Uber Frugal January

[nnls]

Didn't do the best last night, farewell beers for a work colleague, spent $12.70. Though I did have a voucher for a free burger so had that. My annual home insurance is due this month so that  will be a big expense that will come soon, as well as my roadside assistance, though I am trying to work out if that is worth it.

1/1/2017 - $20 Golf
2/1/2017 - $0
3/1/2017 - $0
4/1/2017 - $0
5/1/2017 - $0
6/1/2017 - $0
7/1/2017 - $12.70 beers

8/1/2017 - $0
9/1/2017 - $0
10/1/2017 - $174 on roadside assistance membership, not too sure if this is worth it but my mum always told me it was important, i now have it for at least another year.

Challenges:
I fly home from work tonight, so I have to try to turn down invites to eat out with friends and suggest more frugal options. I do have a dentist appointment tomorrow as well, so that will probably also be expensive

wins:
shopped around for some quotes on my home insurance, can get it $100 cheaper with Budgetdirect instead of RAC, but I am hesitating as  I dont know what budgetdirects claim procedure is like.

[Adventures With Poopsie]

We are with Budget Direct for our home insurance as well. It was definitely the cheapest option. We haven't made a claim, but especially in Australia, I am comfortable we are legally protected when it comes to insurance and we found their policy to be identical to other "big name" insurance companies.

[Captain and Mrs Slow]

My desk lamp just died, thought it was the bulb but turned out the the ballast so it’s toast! That along with universal power adaptor.  Was about to click on “get it today” at Amazon when I remembered that I had a spare one from a few years ago And sure enough was in storage. Desklamp a bigger issue as I need light to see so decided to try a travel one I bought. It works and will tide me over till I find something I like at a price I’m willing to pay!
So two wins for UFM this week

Not spending is like a new years resolution to stop snacking, hard at first but with time it becomes habit

#frugalityrocks

[katscratch]

Also I'm jealous of that apple price you mentioned a few pages back. I would have gotten apples at the store if I'd been able to find any I wanted to eat for $1.99/lb (all they had at that price was Granny Smith and Red Delicious) and I've never seen them lower than that.

Most apples in the US come from WA (although there's a ton of OR growers too), so it makes sense they're cheaper here =)

Oh man, hahaha!  I grew up in apple country --by that I mean central WA...not Minnesota -- Just last week I got into a full on argument with coworkers about this!  They were adamant that more apples come from the Midwest because the farmer's markets are full of Minnesota varieties, and all the BEST apples are Minnesota varieties.  "But that doesn't mean we grow the MOST" hahahahaha rinse repeat!

I mean, yeah, a Zestar or Honeycrisp are hands down better than Red Delicious but we're not exporting them like mad ;)

DUDE. THEY CANNOT judge us on that red delicious BS. It is in no way delicious. We have fantastic apples out here- janagold, gala, jazz, fuji, cameos, braeburns... Albertsons produce department up here is like 1/2 apples during the fall. I mean, I'm glad minnesota has tasty apples, but you can't base our apple quality here on what we're shipping there vs what you're getting locally there... the best apples are the worst shippers!

...sorry, I went on a little rant there. I may be a *touch* passionate about our agriculture out here.

HAHA YES! Me too! It is still making me laugh because I think the time I actually argued (it got heated!) was 15 years ago!  Jazz are my favorite!  I make my parents bring them when they visit ;)

At least when the subject is wine NOBODY tries to say Minnesota wines are better than the Columbia Valley, heh.

[tortoiseshell]

Day 1: $10.00 (church offering)
Day 2: $0
Day 3: $2.00 (DH coffee)
Day 4: $27.93 ($9 groceries, $18.93 OTC medication)
Day 5: $0
Day 6: $85.75 (internet: the price was raised this month; I have to work on getting it down.)
Day 7: $23.75 (groceries, including cat food)

Week 1 Total: $149.43

Day 8: $10.00 (church offering)
Day 9: $7.04 (eggs and loaf of bread)

The heating element in our oven died while DH was baking bread yesterday. He tried to salvage what he could, and even looked into baking the dough in the crockpot before going out to the bakery and buying a $4.25 loaf (the cheapest they had; baguettes were out of stock). It's been a long time since I've had store-bought "fancy" bread. The homemade bread is better. :( As for the oven, as long as the needed part is in stock, my landlord will be over today to fix it. We have some leftover meatloaf in the fridge, two days of soup, and stuff to make tuna-white bean salad on hand so our weekly meal plan hasn't been affected by this.

[nottoolatetostart]

Everyone is doing great!!!

We are doing well here. Using the cars minimally, if at all, (my DH is thinking that we may be able to go down to 1 car at the end of this experiment). Every day, I am writing down whether we used the car and what the trip was for to give DH a good report on our activities. Having him see it on paper has been helpful to him.

I am keeping a list of all things I want in a text doc in my phone and it is amazing how it builds up.

We did buy 1/2 cord of firewood yesterday but I am using sales of used stuff to fund that so it does not come out of pocket, per se (I put 3 things on CL and should have a sale today). Also,  instead of buying or making a fancy firewood storage holder unit, I found online how to stack it without needing a support system. I also found a little tin/steel trash can I had downstairs and threw my ashes in there to be outside instead of buying a top of the line 16 dollar one at Lowes. So win so far of using what I have even though it is not perfect.

Eating at home has been easy and I have been getting inventive in what I am making.

Went on a big trip to Costco the other day, spent 224, refilling a few staples. Before I went to check out, I did go through my cart to see if I should put back anything, but everything we bought was something we normally buy or was a frugal option and nothing premade. This saved me a trip because I was in that area to return items (returned 99 dollars worth of stuff) and it is 20 min from my home and hubby was watching the kids so I could focus on the task. Thanks for the tip on Costco pet meds, I did swing by the Rx counter and they let me know they did have the meds we needed. I am still price comparing since the tech did not have PC access to tell me what the prices were (I have 3 weeks until dog takes her next dose).

We both shut off our data on our phones for the final few days of the month, as well as using free voip phone, on Ting and saved $23 between December and January bills. I expect to save more on cell bill next month with keeping data off nearly all the time.

I am enjoying this challenge so much. The 72 hour waiting period is awesomely helpful. I have less trash, less time dealing with my material possessions, getting organized and selling stuff. I am learning that planning can save me money (duh, right??).

Thanks all. I enjoy your updates as well.

[Anatidae V]

My DH did not take a packed lunch today. He had chicken katsu. And, he knew I was craving hotdogs/burgers/takeaway, so he waited until we we're halfway to the train station to tell me so I wouldn't go buy myself takeaway! Irritating but smart man. I heated pork bao in the steamer instead of the microwave once I got home, and it was way more delicious and equal effort to takeaway. We're relying on pre-made stuff like that as our learning/transition step to making our food from scratch, and my belly approves!

[Juslookin]

1-1 $0.00 spent
1-2 $0.00 spent
1-3 $0.00 spent -
1-4 $0.40 spent.  CC Balance
      $10.37 co-pay for a medical bill
1-5 $0.00 spent
1-6 $0.00 spent
1-7 $21.00 gift from DH 
      $109.50 dog meds. 
      $39.59 quarterly garbage collection bill
1-8 $51.54 Costco -
       $8.21 Aldis
1-9 $0.00 spent

Uber frugal thoughts running through my head all day.  So my latest predicament is that I am currently a 45 year old adult who went back to school to earn my Bachelors degree.  My employer is paying for it, but there is a definite time limit on how long they will pay for.  I am doing on line learning and finished the AA in three months....constant work, every weekend. Now I'm on to the second half of the program and probably have a years more worth of work to finish my degree and I have 6 months left that I can get reimbursed for.  So if I don't finish in time I will have to pay out of pocket to finish.  I am going to finish.  I came up with a plan and a time line and I am busting my a$$.

I intend to finish my degree and earn a BA in Business Management in the next 6 months and zero debt.  (There I said it out loud so it must be done)

[Juslookin]

 I think our grocery bill is going up though as I now need a special diet for the rest of the pregnancy.

I'm sorry to hear that and I hope everything is OK.

Should be fine once I figure out what the heck I can eat with my food preferences and aversions. I'm still throwing up anything that tastes slightly off, so introducing new foods will be tough. Right now it's sounding pretty impossible though. LOL. But I failed my gestational diabetes screening. My numbers last year were great, and these ones weren't too high, so hopefully it isn't that hard to control and goes away as soon as I'm not pregnant.

Sending good thoughts your way. 

[jesse_runs_far]

Uber frugal thoughts running through my head all day.  So my latest predicament is that I am currently a 45 year old adult who went back to school to earn my Bachelors degree.  My employer is paying for it, but there is a definite time limit on how long they will pay for.  I am doing on line learning and finished the AA in three months....constant work, every weekend. Now I'm on to the second half of the program and probably have a years more worth of work to finish my degree and I have 6 months left that I can get reimbursed for.  So if I don't finish in time I will have to pay out of pocket to finish.  I am going to finish.  I came up with a plan and a time line and I am busting my a$$.

I intend to finish my degree and earn a BA in Business Management in the next 6 months and zero debt.  (There I said it out loud so it must be done)

You can do it!! I'm in a similar situation but with a longer timeline... I started a PhD last year and have a full scholarship for 4 years, any longer, and I'm on the hook for tuition. So 4 years it shall be! (3 to go!)

[Bracken_Joy]

Uber frugal thoughts running through my head all day.  So my latest predicament is that I am currently a 45 year old adult who went back to school to earn my Bachelors degree.  My employer is paying for it, but there is a definite time limit on how long they will pay for.  I am doing on line learning and finished the AA in three months....constant work, every weekend. Now I'm on to the second half of the program and probably have a years more worth of work to finish my degree and I have 6 months left that I can get reimbursed for.  So if I don't finish in time I will have to pay out of pocket to finish.  I am going to finish.  I came up with a plan and a time line and I am busting my a$$.

I intend to finish my degree and earn a BA in Business Management in the next 6 months and zero debt.  (There I said it out loud so it must be done)

You can do it!! I'm in a similar situation but with a longer timeline... I started a PhD last year and have a full scholarship for 4 years, any longer, and I'm on the hook for tuition. So 4 years it shall be! (3 to go!)

+1 you can do it! DH has been getting his masters while employer pays. Same deal, busting ass evenings and weekends. We're down to just ONE TERM left.

Also, thought occurred to me- yesterday was the first day I drove all month! (I rode with DH two times earlier in the month for groceries, but hadn't driven myself for anything).

We're on to our big challenge now- DH is headed out for a combined work trip/school trip. By combining them, he can cut down how much he drives (we live over 100 miles from his school now, 150+ from this client) so he gets more actual work in, plus he can then bill the mileage for classes to the work contract, since it's along the way. Downside: he's gone for 3 days at a time then (4 for the seminar weeks, but there will only be 4 or 5 of these). I batch cooked fajitas and spaghetti sauce to send with him.

BUT. Big spending has come up. We *definitely* need to get DH a new jacket. Current contract involves being outdoors, and being wet. For hours. And it's going to be freezing again and snow is still on the ground. Going to go today before he leaves and get DH a big carhartt jacket. As as a result of the short timeline, I'm not going to have time to check thrift stores- it's pretty specific what he needs for this, can't have a hood because it gets in the way of his helmet, etc etc. Checked online for price comparisons so I know what's reasonable, and it'll be right about $115. =(

[CloserToFree]

Day 1 - $150 - Groceries
Day 2 - $7 - Medication
Day 3 - $0
Day 4 - $0
Day 5 - $20 - Gas
Day 6 - $0
Day 7 - $0
Day 8 - $18 - Groceries (Whole Foods)
Day 9 - $32.50 - Doctor co-pay, parking to pick up Rx, Rx

Total so far: $200.50

Wins:
-Have been doing a ton of cooking - a win/win/win since it's reminding me how much I enjoy it (DH usually does almost all of our cooking), the food has been delicious, and it's helped us avoid eating out!
-Sticking generally to budget/general categories of what I thought I'd need to spend money on this month, and my one big grocery trip has mostly lasted into this second week - yay!
-Have gotten a couple family members on board with UFM and they're now following the Frugalwoods blog and emails.
-Have been successfully deferring spending when not truly needed.  For example, am pushing off a trip to Costco until later in the month, since we are only out of a couple staples and I know any trip to Costco will result in spending more (for a lot more quantity, but still).
-Convinced my employer to pay for a conference that's not truly related to the work I do and which I would have paid for out of pocket if needed (almost $500) - score!

Challenges:
-Have been driving more than usual bc of frigid temps - hope we can make the $20 of gas last all month
-Unexpected doctor's visit, but decided $20 co-pay was worth it to give me peace of mind that I was OK (I was)
-DH isn't 100% onboard (he dislikes extreme/fad-y things like this and generally prefers to just be reasonable about spending money) so I'm not fully able to share my excitement about the challenge with him.  Need to re-read FW post about getting spouses on board.
-Asked DH to pick up a few staples but forgot to clarify not to go to Whole Foods -- oops!  As a result he spent $18 on exactly 4 things: a box of Cheerios, small bag of bulk brown rice, 4 apples, and a quart of organic milk.  Yikes! Think we could have spent half that much at our normal grocery store, but lesson learned - and he was doing me a favor by picking up this stuff that day so I can't really complain.  Next time I'll specify :)

So enjoying following everyone else's updates and glad to see we're gaining in numbers!  Am inspired to plan a game night with friends after all the enthusiastic posts about games - thanks for the ideas!

[Kerowyn]

I had an Uber Frugal Month dream last night! I was looking at magazines and found one that had the last chapter of a serialized story that I'd read in compilation and had been really looking for the ending. I was really conflicted because I'd been looking for this magazine for so long, but it was Uber Frugal Month! I woke up before I had to decide.

Forgot to mention earlier that I forced myself to bake no-knead bread last weekend, so that's the second time this month. It's easy to make, but harder than just buying a loaf of bread, and I'd forgotten to start the dough until Saturday night. I only made it because I reminded myself that it's Uber Frugal January and it's a lot cheaper to make bread than to buy it! Plus, my husband loves it.

[swick]

BUT. Big spending has come up. We *definitely* need to get DH a new jacket. Current contract involves being outdoors, and being wet. For hours. And it's going to be freezing again and snow is still on the ground. Going to go today before he leaves and get DH a big carhartt jacket. As as a result of the short timeline, I'm not going to have time to check thrift stores- it's pretty specific what he needs for this, can't have a hood because it gets in the way of his helmet, etc etc. Checked online for price comparisons so I know what's reasonable, and it'll be right about $115. =(

I think you get a pass on this one, knowing the type of environment your hubby is working in. It would be detrimental to your progress if he were to get sick and miss work/school because he wasn't decked out for the job properly. Like professional fees, it is the cost you eat to do the job.

Now not sure how it works for a consulting company, but does his employer offer any clothing allowances, rebates or deals? Or is it something he can claim on taxes? Not sure how it works in the US, might be a possibility?

[Bracken_Joy]

BUT. Big spending has come up. We *definitely* need to get DH a new jacket. Current contract involves being outdoors, and being wet. For hours. And it's going to be freezing again and snow is still on the ground. Going to go today before he leaves and get DH a big carhartt jacket. As as a result of the short timeline, I'm not going to have time to check thrift stores- it's pretty specific what he needs for this, can't have a hood because it gets in the way of his helmet, etc etc. Checked online for price comparisons so I know what's reasonable, and it'll be right about $115. =(

I think you get a pass on this one, knowing the type of environment your hubby is working in. It would be detrimental to your progress if he were to get sick and miss work/school because he wasn't decked out for the job properly. Like professional fees, it is the cost you eat to do the job.

Now not sure how it works for a consulting company, but does his employer offer any clothing allowances, rebates or deals? Or is it something he can claim on taxes? Not sure how it works in the US, might be a possibility?

Yeah, keeping husband healthy is like... priority #1. Starting his last term and bidding on a bunch of new projects? Would be a very very bad time for him to get sick.

I'm always hesitant to have employer cover too much, since it's such a small company and owned by family. And they're paying the whole masters. But yeah, they do buy new steel toe boots every couple years when people need them, so maybe it's worth looking at. (Particularly as I think a very cool gift for DH would be getting the company name embroidered onto the jacket- very clearly a work item in that case, lol).

[CloserToFree]

Forgot to mention earlier that I forced myself to bake no-knead bread last weekend, so that's the second time this month. It's easy to make, but harder than just buying a loaf of bread, and I'd forgotten to start the dough until Saturday night. I only made it because I reminded myself that it's Uber Frugal January and it's a lot cheaper to make bread than to buy it! Plus, my husband loves it.

Thank you for reminding me that I also re-discovered the amazingness of baking my own bread - and am hooked.  I've been using a Mark Bittman recipe (from How to Cook Everything) that can be done entirely in the food processor, no kneading, very simple, and tastes delicious.  My son LOVES it too.  Think I'm going to try to make this a habit twice a week or so.  It seriously is so much cheaper than buying store bought bread!

[marielle]

I made homemade burger buns thanks to Uber Frugal January and it was super easy (thanks bread machine) and way tastier! I think buying burger buns in the store is a thing of the past now. I was hesitant because my last attempt was a failure--I realize now I didn't let them rise a second time after forming the buns of dough.

[Bracken_Joy]

Ended up finding a wrangler jacket that was 30% off and fit better. So $70 instead of the planned $120. So that's pretty awesome. Confession though: we stopped and had a coffee date. Admittedly, SirB "treated me" and used a GC his mom had given him for christmas, but still. Plan had been *no* coffee out. But he's about to leave, and I'm a sucker for a coffee date...

Ah well. Frugal reset here. My plan while he's gone this week is to attack our grocery plan. Bestie who eats like us has a *much* lower grocery budget, in spite of living in DC, so I've been picking her brain item by item. So to do list:
1. Put together a price book. I'll probably go to 3-4 stores to compare.
2. Price out all the meals we normally eat, based on OUR serving sizes. Things online never come close to how much we eat. (Ex, I love budget bytes, but one of her "serves 4-6" meals serves DH and I once).
3. Put together a projected week of food with pricing. Tinker until I can get a $100 or less average budget per week.

[I'm a red panda]

I made homemade burger buns thanks to Uber Frugal January and it was super easy (thanks bread machine) and way tastier! I think buying burger buns in the store is a thing of the past now. I was hesitant because my last attempt was a failure--I realize now I didn't let them rise a second time after forming the buns of dough.

We have been making burger buns for years and they are SO much better than store bought. Combined with the fact that we grind our own meat, it makes it difficult to eat when friends invite us over for burgers. The quality is just not there...

[MonkeyJenga]

GOAL FOR THE MONTH: SPEND LESS THAN $850

I'm at $716 so far. All that's left is the other half of my health insurance premiums, food, and a movie ticket. If I can kept food under $70 for the rest of the month, I'm good.

Totally doable. I've got chili in the freezer, canned tuna, pasta, rice, and ingredients for another batch of chili.

I might buy someone a meal this week in exchange for work advice. Not sure where we'll actually be meeting.

Candy might be my downfall...

Wish me luck!

[marielle]

I made homemade burger buns thanks to Uber Frugal January and it was super easy (thanks bread machine) and way tastier! I think buying burger buns in the store is a thing of the past now. I was hesitant because my last attempt was a failure--I realize now I didn't let them rise a second time after forming the buns of dough.

We have been making burger buns for years and they are SO much better than store bought. Combined with the fact that we grind our own meat, it makes it difficult to eat when friends invite us over for burgers. The quality is just not there...

Yep, I can't even go out for brunch to get waffles or whatever since it literally takes 5 minutes to make homemade waffles. It's not even an option at this point! I buy bread flour which is $7 for 25 lbs...I can't even imagine how many waffles that is! Or burger buns!

Okay, I can, because I just did some math on google. 25 lbs of flour is 41k calories or roughly 20 days of food. Though of course the sugar, baking powder, yeast and such are more expensive.

20 days of calories for $7 dollars...while some people have $1000+ grocery bills. Obviously it takes me months to eat this, but still.

Anyone else regularly calculate calories per dollar...? I find it helpful to figure out if certain things are okay to splurge on. For example, I was going to skip buying hazelnuts until I realized $8 for a lb is like paying $4 for a day's worth of food (which is the number I try to hit on average). Maybe not as cheap as peanuts but now I can make vegan nutella!

[Kerowyn]

Anyone else regularly calculate calories per dollar...? I find it helpful to figure out if certain things are okay to splurge on. For example, I was going to skip buying hazelnuts until I realized $8 for a lb is like paying $4 for a day's worth of food (which is the number I try to hit on average). Maybe not as cheap as peanuts but now I can make vegan nutella!

I have a list of various foods with the grams of protein per serving and price per serving, IIRC. (Obviously I haven't looked at it in a while. I need to price cashews and finish it.) I am mostly vegan and wanted to see which forms of protein, other than beans, are better value. I don't pay a lot of attention to calories, but maybe that should be my next project...

[I'm a red panda]

Yep, I can't even go out for brunch to get waffles or whatever since it literally takes 5 minutes to make homemade waffles. It's not even an option at this point! I buy bread flour which is $7 for 25 lbs...I can't even imagine how many waffles that is! Or burger buns!

We eliminated eating out awhile ago, so brunch really hasn't even been a thought. But if I'm going out to eat it won't be for breakfast foods, breakfast foods are so easy to do on your own.

[marielle]

Anyone else regularly calculate calories per dollar...? I find it helpful to figure out if certain things are okay to splurge on. For example, I was going to skip buying hazelnuts until I realized $8 for a lb is like paying $4 for a day's worth of food (which is the number I try to hit on average). Maybe not as cheap as peanuts but now I can make vegan nutella!

I have a list of various foods with the grams of protein per serving and price per serving, IIRC. (Obviously I haven't looked at it in a while. I need to price cashews and finish it.) I am mostly vegan and wanted to see which forms of protein, other than beans, are better value. I don't pay a lot of attention to calories, but maybe that should be my next project...

I don't worry too much about protein, so the calorie per dollar thing makes sense to me. But both would definitely be helpful so you can balance cheap carbs with more expensive high protein food (like seitan--highly recommend for protein if you're vegan, and it's super easy to make yourself). Unless you're seriously bodybuilding or losing weight (and need to stay full longer), people put a bit too much emphasis on protein IMO. With a varied diet in a first world country it's impossible to actually become protein deficient. Everything has protein, even rice.

[marielle]

Yep, I can't even go out for brunch to get waffles or whatever since it literally takes 5 minutes to make homemade waffles. It's not even an option at this point! I buy bread flour which is $7 for 25 lbs...I can't even imagine how many waffles that is! Or burger buns!

We eliminated eating out awhile ago, so brunch really hasn't even been a thought. But if I'm going out to eat it won't be for breakfast foods, breakfast foods are so easy to do on your own.

My weakness has been supporting the new local vegan chef who does breakfast pop-ups. Really really want him to open a restaurant...

It's like a donation, not eating out right? /s

[gaja]

Total for skates, boots, protective gear, and sharpening: $146.

My skates cost me $500 (with blades) and a single sharpening is $20- so I think you did pretty well :)

Well, it helps that DH managed to sell the old skates and helmet for $20 today. Part of the purchase yesterday was a discount card for 5 sharpenings, totaling less than $15. I guess they do a simpler and cheaper job for kids?

[Fresh Bread]

Yep, I can't even go out for brunch to get waffles or whatever since it literally takes 5 minutes to make homemade waffles. It's not even an option at this point! I buy bread flour which is $7 for 25 lbs...I can't even imagine how many waffles that is! Or burger buns!

We eliminated eating out awhile ago, so brunch really hasn't even been a thought. But if I'm going out to eat it won't be for breakfast foods, breakfast foods are so easy to do on your own.

My weakness has been supporting the new local vegan chef who does breakfast pop-ups. Really really want him to open a restaurant...

It's like a donation, not eating out right? /s

I did the same for a local guy selling organic groceries - I think of it like a charitable start up grant!

Today it will top 39deg (100F+) so the air con is on! It's a rare treat. We've got solar panels so it might be close to free (if I switch everything else off, ha ha). At least the dog is now comfortable, he's been panting since he woke up, and if I'm *too* frugal it's counterproductive since  I can't get anything done. Still got to live.

[I'm a red panda]

Total for skates, boots, protective gear, and sharpening: $146.

My skates cost me $500 (with blades) and a single sharpening is $20- so I think you did pretty well :)

Well, it helps that DH managed to sell the old skates and helmet for $20 today. Part of the purchase yesterday was a discount card for 5 sharpenings, totaling less than $15. I guess they do a simpler and cheaper job for kids?

I think the sharpening required for figure skating is different than if you just want to stroll around the ice.  I think it's $5 if you let the guy at the counter of our rink sharpen their skates. But I've seen him do it, and no way would I risk my blades to that guy- they cost way too much.

[jesse_runs_far]

Day 1 (Sun, Jan 1): $0
Day 2: $40 (groceries), $43 (unlimited yoga for the month)
Day 3: $0
Day 4: $0
Day 5: $0
Day 6: $45
Day 7: $250 (Costco, Bulk Barn, helmet for son)

Week 1 total: $342 - I can do better this week!!!

Day 8: $13 - snacks at movie theater
Day 9: $270 ($200 will be reimbursed - concert tickets for next summer, gift from MIL)
Day 10: $70 - Textbook for school

Well, this week's total won't be less than last, but I'm ok with that :)

I'll need a few groceries this week - some fruit and veggies, milk, etc.

[CloserToFree]

My spending was for an amniocentesis done in October and the hospital just now billed and iron pills because I'm apparently quite anemic this pregnancy, despite the prenatal having iron in it. DH's was on groceries that were planned (no packaged foods, raw ingredients). I think our grocery bill is going up though as I now need a special diet for the rest of the pregnancy.

Iowajes - I almost failed the GD test during my pregnancy (assume that's the one you took?) and decided to follow the special diet anyway at the advice of my OB.  It's not that bad, if it's the same low-carb oriented diet I did.  It made me much more mindful about what I was eating, and I learned how to cut out empty carbs I really didn't care that much about in exchange for being able to eat the ones I really wanted (mostly fruits, the occasional sweet or bread-y thing).  Good luck and hang in there!!

[I'm a red panda]

Yep, I failed the 3 hr test. My fasting numbers were great though, so hopefully it can be diet controlled. The problem is mostly that I eat very little meat and live off fruit...   Trying to get more protein the past 2 days has had me reliving first trimester....nothing stays down. I'm interested to see what the nutritionist says tomorrow. I can handle eggs, but so far that's it...  I don't eat many processed foods as we make nearly everything from scratch. But some days I'd have 6 pieces of fruit!

I'm mostly annoyed because my numbers were awesome just over a year ago with my first pregnancy. 

Today's spending was 3 prescription co-pays for testing supplies along with eggs and a sandwich meat I used to eat pre pregnancy...

[tortoiseshell]

-DH isn't 100% onboard (he dislikes extreme/fad-y things like this and generally prefers to just be reasonable about spending money) so I'm not fully able to share my excitement about the challenge with him.  Need to re-read FW post about getting spouses on board.

I had a similar reaction from my DH upon talking to him about the challenge, so I posed it to him as something that I was planning to do myself (I do the bulk of the food shopping anyway, which is our largest variable in monthly expenses), and once he saw how seriously I was taking it, he got more on board with the idea, even asking if certain things would conflict with my January spending plans.

[Anatidae V]

Yep, I failed the 3 hr test. My fasting numbers were great though, so hopefully it can be diet controlled. The problem is mostly that I eat very little meat and live off fruit...   Trying to get more protein the past 2 days has had me reliving first trimester....nothing stays down. I'm interested to see what the nutritionist says tomorrow. I can handle eggs, but so far that's it...  I don't eat many processed foods as we make nearly everything from scratch. But some days I'd have 6 pieces of fruit!

I'm mostly annoyed because my numbers were awesome just over a year ago with my first pregnancy. 

Today's spending was 3 prescription co-pays for testing supplies along with eggs and a sandwich meat I used to eat pre pregnancy...

Ah that really sucks. Keen to hear what the nutritionist recommends, my sympathies! I'm still low meat, but protein in form of beans/ nuts/ cheeses(haloumi and paneer)/ tofu/ mushrooms has been good enough thus far.

[EricNYC]

Today was almost rough! I was stressed out about other stuff so I stayed up late and woke up late, all without making my usual lunch smoothie. Thankfully, I work at a fancy tech company that stocks fresh fruit in the office, so I ate a couple of bananas and oranges, and cut lunch short to get more stuff done. So take-out lunch spending is still at $0.

I may be meeting my father for lunch on Friday, though. I'd rather spend nothing, but I think a burger with the old man brings a lot more value than grabbing some mediocre take-out to gobble down at my desk.

I'm already thinking about what I can add on for next month. I'd consider trying to bike everywhere and spend $0 on even public transportation, but my eyesight isn't the greatest so I'm a little unsure about that. April onwards though, and that's happening.

[nessness]

Contributed $5 for a gift for a co-worker yesterday. No spending today, and nothing planned for tomorrow or Thursday, although my husband is coming home from a work trip tomorrow and might not be too keen on my "use up random crap from the pantry" meal plan, so we'll see.

Planned spending for Friday and the weekend: groceries, birthday gift for a friend, and I might go to the thrift store on Saturday (50% off day) to pick up a few items of clothing for my daughter, who is rapidly outgrowing all her clothes in her current size.

[1967mama]

I have successfully avoided going into stores and shopping on Amazon since our Costco run on Sunday.

I realized today that its January 11th when I wake up tomorrow, and that means that our January 15th payday is just around the corner. Although we had a cash supplement with the annual rebate cheque from Costco, it looks like I will make it to payday with just the reduced amount of cash we took out on the December 31st!

We really function so much better on cash than credit cards in our household!

Exciting!

[tortoiseshell]

QuoteModifyRemove
Day 1: $10.00 (church offering)
Day 2: $0
Day 3: $2.00 (DH coffee)
Day 4: $27.93 ($9 groceries, $18.93 OTC medication)
Day 5: $0
Day 6: $85.75 (internet: the price was raised this month; I have to work on getting it down.)
Day 7: $23.75 (groceries, including cat food)

Week 1 Total: $149.43

Day 8: $10.00 (church offering)
Day 9: $7.04 (eggs and loaf of bread)
Day 10: $4.25 (cat treats and DH coffee)

Nothing much to say about yesterday's spending. I'm aiming for a no-spend day today, but we shall see if that happens.

[Captain and Mrs Slow]

Ordered the wife new winter boots. We were in Paris for the holidays and saw the most beautiful pair of Rockport boots on the Champs-Élysées and it was sooo tempting but we applied the 72 hour rule and more importantly I did some online checking. Found a pair on Amazon.de for 66€ or about half price. I was a bit concerned due to Amazon fakes issue but it was prime and it was just one pair on sale, other sizes were full price so best guess was it was an odd size that wasn't selling.

[Mezzie]

There was a sale on laptops and I was super close to buying one (or two...) for my students, but I resisted. Our district is investing more and more in Chromebooks, so my need to have loaner laptops for students to take home should be less soon. (The ones I have are always checked out, and I hate saying I'm out of them when someone asks, so this was a tough one for me!)

I can go without for myself, but I'm an absolute sucker when it comes to my students.

[Juslookin]

1-1 $0.00 spent
1-2 $0.00 spent
1-3 $0.00 spent -
1-4 $0.40 spent.  CC Balance
      $10.37 co-pay for a medical bill
1-5 $0.00 spent
1-6 $0.00 spent
1-7 $21.00 gift from DH 
      $109.50 dog meds. 
      $39.59 quarterly garbage collection bill
1-8 $51.54 Costco -
       $8.21 Aldis
1-9 $0.00 spent
1-10 $5.00 co-pay for prescription
        $2.99 grocery store,  DH picked up one item

1. Keeping the heat practically turned off and using the wood burning fireplace all day. 
2. Baked pumpkin oatmeal and a scoop of vanilla yogurt for breakfast with tea
3. Cut up the rest of the baked oatmeal into portion sizes and put in the freezer, I'll thaw one each day for breakfast
4. STILL haven't driven the car, no gas used the entire month so far.  Trust me, that's miraculous, we live very, very rural and walking anywhere is not an option.  I just haven't needed to go anywhere, I wait for DH to take me on the weekend (company car) and other wise I just stay home and work or do schoolwork.

I am absolutely loving Uber Frugal January.  I can't wait to see how much I can save.  I'm hoping somebody wants to go another month with me maybe?

[Mezzie]

I would absolutely do another month. This month has been spotty, especially with buying all my theater tickets for the season at once (they ended up cheaper that way and below budget in the long run, though!). I think I can do better with practice.

[I'm a red panda]

Tuesday check-in:

1/1: $0
1/2: $0
1/3: $30.37 (me)  and $17.08 (DH)
1/4: $3.56 (me) and $7.42  (DH)
1/5: $0.60 (me) and $6.93 (DH)
1/6: $0 (me) and $30.35 (DH)
1/7: $34.15 (me) and $0 (DH)
1/8: $0
1/9: $45.14 (me) and $27.97
1/10: $44.88 (me) and $0 (DH)
Monthly Reoccurring Bills paid: $96.42 (phone) ____(internet); _____(gas) _____ (electric) _____ (water/recycling) ______(mortgage/taxes)

$45 of my spending was on prescription copays. The other was eggs, sandwich turkey, and an onion.  One of the prescriptions was out, so I have to go back yet again...

[TightFistedScot]

It's great to see that folks are doing so well!!! I love this challenge.


I've been mostly sticking to my guns, but with one planned exception to celebrate a birthday with a meal out.

I haven't consumed any alcohol (at home or out), no coffee shop purchases, and no spending other than bills and groceries.

HOWEVER, there is a reallly fun dance party coming up on Jan 20th that my friends are going to and I really want to go. Going out to a dance party with my friends is a rarity now that we are all over 30... So I think I may break UFJ rules to go.

The ticket costs $10 to get in the door. Now, I could go completely sober (less fun and I will probably get tired by 11 because I'm old now lol), or just pre-drink and buy no drinks at the bar, or do a little pre-drinking and also buy a couple drinks at the bar (the total cost of this option would be about $30 for the whole night out with drinks). WWJD?! :P

[pachnik]

Jan 11 UFJ

Yesterday, not great. 
Spending:  $1.50 newspaper; $2.00 coffee,
But I spent $20 on gas yesterday to rid myself of the temptation of $$$ in my wallet.

Today's planned spending is $0.00.

I wish every one else in the challenge an UF Wednesday!

[katscratch]

It's great to see that folks are doing so well!!! I love this challenge.


I've been mostly sticking to my guns, but with one planned exception to celebrate a birthday with a meal out.

I haven't consumed any alcohol (at home or out), no coffee shop purchases, and no spending other than bills and groceries.

HOWEVER, there is a reallly fun dance party coming up on Jan 20th that my friends are going to and I really want to go. Going out to a dance party with my friends is a rarity now that we are all over 30... So I think I may break UFJ rules to go.

The ticket costs $10 to get in the door. Now, I could go completely sober (less fun and I will probably get tired by 11 because I'm old now lol), or just pre-drink and buy no drinks at the bar, or do a little pre-drinking and also buy a couple drinks at the bar (the total cost of this option would be about $30 for the whole night out with drinks). WWJD?! :P

 
I'm a big fan of only pre-drinking now.  Most of my friends pre-drink and bring a flask ;)  If you do end up deciding to also drink at the bar, bring ONLY your ID and a $20 bill.  NO cards.  Ask me why I know that trick now, ha.

[katscratch]

Jan 11 UFJ

Yesterday, not great. 
Spending:  $1.50 newspaper; $2.00 coffee,
But I spent $20 on gas yesterday to rid myself of the temptation of $$$ in my wallet.

Today's planned spending is $0.00.

I wish every one else in the challenge an UF Wednesday!

I think you did do great in that now you know cash in your wallet is tempting :) 





I don't have much to report yet.  Which is pretty awesome!   Last week I didn't drive at all other than taking my son back to college (ugh that was a lot of driving though).  This week I am having a really hard time getting back onto a very early rising schedule so I've driven 2 days when I could have ridden my bike/taken the metro.  I think for extra motivation I'll calculate how much gas it costs me to drive to/from work vs. how many times I have to ride my bike to make a 'profit' on my studded tires/winterizing. 

Tomorrow evening I'm supposed to go on a bike ride that ends at a brewery - usually I get one pint, but we'll see (a delicious, winter only smoked baltic porter mmmmmm).  I'm kinda debating even going now because it will be cold, but I want to wuss out before every ride and they always turn out to be fun. 

Saturday I have plans to rent snowshoes with a friend I haven't seen in a year.  Usually we eat out and get coffee but I'll bring all my own, so it'll just be the snowshoe rental fee. 

Part of my whole plan this year to Say Yes to social events that cost money is that I find it WAY too easy to be a hermit - and it's even easier when I'm challenging myself not to spend, it gives me an internal excuse not to make plans.  Aside from "winter" that is my #1 excuse ;) That's a pretty terrible way to maintain relationships, though, so I've made a commitment to agree to inexpensive outings when they're offered. 

[Bracken_Joy]

Jan 11 UFJ

Yesterday, not great. 
Spending:  $1.50 newspaper; $2.00 coffee,
But I spent $20 on gas yesterday to rid myself of the temptation of $$$ in my wallet.

Today's planned spending is $0.00.

I wish every one else in the challenge an UF Wednesday!

I think you did do great in that now you know cash in your wallet is tempting :) 





I don't have much to report yet.  Which is pretty awesome!   Last week I didn't drive at all other than taking my son back to college (ugh that was a lot of driving though).  This week I am having a really hard time getting back onto a very early rising schedule so I've driven 2 days when I could have ridden my bike/taken the metro.  I think for extra motivation I'll calculate how much gas it costs me to drive to/from work vs. how many times I have to ride my bike to make a 'profit' on my studded tires/winterizing. 

Tomorrow evening I'm supposed to go on a bike ride that ends at a brewery - usually I get one pint, but we'll see (a delicious, winter only smoked baltic porter mmmmmm).  I'm kinda debating even going now because it will be cold, but I want to wuss out before every ride and they always turn out to be fun. 

Saturday I have plans to rent snowshoes with a friend I haven't seen in a year.  Usually we eat out and get coffee but I'll bring all my own, so it'll just be the snowshoe rental fee. 

Part of my whole plan this year to Say Yes to social events that cost money is that I find it WAY too easy to be a hermit - and it's even easier when I'm challenging myself not to spend, it gives me an internal excuse not to make plans.  Aside from "winter" that is my #1 excuse ;) That's a pretty terrible way to maintain relationships, though, so I've made a commitment to agree to inexpensive outings when they're offered.

If you have the storage space, I've found (out here at least) that you can acquire used snowshoes for barely more than the rental fee. Unlike skis/snowboards, there isn't much maintenance you need to do on them either, so really no advantage to having someone else do the maintenance. Anyway, maybe regionally this doesn't hold up, and you don't snowshoe hardly ever, or you have no storage space, but it was just a thought! Snowshoeing has become our winter sport of choice. Sooooo much cheaper, and frankly, way less dangerous!

I think NOT hermiting while being uber frugal is a really good idea. For one, it's better for mindset and happiness! But for two, it's like a diet- if you never adjust social spending, as soon as you go back to socializing, the costs will balloon back to whatever they were before! =)

Related: assuming the roads get clear enough (BIG assumption) we have Friday night plans to go see some friends, watch Grand Tour, and they're cooking dinner. LOVE the we have found more frugal friends!

[horsepoor]

And I have a hair dryer that is sitting in a box to be donated.

No spend day for me.

I hope yours finds a good home.  I ordered a compact one from Amazon last night, so I'll donate my bulky one when I get home.  I have short hair, so I'm getting away with air drying right now, but it will get worse as it grows out.  Hoping I can avoid getting it cut while she n DC.

Spent $140 stocking up groceries yesterday too.  Doing pretty strict Paleo, so it's not cheap, but I did economize where I could (peanut butter instead of cashew butter, avoiding out of season produce, buying chicken drumsticks and making broth with the bones)

[I'm a red panda]

I think NOT hermiting while being uber frugal is a really good idea. For one, it's better for mindset and happiness! But for two, it's like a diet- if you never adjust social spending, as soon as you go back to socializing, the costs will balloon back to whatever they were before! =)

I'm not a hermit because of uber frugal, I'm a hermit because I don't really like people :)
When I do get together with friends, we almost always do it in our homes.  We had a big neighborhood progressive dinner this weekend (multiple houses hosted various courses, and other neighbors contributed to the load at each house; so no one person had to pay to put on a giant party)- 50 people all at once, I'm good for a few months!

[Bracken_Joy]

I think NOT hermiting while being uber frugal is a really good idea. For one, it's better for mindset and happiness! But for two, it's like a diet- if you never adjust social spending, as soon as you go back to socializing, the costs will balloon back to whatever they were before! =)

I'm not a hermit because of uber frugal, I'm a hermit because I don't really like people :)
When I do get together with friends, we almost always do it in our homes.  We had a big neighborhood progressive dinner this weekend (multiple houses hosted various courses, and other neighbors contributed to the load at each house; so no one person had to pay to put on a giant party)- 50 people all at once, I'm good for a few months!

Okay, I should say- "hermiting more than usual" or something like that, haha. I'm sure to most people I would seem like a hermit sometimes, I'll often go a week+ without seeing anyone other than DH if I'm not working. But, partially that's because my closest friends live scattered all over the country now, so I text/skype them often. I suppose that's a *very* cheap friendship- except for the years I go visit! =o