a d food, so I guess the 100$ is not bad for 3 days away snorkelling.

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: jesse_runs_far on January 05, 2018, 06:40:28 AM
Still haven't bought any coffee at work! Yesterday was looking like a no-spend day, but I picked up a few veggies and milk in the evening.

Monthly total:
Coffee bought: 0
Grocery spending: $18
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: alleykat on January 05, 2018, 06:45:46 AM
Day 4 - no misc impulse spending.  Awesome. 

What is interesting is what I would have bought mindlessly that I wasn’t even looking for but just happened to see. 
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: frooglepoodle on January 05, 2018, 06:48:50 AM
We ended up going out to eat last night due to poor planning on my part, blah. And we'll be eating out for an event with my husband's alumni group this weekend, which we could skip but probably shouldn't.

I got most of next week's grocery shopping done at Aldi for $62, including a few treat items (ice cream and berries). Still need to pick up the last few items at the big grocery store, but grocery spending for the month stands at $133/$400, including our herdshare payment for the month's milk.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Mongoose on January 05, 2018, 08:53:00 AM
I bought some travel size peanut butter for carry on. DS will eat PB&J for airport meals on our upcoming trip. His favorite. No luck finding small jelly yet. We don't usually spring for convenience size but will do so to avoid paying for airport food. Our goal is no airport food spending.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: TikiTime on January 05, 2018, 09:21:30 AM
Decided to add a few more categories to hold myself more accountable:

Grocery 20/200  Spent $15 on mushrooms, spinach and deli meat
Entertainment(includes alcohol)  20/50 bought a box of wine  This will be a huge challenge, Mardi Gras season starts on 12th Night!
Fitness 0/50
Clothing 10/0  First Fail, but scored 2 beautiful blouses reg. retail $168!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: AmandaPanda on January 05, 2018, 09:44:36 AM
I think I had unrealistic expectations.  This week, there was supposed to be a trivia night at our local bar, and it was cancelled after we ordered drinks.  Normally, my husband's drinks are comped, but since there wasn't trivia, we had to pay $11 instead of $5 for just mine.  I didn't really even want to go, but it was a special situation with husband announcing the trivia.  So, money spent for nothing.

We are having friends over for dinner, and while I already had the chicken and potatoes, we bought zucchini (on sale) and beer/vodka.  The vodka will last a while, but it was $20, and the beer and zucchini, limes, and tonic were another $20ish.  The beer will also last a while with our current lifestyle.  But still.  Spent $50 this week, and it doesn't seem like I did anything different than I would have otherwise, so it doesn't really feel like I am even trying.

We aren't doing anything on Saturday, primarily because I don't want to spend money.  I have a friend who wants to get together, and her sons play with my son, but inviting them over means serving food, and I don't have a complete meal, so I'm kinda on the fence.  Meeting elsewhere means spending even more money, so I am trying to avoid that entirely.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: monstermonster on January 05, 2018, 09:56:05 AM
We aren't doing anything on Saturday, primarily because I don't want to spend money.  I have a friend who wants to get together, and her sons play with my son, but inviting them over means serving food, and I don't have a complete meal, so I'm kinda on the fence.  Meeting elsewhere means spending even more money, so I am trying to avoid that entirely.
Invite friends over; go buy some food is my take (you don't need to serve a whole meal!) - part of the goal of frugality for me is more time with friends and having MORE fun, and if I completely avoid hanging out because of a very small marginal cost, it does not serve that goal.

Can you go hang out at a 3rd space where you won't provide food? The library kid's area or a community center for example?
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: littlelykke on January 05, 2018, 10:01:32 AM
Day 5:
Spend the planned 50 euros on home decor.

Groceries: 4 euro. Total: 19/250.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: horsepoor on January 05, 2018, 10:44:33 AM
I bought some travel size peanut butter for carry on. DS will eat PB&J for airport meals on our upcoming trip. His favorite. No luck finding small jelly yet. We don't usually spring for convenience size but will do so to avoid paying for airport food. Our goal is no airport food spending.

You should be able to just fill a small container with jelly to carry on?  I have yet to have TSA object to my bringing on food items; I just add a little extra time for a bag search if I feel I'm pushing my luck with the items I'm bringing on.

Horse meds were delivered yesterday and I went online to register for the Mfr. rebate.  It looks like I'll get $70 instead of the $28 I was expecting, which takes the sting out of spending $30 for the overnight shipping.

$57 spent at the feed store today; read feed bag labels and checked prices while I'm there as I'm going to reconfigure the feeding program this month and will try to make sure it's as cost-effective as possible.  Also going to the indoor arena after work, so $3 fee + gas for the pig truck.

Started lentil and ham soup in the slow cooker before coming to work this morning.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: gaja on January 05, 2018, 11:38:16 AM
Day 1: $10 for bowling (kids)
Day 2: $163 + $9 scheduled grocery run (should cover 14 days), plus windshield fluid (usually get that cheaper, but ran out on the highway in bad weather)
Day 3: 0
Day 4: $3.3 (needed more lunch meat and lettuce)
Day 5: $10 (breakfast meeting at a café with a colleague. Got three sandwiches at 50% since they were a day old - had enough for lunch too)

Got another paycheck today. After paying the phone bill and DH's copay from the doctor, DD decided to put the rest towards the mortgage. She says she is buying back our house from the bank, and will be calculating how many square meters she will be able to buy during her month as head of family finances.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: horsepoor on January 05, 2018, 12:06:39 PM
DD decided to put the rest towards the mortgage. She says she is buying back our house from the bank, and will be calculating how many square meters she will be able to buy during her month as head of family finances.

That is awesome, what a smart kid you're raising!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: gaja on January 05, 2018, 12:53:53 PM
DD decided to put the rest towards the mortgage. She says she is buying back our house from the bank, and will be calculating how many square meters she will be able to buy during her month as head of family finances.

That is awesome, what a smart kid you're raising!

I don’t know. Tried to explain compound interest and the positive sides of index funds. But she is so risk averse she would rather pay down the loan that has 2.4% interest. Had expected her to split the money between different things. But I guess simple is better at 11 :)

Yes, she is a great kid.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: ixtap on January 05, 2018, 02:20:12 PM
I didn't grab take out!

I did grab prepared foods at the grocery store. I caved to the cold.

No spend: 3/5

Groceries: 179/300 (might as well see just how far we go off the rails)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Rosy on January 05, 2018, 03:25:15 PM
I'm in for January 2018.

2017 was the most $$$ I have spent in one year in 15 years, it's all sorted out now, but I'm still left with an unexpected car payment, which throws a wrench into my major goal of $50K by the end of next year, 2019.

Main goals:
1. - 0 - credit card balances - every month in 2018
2. Save 100% of SS money each month - all of 2018
3. Don't buy anything - unless it is absolutely necessary or already planned.

See how comfortable my new budget is and re-evaluate both my new budget and my new goals for February.
I'm saving up for both a (long, expensive overseas) trip in Aug 2018 and the $50K goal - we'll see how it all shakes out when I'm three months in.
Maybe the best thing for me would be to just find a way to make $256.05 extra income each month, to offset the car pmt.

So my challenge really is - what can I do to bring in or save $256.05 a month in 2018?

First-week result

1. -0- credit card balance - failed - there will be a balance on one card this month $466 balance carry over - I could pay it off, but then I couldn't save up for my two main goals this year. So I'm sticking with my savings plan and biting the bullet on interest, might be zero?, not sure.
2. Save 100% of my SS money - yup, that is one of my big goals and it is happening:)

3. Don't buy anything unless necessary or already planned:
Planned purchase - printer $89 plus tax
Gasoline $27
Resisted going out to eat and going to Starbucks or the bookstore - Score.

No other purchases. I think my COLA might add up to $50 or so by the time they take out for increased insurance costs. Waiting for all payments to come through. I'll have final numbers by Feb 1.
I reworked the budget and I think it will all work out fine in the end.
Started a new journal to help me stay badass long enough to at least meet my two new goals.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: hal on January 05, 2018, 04:52:16 PM
First day of spending for the month. $50 on a big bag of dog food and $20 on groceries. Resisted any extra goodies at the grocery store (except clementines because, really, who can resist good clementines?)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: NinetyFour on January 05, 2018, 05:19:23 PM
Dang--got hit with an annual fee for a credit card.  They say they won't waive it.  Grrr.  Also, an insurance company hit me with a $7 fee because their use interface was confusing and annoying.  I think I might have success arguing that one, but my first attempt didn't work.  Extra grrr...

I am considering taking myself out to lunch tomorrow at an Indian restaurant here near @couponvan 's house.  (Her DH recommended it.)  I do love me some Indian food, haven't had any for years, and won't have the opportunity again for who knows how long.  And it will probably be good food, because I get the sense that there is a strong Indian community in the area.  And I imagine that lunch will be cheaper than dinner.  Hmm...will ponder, and take a look at what else I will be spending money on this month...

Came to my senses and did not go out to eat.  Instead, cooked a delicious meal.

Did grocery shopping $36.20.  Would like to keep my grocery spending under $160 for the month.  Will probably spend another $20 on groceries on Sunday once I am back home.  Then I probably won't have to shop for another week at least.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Jenny Wren on January 05, 2018, 05:22:01 PM
Five days in and holding strong! Tomorrow will be the first real test, but we shall cross that bridge when we come to it...The real winner thus far is that our entertainment spending is still at zero. This is our biggest challenge.

I had to laugh at the Uber Frugal challenge today about food. I was just bemoaning the fact that I preserve so much of our garden produce, then fail to use it all winter because I'm afraid of running out before we have fresh again. I made a detailed inventory of everything we have canned, frozen, and dehydrated. Going forward, I will use some our stores at least five days a week.

Grocery 173.02/400
No spend 5/31
Clothing/gifts 0/0
Entertainment 0/150
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 05, 2018, 05:27:52 PM
Day 5: Success

Spending:

Frugal Successes:
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bracken_Joy on January 05, 2018, 05:45:36 PM
Uptick in grocery spending as I find out more about the medical diet I'll be on. Expected. Ordered a bunch of the "accessory" medications for the therapy I'll be doing (still waiting on the main antibioitc). That was ~$175.

Expensive day.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 05, 2018, 09:01:12 PM
Day 5: Success

Spending:
  • $24.33 @ CVS - $7.64 for two bottles of wine (Happy Weekend, Me!) and $16.69 on raw almonds (2 lbs) and eggs plus picked up free after coupon toothpaste.  Used $1 ECB from fall spending and got $5 ECB for buying the almonds.   I needed eggs this week and shockingly CVS had the best price to be found.
  • $20 to top up my transit card.

Frugal Successes:
  • Packed breakfast, lunch and snacks for work.
  • Walked to the train station and didn't get an uber to work instead even though it was freezing.
  • Stopped by Panera (at my train station) for my daily free bagel.
  • Dropped off finished books at the library.  Living next to a library has greatly improved my reading life.

Man you guys have cheap wine.
A crap bottle here costs at least $13!

Luckily the crappy bottles of wine here cost $3 - $4 per 750ml bottle (+ 6.5% tax).  And, even more luckily, my palate is not exactly refined.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 05, 2018, 09:14:33 PM

Luckily the crappy bottles of wine here cost $3 - $4 per 750ml bottle (+ 6.5% tax).  And, even more luckily, my palate is not exactly refined.

Ugh. I hate you right now.

A decent bottle here is $17-25
I know plenty of couples who spend $300-400 a month on wine alone just having a glass or two a night.



Sorry, not sorry.  :-D

Are you in Canada?  Or somewhere else overseas?  I do a vacation in Canada each summer/fall and have found wine prices to be high --  I always carry my two bottle allowance over the border with me. 

Here in the U.S. my favorite cheap, locally-available wines are: $2.89 House Wine @ Harris Teeter > $3.00 "Two Buck Chuck" @ Trader Joe's > $3.30 @ "Three Wishes" Whole Foods, > $3.50 House Wine @ CVS.  When buying "cheap" wine I generally stick to Pinot Grigio as it's a varietal that tends to be hard to mess up.

ETA: I didn't realize until writing out the above, that I actually like the cheaper cheap wines best.  I always consider them interchangeable and mostly just buy whatever is available where I happen to be shopping.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Carrie on January 06, 2018, 01:28:49 PM
Today was a spend day, groceries, but we should be set for most things for a while. Now I'll have challenges of eating out of the pantry for a few weeks.
$185 spent (feeding family of 5) on groceries + household.
Anticipating no spend for several days, at least until heartworm treatment starts up for our rescue dog next week. :(
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Wanttobehome on January 06, 2018, 02:13:32 PM
1 no spend day
2  no spend day
3 no spend day
4 cinema with free voucher, birthday meal 30
5 no spend day
6 30 on gift, 90 groceries and 60 petrol
7 planned no spend day

Going well 
Extra overtime tomorrow
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: appleseed on January 06, 2018, 02:42:39 PM
We had planned expenses at the beginning of the year while family was still in town (bought a local museum membership that was $15 more than tickets for the 4 of us but got us all in and we can go all year for free; plus take out while they were here). They left Thursday morning, and I only spent $3 to park at train station. We got all the food they bought that they couldn't take back, too.

But we've had 2 snow days, so I took my kids to a museum and then Target yesterday. Left Target under $3 for popcorn for hangry kids (used gift card). Would have spent some in groceries but kept having to run a kid to bathroom. I decided there was nothing we needed and no good sales/clearance which was disappointing but saves $.

Today is so cold the car won't start, so no spending there. We were planning to go help my mom with some house projects, and she would've bought dinner. We've got plenty of food in house from holidays, so not a big deal to scrounge up a meal and will clean fridge. I'm hoping it starts tomorrow!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: gaja on January 06, 2018, 02:50:00 PM
Day 1: $10 for bowling (kids)
Day 2: $163 + $9 scheduled grocery run (should cover 14 days), plus windshield fluid (usually get that cheaper, but ran out on the highway in bad weather)
Day 3: 0
Day 4: $3.3 (needed more lunch meat and lettuce)
Day 5: $10 + $8 (breakfast meeting at a café with a colleague.) and (cat food and sugar for a cake we had started baking)
Day 6: $4 (lørdagsgodt)

Saturday is the day the kids are allowed to buy candy - lørdagsgodt. I think it might be a Scandinavian think, at least I couldn't find an English term for it. After some discussion they decided the closest shop was to expensive, so they walked to the nearest mall and got discounted christmas marzipan. DH and I didn't get any, but I (gently) twisted their arms until I got some of the kids' cache. DH hates when I do that, he thinks lørdagsgodt is holy, and should only be eaten by the owner. I think they should learn to share (with their beloved mother). Also, there was cake from a serious post christmas sugar craving last night, so they didn't suffer from lack of sweets.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 06, 2018, 02:57:51 PM
No spend day!

Total spending for January: $472/$1750

Never even left the house today - snuggled up watching sports on TV, reading library books, and eating out of my pantry.  I love weekend days where I never even have to change out of my pajamas!

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: wordnerd on January 06, 2018, 04:16:56 PM
Still feeling good about this month. Spent $11 on dinner out last night (using a Groupon), which was planned, and $45 on the week's groceries. No impulse spending and nothing spent on coffee out (even resisted coffee at Dunkin while I was out with the kiddo this morning). We did stock up on diapers because there was an excellent deal at Target, which I also count as a frugal win (getting a necessity at a cheaper price). 
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: MaybeBabyMustache on January 06, 2018, 05:34:22 PM
We aren't doing anything on Saturday, primarily because I don't want to spend money.  I have a friend who wants to get together, and her sons play with my son, but inviting them over means serving food, and I don't have a complete meal, so I'm kinda on the fence.  Meeting elsewhere means spending even more money, so I am trying to avoid that entirely.
Invite friends over; go buy some food is my take (you don't need to serve a whole meal!) - part of the goal of frugality for me is more time with friends and having MORE fun, and if I completely avoid hanging out because of a very small marginal cost, it does not serve that goal.

Can you go hang out at a 3rd space where you won't provide food? The library kid's area or a community center for example?

This, or perhaps just make homemade granola bars or something you have all of the ingredients on hand for? Homemade hummus & veggies?
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: MaybeBabyMustache on January 06, 2018, 05:46:02 PM
Okay, so I've had a few wins & fails.

Frugal wins:
-Booked a flight for $11 (used points earned via business travel for the rest)
-Used a gift card for two grocery items (on clearance). Already turned one into a dozen muffins.
-Used pharmacy points to get a free Pledge, which I was out of
-After many attempts at refining our grocery process, and ensuring that my amazing husband doesn't pick up items he thinks we might need, but doesn't see on the list (to be fair, it could either be an error of omission on my part, or intentional). . . I added a new process & I think this may work. Stuck to the grocery list today & left Costco with $108 spent. I also spent $12 at the produce stand. Just a smidge under our $125/week budget. I'm trying hard to get more fruits & vegetables in (the rest of the family probably gets 8+ servings/day), so I'm buying a few convenience items to build the habit. That will need to go away over time.
-Listed a bunch of stuff on eBay
-Canceled a ski trip in February, and will do a day trip instead that is 10% of the cost. My husband has an opportunity to see his mom in connection with a business trip (she's international, in a hard to reach location) & we'll turn some of the savings into a long weekend for the two of them.

Frugal fails:

-Had an unplanned for dinner out last night. This almost never happens. Because it almost never happens, I decided to relax & enjoy, rather than making a big fuss. It ended up being quite fun.
-Bounced a check, because I didn't adjust the date correctly in my bill pay. It didn't cost me anything, but it was such a silly error.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: lemonverbena on January 06, 2018, 11:22:22 PM
Ugh, bumpy start.

Days 1-5:
Groceries/alcohol/toiletries: $316... this is so bad! It happened over multiple trips
Medical/pharmacy: $278... 100% necessary
Home repair/improvement: $45 wood for window trim in newly converted attic bedroom
Pot (spouse): $40
Gasoline: $36
Entertainment (children): $15 an uncommon spending category for us
Continuing education: $76
Mortgage: $1253
Health insurance: $265
Snacks while out (children): $19 a far too common spending category for us
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: TartanTallulah on January 07, 2018, 02:02:25 AM
Total fail here so far. More spending than expected on groceries and an eating out episode (though £55 for brunch for seven people is cheap as such things go). And DH has been treating us to bike parts and expensive climbing gadgets.

And yesterday one of our visiting family noted that our shower was leaking. "We should get that fixed," I said. "The whole system needs replaced, we should take the opportunity to refit the bathroom," said DH, and he's right, because it was already well worn when we moved in seven years ago and we decided to leave it knowing that the kids would be hard on it. Not yet, though. I'm not ready to face up to choices and building work.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Linea_Norway on January 07, 2018, 02:30:57 AM
7) Like December: no more drinking alcohol on normal weekdays, except for Friday. Also, max 1 bottle of wine per week (for the 2 of us).

Yesterday evening I had a Friday feeling, while it was Thursday. I was so in the mood for drinking beer. But I remembered my rule and didn't drink alcohol.
Really nice to have clear rules for oneself!

Edit: Weird... I thought I quoted my own previous message to write something new about point 7. But now I replaced the original text with the new text. I don't think I can undo it...
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: frugalkristen on January 07, 2018, 06:44:32 AM
So far so good.  I've spent nothing so far this month.  I still have plenty of food in the house and gas in the car.  Let's see how week 2 goes...
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Frugal Lizard on January 07, 2018, 07:06:26 AM

I had to laugh at the Uber Frugal challenge today about food. I was just bemoaning the fact that I preserve so much of our garden produce, then fail to use it all winter because I'm afraid of running out before we have fresh again. I made a detailed inventory of everything we have canned, frozen, and dehydrated. Going forward, I will use some our stores at least five days a week.


Me too.  I found a bag of parsley from 2015 in my freezer.
Going to turn all the scraps of chicken that I also found into a huge pot of soup.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: NinetyFour on January 07, 2018, 07:27:47 AM
Lost all the food in my freezer while I was out of town, so my grocery shop today will be more than I thought it would be.  Probably in the range of $30--mainly lentils, apples, and veggies.

The taxi driver who brought me home from the airport yesterday knocked $10 off the price.  Yay!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: clarkai on January 07, 2018, 08:04:43 AM
January spending so far:

Food: $18.40
Gas money in exchange for car use: $22.49
Home improvement: $51.18

So, pretty good there, but we also bought tickets for our flight to Belgium, and that really tanked our budget, and we still have to buy the hotel rooms for my brother's wedding. These aren't things that I should put off, because we are going to do them, and it will only get more expensive with time.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: katscratch on January 07, 2018, 08:34:14 AM
Last year I followed the challenge quite literally, and my son was supportive even though it meant I didn't join him in a few activities we normally do when he's in town for holiday break.

This year I think I've ended up going out to eat more than I have in the past six months :/ Argh. I don't like doing that in a normal month!

When we've suggested meeting at one of our houses the prevailing feeling is that everyone is stir crazy and just wants to get out for a bit. Coffee shops are our go-to but I'm still spending more than I want because I pay for the kids. But they have saved me at least $500 in car repair fees over the past three weeks and my son especially prefers repayment of favors in brunch, ha.

My plan to get back on track is to not drive to work the rest of the month, and to continue eating down my freezer.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Serendip on January 07, 2018, 09:09:31 AM
Day1. No spend day
Day2. No spend day
Day3. Paid $285 for a pre-planned Avalanche Safety course,
          $18 went XC skiing with beer afterwards (locals discount night)
          (SO pd for skiing, I paid for our beer & his pepperoni)
          $6 onions & bouillion
Day4. No spend day
Day5. No spend day
Day6. No spend day

Have to say, my SO is not in this challenge so he has picked up some groceries & craft beer to my benefit
*his weakness for spending, for sure
I have been cooking with things from the cupboard/fridge to great success since we had so much abundance from holiday visitors!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Jenny Wren on January 07, 2018, 09:16:33 AM
We did it! We overcame the entertainment-consumption temptation last night! Mellow "date" at the fancy grocery deli with live music $6 for two wraps), and a fancy-pants craft beer and darts at home :)

We also did the main shop for the month at the co-op. Members get a 10% discount once a month. It's more expensive than Winco or similar regular groceries, so I've whittled the list down to items I either a) can't find elsewhere at a good price (like garbanzo flour), or b)I prefer to buy local (like some produce and dairy). The next three grocery trips should only be produce and milk (and $6 date night wraps), which should fall well below the $38 a week left in the budget.

Grocery 285.63/400
No spend 5/31
Clothing/gifts 0/0
Entertainment 0/150
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bracken_Joy on January 07, 2018, 09:44:26 AM
Had an incredibly and utterly shitty day yesterday, but we didn't buy any alcohol. Holding strong on that.

Keep it up you guys!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Carrie on January 07, 2018, 10:42:29 AM
Today is no spend. Having surprise out of town company overnight (5 extra people), so we're smoking a large pork butt to feed everyone inexpensively.  Hoping they bring a bottle of wine.  :)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Chippewa on January 07, 2018, 10:48:45 AM
Grocery (2wk): $72/$90
Twenty of that was "going out" Fried chicken dinner + stocking up on cider Martinellis
Twenty of that was spent on specific groceries so DD could make a Korean meal (to me that is inexpensive holiday break fun)
Thirty on normal groceries

Went to library instead of shops.
Didn't stop at Juice place (coz I could make it at home but didn't once I got home).
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: horsepoor on January 07, 2018, 11:01:08 AM
Declined DH's suggestion to go out for breakfast and made an omelette at home.  Way easier than getting dressed, schlepping to the restaurant, then probably waiting for a table and my coffee is way better too.  I've never thought of this before, but since having chickens at home, store eggs taste terrible, which makes going out for breakfast less and less appealing.  So in a sense, the chickens are saving us like $20-30/week on not going out for breakfast!  On the other hand, when they're not laying, we now buy $6 eggs because we've gotten spoiled.

We did our big CostCo trip yesterday and spent $229 only on consumables, then I hit WinCo and spent another $70.  No booze or other junk food on either receipt except for one new beer DH spied at CostCo, and a lot of this was restocking things that will last well beyond this month. 

It's unseasonably warm here, so that should mean a lower heating bill, and that the home arena will be usable soon, saving me lots of gas and arena fees.

Horse trainer notified me that my January bill would be just for board because some other commitments had kept her from doing all of my horse's training sessions (it's a rare trainer who will freely admit this and adjust the bill, especially since I'm 100 miles away and can't drop in very often to see how things are going). 
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 07, 2018, 11:49:47 AM
Day 7: Success

Spent $48.05

Frugal Wins:

All in all, I'm calling Week 1 a success.
Monthly spending: $520.11/$1750
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: hal on January 07, 2018, 11:52:31 AM
First day of spending for the month. $50 on a big bag of dog food and $20 on groceries. Resisted any extra goodies at the grocery store (except clementines because, really, who can resist good clementines?)

Today, I don't plan any purchases, but my SO will be doing grocery shopping. Yesterday (Day 6) was the first day where I used some spending money from my allotment. I bought a new Moleskine to start a paper planner. I'm trying to move away from always using screens and various apps to track what should be a simpler life. Although I felt the sting of the purchase, the paper planner does align with some of my bigger goals about stress reduction/screen addictions. And I know there are likely cheaper or better options for bullet journaling, but I'm happy with what I chose, and options were pretty limited at the university bookstore within biking distance.

One other plus so far this month: I have been fastidious with my budget and with checking budget categories before spending. In the past, I used to "roll with the punches" and move money among categories too much.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: gaja on January 07, 2018, 12:17:30 PM
Day 1: $10 for bowling (kids)
Day 2: $163 + $9 (scheduled grocery run) and (windshield fluid)
Day 3: 0
Day 4: $3.3 (needed more lunch meat and lettuce)
Day 5: $10 + $8 (breakfast meeting at a café with a colleague.) and (cat food, and sugar for a cake we had started baking)
Day 6: $4 (lørdagsgodt)
Day 7: 0
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: wordnerd on January 07, 2018, 01:01:00 PM
Today's a no spend day, yay! Some wins the past few days: exchanging books and DVDs at the used book store for $200 worth of credit, returning some child proofing stuff that didn't work (only $8, but I'll take it), and relearning to use my sewing machine to hem some secondhand maternity jeans. The last was the most frustrating, but also the most rewarding. I'd been putting off hemming them for a month or two since I got them from ThredUp. A messed up bobbin, a broken needle, and two broken coffee cups (stored near the sewing machine) later, the jeans are hemmed. But, I feel a lot more confident about doing it again in the future. Maybe I'll learn to sew once FIREd.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: gaja on January 07, 2018, 01:16:01 PM
Considered getting back into the online data entering business for som extra cash, but after starting the application process I remembered why I found it so insanely mindnumbingly boring. My time is better spent on other stuff.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: YellowCat on January 07, 2018, 03:25:09 PM
I'm in! I've been following along with Frugalwoods but figured this forum may help keep me accountable.

Day 1:
Groceries: $55.23 ($55.23 / $330)
Ikea: $8.46 (two new coffee mugs to replace some of ours which were quite sad)

Day 2: $0

Day 3:
Gas for Husband's car: $27.28 ($27.28 / $100)
New watch battery for Husband: $21.15

Day 4:
Groceries: $38.58 ($93.81 / $330)
Gas for my car: $25.86 ($53.14 / $100) --> should be fully reimbursed due to mileage for work (53.2 miles at $0.545 / mile). Additional mileage reimbursement expected this month.

Day 5:
Amazon - new hiking boots for me: $30.00 --> I shouldn't have, but I bought a new pair of Keen hiking boots using a gift card from work (presented to me right before Christmas for busting my butt on a big project) plus some Amazon credit. So I only spent $30 in cash...they are good and waterproof and should last a long time.
Groceries: $13.26 ($107.07 / $330)
Work Snacks for Husband: $1.83 --> I really wish I could break him of his tendency to buy snacks at the vending machine at work. I pack him beautiful lunches every day (with snacks!) and he has free coffee in his office...

Day 6:
Filing citizenship application for Husband: $725 --> Ouch, but also exciting, and not exactly discretionary / "fun" money spending...

Day 7: $0
Cooking down the pantry and freezer & not planning to grocery shop until at least the 9th. This is easier as Husband is on a business trip through 10th evening.

Day 8: $0
Still cooking down the pantry and freezer. It's amazing how much food we can prepare with what we have on hand, and that's even considering that we generally shop carefully and don't throw food out as it is. Our fridge's default state is at least 1/2 empty.  I have a fairly long grocery list going for when I do shop (at Aldi) but I'll be totally fine until then.

Day 9: Should be $0
________________________
Non-Housing:
- Groceries: $107.07 / $330
- Gas: $53.14 / $100
- Fast Food: $1.83 / $0 (not budgeted for)
- Shopping: $51.15 / $0 (not budgeted for)
- Legal: $725

Housing / Fixed:
Mortgage Payment: $1221.52
Car Loan: $326.33
Internet Bill: $26.98
Quarterly Water Bill: $142.44 ($47.48 per month Sept - Dec 2017)
Charity: $174.14 (based on last month)

Total: $2829.60
Target: < $3300
Remaining: $470.40
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: frooglepoodle on January 07, 2018, 04:02:52 PM
DH bought some groceries (farmer’s market and grocery store) yesterday  but today was a zero spending day.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: appleseed on January 07, 2018, 05:12:01 PM
We had planned expenses at the beginning of the year while family was still in town (bought a local museum membership that was $15 more than tickets for the 4 of us but got us all in and we can go all year for free; plus take out while they were here). They left Thursday morning, and I only spent $3 to park at train station. We got all the food they bought that they couldn't take back, too.

But we've had 2 snow days, so I took my kids to a museum and then Target yesterday. Left Target under $3 for popcorn for hangry kids (used gift card). Would have spent some in groceries but kept having to run a kid to bathroom. I decided there was nothing we needed and no good sales/clearance which was disappointing but saves $.

Today is so cold the car won't start, so no spending there. We were planning to go help my mom with some house projects, and she would've bought dinner. We've got plenty of food in house from holidays, so not a big deal to scrounge up a meal and will clean fridge. I'm hoping it starts tomorrow!
Car did not start again today! Ugh. I hope tomorrow it will start or I'll call roadside assistance to come jump us (free through car insurance). I'm going stir crazy, so I asked my husband to bring me a chai on the way back from his office (walking distance) but only if he had cash. But I did make a pot of rice noodle soup using things we had in the fridge that needed to be used up. Turned out pretty good. Got a challah bread started as well (King Arthur Flour January bakealong recipe). Hopefully we'll be eating that for breakfast tomorrow.

Hoping to get out tomorrow (30 degrees F!)   to exchange socks I got for Christmas that are the wrong size and return a toy given to my youngest (we don't need another stuffed animal) that I'll exchange probably for Legos (and put aside for next snow day). Shouldn't be any spending.

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Wess on January 07, 2018, 05:14:16 PM
My Uber Frugal January:  Cook all my food! eat out NONE. Looking to reduce my food expenses to less than $150 this month.

January spending so far: $20 for Week One's groceries.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: HappierAtHome on January 07, 2018, 10:16:58 PM
I'm doing SO BADLY at being frugal this month. Hilariously, laughably, ridiculously, embarrassingly badly. Good thing I didn't start this thread or publicly commit to an uber frugal month or anything - OH WAIT.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bee21 on January 08, 2018, 04:00:37 AM
Yeah, yeah i am not that frugal either. January is tricky for us with school holidays and birthdays.

I needed to replace the kids swimming gear as they desintegrated. Plus kid needed a bday present.

The good news is, I am planning a mexican themed bday lunch for a crowd, and coles has tortillas, corn chips and taco shells at half price. Looks like the bday feast can be absorbed into the standard grocery spending, so small win.

Tomorrow is no spend day.

Wednesday we are playing minigolf (plus taking out my friends' kids as a thank you for looking after them.)On Thursday we will have heaps of fun at the dentist (hope insurance will cover the kids).

etc, etc.

The rest of the month should look reasonable, though school hols are not over yet. Kids also  need school shoes.  They are cute, but expensive at this time of the year.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Duchess on January 08, 2018, 06:11:45 AM
I'm doing SO BADLY at being frugal this month. Hilariously, laughably, ridiculously, embarrassingly badly. Good thing I didn't start this thread or publicly commit to an uber frugal month or anything - OH WAIT.

This sounds VERY familiar! Despite signing up for the UFM emails, I've been too embarrassed to post on this thread so far.

I'm going for the small wins. I've managed to avoid buying snacks and lunch out about which is a big behaviour change for me. Mrs. Frugalwoods' suggestions about insourcing also prompted me to check the care label on a dress which I though was dry clean only. Turns out it can go in the washing machine - cheaper to clean, fewer chemicals and no wasting time travelling to the dry cleaners (since we don't actually have one in our town).
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: pachnik on January 08, 2018, 08:18:29 AM
I'm doing SO BADLY at being frugal this month. Hilariously, laughably, ridiculously, embarrassingly badly. Good thing I didn't start this thread or publicly commit to an uber frugal month or anything - OH WAIT.

This sounds VERY familiar! Despite signing up for the UFM emails, I've been too embarrassed to post on this thread so far.

I'm going for the small wins. I've managed to avoid buying snacks and lunch out about which is a big behaviour change for me. Mrs. Frugalwoods' suggestions about insourcing also prompted me to check the care label on a dress which I though was dry clean only. Turns out it can go in the washing machine - cheaper to clean, fewer chemicals and no wasting time travelling to the dry cleaners (since we don't actually have one in our town).

in the same boat as you two.  I had to replace an exfoliating sponge I use and then I bought my annual tube of concealer.  This is usually it for any kind of cosmetics for me.    However, I've not bought take out coffee before work once this month. 
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: 2Birds1Stone on January 08, 2018, 09:23:28 AM
8 days into the month, spent $269 so far.

$100 - Car depreciation
$60 - Travel
$50 - Wedding gift
$35 - Grocery
$24 - Entertainment
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: haypug16 on January 08, 2018, 11:26:13 AM
Week 1 update;

Groceries = $200 ($98.54/200) - getting kind of close there but I did buy some vitamins ($30) so maybe I need to move that to a different category. Either way they money was spend so I'll leave it for now
Dining Out = $100 ($30.45/100) - Not bad I have a dinner planned at the end of the month and maybe a lunch at some point but should still stay under budget
Entertainment = $50 ($16.31/50)
Clothes = $0 (modified after joining the No Clothes Shopping Challenge) ($0/0) - So far so good :)
Personal & Household items = $10 - ($0/0)
Misc = $75 ($0/0) I will probably move the vitamins here since they are not really groceries.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 08, 2018, 04:50:10 PM
Day 8: Success

No spend day.  Worked from home today.  Was planning on going to the grocery store to pick up a few things and get some exercise, but by the time I was done working it was raining/slushing. Cold + slushie rain? Nope.  Not going out in that if I have any choice.

I'm eating out of my pantry --- including grabbing two single servings of pasta sauce from the freezer to make dinner for tonight and tomorrow.  This challenge (and tracking all of my spending which I don't normally do) has made me much more aware of my grocery budget and I'm definitely being more thoughtful about food waste and how to ensure I'm using up everything I buy.

Month to Date Spending:
$520.11/$1750

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: hal on January 08, 2018, 05:18:45 PM
Day 8 - successful day of no spending. Our grocery budget is still on track after SO did shopping yesterday; we are at $78 for the first two weeks (we buy one week at a time). In thinking about our budget, I've realized that there are several pricy areas -- our meat and eggs, mostly. But my SO has objections to normal store eggs and ethically dubious meat. She does her research about ethically, legitimately better options, so I feel like it's an area where I can bend and be flexible. All part of a happy relationship... And it helps that we only have meat once a week and one dozen eggs per week.

On another note, I've found the secret to slashing my fast food budget. This year, by biking and avoiding my clown car, I no longer would have the convenience of having food handed to me through a window. Since the "cue" to the habit isn't possible anymore, I have saved an embarrassing amount of money on fast food compared to this time last year. All the more reason to keep biking.

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Jenny Wren on January 08, 2018, 07:30:03 PM
I was sorely tempted by coffee because I was stuck on campus until later today because of a meeting. I managed to get by without water this time, but I need to prepare for next time. I have these meetings every other Monday this quarter. My hydroflask keeps coffee hot for several hours, so I think I will pack it with "afternoon coffee" and use one of the crappy, barely insulated cups for my "first class of day" coffee.

Otherwise, no spend day. Going to try and hold to no spending until we leave on our trip on Thursday since I know there will be some spending while we are gone.

Grocery 285.63/400
No spend 7/31
Clothing/gifts 0/0
Entertainment 0/150
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: MaybeBabyMustache on January 08, 2018, 07:41:44 PM
Day 8 - successful day of no spending. Our grocery budget is still on track after SO did shopping yesterday; we are at $78 for the first two weeks (we buy one week at a time). In thinking about our budget, I've realized that there are several pricy areas -- our meat and eggs, mostly. But my SO has objections to normal store eggs and ethically dubious meat. She does her research about ethically, legitimately better options, so I feel like it's an area where I can bend and be flexible. All part of a happy relationship... And it helps that we only have meat once a week and one dozen eggs per week.

On another note, I've found the secret to slashing my fast food budget. This year, by biking and avoiding my clown car, I no longer would have the convenience of having food handed to me through a window. Since the "cue" to the habit isn't possible anymore, I have saved an embarrassing amount of money on fast food compared to this time last year. All the more reason to keep biking.

Great benefit that supports a healthy & frugal option (biking)! Double win.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: CloserToFree on January 08, 2018, 09:16:30 PM
Really delayed in joining this thread, oops.  I'm doing the Frugalwoods challenge too.  Here are my goals (note some of these aren't money related or even in furtherance of frugality):
1. No buying food at work; bring lunch and ample snacks.  (Can use a gift card to a coffee shop around the corner if absolutely necessary.)  I used to be great at this but fell into the bad habit last summer/fall of buying a Coke or small things here or there at our cafeteria and want to get back on the wagon.
2.  Do 15-20 minutes of exercise a day (a lowly amount, I know).  I'm pregnant so this will mostly be prenatal yoga, walking, or light exercises/videos at home.  The cold weather and a bout of major fatigue messed with the daily walking habit I had set up.  My muscles are totally mush and while I don't want to do anything strenuous given the pregnancy (due in late March), I want to slowly get my tone back and keep my circulation flowing.
3. Get back into swimming - try for once a week.  See above.
4. Continue clothes buying ban.  13 months and counting!
5. Do more cooking and meal planning.  DH does almost all the cooking in our household and is an awesome cook, but I enjoy it in small doses and making yummy things helps prevent me from giving in to the urge to eat out, pick up snacks at bakeries/coffee shops, etc.  Made my first loaf of bread the other day, and made homemade yogurt for the first time in 5+ years too.  Would love to do this regularly.  Plus need to up my meal planning game - that's always a huge help for minimizing grocery and eating out spending.
6. Don't go overboard with the frugality (spend on things we value). This may seem odd for an Uber Frugal monthly thread, but we only have a couple months to go before kid #2 arrives and I don't want to squander that time pinching pennies as far as experiences go.  For example, we have a fun weekend trip planned coming up, and I want to get in some date nights/ 1:1 time with DH before we become a family of 4 and effectively become housebound for awhile.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: horsepoor on January 08, 2018, 09:31:40 PM
No spend days are scarce this month.

Today:  $3 arena fee, $6.40 at Lowe's to replace a safety cable on the horse trailer, $94 on horse supplements (even after using a 50% off promo code), $41 on gas for the truck (used points for 50c off/gallon or $11).
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: poko on January 08, 2018, 09:35:41 PM
Doing pretty well so far! Only $72 non-mortgage spending so far. Tomorrow will be VERY expensive as I am taking my cat in for a radiation treatment that was scheduled back in November. She will be at the vet until Saturday :( and then in somewhat quarantine at home for 3 weeks until she less radioactive!!

I'm also traveling to the UK on the 26th, which will be expensive. I might continue "super frugal" mode until the end of Feb to make up for these larger than usual outlays. 
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Linea_Norway on January 09, 2018, 01:56:58 AM
We have been eating the meat in the freezer during December. So it recently was so empty that I have filled it up a bit again.
New goal for this month is to use up more of the frozen leftover portions in the freezer. Last week we ate 2 commercial bags with frozen food (rice, veggies, meat and sauce, relatively healthy pre-made food). This was because we had a lot to do and did not have extra energy to do proper cooking.
We still have a pile of frozen boxes of cooked pears (brought in from leftover from my work's fruit basket on Friday afternoons). And some boxes of sweet potato mash. I should make a plan on how to use it up.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: frooglepoodle on January 09, 2018, 05:06:47 AM
Made a Target run yesterday, but only got needed things from the list (and a trampoline for my son using a gift card from Christmas). Some of the items could probably have been purchased elsewhere for slightly cheaper, but one stop saves gas and. Plus, when running errands with a toddler it's worth a few extra dollars not to have to make multiple stops. I did NOT buy anything from the dollar section at the front of the store (seriously, why bother? 99% of it is cheap crap) and passed up the maternity clothes since I'm determined not to buy anything new until I've exhausted all my secondhand options.

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: gaja on January 09, 2018, 11:46:50 AM
Week 1: $10 (activities), $188 (food), $9 (transport).

Day 8: 0
Day 9: $23 (groceries)

We have also had som work related expenses (parking, computer equipment), but those will be reimbursed, so I don't see the point of counting them here.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: wordnerd on January 09, 2018, 04:17:27 PM
No spend day today, and tomorrow should be as well. Yesterday should've been no spend but I ended up spending $25 on treating my kid's pink eye (probably money well spent). I'm going to try to go all month without buying anything in the work cafeteria. I'm feeling optimistic.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: ixtap on January 09, 2018, 04:32:16 PM
I lost track, but today was the first time I left home since Friday, so there are at least 3 no spend days lined up there. Yay nasty winter bug?
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: HappierAtHome on January 09, 2018, 04:40:49 PM
Okay, I'm back on track!

I've set a realistic goal for grocery spending for the month - slightly lower than my average spend last year, and we've done a bulk stock-up this month which usually pushes the total higher. So staying within budget should be slightly challenging, but not impossible.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 09, 2018, 05:23:43 PM
Day 9: Success

Went to the grocery store and spent $6.26 - $3.17 on a bottle of wine and $3.09 on lettuce, cucumber, yogurt, organic cereal, ricotta cheese (8 oz), and BBQ sauce.  I'll get back $.75 from rebate apps. 


Frugal Wins:

And, not exactly a frugal win, but an industry connection reached out to me today to see if I would be interested in discussing career opportunities.  In the city where I want to move.  I thought I'd likely have to wait until after FIRE to make the move, given the limited number of positions in my niche field in target city.  And, I'll have to disclose to my boss if I pursue the opportunity beyond an initial consult which could impact my current employment.  The 'stach gives me a safety net to let me explore my options.

Monthly Spending: $526.37/$1,750
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: YellowCat on January 09, 2018, 06:21:12 PM
Day 9: Stocked up on groceries today: $69.89. I think this will be enough to get us through to the weekend of the 20th, or at least close.

Other frugal wins: for dinner I had random leftover bits: an apple, sauteed zucchini, 2 eggs, toast from husband's homemade bread, the last of an avocado hiding out in the fridge. I packed my lunch (as usual) and grabbed some free snacks at work as a special treat.
________________________
Non-Housing:
- Groceries: $176.96 / $330
- Gas: $53.14 / $100
- Fast Food: $1.83 / $0 (not budgeted for)
- Shopping: $51.15 / $0 (not budgeted for)
- Legal: $725

Housing / Fixed:
Mortgage Payment: $1221.52
Car Loan: $326.33
Internet Bill: $26.98
Energy Bill: $42.29
Quarterly Water Bill: $142.44 ($47.48 per month Sept - Dec 2017)
Charity: $174.14 (based on last month)

Total: $2941.78
Target: < $3300
Remaining: $358.22
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: HappierAtHome on January 09, 2018, 10:28:53 PM
Accidental frugality: Baby Ewok started screaming soon after I arrived at my mums' group catchup, so I did not spend $4 on a coffee. Regretting missing out on my grownup time though.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Carrie on January 10, 2018, 08:16:51 AM
7- no spend
8- no spend
9- had to buy some clothes, oldest boy grew a few inches (it seems) and the cold weather is still here so he needed long pants. Bought two pairs for $6 at Walmart, along with some other winter clearance clothing for the rest of the family. Total was $53, but I'm going to return two things I bought for myself for $11 (revised total $42 for 8 items of clothing + bananas).  Spent some money at Home Goods for a new compost bin (the old one got a crack in it and was nasty), bought 12 cloth napkins on clearance. $28. Wine store: $50. Vet visit for heartworm positive dog: $76. 'Twas a spendy day.
10- no spend
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Rosy on January 10, 2018, 08:51:05 AM
I'm in for January 2018.

2017 was the most $$$ I have spent in one year in 15 years, it's all sorted out now, but I'm still left with an unexpected car payment, which throws a wrench into my major goal of $50K by the end of next year, 2019.

Main goals:
1. - 0 - credit card balances - every month in 2018
2. Save 100% of SS money each month - all of 2018
3. Don't buy anything - unless it is absolutely necessary or already planned.

See how comfortable my new budget is and re-evaluate both my new budget and my new goals for February.
I'm saving up for both a (long, expensive overseas) trip in Aug 2018 and the $50K goal - we'll see how it all shakes out when I'm three months in.
Maybe the best thing for me would be to just find a way to make $256.05 extra income each month, to offset the car pmt.

So my challenge really is - what can I do to bring in or save $256.05 a month in 2018?

First-week result

1. -0- credit card balance - failed - there will be a balance on one card this month $466 balance carry over - I could pay it off, but then I couldn't save up for my two main goals this year. So I'm sticking with my savings plan and biting the bullet on interest, might be zero?, not sure.
2. Save 100% of my SS money - yup, that is one of my big goals and it is happening:)

3. Don't buy anything unless necessary or already planned:
Planned purchase - printer $89 plus tax
Gasoline $27
Resisted going out to eat and going to Starbucks or the bookstore - Score.

No other purchases. I think my COLA might add up to $50 or so by the time they take out for increased insurance costs. Waiting for all payments to come through. I'll have final numbers by Feb 1.
I reworked the budget and I think it will all work out fine in the end.
Started a new journal to help me stay badass long enough to at least meet my two new goals.

Spent:
7.19 - Large fries and coca cola - that's just insane! Five Guys - free peanuts:) Took some home for the birds in my garden. I indulge about once every six months, sometimes even only once a year - 'cause, really, it's one big potato and some peanut oil - insane price:)
33.20 Hair Salon - oh so worth it, because my new stylist is awesome. You know when an old lady gets "several" compliments on her hair from strangers even - you know she's good.

So far all well within budget - except for the printer, which will make my budget rather tight for the rest of the month, unless I pay it out of my slush fund, which is a bit low for my comfort - so I am dithering...:)

I will be returning a Christmas gift today and I am at a loss what to buy at Penney's - I don't need anything. Hopefully, they will give me a gc type credit for later.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: gaja on January 10, 2018, 12:05:14 PM
Week 1: $10 (activities), $188 (food), $9 (transport).

Day 8: 0
Day 9: $23 (groceries)
Day 10: $8 (groceries) + $8 (pads and candy*)

*definetly a need, not a want
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: appleseed on January 10, 2018, 12:47:58 PM
We finally got our car jumped yesterday (it actually kept me from spending to not have it working, so it wasn't a big deal). I ended up spending $8.99 for my oldest (6) to get a haircut. He decided to trim his hair on his own, so it was necessary. We usually go to the barber down the street, but great clips sent a coupon for $5.99. I thought of the uberfrugs, and we tried it. He got a decent haircut, and I saved $9.

Today I went grocery shopping and will buy gas later, but it's my first grocery trip of the year. Got a lot of discounts and coupons plus didn't go beyond my list except for real good sales on staples. Bought discount ripe bananas for banana bread, which I'll make this afternoon.

Oh and I bought some supplies for a sewing class I teach, so I think I can count those as business expenses.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 10, 2018, 05:34:52 PM
Day 10: Success

No spend day!

Packed breakfast, lunch, and snack for work.  Eating leftovers for dinner.  Drinking water.  Reading a library book.  Watching hockey.  Happy as a clam.

Monthly Spending: $526.37/$1,750
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: LindseyC on January 10, 2018, 05:52:27 PM
I'm late to the thread, but I am in. I am actually doing an uber frugal 2018 but for January specifically I want to eat up my pantry/freezer, spend under $100 for groceries and also do a no buy month with one exception.

I earned an extra $100 and decided to buy a few practical things I needed:

The worlds warmest gloves ($55) as i did not have a good pair and I noticed in the extreme cold that one hand (which I broke a few years ago) was beginning to hurt quite a bit.

I also spent $35 on two shoe organizers. In December I had a Christmas miracle when my aunt who volunteers at a thrift store brought me 15 pairs of mostly new shoes that was donated by one estate. I have large feet for a female and prefer supportive shoes, these were very expensive shoes (average $200) that mostly still had their tags on and receipts in the original boxes. I have never owned so many shoes in my life, it's amazing. To keep them clean and tidy, I needed a good place to store them, hence the hanging organizers. I consider this an investment in my feet for at least a decade.

I also bought unlimited Viber minutes to call my snowbird parents $4.50 and an elf light from the thrift store for $10 - which was completely impractical but, I have wanted one for years and promised myself I would not buy one until I could find it second hand.

So that's my extra $100 gone, but to worthwhile things (mostly). So far a third of the month is over and I have only spent $3.50 on eating out and my groceries are still well below $100. It's been a pretty successful third so far. Oh and since December 27th I am down 2.5lbs!!! Bonus!!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Jenny Wren on January 10, 2018, 07:50:38 PM
We leave town tomorrow for four days, which means the spending fast will be lifted. Going to be as Uber Frugal as realistic while still enjoying ourselves on our anniversary trip. We are challenging ourselves to come home with some money still in the entertainment budget!

The last two days have been no spend, as well. After my umbrella debacle while waiting for the bus yesterday, I thought I'd need to buy a new one. Mentioned it to my mom, who offered me a nice, never used umbrella. Seems my dad's company gave them out at a trade show a couple of decades ago, and he brought home the leftovers. Both the company and my dad are now gone, but their memory lives on in these umbrellas with the logo emblazoned on the handle :D

Grocery 285.63/400
No spend 9/31 (Goal 23 no spend days)
Clothing/gifts 0/0
Entertainment 0/150
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bee21 on January 11, 2018, 01:31:35 AM
Hell.  Back to school is getting more expensive. I ordered the stationery packs back in november and they won't be arriving. Refund will also take a couple of weeks. Am royally displeased to put it mildly. The last thing I want is to go shopping with the kids for school supplies.

Good news is, kids have no cavities (=uberfrugal). Insurance covered the checkup. I dragged them through a major shopping centre without buying anything.

Small wins, little wins.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: AmandaPanda on January 11, 2018, 05:35:51 AM
LindseyC what are the worlds warmest gloves? I’m curious!

We are trying our hardest and have definitely cut costs, but things always come up. Currently the husband is in his hometown because his dad is in the hospital. This means he is purchasing all meals out :(. He is trying to he reasonable, though.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: LindseyC on January 11, 2018, 06:19:00 AM
LindseyC what are the worlds warmest gloves? I’m curious!

The brand is called Auclair Gloves. I bought them at Sail (an outdoor store here in Canada) they are a mix of leather and other materials. I wanted the palms and around the fingers to be leather so I could drive easily in them and also shovel snow with no slipping. I also wanted them to be longer down my wrist and with a strap to tighten around the wrist to keep out snow. They are lined with something soft and warm - I have no idea what. I don't know the "name" of them as I threw out the tags, but they are waterproof, good to -30 and flexible. They were regular $115 but I got them on sale for $55 (including taxes) more then I have ever spent on gloves in my life, but arthritis in one hand is now a concern and I am hoping they last many years.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 11, 2018, 05:36:53 PM
Day 11: Semi-Success

Spent
$16.17 - electricity bill.
$26.80 at the grocery store - $21.19 for a box of wine and $5.61 on groceries (blackberries, apple, ham (2 oz), turkey (2 oz), cheddar cheese (8 oz), frozen roasted corn x 2, yogurt.  Will get $2 back from rebate apps.

I'm headed out of town for a long weekend tomorrow --- so went a bit spendy on the wine and food (mostly wine) to take with me - but hopefully it will help me limit the dining and drinking out while on vacation and ultimately save money.

Monthly Spending: $569.34/$1750

Edited because I forgot I paid my share of the electric bill this morning.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bracken_Joy on January 11, 2018, 06:16:17 PM
Well, that was a failure.

Alcohol spending: $13. Got bad medical news. Not coping great. Husband and I both just really wanted a damn drink. Went and bought a bottle of whiskey.

Good whiskey. Poor coping skills.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: wordnerd on January 11, 2018, 06:24:24 PM
I'm so sorry to hear that @Bracken_Joy. Wishing you peace.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 11, 2018, 06:55:53 PM
Well, that was a failure.

Alcohol spending: $13. Got bad medical news. Not coping great. Husband and I both just really wanted a damn drink. Went and bought a bottle of whiskey.

Good whiskey. Poor coping skills.

@Bracken_Joy - I'm sorry to hear that.  Sometimes you need to cope however you need to cope - no judgement.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bracken_Joy on January 11, 2018, 07:13:21 PM
Thanks guys.

Sometimes life has other plans than a cheap month, you know? =\

At least we went for a cheap whiskey, hahaha.

AND insurance partially covered a couple lab tests I thought would be 0% covered, so that's a few hundred saved right there.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: YellowCat on January 12, 2018, 06:30:38 AM
Day 10: $0 (me) but husband spent a little bit at the airport, coming back from his business trip. He's not actively participating in this challenge, though, so perhaps I can't hold it against him :)
$2.86 at Starbucks
$5.29 for a snack (groceries)
$10.39 for a Lyft ride. This may be reimbursable through work, depends on if he wants to claim it or not.

Day 11: $0
Day 12: Should also be zero. I'm working from home today (though sadly husband isn't) because my motivation is flagging *and* the weather is completely terrible: rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow, repeat. At least it was a lot warmer yesterday (50F?!) and all of the previous round of snow melted. We're having dinner with friends tonight, at their house, and tomorrow will likely be hibernating and hiding from the weather. So perhaps tomorrow will be no-spend as well. I might poke my head out to go to the library, but based on how I feel right now that may be overly ambitious :) I'm just in full-on hibernation mode!

________________________
Non-Housing:
- Groceries: $182.25 / $330
- Gas: $53.14 / $100
- Lyft: $10.39 / $0 (not budgeted for)
- Fast Food: $4.69 / $0 (not budgeted for)
- Shopping: $51.15 / $0 (not budgeted for)
- Legal: $725

Housing / Fixed:
Mortgage Payment: $1221.52
Car Loan: $326.33
Internet Bill: $26.98
Electric Bill: $42.29
Quarterly Water Bill: $142.44 ($47.48 per month Sept - Dec 2017)
Charity: $174.14 (based on last month)

Total: $2960.32
Target: < $3300
Remaining: $339.68
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: LindseyC on January 12, 2018, 06:59:44 AM
Bracken_Joy - I'm sorry to hear about your news, but your attitude regarding the cheap whiskey and finding the silver lining about saving money on tests, will serve you well. I have been sick for about 4 years now and have discovered that humour (even dark humour) and finding the smallest bit of positivity, is the one thing that makes everything just a little bit easier to deal with. You got this!

*********
I am still doing good for the month. I did spend $26 on a haircut (including tip and taxes) that I should have got well over a month ago but had bronchitis and wasn't feeling up to sitting still for it. I don't even feel slightly guilty about that expense.

I also called my CC company yesterday as they had applied a payment in a wonky manner. Turns out they have a glitch in their system so they have moved my no interest transfer end date from February 1st, to October 1st. This was not my intention when I called, I just wanted to verify why it was applied the way it was, I had the funds to pay it all off any way.

However, I'm taking advantage of this offer to pay down my LOC which does have interest rates applied to it (albeit very low) so I have just saved a little extra money. I can't wait to be out of debt, getting sick for a few years really messed up my earning ability and finances but being positive about it, it will only be a few years until I am back on track and in the grand scheme of things, it is a curve ball that I can deal with.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: horsepoor on January 12, 2018, 08:18:34 AM
Bracken - sorry for your troubles; the whiskey is understandable when life delivers a hard blow.

While it's creepy how much Google knows about me, it saved me a credit card late fee as I had missed a very small credit card bill that is due tomorrow by popping up a notice on my phone.  Was able to go in and set up a payment and avoid the late fee, which would have been about as much as the bill itself.

Diligently cooking at home and not making purchases.  We're eating a lot better in the new year, which means spending a fair bit on veggies and needing to to stock up again this weekend.  The question is whether I go to WholePaycheck while downtown for a meeting today, or do I hit WinCo tomorrow?

Non-frugal confession:  our microwave suddenly started arcing horribly.  Last time this happened, I tried replacing the waveguide cover and it didn't fix the problem.  I was going to take 2 weeks to get the waveguide cover for this particular model, and I was skeptical that was the problem as it wasn't in nearly the shape the previous one was when problems started with the last microwave.  Called DH and had him buy a new microwave after work yesterday.  Lame I know, but I just didn't want to deal with it.

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: MaybeBabyMustache on January 12, 2018, 09:19:37 AM
Our January has been less frugal on the food side (re-stocking the fridge after being gone + unplanned meal out). But, the other categories are going well.

I need to learn to let some things go on the food side. My husband is lovely, however, when we run out of something, he wants to immediately replace it. I like to use a replacement until our next planned store trip. (E.g., we ran out of cucumber for the kids lunches, but had carrots that could have been swapped). He really, really struggles with this. He went through a phase where he had no money for food, and running out clearly brings back challenging feelings. I need to just let this go. Oddly, it's almost always around fresh produce, which is good for us & a variety of options is good.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Serendip on January 12, 2018, 10:16:37 AM
Our January has been less frugal on the food side (re-stocking the fridge after being gone + unplanned meal out). But, the other categories are going well.

I need to learn to let some things go on the food side. My husband is lovely, however, when we run out of something, he wants to immediately replace it. I like to use a replacement until our next planned store trip. (E.g., we ran out of cucumber for the kids lunches, but had carrots that could have been swapped). He really, really struggles with this. He went through a phase where he had no money for food, and running out clearly brings back challenging feelings. I need to just let this go. Oddly, it's almost always around fresh produce, which is good for us & a variety of options is good.

So great that you are understanding MaybeBabyMustache.

 I am similar to your fellow and really like to buy replacements before we run out--my partner like to buy things almost daily since we have a little shop right near to us.
He doesn't understand why I buy oatmeal before we have run out..or pumpkin seeds..or onions but I think I feel more comfortable knowing we have healthy options always available at home (to prevent us grabbing food out so much!)

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Carrie on January 12, 2018, 12:02:38 PM
1-11 $44 groceries to get through the weekend, mostly fresh fruits & veggies, milk
1-12 Some spending today - winter clearance clothing $25 (3 men's long sleeve shirts, 2 women's sweaters, 1 women's sherpa hoodie, 1 boys fleece pants) $10 large bag coffee.

Should be no spend days until Tuesday when we'll need more groceries, probably, but if I can squeeze a few more days I will.

Doing great on gas consumption - both cars still have 3/4 tank, we'll get through until February easily. :)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: pachnik on January 12, 2018, 12:19:32 PM
This thread is definitely keeping my 'eating out' spending down.  December was kind of bad for buying a coffee on the way to work etc.  So I am glad for this re-set.

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: katscratch on January 12, 2018, 12:28:38 PM
I've done well this week. Stir crazy stuck in house amazon window shopping last week but I didn't give in to the impulses.

I did end up spending after a bike ride last night when I couldn't find my drink ticket. Turns out my friend thought it was a beer coaster and had it under his glass ;)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: clarkai on January 12, 2018, 12:38:51 PM
We're still doing pretty good, though I'm waiting until the 14th to do the money update. One cool thing was that we had a meeting at a restaurant, and instead of ordering food, we shared one tea. Pretty good, considering past behavior. On the really awesome end of things, my husband is finally really on board with frugality. This is huge! He's been kinda nodding his head along, but now he's starting to take some initiative and act frugally on his own. Probably partially at least because of the frugalwoods challenge.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: monstermonster on January 12, 2018, 01:19:06 PM
Is anyone else not really finding UFJ to shift their habits much from normal? About the only thing that's changed is I don't go get coffee out (which I do about 3 times a month usually, totally $9-12). I guess I don't have a lot of fancy wiggle room in my budget so being uber frugal is just... not that much? I mainly buy rent, food, groceries, utilities, and my gym membership (on contract so I didn't stop cut it out, also I value it!).

Groceries for the month have come to $72.44, with $5 of that being coffee for home.

We don't store a lot of food at home so "eat down the pantry" took about 2 days. Honestly, we should've probably gone the opposite and stocked up, as we have no emergency food rations other than all our homemade freezer hot sauce and tomato sauce from the summer CSA.

I guess it's good that "uber frugal january" isn't much different than regular life.

Total spending for month as of 1/12: $787.29

Rent: $615
Household Goods: $14.26 (every 6 months TP restock, cleaning liquid)
Health Insurance: $37
Groceries: $72.44 ($4.98 coffee for home)
Extra Food/Drink $4.60 burrito during unexpected extra shift
Gym Membership $43.99


Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: appleseed on January 12, 2018, 01:30:25 PM
I'm happy to say I went a whole week without a trip to coffee shop in town. Partially because it was too cold to go out, but I also think accountability to this thread is helping me break the habit.

I did buy dinner out on Wednesday that I was not planning (took my dad and kids out) but used my drink reward (Panera) for my dad and had water. He is always buying us meals, so it's good to treat occasionally.

Did a mystery lunch today at a fast causal restaurant.  If I factor in driving, I probably broke even after food costs for what it pays, but I took my two youngest out for a treat, and it was near a store I need to go to for class supplies anyways.

Personal capital has me at spending $315 this month less compared to this time in December, which is great. Groceries at $200 so far for month. Need to make my apples and local eggs run to orchard tomorrow morning, but that's usually under $20, and we can make what we have last until the following weekend.

A friend gave me a 5# I bag of potatoes - recipe recommendations? I love potato soup, but the rest of family not smitten. 
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: wordnerd on January 12, 2018, 01:38:16 PM
Is anyone else not really finding UFJ to shift their habits much from normal? About the only thing that's changed is I don't go get coffee out (which I do about 3 times a month usually, totally $9-12). I guess I don't have a lot of fancy wiggle room in my budget so being uber frugal is just... not that much? I mainly buy rent, food, groceries, utilities, and my gym membership (on contract so I didn't stop cut it out, also I value it!).

Groceries for the month have come to $65, with $5 of that being coffee for home.

We don't store a lot of food at home so "eat down the pantry" took about 2 days. Honestly, we should've probably gone the opposite and stocked up, as we have no emergency food rations other than all our homemade freezer hot sauce and tomato sauce from the summer CSA.

I guess it's good that "uber frugal january" isn't much different than regular life.

I feel this a bit. My main change also has to do with coffees/lunches out. I think I should be able to cut eating out from $100 average to under $30 this month (obviously I could cut it to $0, but I have a couple of work lunches).

Other than that, I don't really feel like I'm making too many changes compared with an average month. It's definitely nice to feel frugal again after gift-buying in December. Generally, though, our budget is already pretty optimized. I go to the library, socialize with friends (taking homemade goodies), and hang out with my kid. I don't buy "stuff" for the most part. I guess wine would be an area that I could normally cut back on, but I'm pregnant anyway, so it's moot point. I could cancel Netflix, and I still may. I'm keeping my yoga membership. It's a steal, and I 100% value it.

This week, the only transaction I've made is a $25 medical expense. If you exclude that, I've had 5 no-spend days in a row, which doesn't feel that unusual.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: katscratch on January 12, 2018, 02:21:22 PM
I find the UFJ exercises from Mrs. Frugalwoods to be most helpful when I'm starting to feel more spendy on non-necessary items. It helped a lot last year when I was coming off of a few years of working with extremely consumeristic folks and starting to feel my mindset shift that direction.

This year I'm starting from a decent base of lean spending, so it's just refining what is truly valuable to me. Last year I cut out literally everything that was not 100% required to live life. This year I'm not really the Uber part of the challenge because I am ok with taking my kids out for brunch when my son is in town, or joining friends in a drink after a bike ride.

If my goal were to optimize saving money I'd be approaching this differently, I should note. 
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: MaybeBabyMustache on January 12, 2018, 02:35:12 PM
Our January has been less frugal on the food side (re-stocking the fridge after being gone + unplanned meal out). But, the other categories are going well.

I need to learn to let some things go on the food side. My husband is lovely, however, when we run out of something, he wants to immediately replace it. I like to use a replacement until our next planned store trip. (E.g., we ran out of cucumber for the kids lunches, but had carrots that could have been swapped). He really, really struggles with this. He went through a phase where he had no money for food, and running out clearly brings back challenging feelings. I need to just let this go. Oddly, it's almost always around fresh produce, which is good for us & a variety of options is good.

So great that you are understanding MaybeBabyMustache.

 I am similar to your fellow and really like to buy replacements before we run out--my partner like to buy things almost daily since we have a little shop right near to us.
He doesn't understand why I buy oatmeal before we have run out..or pumpkin seeds..or onions but I think I feel more comfortable knowing we have healthy options always available at home (to prevent us grabbing food out so much!)

I look at a packed fridge & immediately panic, think of all of the ways I'll need to be creative & start to use things before they go to waste. I grew up in a family where you DID NOT let food go to waste. To ensure that, you had a few (read: 2-3) fresh options on hand, and the rest was canned or frozen. My husband looks at a packed fridge, and feels secure & happy. Ahhh, life! Who knew there were so many emotions behind a packed fridge? ;-) Net/net, we have the money, don't actually waste much food (although, I do work at it), and fresh fruit & vegetables seem like an appropriate area of compromise.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bee21 on January 12, 2018, 03:05:53 PM
The funny thing about this ufj for us is, that we have way more than usual eating out expenses. We rarely eat out, maybe once a month, it is always part of the entertainment budget. So it is a big treat. But it is school holidays and we are out and about more than usual. The birthday girl requested a sushi train lunch for her birthday (50) and yesterday they were treated to pancakes (2 for 1 with a coupon) and a really cool ghost story in a restaurant which is a converted church (and is on the local ghost trail). They loved it. The science centre with all the cool activities was free, i could barely drag them out in the end. And also I didn't have to pay a bus ticket for them as the driver just waved us through. Packed my coffee and water. We were walking almost 1000 steps yesterday in the blazing sun, so they totally deserved a special (27$) pancake lunch.

So yeah, i think we are usually more frugal than this, but I knew that I won't spend school hols with them in the park at the end of the street checking out the local flora and fauna. We are still within the 150 entertainment budget, so all good.

Next week I am taking them to the museum (free +travel costs), minigolf (15), a different library. We will also start a photobook with all the things we did so that they can show them to their friends when they return to school.

In other areas, we are doing well. No clothes shopping. Spent 236 on food in the past 2 weeks.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: HappierAtHome on January 12, 2018, 03:58:55 PM
We're on track for our lowest spend month since we became a family of three.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: westtoeast on January 12, 2018, 04:48:20 PM
Things are going OK here, but not amazing. I'll need to stay consistent for the rest of the month because I haven't left myself much breathing room.

JAN BUDGET:
Transportation (Bus, Train, Uber) < $100 $63/$100-- This is not fantastic. I'll likely go over on this. I'm thinking I'll take some transportation money out of my Misc Expenses budget. I took Uber a few more times... this is my biggest weakness and I'm not making progress on changing my ways. I think I've been feeling burned out after ten years of public transportation. I need a face punch to get me back on track. Uber really stands out as wasteful hedonistic adaptation in what is otherwise a fairly frugal lifestyle. I'm trying to get back into running, so I might try to run home from work a few times a week, which will also help with transportation costs.
Groceries < $250 $180/$250-- ugh, a bit high here as well. I got a ride to Whole Foods and bought some food there. The stuff I bought should last a while though. I should be able to make my budget if I'm careful with meal planning for the last few weeks.
Medical < $40 (fixed) $20/$40
Fitness < $50 $0/$50-- haven't signed up for any classes yet.
Misc Expenses < $200 $104/$200-- Hmm. Some unneeded spending this week. Was invited out to an event at one of those arcade game bars where I purchased an overpriced drink (no cheap options) and some game tokens. Haven't played an arcade game in a decade so... worth it? Also purchased a Kindle book not available at the library. I also replaced some personal care items.
Clothing = $0 $0/$0-- put some things in an online cart... and then left them there! Thanks, 72 hour waiting period!
Eating Out = $0
$0/$0-- This is going to be broken on Monday morning. Was invited to brunch with a friend. I'll be able to spend less than $10 + train fare. Maybe I shouldn't have put $0 for this category because it doesn't give me any flexibility. I can't bring myself to not see a friend because I don't want to spend a few bucks. And honestly, I think the cost would be fairly similar if we went to a store and bought ingredients and cooked together.
TOTAL SPENDING GOAL: $645 $367/$645
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 12, 2018, 07:55:31 PM
Day 12 - Success

Guys, I'm on vacation!  Wooo!  It feels great to get away. 

Spending Today: $23.50

There will probably be more tips at the casino since I'm going back out to do a little more gambling, but I'll add them to tomorrow's tally for simplicity's sake.  In the interest of full disclosure, I'm not counting my gambling losses as "spend" since I keep my gambling bankroll in a separate account and don't generally treat it as part of my budget.
 Currently I am up $13.50 <----- this will not last.

Monthly Spend: $557.71/$1,750
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Luckyvik on January 12, 2018, 09:38:57 PM
Ok, finally finished reading the whole thread!

I’m starting from 8th Jan as before that I was away on holidays.

I was buying a lot of coffee at work last year, I’m now aiming to not buy any coffee at work for the whole of January, we have a free coffee machine at work so I will drink that instead, not as nice as bought coffee but not terrible.

Mon 8th Jan - 4.99 protein shake for lunch
9th- No spend, made my own lunch
10th- No spend, ate leftovers for lunch, evening attended a market research group, they fed us plus bonus took some of the leftover food home in my lunch container.
11th- Met DH for lunch, our finances are combined but this came out of his ‘allowance’. Dinner was free leftovers from the market research +salad I made
12th- Did not work, wasn’t feeling well, no spend.
Sat 13th- Went out for breakfast- the plan is to eat out once a week only and breakfast is enjoyable + cheaper than dinner, $35 out of DH’s allowance.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: frugalkristen on January 13, 2018, 10:36:35 AM
So far so good.  I'm still eating food on hand - with plenty left for the next few weeks.  And I've only spent money one day this month - $42.06 at Walmart on a couple marked down roasts.  This was actually a splurge but will come in handy for nice meals on holidays.  My boyfriend is not participating in this challenge (although he has hardly spent anything this month) so he did get a pizza and chicken wings to watch TV with my son (they are good friends - I was actually at a work event that night).  Not very frugal but we did get many meals out of it. 

It's actually very easy for me to have "no-spend" days.  The biggest challenge is finding stuff to do in the middle of winter.  I would love to get out of the house tomorrow and do something fun.  I've been googling like crazy trying to find something free!  :)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: gaja on January 13, 2018, 12:13:11 PM
Week 1: $10 (activities), $188 (food), $9 (transport).

Day 8: 0
Day 9: $23 (groceries)
Day 10: $8 (groceries) + $8 (pads and pain medication (=candy))
Day 11: $10 (groceries)
Day 12: $6 (bought lunch) + $6 (snacks) + $2 (groceries at factory outlet)
Day 13: $11 (candy) + $20 (groceries)

We've had a lot of small purchases the last week. On one hand, it is great that most days we've managed to only buy what we needed, on the other hand, all the small sums add up. Tomorrow should be a no spend day. Next week I'm really not sure. The girls and I will be at the school for deaf, and could in theory spend nothing all week, since we will get food there. But we do like to do something fun while we are in the big city. It is rather boring to just sit in the boarding school dormatory and look at the walls all week. We need to go to a art store one of the days, since one of DD10's birthday gifts was that she could spend $10 on coloring pencils. I think she is planning to get as many different shades of red as she can. DH is staying at home, and thinks the $20 in groceries we got today should be enough to last the week.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 13, 2018, 07:03:10 PM
Day 13: Semi-Success

I wasn't exactly UBER frugal.  But, it was decent for being on vacation.   Today, I spent $28.50.

That was:
$6 - Tips in the casino last night and today.
$8 - Lunch - yummy meatball sandwich
$14.50 - Beers while watching hockey/football at two different bars.

Monthly Spending to Date: $586.21/$1,750
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: NinetyFour on January 13, 2018, 08:35:49 PM
I'm doing pretty well.  Like @allsummerlong said upthread, I was a bit of a spendypants in 2017, and this challenge is helping me rein in things.  In fact, I hope to keep expenses super low at least until I retire in 100 days, because I think I will need ALL THE MONEY in my retirement!  :)

Did a big grocery shop today--'twas a challenge to carry it all home!

Have resisted coffee shops.  Actually, I have given up caffeine, so.....

Haven't not driven my vehicle since I retrieved it after my house sitting gig over the holidays.  And I plan to not drive it much this month (my workplace is 1.5 miles from my house).  :)

Grocery:  $104.40 out of $150
Phone:  $17.61 (gotta love Ting!!)
Water:  $80.59 (includes sewer, trash, and recycling for my house and my rental)
Part of my house insurance:  $31
Wifi:  $65 (grrrrr....)
Estimated Quarterly Taxes:  $318
Taxi from the airport to my house after holiday trip:  $30
Thank you gift card for friend who babysat my vehicle while I was on holiday:  $50
Thank you gift card for friend who checked on my house while I was on holiday:  $50
Credit Card annual fee:  $75 (grrrrr...)
Charity:  $55

Keep up the great work, everyone!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Luckyvik on January 14, 2018, 12:16:47 AM
Jan 14th- Grocery shopping $76. Should last all week + may need to supplement with some fresh meat for me, saving heaps since DH became vegetarian, I’m still eating meat but a lot less


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: chaskavitch on January 14, 2018, 08:44:48 AM
I am failing big time.

I am TERRIBLE at saying no to my husband when it comes to food.  Terrible.  So we've had Chinese food when I was late coming home, pizza for dinner on his night in charge of dinner, tacos out yesterday after a hike, and he has Starbucks 3 days in a row because I didn't know we ran out of coffee and he neglected to buy more.  /sigh.

I did call Comcast after they raised our rates to negotiate back to our previous price, but they charged us for this month before it went through.  I also called my gym to pause my membership ($5/mo instead of $34), but again, they charged me for a whole month before the change was effective. 

Also I have no idea where my grocery money went this month.  We're way more than halfway through our budget. 

If nothing else, Uber Frugal January has made me slightly more ashamed of these things, lol.  I'll try to rein it in the rest of the month, but overall our budget is a sad panda for January.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: 2Birds1Stone on January 14, 2018, 10:33:02 AM
2 weeks down, $334 spent. ($100 of that is car depreciation)

Looking to come in under $1500 for January ($550 being Rent Utility at the end of the month, and the $100 for car depreciation)

Actual cash outlay outside of rent should be $850!

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: westtoeast on January 14, 2018, 10:39:55 AM
It's actually very easy for me to have "no-spend" days.  The biggest challenge is finding stuff to do in the middle of winter.  I would love to get out of the house tomorrow and do something fun.  I've been googling like crazy trying to find something free!  :)

Would love to hear what ideas you come up with! We are also trying to figure out fun free/cheap things to do out of the house when it is about 12 degrees (4 with windchill). All the indoor activities seem to cost money... eating out, going to a movie, visiting a museum... 
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: ixtap on January 14, 2018, 10:51:05 AM
Are there activities at libraries in your area?

Is there a community theater looking for an audience for dress rehearsal?

Museums often have a free day at some point.

Can you go to the mall for people watching without being tempted to spend?

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: LindseyC on January 14, 2018, 11:13:36 AM
I am doing great this month. As of right now I am willing to bet my apartment size freezer will be empty by the end of the month so I can thaw it out and potentially leave it unplugged until my fridge freezer/pantry is cleaned out. My groceries for the month are still under $100 which is the monthly goal and I have tons of food left to eat up.

As mentioned previously, I earned an extra $100 and spent it on a few necessities. Outside of that I have spent:

Toiletries: $7
Gum: $3 (should have been $10 but they were on sale and I had a $4 coupon)
Eating out: $3.50
Paper towels: $6 (this will last me a year because I rarely use them)
Haircut: $26

The only other non-bill spending has been for groceries and gas and both are inline with the budget.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: hal on January 14, 2018, 02:11:19 PM
Glad to hear of others’ successes this month. So far, we are still on track. The only exception is that I went slightly over budget for my dining out category. My SO and I celebrated 5 years together, using a gift card to a nice restaurant. The bill came out bigger than the gift card balance, which was fine... I don’t intend on purchasing fuel this month, so I moved some money around in my budget to account for a great meal.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: wordnerd on January 14, 2018, 02:54:29 PM
It's actually very easy for me to have "no-spend" days.  The biggest challenge is finding stuff to do in the middle of winter.  I would love to get out of the house tomorrow and do something fun.  I've been googling like crazy trying to find something free!  :)

Would love to hear what ideas you come up with! We are also trying to figure out fun free/cheap things to do out of the house when it is about 12 degrees (4 with windchill). All the indoor activities seem to cost money... eating out, going to a movie, visiting a museum...

I live in the South, so my definition of cold is a little different, but it's a challenge here too. I've found having friends over/going over to others' is a great cold day activity. Today we went to a friend's to make "vision boards" for 2018 (basically, cutting up magazines to make collages for our hopes for the year; sounds hokey, but fun social time and pretty much free for host and guest). We've also done board game days.

Yesterday, we went to the library for over an hour, which is a pretty standard weekend activity for us. I have monthly yoga membership so there's no marginal cost to using it, and it's great for cold days.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: HappierAtHome on January 14, 2018, 05:15:16 PM
My SO and I celebrated 5 years together, using a gift card to a nice restaurant.

Congratulations on your anniversary!!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Jenny Wren on January 14, 2018, 07:07:48 PM
We did it! We had a wonderful mini-vacation and we managed to stick to our goals! Our AirBnB hostess provided us with a selection of local coffee beans and a grinder, as well as oatmeal, granola, and yogurt cups. This took care of the three breakfasts! We hit up the grocery store right away and stocked up on a few easy items. We also brought trail mix from home.

Outside of the scheduled meetings I had at the university, we did a lot of hiking and beach strolling -- both free.  It rained almost the whole time, but we know what western WA is like in January so we dressed for the weather and would not be deterred. Rain and 40 F temps were a welcome change from the snow and freezing temps we left behind, anyway!

Bellingham is a hot bed of craft breweries, so we had to plan carefully to stay within our entertainment budget. We hit a different brewery for lunch and dinner each day. We'd split one of the cheaper appetizers and each get a different beer.  We also timed dinner so it fell within happy hour on Thurs and Friday. The only exception was Friday night, where we hit up a couple of breweries that don't serve food. We ate at the cottage before heading downtown to soak up the vibe and a couple of drinks each.

We're getting close to our grocery max budget, but there are only two more bread/milk trips left in January so we should be okay! We also maxed our entertainment budget, so we'll have to hold strong to our goals. Fortunately, this trip really cemented our primary goals of moving and my continuing education. I think we are now both firmly on the same page on what we are working toward!!!

Grocery 329.49/400
No spend 10/31 (Goal 23 no spend days)
Clothing/gifts 0/0
Entertainment 150.33/150 Oh noes! We went .33 cents over! I think I'll give us a pass on that one ;)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: westtoeast on January 14, 2018, 07:25:13 PM
Are there activities at libraries in your area?

Is there a community theater looking for an audience for dress rehearsal?

Museums often have a free day at some point.

Can you go to the mall for people watching without being tempted to spend?

Great ideas. We did each end up spending $7 to go to a matinee movie... but I also did some googling and found that multiple museums are free for the holiday tomorrow! Will try to get to one of those.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: MaybeBabyMustache on January 14, 2018, 08:29:28 PM
We did it! We had a wonderful mini-vacation and we managed to stick to our goals! Our AirBnB hostess provided us with a selection of local coffee beans and a grinder, as well as oatmeal, granola, and yogurt cups. This took care of the three breakfasts! We hit up the grocery store right away and stocked up on a few easy items. We also brought trail mix from home.

Outside of the scheduled meetings I had at the university, we did a lot of hiking and beach strolling -- both free.  It rained almost the whole time, but we know what western WA is like in January so we dressed for the weather and would not be deterred. Rain and 40 F temps were a welcome change from the snow and freezing temps we left behind, anyway!

Bellingham is a hot bed of craft breweries, so we had to plan carefully to stay within our entertainment budget. We hit a different brewery for lunch and dinner each day. We'd split one of the cheaper appetizers and each get a different beer.  We also timed dinner so it fell within happy hour on Thurs and Friday. The only exception was Friday night, where we hit up a couple of breweries that don't serve food. We ate at the cottage before heading downtown to soak up the vibe and a couple of drinks each.

We're getting close to our grocery max budget, but there are only two more bread/milk trips left in January so we should be okay! We also maxed our entertainment budget, so we'll have to hold strong to our goals. Fortunately, this trip really cemented our primary goals of moving and my continuing education. I think we are now both firmly on the same page on what we are working toward!!!

Grocery 329.49/400
No spend 10/31 (Goal 23 no spend days)
Clothing/gifts 0/0
Entertainment 150.33/150 Oh noes! We went .33 cents over! I think I'll give us a pass on that one ;)

Love Bellingham! We used to drive from Seattle to Vancouver often, and stop in Bellingham on the trip. Such a fun place. We're now in the Bay Area, and there's nowhere quite like it.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 14, 2018, 11:12:42 PM
Day 14: Success

Still on vacation, today I spent $15.25:

But, maybe don't ask how much I've lost gambling.  It could make a mustachian weep.

Monthly spending to date: $601.46/$1,750
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Linea_Norway on January 15, 2018, 02:08:37 AM
I also like to stay focussed on a monthly basis.

Goals for January:
1) Stay active. If possible, go cross country skiing. Or go hiking to work, winter not being an excuse.
2) Don't buy stuff at the cafeteria at work. This month I bought 3 things, one expensive cake thing, one lunch and one coffee bread. 3 unnecessary things too many.
3) Don't buy too many veggies in a row. Just eat up what you have before anything spoils. This usually goes well, but sometimes I loose focus and buy mindlessly.
4) Don't buy more stuff that I don't really need. This month I bought a couple of things (second hand) that I could have lived without.
5) I don't need new clothes.
6) Go to bed on time to be in better shape during the day. Not use half an hour extra on reading in bed.
7) Like December: no more drinking alcohol on normal weekdays, except for Friday. Also, max 1 bottle of wine per week (for the 2 of us).

1) Saturday and Sunday: cross country skiing. Today: Hiking to work. Before this is wasn't in good health to do too much.
2) Haven't bought anything at the cafetaria.
3) Doing well. We have a correct amount of veggies and don't let them spoil.
4) We haven't bought unnecessary stuff. DH received a gift card. He spent it on stuff we need. Including replacement of a CO2 cylinder that we use for beer brewing. The old (ancient) one had a crappy lock and the shop doesn't want to fill it up anymore.
5) No new clothes are bought. DH is sewing me a new jackets to replace an old one that is worn through. This is done mostly because he is very much in the mood to be sewing.
6) Trying to go to bed at decent times. Last evening I wanted to see a show on TV that started a little late and wasn't available online earlier. I went to bed straight after that. And still managed to get up at 6 am.
7) Still doing well. Not drinking on weekdays, other than Friday. And still drinking only 1 bottle of wine per weekend by the two of us, divided over Saturday and Sunday.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Linea_Norway on January 15, 2018, 02:11:36 AM
The is by the way not an über frugal month. Last year, my cashback credit card let me choose what to get cashback on. I choose groceries the whole year and got 3% back on all my groceries. This month groceries were not an option. I had to choose between buying clothes, buying electronics and something else that I don't spend money on. I think I chose clothes, but I'm not buying anything.
I hope that from next month on, I will be able to choose groceries again. But maybe they discovered that it is too expensive for them...
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Luckyvik on January 15, 2018, 04:21:47 AM
Monday 15th No coffee bought, I have to take it easy on the free machine at work though, I’m drinking too much coffee.
Lunch was leftovers. Did buy roast chicken for dinner, half for dinner and half for tomorrow’s lunch and wedges plus made salad. So lunch win but dinner fail. The chicken is the same prize if I had bought from supermarket but the wedges were unnecessary.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Wanttobehome on January 15, 2018, 06:01:13 AM
8th to 15th Jan

 3 X no spend  days
100 groceries
50 for future day out 

Going on a trip later in the year paid for by family as a birthday present.

I have started to plan what I am doing / want to achieve over the year and asking presents that will help me achieve them.

I have received a new suitcase , for Christmas, for my trip later in the year.
This works out better than trying to think of something at the last minute when asked for ideas.

No other spending
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Frugal Lizard on January 15, 2018, 07:02:45 AM
I am having trouble making any large changes to spending through the UFJ - I seem to have already done a lot of the assignments.  I joined MMM after years of low income to halt the lifestyle creep that had started so the last year and a half was finding my way back to frugality that I had been living with through by first being a SAHM and then Hub's job loss and career change.
I am using the UFJ to start conversations with Hubs.  It is reaffirming current actions or tipping us over the edge when we are discussing something.  So now that I think about it - even the opportunity to open a conversation about frugality is a good thing.
A good example occurred on Friday night. Hubs was burnt out from the week.  He called to say he was going to be able to come home soon and should we just go out for dinner.  I had been thinking about what would be a great dinner while I was still working.  - Chicken soup - really chunky and loaded with chicken and steaming warm.  The kids had already agreed that it would be edible.  So even though I hadn't even started making it or pulled the stock out of the freezer, I said I would make X and it would be ready at X time - could he wait for that?  It would be about the same time as restaurant food would hit the table, and we wouldn't have to go outside.  Would this have happened if I hadn't been doing UFJ.  Probably not.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: frooglepoodle on January 15, 2018, 07:44:29 AM
I haven't been checking in daily since I haven't felt like I've been doing a great job of being uber-frugal.

I've spent $330 on groceries this week, including some staples I was out of, which almost everything I need through the end of the week already purchased. My stretch goal for groceries was $400, which miiiiiiight be possible though I'm not sure. I'm trying to stock the freezer since I'll be out of town most of the first half of February and my husband doesn't really cook, so if I only reach my non-stretch goal of $450 I will be happy with that since it will mean February food spending will be very low!

I have also stuck to my aims of not buying any clothing or craft supplies. I've been working on projects using materials I already have!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: haypug16 on January 15, 2018, 09:31:01 AM
Week 2 update;

Groceries = $200 ($164.58/200) - Not much left for the month but I know I wont need anything at least for this week and can probably get buy on very little for the last week and a half buy eating the food I already have in the house
Dining Out = $100 ($76.57/100) - I was really bad on Friday. I got sushi and bought DH and I really yummy smoothies on the spur of the moment without looking at where I was with this category. I have a dinner out planned for the end of the week so I'm going to see if I can use a gift card to help keep this category down
Entertainment = $50 ($35.57/50) I expect to hit this goal no problem
Clothes = $0 (modified after joining the No Clothes Shopping Challenge) ($0/0) so far so good
Personal & Household items = $10 - ($8/10)
Misc = $75 ($30/75)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bee21 on January 15, 2018, 03:18:48 PM
So, last week of school hols, 2 birthdays (incl party) down,  the rest of the month should be fine.

We are buying school shoes today.

the wins so far:
grocery spending within budget
Birthday party spending (under 100 for 25 people, morning tea for kids, lunch for family. Can't believe how expensive the pinata can be damit)
No clothes shopping
1 book only (4 or 5 ? Can't remember) plus ordered 4 from the library (80 cents each, but I usually have them waived on library amnesty day)
Packed lunches for myself and husband (mind you that will end this week as he is working long days 200km away again and there is no way to store or keep it cool on site )
Childcare. (Friend offered to babysit and I got some annual leave to cover most of the days. We needed to pay only for 3 days)
Dentist (covered by insurance)
Free kids entertainment via the library and the science centre.

Fail
Unplanned trip (was a fantastic weekend, no hard feelings)
The book I bought (on impulse of course)
Entertainment and eating out are borderline (still within budget, but obvioysly not uberfrugal)
Husband bought some gazingus pins for his boat. (Like a toilet roll holder, cos I don't know how we managed without it in the past 9 years)

Mind you, some of the eating out is beneficial, as it somehow taught the kid that the food I make can be much better and they stopped pestering me for it ☺
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: LindseyC on January 15, 2018, 06:58:43 PM
I spent $17 on a date afternoon with my SO on Sunday and some friends. That brings my entertainment for the month to $23 total. I feel that's pretty reasonable, but I am definitely curbing it for the rest of the month as a small mini challenge to myself.

I ran my numbers and so far this month I'm at $156 of "extra" spending and to offset that I earned an extra $100. I am going to try to earn another $100 extra in the next two weeks just to cover all extras.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 15, 2018, 11:19:25 PM
Day 15: Success

Still on vacation - headed home tomorrow afternoon.  Spending today: $11

$3 on tip for dinner.
$8 on tips for bartenders.

Monthly spending to date: $647.59/$1,750

(Noticed an error in my spreadsheet, so prior month-to-date reports may have been under reporting spend.  I'm too lazy to go back and try to correct those.)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: HappierAtHome on January 15, 2018, 11:21:53 PM
Hosting mums' group tomorrow on (relatively) short notice. Thought about getting to the shops to buy treats, but instead I'm knocking together a few things from the pantry and it's not costing any extra :-)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Carrie on January 16, 2018, 08:26:59 AM
No spend day today - we're having a snow day! Cozy day to work on a project (quilting a gift), and for baking some bread.
Eta: tomorrow is now called as a snow day too! No spend, & finish the quilt. Love these quiet days at home.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: LindseyC on January 16, 2018, 12:26:17 PM
Yikes I just went over my $100 grocery budget for the month by $37. However I popped into the store for one item and noticed a bit of a ruckus at the meat department. Lots of items knocked down by 40%stickers and then further discounts on top of that of varying percentages. One gentlemen said they double ordered their meat order or something to that effect.

I bought a giant pork roast, a giant pot roast and a ton of lamb. (Lamb is a rare treat for me, I love it but it is very expensive here) Well worth going over budget for, it is a huge quantity of meat. Luckily, I have been eating down my freezer so I have a ton of space for it.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: TartanTallulah on January 16, 2018, 03:40:17 PM
I continue to fail. A humungous car repair bill has jumped into the frame this week. At this rate, January will be our lowest month for saving money since DH started work.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 16, 2018, 08:47:46 PM
Day 16: Meh

Today, I spent: $22.20:

Vacation is over and I am now back home, so the dining out and drinking out costs will stop or at least slow considerably.

Monthly spending to date: $669.79/$1,750.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: YellowCat on January 17, 2018, 06:21:21 AM
Day 12: $14.74 - Husband bought wine and cookies to bring to friends' house, as they were hosting us for dinner

Day 13: $2.99 - movie rental on Amazon (Murder on the Orient Express)

Day 14: $34.45 - groceries

Day 15: $0

Day 16: $28.56 - Husband bought 2-doz bagels for his work meeting. I had a frugal win after work: went for a nice long treadmill walk while I was waiting for Husband to wrap up his work so we could carpool home together. (We work in the same office.) No need for a gym membership and no need to walk around in the snow and slush outside either!

Day 17: should be $0. I'm working from home today, so nothing big planned from my side. I'll likely to try to head outside at lunchtime and shovel our driveway, which will be another frugal exercise win. I'm actually pretty pleased with how we're doing so far this month. We have enough food to keep us through next weekend (easily, I think) and Husband will be on another business trip from the 29th-Feb 1st, which will keep costs down. It's pretty easy for me to hunker down and just eat down the fridge / hibernate / hide when he's not around.
________________________
Non-Housing:
- Groceries: $231.44 / $330
- Gas: $53.14 / $100
- Lyft: $10.39 / $0 (not budgeted for)
- Fast Food: $33.25 / $0 (not budgeted for)
- Shopping: $51.15 / $0 (not budgeted for)
- Legal: $725
- Entertainment: $2.99 / $0 (not budgeted for)

Housing / Fixed:
Mortgage Payment: $1221.52
Car Loan: $326.33
Internet Bill: $26.98
Electric Bill: $42.29
Quarterly Water Bill: $142.44 ($47.48 per month Sept - Dec 2017)
Charity: $174.14 (based on last month)

Total: $3041.06
Target: < $3300
Remaining: $258.94
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: horsepoor on January 17, 2018, 07:01:57 AM
Signed up for a discount on my phone bill.  Should have done a year ago, but it's done now, saving $6/month.

Spent $33.60 for a piece of horse training equipment on eBay.  Lowest price elsewhere was $59.95.  Planned purchase, not an impulse buy, so I'm happy with that.

Spent $35 last weekend on pizza and a couple beers; however, I'd anticipated going out for dinner before the show we have tickets for this Friday (purchased a couple months back), then my schedule changed, so we'll be scarfing leftovers before the show instead, so I guess it balances out.

Horse was cleared to taper off her meds at the vet visit on Monday.  Somehow the vet bill came in a little under what I anticipated, which is a rare occurrence.  Had enough meds left to do the taper without buying any more.

Finally received the bill for our freezer full of lamb.  $528, which blows up the grocery budget, but will last a year or more, and final price per pound for everything was lower than the price of ground lamb at the store.

On Monday I smoked a turkey bought on sale at Thanksgiving and we are eating turkey in many ways this week.  Leftovers will be frozen for future soups.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Linea_Norway on January 17, 2018, 10:45:43 AM
Yesterday I drank a glass of beer on a weekday. It was from beer in a champagne bottle that I had opened days ago. I thought the beer wouldn't get better from waiting even more days.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: MaybeBabyMustache on January 17, 2018, 12:00:27 PM
Frugal wins so far:
-Cancelled a $500 yearly service, and moved to an on demand model. Barring any major issues, should save us at least $450 of the $500.
-Have sold $50 worth of stuff on eBay
-Made all dinners at home (breakfasts & lunches are made at home, packed, and/or eaten for free at work)
-Leveraging the electric car for all errands (mine)/commuting.
-Have done a great job of keeping travel costs low (miles, discounted gift cards, using flight credits, etc)

Less frugal things:

-Groceries continue to be more than I'd like. In the process of getting our kids to make their own breakfasts & lunches, and went with some easier prep options to start off with.
-Booked both the boys for birthday parties. We skipped last year, as we were moving & they didn't get a party or to have friends over. So, this is kind of a combo year party. It includes bowling with a few friends, followed by a sleepover. This is their gift from us.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: wordnerd on January 17, 2018, 01:50:55 PM
I'm personally up to 10 no spend days in a row. DH bought groceries over the weekend, so maybe that broke the streak...But I'm pretty proud of myself, especially since that timeframe includes a three-day weekend with a young child.

If you believe that it takes 28 days to establish a new habit (I think that's what in the Power of Habit, but it's been a few years since I read it), I'm hopeful that I'll be less spendy by default come the end of the month. I'm particularly pleased with breaking my work cafeteria habit.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Jenny Wren on January 17, 2018, 02:45:55 PM
Been uber frugal since we got home -- no spending at all since we returned! It helps that I have exams in 1.5 weeks, so no urge to go out. Add into that the fact it appears we are both coming down with plane plague (colds. Because we made the smart decision to fly somewhere and breath recycled air during cold season), and we probably won't be lured from the cozy home easily.

I do need to rouse the energy to go through the freezer tonight or tomorrow so I can plan meals for the rest of the month from what we have on hand. That way we won't end up going over our grocery budget!

Grocery 329.49/400
No spend 13/31 (Goal 23 no spend days)
Clothing/gifts 0/0
Entertainment 150.33/150
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: CrustyBadger on January 17, 2018, 03:32:31 PM
Hi! I'm new here but wanted to say I've been following along and participating in Uber Frugal January as a way to free up more cash to pay off debt.

We have 2 adults and 2 hearty-eating teens in the family.   We eat far too much takeout, restaurant meals and convenience foods each month.   Likely $400-$600 in takeout and another $800 in groceries... haven't tracked it.

I challenged myself to NO MEALS OUT out this month and mostly kept to it.   (Not entirely, but at least no dinner takeouts... have cooked every night.)

I challenged myself to spend only $400 this month in groceries.  Well, that has been a complete bust, especially because I am not doing takeout dinners anymore!  I think $550 would have been a lot more realistic, given that I have just sprung this frugality on my family.   But I'm going to stick with $400 because I am stubborn.

So, this is how I've done so far in month one.  I intend to improve. 

Meals Out:  $44/(budgeted $0)
Groceries:  $438/$400
Clothing: $104/(budgeted $0)
Household:  $0/$0
Gas:  $64/$60

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: MaybeBabyMustache on January 17, 2018, 04:32:37 PM
Hi! I'm new here but wanted to say I've been following along and participating in Uber Frugal January as a way to free up more cash to pay off debt.

We have 2 adults and 2 hearty-eating teens in the family.   We eat far too much takeout, restaurant meals and convenience foods each month.   Likely $400-$600 in takeout and another $800 in groceries... haven't tracked it.

I challenged myself to NO MEALS OUT out this month and mostly kept to it.   (Not entirely, but at least no dinner takeouts... have cooked every night.)

I challenged myself to spend only $400 this month in groceries.  Well, that has been a complete bust, especially because I am not doing takeout dinners anymore!  I think $550 would have been a lot more realistic, given that I have just sprung this frugality on my family.   But I'm going to stick with $400 because I am stubborn.

So, this is how I've done so far in month one.  I intend to improve. 

Meals Out:  $44/(budgeted $0)
Groceries:  $438/$400
Clothing: $104/(budgeted $0)
Household:  $0/$0
Gas:  $64/$60

You are doing great! It's hard to change both (eating out & grocery spending) so much in one month, but you are making progress! I have two hungry eaters (pre-teens, so not quite there yet) & the amount they can eat in any given week is astonishing. Our grocery budget (lots & lots & lots of produce) is around $625.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 17, 2018, 06:22:51 PM
Day 17: Success

Spent $9.28 at the grocery store:

Going back to work after vacation was kind of depressing --- glad I'm on track to be able to exit the career early.  My total non-gambling spending for the five day trip was $155.60.

Monthly spend-to-date: $679.07/$1,750.   

With rent ($537.50) and expected utilities ($105), I might even have a chance to stay under $1,500.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bee21 on January 17, 2018, 08:43:04 PM
Kid related spending
15 for minigolf (had heaps of fun)
35 for a trial piano lesson for my eldest. The little one announced that she wanted to play ukulele, but I deferred the decision on this one.

need a few more bits for school, it was mayhem at officeworks yesterday and I opted to escape after buying the essentials from the list. I think they still need new whiteboards and a sketchpad each, plus pencils, so I will pick those up on Saturday, when I don't have them with me.

They were quite good though, they realised quickly that I am buying only what is on the list.  And for the record, I ordered the school packs back in November, but they stuffed up the orders for the whole school big time and the earliest they can deliver is 2 weeks After school starts.  So now I am pushing trolleys with cranky kids among the school supply surrounded by other 1234 desperate parents. And of course they are not that quick in processing refunds.

Tomorrow we are going to the museum and I am packing a picnic. And this my friends is the last of the school holiday extravaganza.

So far, this month is not exactly an uberfrugal month for us but this exercise kept me on track and within budget, so not overspending (but still having fun) is a good enough result. February should be much better, not much entertainment is planned, though I will have some largish medical expenses then, so it will be good to keep everything else low.



Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: jkitiara on January 17, 2018, 09:08:09 PM
I just discovered this and am feeling inspired to start my month of uber frugalness right...now

Actually last night. I was due for a haircut this month. I go through different phases of cutting my own hair vs OMG salon cuts look so much better and are totally worth it. I have been leaning towards the latter for the past year, but last night I busted out the scissors.

Let's call that $100 in my pocket.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: westtoeast on January 18, 2018, 05:11:04 AM
Wow, I'm impressed by how some of you are raking up so many no spend days! Very nice work!

JAN BUDGET:
Transportation (Bus, Train, Uber): $82/$100
Groceries: 218/$250-- Getting close to limit, but well stocked for the next week or two. Gotta be careful here.
Medical: $40/$40
Fitness: $0/$50
Misc Expenses: $211/$200
Clothing: $0/$0
Eating Out = $0/$0
TOTAL SPENDING GOAL: $552/$645

Wins:
- No clothing or eating out. Feeling motivated to keep the "no clothing spending" goal going as many months as I can. I really don't have an excuse to buy clothing until late spring at the earliest.
- I returned an expensive December purchase to Amazon. I accidentally selected "apply as gift card" instead of original payment method. Oops! But I turned this into a win because I used it to fill up an Amazon Pantry box full of basics like rice, beans, coconut milk, cooking oil, dried pasta, lentils, tea, coffee, etc. This should help me stick to basic recipes during the coming months.

Fails:
- Transportation. Going over, need to reign this in. Must only take bus! No Uber!
- Misc Expenses. I was pushed over budget by a few items. I bought a Kindle book. I bought a little milk frother for $10 to make my bulletproof coffee with. My hair straightener broke and I replaced it. My Vit C face serum needed replacing. I feel sorta bad about this, but I'm fairly minimal with my beauty routines and I just don't think I'm going to get more minimal. One nice face serum that lasts for months feels fair. My hair is very low maintenance (cut it myself, lighten with lemon in the sun) but I really love being able to get rid of awkward waves easily in the morning without getting my hair wet. Ok, that's enough justification for today! 

I think I'm going to try and use this month's "fails" to shape my February goals.

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: meghan88 on January 18, 2018, 01:52:06 PM
I'm currently on day 18 of Dry January.  Other wins:

- no restaurant meals or anything pre-made
- walked or biked to work each day, even during days that were -29 C with windchill
- no spending on anything other than groceries
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: MaybeBabyMustache on January 18, 2018, 02:26:58 PM
Frugal fail last night. We are huge library users, and went to pick up books last night. The librarian explained that we had too many fines to check out books. I stay on top of this pretty well, so I was surprised. It turns out that there were fines accruing on the kids accounts, and the email system stopped sending notifications to the parents. So, fines were racking up, but no warning emails were sent. I also couldn't log in. Anyway, paid the first half of my fine (only had $20 cash), and resolved the communication system with the librarian. So, this shouldn't happen again.

Made $4 selling an item on eBay. Such big money! ;-)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 18, 2018, 05:35:53 PM
Day 18: Success

No spend day!

Monthly spend-to-date: $679.07/$1,750.   
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: wordnerd on January 18, 2018, 05:42:55 PM
I'm currently on day 18 of Dry January.  Other wins:

- no restaurant meals or anything pre-made
- walked or biked to work each day, even during days that were -29 C with windchill
- no spending on anything other than groceries

Badass!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bracken_Joy on January 19, 2018, 10:35:47 AM
Definitely not going quite as we had planned the month to. Ended up spending money on bars/restaurants last weekend, but we spent time out of town and managed to see six different friends that day (that we don't get to see often anymore), so it was money well spent in that sense. Plus, husband has a tournament out of town this coming Saturday, and we're doing lunch with friends beforehand. Also ended up spending a little on clothes, but it was good overall- a christmas present was an employee store pass for a big outdoors company, and two $30 gift cards to go along with. The store pass expired on the 17th, so we went online using the code and got me a replacement rain jacket and got husband a replacement work backpack. Both very needed, and ended up being $24 out of pocket. These expenses would have happened eventually and would have ended up higher cost and/or lower quality, so it was still a win, although "ruined" another UFJ goal.

Grocery budget so far has been incredibly though. Only at $199 for the month so far. That is quite low for us. We're usually $500-600/month. We'll see how that goes the next couple weeks though.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: MaybeBabyMustache on January 19, 2018, 11:02:09 AM
No spend days so far: Jan 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15.

Feeling happy because even if we are spending small amounts of money here and there, it is typically just a $15-$20 grocery store run for staples / fresh food, which makes it a spend day. We have a very small apartment (limited food storage) and hate wasting food, so we make many small grocery runs throughout the week rather than 1-2 big ones a month.

We haven't made any large purchases or purchased any consumer goods like clothing, beauty products, books, home decor, etc...

We have only spent on: basic groceries, TP, batteries, an energy-efficient light bulb, gas for our fuel-efficient car, one restaurant take-out meal, alcohol (out of our "personal $), and small consumable bday gifts for children in our extended family.

I did find this week MUCH more difficult, though - DH and I have both been working 10-12 hr days all week and are utterly exhausted by the time we get home. Have eaten through the stash of meals that I made & froze last week. Hard to get the energy to cook again today (day off). DH has also been dealing with some digestive issues, which means he can't eat some of the meals I can make most quickly/frugally. I have a feeling he will want to get take out from our fave place again ($27) tonight and honestly, I am going to find it hard to refuse.


Housing & Utilities:
$724 - Semi-Annual Property Tax *I technically have until early Feb to pay this, but I want to get it over with
$285 - Monthly strata fees
$71 - 2 cell phones
$11 - Netflix
$62 - Electricity bill for Nov/Dec
$64 - Mortgage Interest
TOTAL: $1217 (1217/1425 CAD)

Everything Else:
$74 - Gas
$310 - Groceries
$27 - Restaurant
$40 - My personal (40/40)
$42 - DH personal (42/40)
$21 - Misc household (batteries, TP, lightbulb)
$10 - Charitable donation
$7 - Bday gift for young family member
TOTAL: $531 (531/915 CAD)

One suggestion would be to consider if there is an easy grocery store alternative that is cheaper than takeout? Something ready made & not as cheap as cooking a meal, but cheaper than takeout. If not an option for tonight, I find that having a few of those splurge items on hand helps cut back on last minute meals out.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: lemonverbena on January 19, 2018, 12:49:57 PM
Ugh, bumpy start.

Days 1-5:
Groceries/alcohol/toiletries: $316... this is so bad! It happened over multiple trips
Medical/pharmacy: $278... 100% necessary
Home repair/improvement: $45 wood for window trim in newly converted attic bedroom
Pot (spouse): $40
Gasoline: $36
Entertainment (children): $15 an uncommon spending category for us
Continuing education: $76
Mortgage: $1253
Health insurance: $265
Snacks while out (children): $19 a far too common spending category for us

Days 6-19:
Groceries: $278 (spouse has been doing all the grocery shopping this month)
Pharmacy: $46
Fast food: $90 (this was burgers and pizza when my spouse was out with the kids without me, a snack my spouse got while at a movie, pretzels my spouse bought to kill time with my younger one while the older one was still ice skating, and burritos my husband brought home for dinner one night without asking me)
Gasoline: $105 (3 fill ups between 2 cars)
Electric bill: $137
Cell phone bill: $42
Roof loan payment: $94
Movie ticket: $12 (spouse, very rare spending category)
Pot: $60 (spouse)
Ice skating: $76
Toy bought off Craigslist: $18
Ice cream reward/bribe for kids: $10 (over 2 events)

The last three items were from before I started my personal No Spend Year on January 10th (obviously, my husband is doing his own thing).
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: MaybeBabyMustache on January 19, 2018, 01:03:06 PM
Ugh, bumpy start.

Days 1-5:
Groceries/alcohol/toiletries: $316... this is so bad! It happened over multiple trips
Medical/pharmacy: $278... 100% necessary
Home repair/improvement: $45 wood for window trim in newly converted attic bedroom
Pot (spouse): $40
Gasoline: $36
Entertainment (children): $15 an uncommon spending category for us
Continuing education: $76
Mortgage: $1253
Health insurance: $265
Snacks while out (children): $19 a far too common spending category for us

Days 6-19:
Groceries: $278 (spouse has been doing all the grocery shopping this month)
Pharmacy: $46
Fast food: $90 (this was burgers and pizza when my spouse was out with the kids without me, a snack my spouse got while at a movie, pretzels my spouse bought to kill time with my younger one while the older one was still ice skating, and burritos my husband brought home for dinner one night without asking me)
Gasoline: $105 (3 fill ups between 2 cars)
Electric bill: $137
Cell phone bill: $42
Roof loan payment: $94
Movie ticket: $12 (spouse, very rare spending category)
Pot: $60 (spouse)
Ice skating: $76
Toy bought off Craigslist: $18
Ice cream reward/bribe for kids: $10 (over 2 events)

The last three items were from before I started my personal No Spend Year on January 10th (obviously, my husband is doing his own thing).

We definitely bought more snacks out when the kids were younger. Can you offset some of that by making/packing your own snacks when you know you'll be out of the house. We have a few "snack bins" in the pantry that I grab from (protein bars, granola bars, dried fruit, trail mix) if I know we'll be out of the house. We also always bring water for everyone. My kids are likely older than yours (10 & 11), but they know that we bring snacks from home, and rarely buy anything out.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: lemonverbena on January 19, 2018, 01:14:50 PM

We definitely bought more snacks out when the kids were younger. Can you offset some of that by making/packing your own snacks when you know you'll be out of the house. We have a few "snack bins" in the pantry that I grab from (protein bars, granola bars, dried fruit, trail mix) if I know we'll be out of the house. We also always bring water for everyone. My kids are likely older than yours (10 & 11), but they know that we bring snacks from home, and rarely buy anything out.

I'm trying to be so much better about this! Unfortunately, my husband really views food out as entertainment still. We've both come a long way from how we used to spend in this category, but there's definitely still room for improvement!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: jkitiara on January 19, 2018, 03:06:10 PM
I shopped on Monday for what I thought was 3 meals, but because we've been working so hard to cook at home, that has stretched to all week. Seems counter-intuitive, but one big dinner I made (egg roll in a bowl) stretched out to 3+ dinners. So I didn't go back to grocery store at ALL yet and in fact we have pork chops getting borderline old that we have to cook tonight. Crazy.

"Treat" food is still what trips me up though. $4 mocha yesterday "because I was cold". $1 sesame roll on the way to the playground today because, well, because I wanted it.

All of my Whole Foods spending this week is going towards 5x quarterly bonus points on my credit card too. So yay! Random WF hot tip for those few of you who might go there with kids: at the customer service desk, ask about a "kids club" treat. My local store has a fruit strip or bag of pirates booty or an apple for my kiddo every time. Free!

My biggest progress is researching cheaper health insurance options. Now that kiddo is older, I think I can convince DH to step away from the Gold plan!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: CrustyBadger on January 19, 2018, 04:06:12 PM
After three weeks of no take out and only home cooked dinners, I was TOTALLY craving Chinese food tonight.  And my daughter texted me at work, asking if we could have Chinese too!   So....

I told her I had plans for a tofu rice stir fry for dinner. I picked up the tofu and the green onions on the way home.

I hope I do a good job.   Nothing worse than having a craving, and trying to be frugal about it, and failing miserably.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 19, 2018, 04:56:18 PM
Day 19: Success
Spent: $13.44

In a frugal fail/win, I forgot to take my lunch to work today and was super bummed until I remember that I had stocked a drawer in my office with emergency soup.  It's not the healthiest nor the cheapest lunch - but it's better than what I would have bought in the food court.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: BZB on January 19, 2018, 06:32:16 PM
Yesterday and today were no spend days. I had some unplanned spending in the previous couple of weeks because of a family member and a close friend in the hospital. I had to pay for parking at the hospital twice and bought some books/magazines/dinner for my friend. When I spent all day at the hospital with my family member, I came prepared with packed breakfast, lunch, snacks, thermos of coffee, and a book for entertainment, so even though I had to pay for parking, I consider the rest of the day a success.

I'm helping to plan a work event at a fancy hotel and ordering the food and drinks catering. The prices are so outrageous, and I know people will eat maybe 40% of the food. I'm going to bring some takeaway dishes to save the leftover food from being thrown out after the party. It's almost painful to order food at these prices, even though it's not coming from my personal budget.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: YellowCat on January 20, 2018, 05:40:30 AM
Just a general update, mostly because husband has done a lot of little tiny grocery runs + some coffee-at-work one-offs and I can't be bothered to remember which transactions happened which days....I'm anticipating one more fairly sizable grocery run this weekend and then very little food spending next week, as husband will be on a business trip *and* we're heading on a 2-week international vacation to visit his family starting Friday the 2nd.

It'll soon be eat down the fridge time! Plus we'll get to turn down the heat in the house for 2 weeks, which should help keep our February heating bill low. We have one planned restaurant meal, for Feb 1st (our 4-year wedding anniversary!), which will likely be at a cheap Thai place that we love. We'll likely also need another tank of gas or two before we go.
________________________
Non-Housing:
- Groceries: $265.35 / $330
- Gas: $53.14 / $100
- Lyft: $10.39 / $0 (not budgeted for)
- Fast Food: $37.65 / $0 (not budgeted for)
- Shopping: $51.15 / $0 (not budgeted for)
- Legal: $725
- Entertainment: $2.99 / $0 (not budgeted for)

Housing / Fixed:
Mortgage Payment: $1221.52
Car Loan: $326.33
Internet Bill: $26.98
Electric Bill: $42.29
Quarterly Water Bill: $142.44 ($47.48 per month Sept - Dec 2017)
Charity: $174.14 (based on last month)

Total: $3079.37
Target: < $3300
Remaining: $220.63
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: BZB on January 20, 2018, 08:05:36 AM
I am making plans to keep this a very low-spend weekend. I don't need to buy groceries, as I stocked up last weekend and have done a lot of freezer cooking. The uncertain parts of this weekend are that my family member is having complications from surgery so I need to be ready to make a run to the emergency room if needed. There are always parking costs involved. I will make a lunch, thermos of coffee, and snacks I can throw in my bag if I need to. My friend who has been in the hospital is getting discharged soon and I may need to help with transition home, so more parking and possibly other expenses. I am chairing an association awards dinner this evening, which will incur parking costs unless I get creative. I think I know a place I can safely park for free and get there on time. I need to pick up my watch from the repair shop, so that will be about $10. I need to get gas for my car, $25. I think I have saved myself a possible $40 - 50 just mentally preparing for this weekend. Off to exercise and take care of myself and home before I have to jump back into care giving.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: MaybeBabyMustache on January 20, 2018, 08:49:06 AM
Looking forward to a frugal weekend. We will need to get groceries, but I will menu plan & keep things in check as much as possible. No other spending expected. Will run all errands in our electric car. We're in the process of transitioning from a cleaning lady (for the last 4 months or so), so will clean the house also. Good exercise. :-)

If anyone is looking for a good granola bar (homemade treats - particularly popular with kids!) without peanut butter, here's one I've tried & the kids have loved. http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/06/homemade-granola-bars/

As the author suggests, I reduce the sugar, but we do sub chocolate chips for the raisins. Enjoy.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Nederstash on January 20, 2018, 10:57:16 AM
Mind if I pop back on to this thread?

I'd thought this month would be totally frugal but I've blown through all of my budgets. Only one that still has a sliver in it is the grocery budget... 5,76 left in that. My 'gifts', 'personal', 'entertainment' and 'transportation' budgets have been bludgeoned into pulp. Somewhere around two weeks ago some fun activities came up (escape room, chocolate making workshop, concert, eating out..) I splurged accordingly. Also had some unexpected bills come in. My brain went on autopilot I guess.

Anyway, fun month, but financially a complete fail. Now I have the rest of the month - 11 more days - to make it on 5,76. Luckily my fridge is well stocked!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: CrustyBadger on January 20, 2018, 03:11:56 PM
Nederstache, I empathize!   I was doing so well for a while.  I think for me there's a slippery slope.  I'm much better with a strict No Spending rule. Once I break it once it is easier to justify the next.   And I am really weak where the kids are concerned.

Had a frustrating shopping trip day today.  I don't like shopping with the kids and i detest driving and shopping in a mall on a Saturday afternoon.  It is such a flipping waste of time!

I need a way to regroup emotionally, and get back to no spending when I have fallen off the wagon so to speak.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: LindseyC on January 20, 2018, 04:44:58 PM
I sorta blew the grocery budget for the month which was a frugal $100 because I am trying to eat up my pantry. My regular grocery budget for a month is $200 and I am close to that now. I got a few really good sales on meat, so I sorta stocked up, as meat was one thing I had cleaned up from the freezer. So still within my normal budget, but not my super frugal budget goal.

However.....in every other category of spending I am killing it! Plus I found some small side tables that I am currently selling on Kijiji and that should net me $50 profit for about 20 minutes of work. Hopefully they sell shortly to help offset the grocery over spend.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 20, 2018, 05:32:42 PM
Day 20: Success-ish

Today was running around day- I made a bunch of stops to pick things up. 

I spent $17.09:
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: hal on January 20, 2018, 06:17:26 PM
My SO and I celebrated 5 years together, using a gift card to a nice restaurant.

Congratulations on your anniversary!!

Thank you!

It’s been a while since I’ve last checked in, mostly because I am trying to reduce some of my internet usage and get caught up in bursts, rather than checking things constantly.

Anyway, the month is going ok. Right now... my progress on goals:


Generally, I’m feeling okay about the month. It isn’t my most frugal ever, but I set fairly conservative goals for myself and haven’t had to dip into next month’s funds or into any kind of savings goals. So that’s a plus. If things continue, I’ll be able to pay $900 of my student loan, which is about $770 above the minimum payment.

I’m inspired by other posters on here! Especially those of you with your many no-spend days.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: wordnerd on January 20, 2018, 06:35:36 PM
Today was a fun frugal day. Writing class in the morning (wasn't free but I paid for it last month) and then the zoo this afternoon. For Christmas, my parents gave us a family annual zoo pass, so it was free to me and I think we'll get a lot of use out of it. I also got to take a forum friend on the pass. Woot woot! Now, I'm reading a library book (obviously free).

Tomorrow, I'm supposed to meet up with a friend for coffee. That'll be the first transaction I've personally made (dh bought groceries) since the 8th but should only be about $2.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: HappierAtHome on January 20, 2018, 06:40:38 PM
Fun frugal day for me too - friend is coming over to make homemade pizza for me in my kitchen and eat sweet treats I baked using pantry supplies.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Carrie on January 21, 2018, 09:55:10 AM
Yesterday was no spend and today should be too. Today I plan to finish a quilt that will be a wedding gift.
It's beautiful weather at our house so entertainment will be the local park and playing tennis (running around retrieving the ball, mostly). We'll walk, maybe bring a picnic.

This week we have a birthday, and the child wants Domino's pizza. Grrr. Might make homemade, or just spend the $20. If we order the pizza, this will be the first for the whole month. Our restaurant /fast food /takeout for January is $0.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: BZB on January 21, 2018, 10:10:45 AM
Today I looked up the amounts remaining on various gift cards I have. I have about $25 on a restaurant card, $7 at Barnes and Noble, $25 at Nordstrom and $43 at LL Bean. I'll keep these in mind next time I need a gift or want to buy something.
I wrote in to the customer support for Logitech about a defective wireless mouse that the store won't refund me for because they have a 14 day refund window. I'm not very hopeful I will get a replacement, but at least I put forth the effort. In the meantime I am doing without, and will try to repair it on my own if Logitech doesn't come through.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: NinetyFour on January 21, 2018, 11:51:55 AM
Frugal wins:

* my insurance agent was able to get a $7 fee waived for me
* Kroger shut down a credit card that I hadn't used in a long time (I only got it for the sign up bonus), and they sent me a $5 gift card because I still had some reward points
* my hockey team captain refunded me the $165 team dues I had given him before I changed my mind and decided to not play (I wasn't expecting him to)
* received a $150 sign up bonus from a bank
* found a nickel on the sidewalk a few days ago  :)

Discretionary spending so far this month:

$100    thank yous to people who watched my house and vehicle while I was on holiday
$20.80  took a friend to brekkie for his birthday (and he gave me $165--see above)
$113.44 groceries


I expect to buy another round of groceries (tempeh and dark green veggies) soon.  And maybe once more before the end of the month.  I should have no problem keeping the grocery spending under $150.  Woo hoo!!!  :)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: CrustyBadger on January 21, 2018, 12:30:33 PM
Well, my initial goal of $400 for a month of groceries was FAR too ambitious for me.  I've started tracking every single grocery expense on a spreadsheet to figure out where I can easily cut costs by shopping the sales, etc., but this is clearly going to be an ongoing effort.  I did a major stocking up trip today and am hoping that will be good for at least the week, which gets me close to the end of the month but not quite.  I will go over even my $650 budget this month, but I am going to still be as frugal as I can.

Here's a record of my spending, and just a stab at a budget.   



groceries:                               625/650
nongroceries                           77/50
takeout,restaurants                  67/50
misc.                                     8/50
gas/car                                   65/90
clothing, entertainment          125/100

TOTAL                                    967/990
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 21, 2018, 03:34:23 PM
Day 21: Success

No spend day. 

Also a never-changed-out-of-my-pajamas day.  Which, if you ask me, is the best kind of day.

Monthly spending to-date: $709.6/$1,750
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: HappierAtHome on January 21, 2018, 04:27:32 PM
This week we have a birthday, and the child wants Domino's pizza. Grrr. Might make homemade, or just spend the $20. If we order the pizza, this will be the first for the whole month. Our restaurant /fast food /takeout for January is $0.

Homemade is so much tastier and healthier than Domino's, too!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: wordnerd on January 21, 2018, 04:42:21 PM
Well, my initial goal of $400 for a month of groceries was FAR too ambitious for me.  I've started tracking every single grocery expense on a spreadsheet to figure out where I can easily cut costs by shopping the sales, etc., but this is clearly going to be an ongoing effort. 

Awesome that you're getting more awareness out of this exercise! Sounds like you're making good progress.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: CrustyBadger on January 21, 2018, 06:12:12 PM
Well, my initial goal of $400 for a month of groceries was FAR too ambitious for me.  I've started tracking every single grocery expense on a spreadsheet to figure out where I can easily cut costs by shopping the sales, etc., but this is clearly going to be an ongoing effort. 

Awesome that you're getting more awareness out of this exercise! Sounds like you're making good progress.

Thanks, Wordnerd!

What is incredible to me (though it shouldn't be) is how fast the takeout meals add up.   Despite saying "No Takeout" this month, I bought my kids (and once, myself) some fast food lunches or dinners 5 times.   A burrito for 1, a hamburger and fries for 1, hamburgers and fries for 2, some fried rice and spring rolls for 1.  And all that added up to $67!!   We have NO BUDGET for those kinds of meals on a weekly basis, which is what I was spending before.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Jenny Wren on January 21, 2018, 09:40:29 PM
Went over on entertainment Friday! $9, but not going to beat myself up over it too much. I took the kids out for Frozen yogurt as a thank you for being so amazing while we were on our trip. (Seriously, school work was completed, driveways were shoveled, house was cleaned, meals were made and cleaned up after, and they even visited their grandmother. They deserved some froyo!) At this time last month we had already blown through $400.

We even got through a weekend with no type of going out -- no bar, no restaurant, no movie, not even a wrap at the deli! Instead, I threw together a snack tray, made some coffee, loaded an awesome Spotify playlist that was nothing but punk bands covering pop songs from the 80s and 90s, and then we played darts in the basement for a couple of hours. Free fun, crazy!

Did our last grocery shop of the month, as well, and that's a good thing because we only have $5 left in the budget! I'll hold onto that in case we run out of something we can't survive without. The clothing/gifts thing has been ridiculously easy to stick to, at least!

Grocery 394.70/400
No spend 16/31 (Goal 23 no spend days)
Clothing/gifts 0/0
Entertainment 159.33/150
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: MaybeBabyMustache on January 22, 2018, 11:27:26 AM
Quick update on where we are, with about a week to go:

-Childcare - under. Soccer season isn't on yet, so expect to be about $300 under our typical spend
-Dining out - over by $250. Sounds crazy, but $200 were discounted gift cards I bought in December for a place DH & the kids go when I'm traveling. I thought I'd added them to the December budget, but apparently played budget games & saved them for January. We also had an unexpected meal out, so that's a real fail.
-Gas - $3 over. Shouldn't have to fill up our gas car again in Jan
-Groceries - $546/$625. Will be tight, but should be able to do it.
-Liquor - $0/20 :-) Drinking wine we have at home
-Toiletries - $0/20 - haven't needed anything

Those are our monthly categories. Doing fine on our yearly categories, save for the "kids" category, where both of the birthday parties shot us over where I'd like to be by this time in the year. We made other tradeoffs, like cancelling a ski trip, so we're currently sitting on a $850 surplus in our travel budget (deposit refunded).

All in all, we've made good choices so far. We had some unexpected extra income of $1000ish, and we applied it as planned. I've also made about $100 in eBay sales, and again have used the sidehustle money as planned.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: haypug16 on January 22, 2018, 11:46:11 AM
Week 3 update;

Groceries = $200 ($197.27/200) - Enough left for maybe some milk. I am still going to try and hit the goal and not throw in the towel and end up going way over (which is my usual MO)
Dining Out = $100 ($115.55/100) - Did not do well with this. I have 2 other dinners planned this month. I have a $25 GC that I will use up but I'm sure I'll be adding at least another $25 to this category.
Entertainment = $50 ($35.57/50) I expect to hit this goal no problem
Clothes = $0 (modified after joining the No Clothes Shopping Challenge) ($0/0) so far so good
Personal & Household items = $10 - ($8/10)
Misc = $75 ($129/75) - Forgot my Amazon Prime membership was up for renewal this month so the misc. category is shot. :(
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: gaja on January 22, 2018, 02:21:02 PM
Week 1: $10 (activities), $188 (food), $9 (transport).
Week 2: $94 (groceries) + $21 (eating out)
Week 3: $80 (transport) + $206 (food) + $70 (clothes) + $125 (eating out) + $56 (activities)

The week in the big city was more expensive than we hoped, but way less than normal. The transportation cost is as low as it gets, and clothes and activities was within acceptable boundaries. We ate out more than planned, but more than half of that was due to a networking activity.

DH did not buy anything all week, and we didn’t get any groceries until Friday. So 99% of the food costs are from our scheduled fortnightly grocery run. That should cover most of our needs until the end of the month.

We are heading for a >60% savings rate for January :)

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: wordnerd on January 22, 2018, 03:08:00 PM
Mrs. FW's email today on working with your partner became immediately relevant for me. While I was cutting my own hair today, DH offered to help with the back. He ended up helping with more than that, and it was really nice to have him involved. And, I'm happy with how it turned out. He's never noticed/commented on my haircuts before. I wonder if he will if he's an active participant in them. ETA: He just said he liked my hair--probably the first time in 7.5 years together. :)

Post-haircut vacuuming led to the loss of my last hair tie. I thought buying hair ties, but I didn't want to break my no-spend streak (since coffee with my friend on Sunday fell through, I'm at 14 no-spend days in a row). I'm going to see if not having hair ties leads me to style my hair more. We'll see. I can always buy some in a few days.

I'm really interested in how frugality--or really any constraints--inspire creativity and can lead to more satisfaction.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: haypug16 on January 22, 2018, 03:12:44 PM
We are heading for a >60% savings rate for January :)

Nice! I can't wait for my debt to be paid off and I can start hitting high savings rates like these :) Currently looking at ~20%
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 22, 2018, 03:30:28 PM
Day 22: Success

Spent $7.37 at the grocery store.

Also cashed out $23.65 from my rebate app from previous shopping, which I count as negative grocery spending!

Monthly Spending to-date: $693.32/$1,750
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: akzidenz on January 22, 2018, 06:08:18 PM
I'm really interested in how frugality--or really any constraints--inspire creativity and can lead to more satisfaction.

I think I get a kick out of MMM-style frugality because of this! I suppose I would identify myself as a Creative, and I always enjoyed doing highly constrained creative tasks. When I was in university, one of my favorite drawing classes was with a professor who insisted everyone abandon their fancy drawing pencils and markers…and just try working with a ballpoint pen for a few weeks. He pushed us to really understand the behavior of the pen, really understand its potential with all kinds of stroke speeds and pressures. It was a very frugal class, and one that made me appreciate how much creative depth goes into focusing on one tool, and knowing it fully.

UFM has led to some nice moments of discovery like that. I went and stitched up holes in a ton of my socks and tights (in lieu of buying new ones) and it reminded me of an embroidery hobby I took up last year and didn't get to. I expect to toy around with some tiny embroidery projects (embellishing my socks with a floral border or something), which will give me some renewed energy in my wardrobe as I work through the "absolutely zero clothes shopping in 2018 (https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/absolutely-zero-clothes-shopping-in-2018/)" gauntlet!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: BZB on January 22, 2018, 08:47:22 PM
Unplanned expense today - I spent $13 on parking garage at work because I had a late evening event and didn't want to walk to my car in the dark in the neighborhood where I usually park. Somebody treated me to lunch, though, so I saved my packed lunch for tomorrow. Work paid for dinner.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Linea_Norway on January 23, 2018, 05:37:20 AM
I viewed my grocery spending for this month. It is very high, compared to the previous months. Probably because the freezer was really empty, as we have been emptying the freezer last year. I will try to tighten up the spending again in the coming months.

What we could use currently is a trip to Sweden where food is a cheaper. It's just that driving to Sweden is pretty far from our house, so we will need to wait until we can combine the grocery trip with some other visit. Usually we go canoeing there in May. Then I must ensure that the freezer at home is empty by that time, so we can fill it up again with cheaper meat.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: LindseyC on January 23, 2018, 06:19:10 AM
I had an unexpected expense. A friend hurt his knee very badly (on his island vacation) and when he got home I did grocery shopping for him and also bought groceries to make him some freezer meals. This put my budget up by almost $100. Honestly though, as much as it hurts the budget, it is for a good cause so I don't even care. I will just be more frugal next month!

Other than groceries. My January has been a great success. I have made a little extra money, bought next to nothing, not gone out to eat or bought take out/convenience and kept my entertainment below $20. I realize the month is not over but it feels like I am winning.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: NinetyFour on January 23, 2018, 06:21:58 AM
I had an unexpected expense. A friend hurt his knee very badly (on his island vacation) and when he got home I did grocery shopping for him and also bought groceries to make him some freezer meals. This put my budget up by almost $100. Honestly though, as much as it hurts the budget, it is for a good cause so I don't even care. I will just be more frugal next month!

Other than groceries. My January has been a great success. I have made a little extra money, bought next to nothing, not gone out to eat or bought take out/convenience and kept my entertainment below $20. I realize the month is not over but it feels like I am winning.

How nice of you to do that for your friend!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: wordnerd on January 23, 2018, 09:36:09 AM
I had an unexpected expense. A friend hurt his knee very badly (on his island vacation) and when he got home I did grocery shopping for him and also bought groceries to make him some freezer meals. This put my budget up by almost $100. Honestly though, as much as it hurts the budget, it is for a good cause so I don't even care. I will just be more frugal next month!

Other than groceries. My January has been a great success. I have made a little extra money, bought next to nothing, not gone out to eat or bought take out/convenience and kept my entertainment below $20. I realize the month is not over but it feels like I am winning.

How nice of you to do that for your friend!

Agree--how awesome of you! It's nice to have extra money to help others. Another benefit of frugality in one's daily life.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: gaja on January 23, 2018, 10:16:04 AM
Week 1: $10 (activities), $188 (food), $9 (transport).
Week 2: $94 (groceries) + $21 (eating out)
Week 3: $80 (transport) + $206 (food) + $70 (clothes) + $125 (eating out) + $56 (activities)

Day 22: $0
Day 23: $144 (new passports)

All our passports are expiring during 2018, so we needed updates. January is a good time to do that, with short waiting lines. My passport will last for 10 years, the kids’ will expire in 5, so cost/day is quite good.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: HappierAtHome on January 23, 2018, 04:45:56 PM
So I can't honestly say we have been "uber frugal" this month. An honest description would be "more careful with our spending than usual" - and there's still been a few little luxuries (we saw a movie together and went out for sushi at the start of the month, which is a big freaking deal in our world because child free date time is rare and special). This level of spending feels SUSTAINABLE. And if we sustained it... We would save an extra $8k a year. We're deliberately reducing our income by 40% in March, and $8k a year is a meaningful difference in our new savings rate.

In summation: this UFJ may have changed my spending long-term for the better.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 23, 2018, 07:04:31 PM
Day 23: Semi-Success

Spent $5.21 at the grocery store:

I was being good about no alcohol on weeknights, but that's fallen to the wayside a bit.  Need to keep an eye on that for both health and budget.  Hockey season is tough ---- something about watching sports brings out all my bad habits (junk food, alcohol, unnecessary stress about things I can't control and don't really matter anyway).

Monthly Spending to Date: $698.53/$1,750
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: akzidenz on January 23, 2018, 07:21:36 PM
So I can't honestly say we have been "uber frugal" this month. An honest description would be "more careful with our spending than usual" - and there's still been a few little luxuries (we saw a movie together and went out for sushi at the start of the month, which is a big freaking deal in our world because child free date time is rare and special). This level of spending feels SUSTAINABLE. And if we sustained it... We would save an extra $8k a year. We're deliberately reducing our income by 40% in March, and $8k a year is a meaningful difference in our new savings rate.

In summation: this UFJ may have changed my spending long-term for the better.

That's so wonderful! I feel the same way about my January—not incredibly, uber frugal, but a disciplined and accessible kind of frugal.

I like to tell myself that I'm not trying to be frugal for one month—I'm trying to be frugal for life. So a moderate frugality that feels pleasant and enduring is the kind I'm really going for.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: katscratch on January 23, 2018, 08:28:52 PM
I went full bore Uber Frugal last year and did the challenge quite literally. I'm so glad that I did; it taught me a lot about the little impulses I wasn't aware of.

I've definitely dropped out this year. I haven't pushed my boundaries at all, but reading this thread and the emails are a good mental reset for me anyhow.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Linea_Norway on January 23, 2018, 11:42:06 PM
All our passports are expiring during 2018, so we needed updates. January is a good time to do that, with short waiting lines. My passport will last for 10 years, the kids’ will expire in 5, so cost/day is quite good.

Our passports used to last only for 5 years, which was quite an expensive every 5 years. The latest one we got was valid for 10 years, which is a big improvement.

Do your children really need their own passport? Often they can be included in one of their parent's, but it does require that they will only travel abroad together with that parent, which might be a challenge.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Bee21 on January 24, 2018, 02:41:31 AM
The school holidays and back to school edition

#250  school uniforms and shoes for 2 (and did not go overboard. This is 1 top, 2 bottoms each, plus shoes. The rest is carried over from last year. Might need to buy a few extra tops if the little one grows out of them later, and we will need winter gear as they grew out of it. People are horrified that I don't buy them new bags and lunchboxes every year. Luckily, they are attached to the existing ones 😎
#190  stationery, books, whatnots (from the prescribed list).
# vacation care 340 (for 2 days). Budgeted 4 times as much, so it is a win.
# 50 entertainment (2 minigolf plus parking in the city). The science centre, museum, gallery and library was free, and also the bushwalk and the environmental centre. The vacationcare organized an excursion to the koala sanctuary, so I think they were very well entertained during these school hols.
#100+ boat trip
#100 Birthday party (presents were purchased before)
#99 haircuts for myself and the kids (no, I am not cutting our hair)

Eating out was ridiculously high. It is usually 0, so I don't feel too bad, but obviously it is a bad look to spend around 120 on eating out during an uberfrugal challenge.

Am still going strong with my personal spending. No clothes, coffees, lunches, magazines, chocolate covered peanuts or additional books have been purchased.

just remembered that next month I am renewing my passport and will have between 300-1000k in medical expenses, so February will definitely need to be uberfrugal to compensate.

Got an award at work (incl bonus) so my travel fund got an unexpected bump. The big boss (who hates me) delivered it with a very sour expression on her face. Ha!


Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 24, 2018, 05:53:47 AM
All our passports are expiring during 2018, so we needed updates. January is a good time to do that, with short waiting lines. My passport will last for 10 years, the kids’ will expire in 5, so cost/day is quite good.

Our passports used to last only for 5 years, which was quite an expensive every 5 years. The latest one we got was valid for 10 years, which is a big improvement.

Do your children really need their own passport? Often they can be included in one of their parent's, but it does require that they will only travel abroad together with that parent, which might be a challenge.

For U.S. issued passports - each person is required to have their own, even infants.  Minor's passports expire in 5 years.  Adult passports expire in 10 years.  You can get double pages for the same price when you buy, but if you need to have extra pages sewn in later that's extra --- so always get the double passport book if you think you're going to be doing extensive travel.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Mongoose on January 24, 2018, 08:34:57 AM
January goals met. :-) We were under expected expenditures for our trip!

Some of it was luck. We got three free meals, including the two fancy dinners out we planned. One was because the restaurant refused to charge us after a fire suppression sprinkler malfunctioned and hosed off our table. They remade our food and reseated us. We were laughing about the whole thing and would've happily paid for the meal but the manager insisted no. Some friends invited us over one night, and other friends insisted on treating us to third. We'll reciprocate for that later.

The rest of the time we purchased groceries and did picnics, including our airport days. I was glad we had packed food since we had short layovers and the places we were at had single small sandwiches for $12.

DH also found less expensive car rentals by taking public transportation to off-airport locations for pick-up and drop-off. We only had the car for days when we couldn't use the public systems (out of coverage areas). A car was less than half price away from the airport.

For U.S. issued passports - each person is required to have their own, even infants.  Minor's passports expire in 5 years.  Adult passports expire in 10 years.  You can get double pages for the same price when you buy, but if you need to have extra pages sewn in later that's extra --- so always get the double passport book if you think you're going to be doing extensive travel.
I found the infant-5 year passports hilarious. At 5, kids didn't look anything like the picture taken at 6 weeks. The real challenge was to get an infant picture that met the requirements (eyes open, neutral expression).
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: gaja on January 24, 2018, 10:22:30 AM
All our passports are expiring during 2018, so we needed updates. January is a good time to do that, with short waiting lines. My passport will last for 10 years, the kids’ will expire in 5, so cost/day is quite good.

Our passports used to last only for 5 years, which was quite an expensive every 5 years. The latest one we got was valid for 10 years, which is a big improvement.

Do your children really need their own passport? Often they can be included in one of their parent's, but it does require that they will only travel abroad together with that parent, which might be a challenge.

It is a decade since that rule changed. If we want to take the kids outside the Nordic countries, we need passports for them. They occasionally travel alone, so even if that was possible, it wouldn’t be an option for us.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: HappierAtHome on January 24, 2018, 04:10:18 PM
So I can't honestly say we have been "uber frugal" this month. An honest description would be "more careful with our spending than usual" - and there's still been a few little luxuries (we saw a movie together and went out for sushi at the start of the month, which is a big freaking deal in our world because child free date time is rare and special). This level of spending feels SUSTAINABLE. And if we sustained it... We would save an extra $8k a year. We're deliberately reducing our income by 40% in March, and $8k a year is a meaningful difference in our new savings rate.

In summation: this UFJ may have changed my spending long-term for the better.

That's so wonderful! I feel the same way about my January—not incredibly, uber frugal, but a disciplined and accessible kind of frugal.

I like to tell myself that I'm not trying to be frugal for one month—I'm trying to be frugal for life. So a moderate frugality that feels pleasant and enduring is the kind I'm really going for.

You've described it perfectly!

I think this challenge has served as a spending reset for me. Expenses have really crept up in the last eight months while we've been learning how to be parents. Now is the perfect time to get them under control again, back to "pleasant and enduring".
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 24, 2018, 04:33:00 PM
Day 24: Success

No Spend Day!

Flying to the midwest tomorrow to see my family - so there will probably be some amount of dining/drinking/grocery/entertainment spending this weekend.  But I'm still feeling good about hitting my budget goals this month.   

Monthly Spending to Date: $698.53/$1,750

Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: westtoeast on January 25, 2018, 05:05:40 AM
I went full bore Uber Frugal last year and did the challenge quite literally. I'm so glad that I did; it taught me a lot about the little impulses I wasn't aware of.

I've definitely dropped out this year. I haven't pushed my boundaries at all, but reading this thread and the emails are a good mental reset for me anyhow.

This is also me.
 
-Transportation is $15 over budget.
-Food is $2 below budget. I'll probably go a tiny bit over. This is the toughest to cut down. I'm considering raising my budget from $250 to $300. I have dietary restrictions and all the easily accessible grocery stores are not the cheapest. I may need to set a realistic budget and consider it one of my splurges.
-Misc Expenses is $109 over budget. Yikes. $30 on a gift. $10 on a lock for the gym. $16 on eating out (ended up out and about all day and got burritos). $5 on fancy coconut milk mocha. $5 on coffee/lunch out with coworkers. $9 on watercolor paper. 

I sort of gave up last weekend. That is when most of those expenses occurred. I want to recommit for this weekend but I have a crazy schedule that involves seeing two friends from out of town who I'll be meeting up with very far from my house. I'm also taking a student to an event and going to a tutoring gig. I need to make a plan so that I don't spend more on food than needed and so that I don't spend money at coffee shops while waiting around between commitments.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: katscratch on January 25, 2018, 07:45:00 AM
This is also me.
 
-Transportation is $15 over budget.
-Food is $2 below budget. I'll probably go a tiny bit over. This is the toughest to cut down. I'm considering raising my budget from $250 to $300. I have dietary restrictions and all the easily accessible grocery stores are not the cheapest. I may need to set a realistic budget and consider it one of my splurges.
-Misc Expenses is $109 over budget. Yikes. $30 on a gift. $10 on a lock for the gym. $16 on eating out (ended up out and about all day and got burritos). $5 on fancy coconut milk mocha. $5 on coffee/lunch out with coworkers. $9 on watercolor paper. 

I sort of gave up last weekend. That is when most of those expenses occurred. I want to recommit for this weekend but I have a crazy schedule that involves seeing two friends from out of town who I'll be meeting up with very far from my house. I'm also taking a student to an event and going to a tutoring gig. I need to make a plan so that I don't spend more on food than needed and so that I don't spend money at coffee shops while waiting around between commitments.

On one hand, the benefit of my having gone all out last year is that I'm still spending in alignment with my values and haven't really gotten back to mindless decisions.

On the other hand, I do want to do another Uber month but I think I'd be best choosing a month with less social engagements. Maybe you could try doing a full Uber Frugal month at a time of year that is a little slower for you? One thing for me, too, was that I had full buy-in from my son last year, but if I didn't it would have been much harder to push my frugal limit as far as I did.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: monstermonster on January 25, 2018, 08:21:15 AM
Dammit, I am not going to make it in under $1000 spending this month, which I really hoped for! Current spending is $1,007.67 month to date.

Household/Insurance
Groceries
The purchases of treats/snacks i much higher than I would like - dealing with a book deadline has made me want to purchase snack-y foods more often (it does NOT help we live 1/2 block from Trader Joe's.)

Extra Food & Drink
Both "coffee out" purchases were a direct result of my work schedule being changed last-minute and me buying comfort coffee. This is worth noting that coffee is an emotional comfort blanket purchase for me. Luckily, we finally got the hot water fixed at work so I can at least make tea now, hopefully preventing last-minute coffee purchases.

Indulgences
Health
Charity

To be spent: probably another ~$14 on groceries and $5 on drug co-pay. I may get a mocktail at the show tomorrow night, we'll see.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 25, 2018, 11:01:56 PM
Day 25: Success

No spend day!

Packed lunch and snacks for flight.  Resisted urge to order a craft beer on the flight.

Monthly Spending to Date: $698.53/$1,750


Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: TartanTallulah on January 26, 2018, 04:16:47 AM
I continue to fail, not because of frittering or extravagance (we've been very good about minimising casual spending) but because big-ticket items keep coming up, most recently the need to replace the laundry liquid we use for sports kit, which we buy in bulk and which then lasts more than a year. And my car insurance is due to be paid before the end of the month.

I think my conclusion is that January isn't a good month to try to be frugal and when I'm on a retirement income I should lay aside some savings between March and November to accommodate December, January and February being expensive months. At the moment it's not a big deal, it just means we can't save as much in these months, but it will need to be planned for in the future.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Jenny Wren on January 26, 2018, 08:04:30 AM

I think my conclusion is that January isn't a good month to try to be frugal and when I'm on a retirement income I should lay aside some savings between March and November to accommodate December, January and February being expensive months. At the moment it's not a big deal, it just means we can't save as much in these months, but it will need to be planned for in the future.

I think this right here proves that the exercise was worthwhile, even if it doesn't go as planned! :) Knowing when to be uber frugal is an important part of an FI equation!

I can be hard on myself, so I enjoy reading these reminders that a failure isn't a failure if you learn something or hone a skill in the process - thank you!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: LindseyC on January 26, 2018, 11:51:56 AM
Ok. Day 26, I went nuts today and bought $80 of groceries, which is $80 over my monthly budget. However stars aligned and I received back $42 in grocery points so my groceries were 50% off. I could not turn that down, even if I killed the budget.

February goal, zero spend on groceries because I now have $70 worth of grocery points which I will use on fresh items: veggies, bread, eggs and milk. Everything else I am sure I will be able to get from my pantry and freezer. This will be a crazy challenge for me.

Otherwise I killed January. I bought very little outside of groceries and I kept my entertainment budget crazy low. I know this weekend I won't spend because I am working some extra hours and in my free time painting my floors. I will be busy!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: CrustyBadger on January 26, 2018, 12:22:13 PM
I think January just has too many days in it!   (Isn't this month over yet??)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: TartanTallulah on January 26, 2018, 12:45:34 PM
I think January just has too many days in it!   (Isn't this month over yet??)

Yes! The way I'm paid, I get December's paycheck on the 14th and then don't get paid again till 20th January, so one month's pay has to last more than five weeks during what is, for us, the most expensive time of the year. And the 20th January paycheck is already almost down to what, in most other months, would be surplus income that could be saved.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: CrustyBadger on January 26, 2018, 01:12:04 PM
I think January just has too many days in it!   (Isn't this month over yet??)

Yes! The way I'm paid, I get December's paycheck on the 14th and then don't get paid again till 20th January, so one month's pay has to last more than five weeks during what is, for us, the most expensive time of the year. And the 20th January paycheck is already almost down to what, in most other months, would be surplus income that could be saved.

I think you had a really good point about needing to planning for extra January expenses.

 If you have kids, another really pricey month seems to be May.  Every year I forget and then am surprised at all the requests from schools, clubs, scouts etc for money -- $10 here and $15 there for this and that; field trips and camping trips and end of year celebrations, and so on.   You don't have to pay for them all of course, and the kids can and should cover some out of spending money.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: 2Birds1Stone on January 26, 2018, 02:05:31 PM
2 weeks down, $334 spent. ($100 of that is car depreciation)

Looking to come in under $1500 for January ($550 being Rent Utility at the end of the month, and the $100 for car depreciation)

Actual cash outlay outside of rent should be $850!

Things are looking doable!

Projecting spending looks to be between $1300-1400 for January.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: jkitiara on January 26, 2018, 03:40:01 PM
I started my uber frugal journal mid-month, so I intend to continue to mid-February. Also, a lot of what I did is setting us up for future frugalness.

1. Convinced hubby to take a step down in car size (at least $2000 less in purchase price, plus less gas)
2. Switched health insurance plan to HSA qualified "bronze" level instead of the platinum one we were on ($400 a month difference plus tax savings!)
3. Cooked dinner at home every night since we started. I'd estimate we would get takeout 2x per week, so probably nearly $100 per week savings. We tend to order a lot of takeout to have leftovers.
4. Cooked bean based instead of meat based at least once a week. Probably saves $20 per week.
5. Dragged laundry to laundromat rather than sending it out. Kiddo was not thrilled but it saves probably $50 per month.
6. Changed girls night out from dinner and drinks to just drinks at cheap happy hour. Savings, at least $30-40
7. Instituted a buy-nothing policy for the duration. No idea how much savings. Probably $100+. My Amazon habit was getting out of control.
8. Canceled a magazine subscription, returned several items that I had purchased that I decided we could live without and that I still had receipts for, and planned grocery and utilities payments to maximize our cc points.

Future: As soon as the car is in my possession, I believe I will give Costco a try.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: CrustyBadger on January 26, 2018, 06:08:02 PM
There are too many days in this month!!  I had no idea what amount to set as a spending goal and I am going to try to spend no more until Thursday Feb 1 rolls around.   But here are my numbers so far:

groceries:                                      734/650
non-groceries:                               77/50
takeout,restaurants                     102/50
misc./tax/fees                              84/50
gas/car                                     91/90
clothing, ed, entertainment         141/100
TOTAL                                 1153/990

Weekends are always the spendiest times for me.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: CrustyBadger on January 26, 2018, 06:10:13 PM

Monthly Spending to Date: $698.53/$1,750

That's a really impressive amount you (haven't) spent compared with what you have budgeted.  Are you keeping money in reserve to make some end of month payment, or do you usually spend $1750 a month but by being super frugal you have spend less than half that?
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 26, 2018, 09:45:55 PM
Day 26: Meh

Visiting my family.   Spend $84.17 on six bottles of wine ($56.46) and groceries ($27.71).   When I'm home when my family we tend to just take turns paying for things.  My sister paid for lunch.  My mom bought tickets to a theater show tomorrow.  I grabbed wine/groceries.  I went shopping with my dad --- and I'm starting to understand how they blow through SO MUCH money.   No thought for what's on sale/cheap.  Just buying whatever strikes his fancy.  $3.69 for 8 oz of asparagus -- sure.  $4.00 for cilantro paste (WTF?) -- sounds great.  We need bread?  Let's get this fancy $5 garlic sourdough loaf.

Monthly Spending-to-Date: $782.70/$1,750
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: gaja on January 27, 2018, 05:07:49 AM
Week 1: $10 (activities), $188 (food), $9 (transport).
Week 2: $94 (groceries) + $21 (eating out)
Week 3: $80 (transport) + $206 (food) + $70 (clothes) + $125 (eating out) + $56 (activities)

Day 22: $0
Day 23: $144 (new passports)
Day 24: $8 (groceries)
Day 25: $6 (snacks)
Day 26: $27 (groceries)

I'm also starting to feel very finished with this month.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: YellowCat on January 27, 2018, 05:09:12 AM
So, nearing the end of the month and technically we're over budget. This is because I pre-paid our CSA (farm share) amount of $200 for the summer. The CSA runs for 15 weeks June - October, and also happens to be run by my amazing parents! So they bring us huge baskets of fresh veggies, some squashes, and herbs, and all for ~$13.33 / week. It's pretty great, just shows as something of an artificial inflation on this month's food spending. You're asked to pay in advance so that they can buy seeds, sprout them, etc. and get the planting happening without their having to shoulder the entire burden upfront.

So, if I take that $200 out and mentally re-allocate it to summer grocery bills, we're looking at $3258.64 / $3300 with only a few days left in the month. I'm quite happy with that! I'm honestly not planning on any grocery shopping this weekend, with husband on a business trip Monday - Thursday and then both of us leaving on a 2-week international vacation on Friday. I may need to buy some bananas, snacks for airplane, etc. but I'll evaluate that mid-week and spend accordingly. I still have nearly $10 in my grocery budget of $330, so a fair bit of wiggle room. I should mention that our international vacation should be quite cheap, as we'll be staying with husband's parents at their apartment with only a little bit of hotel and restaurant action in the middle. Flights were paid for last year. I'm gonna try to maintain this $3300 monthly spending goal next month as well, despite the trip.

We did go out for an early anniversary dinner last night, and it was lovely. We went to a local middle eastern restaurant where our massive dinner for 2 was $20.14 (after I applied my $3 off $20+ coupon :)). It was very good food and a nice time. I spoiled the evening somewhat by crashing on the couch by 9pm, but oh well. That's life after a long week at work.
________________________
Non-Housing:
- Food & Dining: $390.33
- 2018 CSA (farm share): $200
- Shopping & Gifts: $120.71 / $0 (not budgeted for, gifts for family during Feb trip)
- Husband haircut: $15
- Lyft: $10.39
- Gasoline: $97.76 / $100 (2 fill-ups per vehicle, about average for us)
- Legal: $725 (husband citizenship application)
- 401(k) quarterly fees: $18.50

Housing / Fixed:
Mortgage Payment: $1221.52
Car Loan: $326.33
Internet Bill: $26.98
Electric Bill: $42.29
Quarterly Water Bill: $142.44 ($47.48 per month Sept - Dec 2017)
Charity: $121.39

Total: $3458.64
Target: < $3300
Remaining: -$158.64
Remaining (without CSA): $41.36
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: CrustyBadger on January 27, 2018, 07:18:33 AM
So, nearing the end of the month and technically we're over budget. This is because I pre-paid our CSA (farm share) amount of $200 for the summer. The CSA runs for 15 weeks June - October, and also happens to be run by my amazing parents! So they bring us huge baskets of fresh veggies, some squashes, and herbs, and all for ~$13.33 / week.

Wow, what a great price!!  Very jealous!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: MaybeBabyMustache on January 27, 2018, 08:08:08 AM
The month is almost over for me, as I leave tomorrow for an international work trip, so won't have any remaining January personal expenses. I'd say, overall, we did well.

-We stuck to most of our budget line items.
-I made some sidehustle that we applied to our unfunded 2018 goals
-I really, really got creative in the kitchen, and did even a better job of reducing waste & using leftovers/making our own.

Areas where we can continue to improve:
-Kid spending is still a soft spot. In some cases, they have their own money. But, the kids prefer experiences over "things", which I love. So, they often want to go to an activity that costs $10-12/each. They do their own sidehustle, but that money comes from me anyway. :-) I'm happy that they rarely, rarely ask for things, so this is an okay tradeoff.
-We overspent buying prepared breakfast & lunch items for the kids. This is because we are getting them to become independent preparing their own meals, so took a few easier options while they are learning the ropes. This is a good tradeoff, and we can slowly cut this down. I made pretzel bites, muffins & granola bars for next week, as an example.
-The "house" spending is sort of a black hole. My husband buys things we "need" that I don't know about. A wifi booster so we can use the wifi throughout the house. (We both take calls from home occasionally). A pool part I didn't know we need, etc. The list goes on, but it's the lack of visibility & overall category size that's a problem.

So, overall, I'm pleased with our frugal month. We still have A LONG way to go, but made some good strides that are becoming habits.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: hal on January 27, 2018, 08:41:08 AM
I think I'm going to call this month "done" for now, as I usually budget for the upcoming month on the last weekend of the month. We are doing grocery shopping tomorrow (Sundays always), but that food will be for February, so I'm going to date it in YNAB as Feb. 1.

So, I can basically assess my success.

Based on my initial goals:

Overall, it was a good month. I am most proud, now that I am looking at my YNAB reports, that my "fun" money was kept to under $50... this category has been a challenge for me in the past.  Today, I also sent away $900 toward my student loan, thanks in part to January's frugality.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: horsepoor on January 27, 2018, 09:27:22 AM
I have mixed feelings about this month:
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Jenny Wren on January 27, 2018, 10:07:31 AM

Overall, it was a good month. I am most proud, now that I am looking at my YNAB reports, that my "fun" money was kept to under $50... this category has been a challenge for me in the past.  Today, I also sent away $900 toward my student loan, thanks in part to January's frugality.

Awesome! I feel you on the fun money challenge!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: LindseyC on January 27, 2018, 01:05:52 PM
I just sold a chair I bought ten years ago for $10! I did paint and upholster it over the years with items I already had so some work was done. Sold it for $25.

Funnily enough I was just going to donate if but didn't want to make the effort (muscles sore, I have been painting) I listed it super low in the hopes someone would just make my life easier and pick it up. And someone did. A lovely lady I talked to for an hour who said she would have paid $100. I laughed and told her my story and we both ended up feeling we got a great deal.
 
I did carry it out to her car for her. She was 5', I'm 5'11" I think the chair weighed as much as she did. :)

That's $25 to put back into the January pot to bring down my overage in groceries! I have a few more things listed I can hopefully sell this weekend!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: MaybeBabyMustache on January 27, 2018, 03:39:00 PM
I just sold a chair I bought ten years ago for $10! I did paint and upholster it over the years with items I already had so some work was done. Sold it for $25.

Funnily enough I was just going to donate if but didn't want to make the effort (muscles sore, I have been painting) I listed it super low in the hopes someone would just make my life easier and pick it up. And someone did. A lovely lady I talked to for an hour who said she would have paid $100. I laughed and told her my story and we both ended up feeling we got a great deal.
 
I did carry it out to her car for her. She was 5', I'm 5'11" I think the chair weighed as much as she did. :)

That's $25 to put back into the January pot to bring down my overage in groceries! I have a few more things listed I can hopefully sell this weekend!

That's a great story!

I just sold 4 kids brainteaser toys for $22. Feeling super excited about it. My son owes me $60, so really he wins, but it gets junk out of our house. :-)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Carrie on January 27, 2018, 05:37:35 PM
We had a good month. I'm expecting February to be even better since we won't have two big bills (6 mo auto ins and hoa yearly dues). We ought to have about a 70% savings rate for February. So... I'm already looking forward to a frugal February challenge which will include zero spend on eating out/take out/fast food,  and homemade valentine's for all the kids' classmates. Dh & I don't exchange over valentine's day because we're not consumer suckas.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: chaskavitch on January 28, 2018, 07:14:39 AM
I've signed up for the Frugalwoods challenge, but I'll definitely set some specific goals. 

1) Reduce alcohol spending from $50/mo - husband is trying to eliminate his drinking at home, and I'd rather have cake anyhow.
2) Meal plan for the whole month to eliminate last-minute grocery spending and pizza purchases.
2.5) Make sure there are delicious leftovers for husband to have lunches every day, so he doesn't "have" to go out and get food.
3) Stop buying worthless snacks at the grocery store - no more random Talenti pints, or single-wrapped pieces of cornbread, or energy bars that look tasty.  Hopefully this will also lead to better health overall.
4) Don't spend any of my spontaneous money in January - I have more than enough books and clothes and shoes.
5) Sell at least 1 thing on Craigslist or to a pawn shop.

1) We haven't spent any of our alcohol budget!  DH has been awesome with this - he has occasionally gone out for a beer with a friend, but he hasn't actually gone to a liquor store and purchased anything. 
2) This mostly worked?  DH is responsible for dinners on Tuesday so I have time to go to crossfit after work - we ended up ordering Chinese one night, and pizza another, unfortunately.  I am doing better about trying new recipes to get more of a rotation going on, though.  I made a chicken pot pie yesterday and just doubled it, so I have another in the freezer :)  Other than the chicken, it's so dang cheap!  Made my own (kind of sad) pie crust, and filled it with root veggies, basically.
2.5) Only semi-successful.  He just likes to get out of the house, I guess.
3) I've almost made this one.  I bought two savory granola bars to bring to work to prevent me from buying pop tarts from the vending machine, and I've only eaten one of them.  Somehow it helps to know that they're there.  Also, I bought a pint of Talenti Caribbean Coconut ice cream yesterday - apparently it's discontinued, and it's my favorite flavor :(
4) Yeah, spent my spontaneous money on some lularoe leggings on Facebook.  I only spent $10 on myself, the other $25 was on leggings for my sister, but I still spent it on something I didn't NEED.
5) Success! I had a ring from an ex boyfriend from literally 15 years ago that I've refused to just give away, because it cost a few hundred dollars, and I convinced myself I ought to get SOMETHING out of the relationship.  Sold it for $50 to a very nice older lady who "just LOVES rings!"  She has plenty of silver ones, and now she's building up her gold ring collection, lol.  I'm glad someone will finally enjoy it.

We also had a guy come from terminex for mouse remediation at the request of the owner of the other side of our townhome :(  They have to do both sides at once, which makes sense since we share a wall, but man $500 is a lot :(

Overall, not super frugal, and we went over on groceries, but this month did help me pinpoint some problems, and I've eliminated a few recurring expenses which will help in the rest of the year. 
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: NinetyFour on January 28, 2018, 08:15:28 AM
Feeling pretty good about this month, especially if I can make it through the next few days without having to make another grocery run.*

Here are the deets:

Grocery:

$149.85 (very happy it is under $150!!)


Gas, Electricity, Water/trash/sewer:

$193.68 (partly out of my control, as I pay for what my tenant uses, and he is most definitely not frugal)


Phone:

$17.61 (yay Ting!!  Also, I totally reined in my data usage, so yay me!!)


Wifi:

$64.99 (grrrr....but nothing I can do unless I want to go without it, which I don't)


CC Annual Fee:

$75 (mad at myself about this one, but I think I would have lost the airline points had I canceled the card)


Medical/Health:

$10 co-pay for Dermatologist appointment 2 days ago.  This was important as I wanted her to check several spots for possible cancer or pre-cancer.


Gifts:

$100 for friends who watched my camper and house while I was on holiday
$30 to a foundation


Federal Quarterly Tax:

$318


Partial House Insurance Payment:

$31


Mortgage Payment:

$1300 (this includes a bit extra that goes to principal; my tenant pays $1200 in rent, so that almost covers the actual mortgage payment), it comes to


Attorney Fee:

$643.75 (for estate documents)


Eating Out:

$20.80  (It was a friend's birthday.  Plus, he gave me a check for $165 for something else.)


Taxi:

$30 (to get home from airport after holiday trip)

That total is $2973.88.

If I subtract out things that were needs (estate documents) and things I had no choices about (taxes, insurance, mortgage), it comes down to $681.13.  I am SUPER happy with that number!!!


* If my college's Farm Stand is open on 1/31, I may buy more of their yummy spinach.  But I won't eat it until February, so I may chalk it up to February's grocery spending.  ;-)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: monstermonster on January 28, 2018, 09:30:12 AM
My uberfrugal month wasn't really any different than a normal month, so that's something? Things that I'd like to work on going forward:
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: westtoeast on January 28, 2018, 10:32:34 AM
I'm calling the month over today. I agree with other posters... January has felt really long!

I'm feeling "meh" about my month.

Transportation: $34 over budget
Groceries: EXACTLY on budget-- not a cent to spare.
Doctor: $20 over budget-- nothing I could have done about this one
Gym: Under budget-- I joined a gym for $44 a month, but because I started halfway through the month they won't charge me for January
Misc Expenses: $99 over budget. Yikes. However, this could have been worse. This weekend was going to be expensive but almost all my plans were cancelled or altered so I only spent a bit on bus fare.
Overall Spending: $728, excluding rent, utilities and loan payments ($78 over budget)

Wins: No clothing spending, minimal eating out spending, no unneeded physical items purchases
Fails: Continued to use Uber, went for expensive drinks twice, bought a week of groceries at Whole Foods

I'm going to do the Feb challenge, but with just a few specific goals shaped from my fails this month.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 28, 2018, 10:33:34 AM
Day 27: Meh

I'm home visiting family.  We went to a musical yesterday (mom paid).  And then went to happy hour and dinner which I ended up picking up - $77.39.  When I'm visiting, I'm in vacation mode.  But, if I end up moving here in the next few months, I'm going to need to reset expectations.

Monthly Spending-to-Date: $863.09/$1,750
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: pachnik on January 28, 2018, 10:43:10 AM
I agree that January is a long month.  It is also a crappy weather month in the PNW - lots of rain and wind this year but fortunately no snow. 

I came in at $1663.00 so far with a few days to go.  December was $2,300.00 so it is a significant difference.  I wanted to get my eating out food spending down and it was about half of December's.  We did end up booking a cruise for the fall so not uber frugal.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: wordnerd on January 28, 2018, 10:54:08 AM
Mrs. FW's post today, coupled with a conversation with a forum friend yesterday, is making me consider whether my uber-frugal may be too frugal for me (at least long-term). Once I focus on cutting expenses, I can have trouble spending money on anything. Mrs. FW's email talked abut using substitution to live luxuriously. I think my issue is that I've already done a lot of substituting in my normal life, so cutting back further means not doing something at all.

As an example, I like going out to breakfast with my kid. We had kinda fallen into a routine of going to Dunkin' Donuts on the weekends, and some of that was mindless, so I tried to completely stop going. But, Dunkin' already was a substitution of a real meal out, which we pretty much never do. Today, I really wanted to go to take him out; it was raining, the library was closed, and a donut sounded amazing. We went, had a fun time people watching, and ended up spending $7 (bringing our eating out total for the month to $18). $7 is a negligible amount given our financial situation (and I valued the experience that I purchased with it), but I felt guilty about spending the money rather than eating at home and figuring out something free to do.

I don't know that this a healthy way to approach spending. I may need to figure out some balance before I FIRE, or I might end up feeling deprived for no good reason.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: gaja on January 28, 2018, 02:09:17 PM
Week 1: $10 (activities), $188 (food), $9 (transport).
Week 2: $94 (groceries) + $21 (eating out)
Week 3: $80 (transport) + $206 (food) + $70 (clothes) + $125 (eating out) + $56 (activities)

Day 22: $0
Day 23: $144 (new passports)
Day 24: $8 (groceries)
Day 25: $6 (snacks)
Day 26: $27 (groceries)
Day 27: $30 (groceries) + $15 (lørdagsgodt/candy)
Day 28: $380 (tickets for kids’ flight to visit grandparents)

We send the kids by plane to visit their grandparents a few times a year. It costs a bit more when they travel alone, but is very much worth it. Couldn’t hold of buying the tickets any longer, if we wanted decent prices.

The taxes on candy, soda, and other sugary products, have increased by 80%. Since the shops have run out of discounted Christmas chocolates, we really start seeing the price hike now.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Rosy on January 28, 2018, 02:16:09 PM
Came in under budget and even more important, met my savings goals.
Best of all - even though it was really hard to do - I did not spend any more money on jewelry/gemstones. Hoping that in three days I can say - I did it!
Then there are only 11 more months to go to stay on track:)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 28, 2018, 05:40:07 PM
Day 28: Success

I paid all of my housing expenses today, so spent $651.99:

I share a four bedroom house in a swanky DC suburb with three others, which keeps my rent and utility reasonable even in a HCOL area.  That's the highest our gas bill has ever been - understandable given how cold it's been and how old/leaky our house is, but hopefully it will be more reasonable moving forward.  I also pay a bit more of than my share of a phone plan that I share with my parents and my grandmother. 

Monthly Spending-to-Date: $1,515.08 / $1,750
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Jenny Wren on January 28, 2018, 06:23:26 PM
I think we should be good with no more spending for the month, but I'm still planning a final update on 1/31.

We did go out on a cheap date last night, which bumped our entertainment overage up a bit more. Not as good as I would have liked, but such a vast improvement! Also purchased a few dollars worth of bulk bin spices, so we've pretty much maxed out the grocery budget for January.

Grocery 398.76/400
No spend 21/31 (Goal 23 no spend days)
Clothing/gifts 0/0
Entertainment 169.33/150
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: CrustyBadger on January 29, 2018, 04:27:05 PM
This was NOT an Uber Frugal January for me, whatsoever, but I'm still trying to hang in there till the end of the month without shopping for anything not vitally necessary (despite my failures!)

My son asked me a week or so ago if he could have a shoe rack for his closet.  Since I"m not buying anything, I've been halfheartedly looking around for ideas as to how to make one from found objects.  (When I was in college, we all did the bricks + wooden shelves thing for instance...)

So I was thrilled tonight to see someone in my neighborhood posted they had a shoe rack to give away!  Just zipped over there around the corner and picked it up -- it's really nice!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: HappierAtHome on January 29, 2018, 04:37:26 PM
My son asked me a week or so ago if he could have a shoe rack for his closet.  Since I"m not buying anything, I've been halfheartedly looking around for ideas as to how to make one from found objects.  (When I was in college, we all did the bricks + wooden shelves thing for instance...)

So I was thrilled tonight to see someone in my neighborhood posted they had a shoe rack to give away!  Just zipped over there around the corner and picked it up -- it's really nice!

Perfect timing! I love it!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 29, 2018, 09:19:18 PM
Day 29: Success.

No Spend Day!

Monthly Spending-to-Date: $1,515.08 / $1,750
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Linea_Norway on January 30, 2018, 01:25:34 AM
I also like to stay focussed on a monthly basis.

Goals for January:
1) Stay active. If possible, go cross country skiing. Or go hiking to work, winter not being an excuse.
2) Don't buy stuff at the cafeteria at work. This month I bought 3 things, one expensive cake thing, one lunch and one coffee bread. 3 unnecessary things too many.
3) Don't buy too many veggies in a row. Just eat up what you have before anything spoils. This usually goes well, but sometimes I loose focus and buy mindlessly.
4) Don't buy more stuff that I don't really need. This month I bought a couple of things (second hand) that I could have lived without.
5) I don't need new clothes.
6) Go to bed on time to be in better shape during the day. Not use half an hour extra on reading in bed.
7) Like December: no more drinking alcohol on normal weekdays, except for Friday. Also, max 1 bottle of wine per week (for the 2 of us).

Making up a status at the end of the month:
1) Doing well. I ski on all my days off and I have walked to work once or twice a week in addition (15 km a day). That is 3-4 good workouts a week. I could probably do even better, but it is good enough for the moment.
2) So far so good, haven't bought anything at the cafeteria. Got a waffle for free once, and a cup of tomato soup for free.
3) I haven't been buying too many veggies. I try to shop a bit more often and only plan a few days ahead, so that it is easier to adjust the amount of veggies. I am also getting better at counting a certain amount of veggies as food for 2 meals.
4) I don't think I bought anything unnecessary, or anything at all. I almost considered buying a new winter coat on sale. But as my current 6 or so year old one still works, and looked like a nicer coat than the one on sale, I changed my mind.
5) No new clothes have been bought.
6) I am going to bed at decent times on weekdays. Often I bring along a book, but when I notice I am sleepy, I just turn off the light and go to sleep. Now I often use my earbuds preventively and I notice that it makes me sleep deeper.
7) I was doing so well with the alcohol rule for many weeks. But I became week yesterday evening and had a glass of homemade beer on a Monday night. I didn't even taste great, which was not about the beer, but just about my mood. I could have done without, but I felt a bit awkward and thought I deserved a nice beer.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 30, 2018, 05:45:36 PM
Day 30: Success

Spent $2.47 at grocery store (Turkey Pepperoni (6oz), Organic Salad Greens (5 oz), Soup, Green Peppers (2), Cucumber, Onion).  Will get $.25 back from rebate app.

Redeemed $7.98 in Paypal from a rebate app.

Monthly Spending-to-Date: $1509.57
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: haypug16 on January 31, 2018, 01:26:01 PM
Groceries = $200 ($204.65/200) - Close enough for me!
Dining Out = $100 ($134.27/100) Not terrible but could have done better
Entertainment = $50 ($47.56/50) - Check
Clothes = $0 (modified after joining the No Clothes Shopping Challenge) ($0/0) Check
Personal & Household items = $10 - ($8/10)  Check
Misc = $75 ($166.60/75) - Terrible! If I didn't have that Amazon Prime membership I would have been OK.

On to next month :)
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: eliza on January 31, 2018, 06:02:35 PM
Day 31: Success

Spent $4.71 at the grocery store on Milk (32 oz), Turkey Sausage (13 oz), Broccoli (.7 lb), and Sesame Sauce x 2.  (Will get back $4.50 from rebate app.)

Overall, the month was a success - it was more frugal than my normal, but I still had a lot of fun.

Total January Spending: $1,514.92.   Significantly under my $1,750 goal, but just over my $1,500.00 stretch goal.


I'm going to miss the accountability of this thread.  Hope everyone has a happy, healthy, and prosperous February!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: Jenny Wren on January 31, 2018, 09:23:06 PM
Final check-in for January!

Grocery 398.76/400
No spend 24/31 (Goal 23 no spend days)
Clothing/gifts 0/0
Entertainment 169.33/150

I'm really, really, really happy with how this month went! We're trying to internalize the lessons, as well. We've already planned to entertain at home twice this month, thus negating any urge to go out with friends. Public accountability really helps me overcome temptation, so I made a point of checking in on the Frugal February thread already, as well!

Here's to all the Uber Frugalers -- thanks for sharing your journeys and inspiring me this month!
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: jkitiara on January 31, 2018, 09:43:52 PM
I don't know that this a healthy way to approach spending. I may need to figure out some balance before I FIRE, or I might end up feeling deprived for no good reason.
@wordnerd this is a really great thing to realize. Mustachianism is supposed to make you feel badass, not nervous and guilty! When you set up your spending to align with your values you don't have to sweat $7.
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: YellowCat on January 31, 2018, 09:50:44 PM
I'm calling it - we're done. Total spent for the month is $3617.83. Quite a bit higher than my ambitious $3300 target, but nearly $600 less than last year's average of $4203 per month. Also I got husband on board for a Frugal February, at least when we get back from our long trip on the 16th. So that's something...Overall I'm pleased with how the month went, though I see some low hanging fruit / room for improvement.
________________________
Non-Housing:
- Food & Dining: $400.66
- 2018 CSA (farm share): $200
- Shopping & Gifts: $131.18 / $0 (not budgeted for, gifts for family during Feb trip)
- Husband haircut: $15
- Husband basketball ticket: $112 (this is basically unheard of: neither of us are sports fans, but he went with work people while on a business trip)
- Lyft: $10.39
- Gasoline: $97.76 / $100 (2 fill-ups per vehicle, about average for us. I did just submit mileage for January work trips which will yield an extra $83.40 in my February paycheck.)
- Legal: $725 (husband citizenship application)
- 401(k) quarterly fees: $18.50

Housing / Fixed:
Mortgage Payment: $1221.52
Car Loan: $326.33
Internet Bill: $26.98
Electric Bill: $42.29
Quarterly Water Bill: $142.44 ($47.48 per month Sept - Dec 2017)
Charity: $147.78

Total: $3617.83
Title: Re: Uber Frugal January
Post by: wordnerd on February 03, 2018, 07:14:48 AM
Tallied my January expenses, and I'm pretty happy with the result. We had some "essential" expenses that we could have deferred but would've spent eventually anyway: $107 on brakes, $80 on two new car seats for the two year old (new baby will get his car seats), and $90 stocking up on diapers.

Even with that, we had a 87% savings rate. Dining out was $24 (2017 monthly average was $107), and I completely abstained from the work cafeteria (goal achieved!). Other wins: cut my own hair and am loving it and a good amount of frugal socializing. I've also set up free/frugal social engagements for every weekend in February, so I'm excited about that.