The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Throw Down the Gauntlet => Topic started by: nottoolatetostart on February 23, 2017, 08:48:59 AM
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Thought I would go ahead and kick off thread. Will edit later with my March goals. 6 days left till March 1!
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I'm actually already in my March budget because I run my months by my CC statement date (23rd). I spent $2 on cat treats, money well spent, a cat without treats is a terror.
My goals this month is to keep all expenditures under $2000, with the exception as always of savings and debt repayment. I will continue my longterm 2017 goals of eating up the food stores, using up the toiletries stockpile, no eating out / takeout or convenience foods and of being uber frugal with any purchases. Bring on March!!!!
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January was great, February was a total bust (oooh I made a pun, I bought a bunch of bras, haha). Anyway, in for March, will clarify goals and challenges later.
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I'm actually already in my March budget because I run my months by my CC statement date (23rd). I spent $2 on cat treats, money well spent, a cat without treats is a terror.
My goals this month is to keep all expenditures under $2000, with the exception as always of savings and debt repayment. I will continue my longterm 2017 goals of eating up the food stores, using up the toiletries stockpile, no eating out / takeout or convenience foods and of being uber frugal with any purchases. Bring on March!!!!
I'm with you, Lindsey, or just about anyway. I get paid once a month, on the 25th, or closest prior business day. So, tomorrow (24th) in this case.
Also with you on sticking to the basics, as I have been doing since I joined Uber Frugal mid-January. Participation in "Eat All the Food" thread, minimize the grocery spend to just produce, bread and dairy as needed. Minimal eating out (occasional social stuff is ok, but should be modest - like eating a bit at home and having just an appetizer, stuff like that). Reduce utilities consumption where possible. No recreational shopping - I must be starting to get discipline fatigue, because the lure of Michael's (craft store) has been strong when I've driven past a couple of times recently. But I have resisted. Cheaper sources for the things that I do need, such as thrift stores for the clothes I recently purchased, and starting to plan ahead for Christmas presents (thrift and homemade).
The big challenge for me coming up is birthday presents for most of my family in April and in June. There's a project that I'm aiming to do for all of them, but when it's time to buckle down on it, I will try to sort out the best way to do it to reduce costs. And will likely seek help from the forums for advice too!
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I almost made Frugal Feb, but it fell apart at the last minute! I'm in for March, with a different approach. In the past I have set a number but this time I'm going to set spending rules and see if I get better results.
Guidelines:
#1) No restaurants
#2) No clothing
#3) No physical items (aside from food & medical)
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March will coincide with the Whole 30 I'm doing, so there will be no eating out. I expect I'll be able to increase the savings I managed in Feb ($600) by about $100. Goal $700.
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I'm in. My goal is to keep up the changes we've made to our life to do Frugal February:
- all home-cooked food
- no going out
- no ordering in
- more free activities around town when possible
- no random purchases when walking around
- no buying clothes or home stuff
- more no-spend days
This is going to continue to coincide well for me with the One "Odd" chore a day and the Upcycle / Found / Made / Budget Home Decor threads. The odd jobs usually keep me entertained/happy about my house enough to keep my "I need to buy something to cheer myself up" feelings away, and the thread about upcycling reminds me that I love making things, and that if I'm feeling like the couch needs a new throw cushion, it's pretty easy to whip one up from my stash of stuff.
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I'm in. Thanks for starting this. My March budget starts today.
My uber frugal February was spendy on necessary items. We really need a frugal month.
Problem areas:
1. grocery spending - my goal is to be under budget without deferring spending. Once our Whole30 is done, we're planning to economize portions and ingredients. Current spending is too luxurious for our incomes and waistlines. We previously bought most of what we need to finish the whole30 so we're starting the month stocked up (normal for us).
2. eating out - goal of zero times for everyone until at least April. We may make an exception for a business trip (DH only) and for 2-3 meals on a family trip. I need to have easy and quick prep options on hand more to grab if we have to go to town unexpectedly. Need to investigate picnic possibilities for our trip.
3. unnecessary luxuries - alcohol, chocolate/desserts....not needed. Goal of zero unbudgeted expenses.
We don't have any anticipated house repair expenses but I may need to work on my car a bit after hitting a deer last night. Hopefully it's just some body work we can DIY. Repair estimated at $4000 to have it done. I will also need to spend on a few pairs of contacts (that and my PT copays are hopefully the last of our deferred medical spending...been playing catch-up this year). Contacts for the year should run around $200 or less.
Edited to modify trip eating out: 3 meals out (excluding any breakfasts included with hotels) during a 10 day trip. This is somewhere luxurious but we will be in countries where we don't speak the language and groceries are unfamiliar. Still might be easier than navigating restaurant menus in languages we don't speak. This will need to be covered by our regular grocery money or our $200/month all-other-spending budget.
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I'm in. My goal is to keep up the changes we've made to our life to do Frugal February:
- all home-cooked food
- no going out
- no ordering in
- more free activities around town when possible
- no random purchases when walking around
- no buying clothes or home stuff
- more no-spend days
This is going to continue to coincide well for me with the One "Odd" chore a day and the Upcycle / Found / Made / Budget Home Decor threads. The odd jobs usually keep me entertained/happy about my house enough to keep my "I need to buy something to cheer myself up" feelings away, and the thread about upcycling reminds me that I love making things, and that if I'm feeling like the couch needs a new throw cushion, it's pretty easy to whip one up from my stash of stuff.
I think we might be soul sisters, I could have wrote this entire post. :)
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I am hoping that March will be a frugal month. We need to get an inspection and oil change on the car and pay car property taxes this month, but I already have that budgeted in. We also driving with all the kids to go visit some friends in DC for the weekend. I think the biggest issues will be eating out and groceries, but I will keep meal planning to lessen costs.
Also, all 3 kids will need a new pair of shoes for spring/summer. Their feet grow so fast and yet they completely wear out their shoes in that time. I probably won't buy new shoes for them until April.
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Joining in for March. Spending exceptions: a few clones for the garden, 4 museum tickets for my kid's birthday, oil change and wiper blade, aaaannd... a bunch of money toward a new roof. And maybe rental fee for a pressure washer. I have dangerously slippery decks.
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I'm going with an uber-frugal/consciously spending hybrid approach to March - With that being the habits/life I want to develop going forwards.
Challenge:
Hubs and I both need to basically get whole new (to us) wardrobes. I've been putting it off as long as possible, but it needs to be done. Am taking the UF approach by thrifting what we can, looking for deals and getting pieces that are more capsule based. Add to the fact that my newest business venture involves actually being out in the business community, I need to look professionally put together and not just from the waist up. I suppose I need new shoes too. My trusty hikers have seen thousands of miles and many continents over the past 10 years, but they are not professional and only keep my feet dry part of the time :) Uhhh....I have no idea how to do this. I hate clothing shopping, I hate trying to "dress to impress" so this will be a challenge in more ways than one!
Will come back with more goals and such once I've thought about them and closed out Feb :)
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I'm in. I'm trying to give myself some concrete goals to help me build better habits. They're ambitious, but I think I can hit them in March. At the very worst, I'll be in better shape to hit them in April!
Goals:
Food spending total of $200 or less (avg for last 6 mos or so has been ~$410; I think the cut will be achievable through better planning, reducing waste, cooking at home more, and the fact that I'm slowly transitioning to a vegetarian diet)
"Fun" spending total of $300 or less (avg for last 6 mos has been $807 a month)
Both of those categories include eating out since reducing that spending is a particular focus right now. "Fun" also includes things like non-critical clothing purchases (i.e. if my last couple bras gave out in succession I'd have to buy a couple), travel, entertainment, and goods & services that are non-necessities - pretty much everything that's not groceries, utilities, mortgage, etc.
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As Mongoose and swick have both referenced, it's not really about deferring spending, or stocking up, but about making best sustainable choices over the long term.
Making/doing things for ourselves, like Road42 and LindseyC talked about.
Taking care of priorities (like maintaining our homes, or saving for retirement), as StarBright, Mezzie and lemonverbena are doing, rather than letting that money slip through our fingers.
Planning ahead, like leftcoastenvy said.
I know I didn't capture everyone who's posted in the thread so far, but I think I have captured the basic ideas that are going to get us all through Uber Frugal March.
Anything to add?
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Nice Summary, PJ!
I'll add:
I think for me, it is also going to be about investing time into relationships and building reciprocal support systems and networks. I'm rather introverted and an INFJ so I'm pretty good at supporting others, but I don't generally take the time to actually build relationships. It's too demanding, I tend to put it off.
But I was reminded how it can be a frugal and fun! thing to do. I got a message from a friend overseas (okay, I ignored the original message longer than I should have) who had another friend who was in our area on vacation.
He wanted to go back country skiing but all the paid guides were booked. I was able to use my social network to introduce him to some new friends and a great free back country experience. He offered us sailing and a free place to stay should we ever want to visit San Fransisco, so that might lead to a frugal vacation in our future :) Plus the warm fuzzies of being able to make someone's day is good too.
Building more (and maintaining) community will be one of my UFM goals :)
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I'm in. Goal is to spend $1300 or less for the entire month. Fixed costs are a little over $900, which leaves us with $400 for all food and other expenses. (Family of three, but we live with other family and when we cook, we buy the ingredients. As some family are/will be out of town for part of the month that will reduce costs somewhat.) $1300 is also roughly what I bring home, depending on the month, so all of HusbandX's pay would go straight to savings. This will be a little bit of a stretch for us, so I'm planning meals as cheaply as possible while staying in our required standard of health and taste.
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SisterX, living off of one salary is a great goal for an Uber Frugal month. Make sure you post over in Eat All the Food or Rein in the Grocery Spend if you need help with getting the most bang for your grocery dollar!
Thanks swick, investing (mostly time) into social capital is a great addition to the list of Uber Frugal strategies. And I realized I forgot something I'd meant to include, which is prioritizing experiences over "stuff." Which I think ties in nicely with what you're talking about, but also includes things like lemonverbena's gift of museum passes for her kid's birthday.
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As Mongoose and swick have both referenced, it's not really about deferring spending, or stocking up, but about making best sustainable choices over the long term.
Making/doing things for ourselves, like Road42 and LindseyC talked about.
Taking care of priorities (like maintaining our homes, or saving for retirement), as StarBright, Mezzie and lemonverbena are doing, rather than letting that money slip through our fingers.
Planning ahead, like leftcoastenvy said.
I know I didn't capture everyone who's posted in the thread so far, but I think I have captured the basic ideas that are going to get us all through Uber Frugal March.
Anything to add?
I think it sums it up.
I will have expenditures in March, if not this weekend, for our lawn. I have been wanting to contract out the work (would probably be 400-500) but today I learned where the trimmings go in my town (& visited it to drop off leaves) so I likely buy an electric saw thing-y for <100 that will set me up for years of trimming. After surveying the situation, a hack saw will just not do (not worth it with the work I need to do to keep these evergreens off my bricks). I will look for coupons and discounted gift cards since this will actully be a well planned purchase.
Also, where I drop off trimmings for spring yard cleaning, I learned today they have FREE mulch that any resident can take when the recycling center is open. So if I can insulate my hatchback and bring a shovel, I could have free mulch for a few beds (especially since I will already be there for spring yard cleaning). Cool, huh?
These challenges are getting easier and easier, I have to say.
We will continue eating in, walking everywhere, avoiding clothes dryer, heat now down to 64 (4 degrees less than Jan 1). I would say these are habits for us, no going back. Using the car is weird now for both DH and me.
I prepaid a lot of annual expenses in Jan and Feb., so I really hope to have cheaper month. My only bills will be cell, cable/internet, gas bill, water, groceries and husband's "fun money". We prepaid electric, waste, sewer, mortgage, and paid off tuition for preschool already. Plus, it's a 3 paycheck month AND a separate bonus too (4 paydays). And dividends!!!! And should get tax refund.
Other goals for month:
- send gym cancellation notice in writing (contract ends in May)
- sell $125 worth of crap I don't need to purchase new curtains and DIY curtain hardware for master bedroom (the one we bought with house are still up and falling off rod)
- I am going to withdraw ATM cash for my March grocery budget. I feel like I spend more using credit card and I really need to lower my 2017 annual grocery spend. Like, really this time. Really, really this time
I may edit this later as we get closer to month.
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Nice Summary, PJ!
I'll add:
I think for me, it is also going to be about investing time into relationships and building reciprocal support systems and networks. I'm rather introverted and an INFJ so I'm pretty good at supporting others, but I don't generally take the time to actually build relationships. It's too demanding, I tend to put it off.
But I was reminded how it can be a frugal and fun! thing to do. I got a message from a friend overseas (okay, I ignored the original message longer than I should have) who had another friend who was in our area on vacation.
He wanted to go back country skiing but all the paid guides were booked. I was able to use my social network to introduce him to some new friends and a great free back country experience. He offered us sailing and a free place to stay should we ever want to visit San Fransisco, so that might lead to a frugal vacation in our future :) Plus the warm fuzzies of being able to make someone's day is good too.
Building more (and maintaining) community will be one of my UFM goals :)
Great goal. I should do more of this but between my husband, kids, I really need to recharge.
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Spent $14.38 on groceries today to get ingredients to fill out 10 meals for the family. Bought zero alcohol.
My damaged car can probably be fixed for around $300 and can wait. It's cosmetic/dents but seems structurally fine (as per courtesy mechanic check today).
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I confess I spent some money today. I thrifted a plant pot, vintage art glass vase ($7 for both) and then bought some new plants for the pots (reduced to $9 for both) I sorta feel bad since it is so early in the month, but I was trying to combat the winter blues and some new life in the house helps.
Ok, ok ....I also bought some face cream and some smarties, both which I could have lived without. :) but as I sit here eating my giant bag of happy smarties with soft dew like skin, I am having a really hard time feeling truly remorseful.
To atone for my unfrugal spending I am going to put in some overtime from home...... tomorrow.
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Posting to follow. March is going to be a busy and unusual month, since I'll be getting home on the 4th after eight weeks away, then have two business trips, a ton to do at work, getting the garden in and possibly taking on a new equine project. Will look to you guys for inspiration to keep things from spiraling out of control. On the upside, I'll probably be too busy to buy anything that doesn't suit and immediate need.
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Spent $14.99 today on microfiber unders for our trip. We're not going to check bags so we don't have to pay the extra fees...one carry on per person. I have to pack for several days of professional duties as well so plus my computer so we're trying to minimize our things to take (how's that for an excuse?).
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I will join for March. No spending prior to our trips will be key.
I have a 50k trail race about 3.5 hours away and we will be staying with my son about an hour from the race in order to save any room costs, then a couple weeks later we have a much bigger trip planned to the Vegas area.
My goal will be to keep our spending during our vacation at the end of the month at a bare minimum. We are flying into Vegas and will be driving to California for a couple days, before heading to Utah for a half marathon we are signed up for. The flights, car, and some rooms are paid for. The only rooms we have booked in advance is the room we need the night before the race and the night before our flight home. We plan to wing it the rest of the time, so cheap rooms, eating from the cooler, and not buying useless touristy crap will be the challenge.
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Off to the spending races. Also bought some of the same clothes online for DH (from the men's section though) and some fancy socks for me. All of the inexpensive socks I have tried so far rub on my right little toe regardless of which shoes I am wearing so I'm trying something more pricey ($11/pair...just got two different test models, if I like them, I will look for sales). I am so tired of my foot hurting.
I'm starting to gather homeschool curriculum for next year as it goes on sale but that's not included here since it comes out of a separate budget.
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I'm in. :) February was my birthday and we were also sick for about half the month. I wasn't so frugal.
I'm getting my tax return soon and planning to pay off debt and build up some funds. Otherwise my main goal for March is to get back on track with the grocery budget! Everything else seems to be okay. In January I spent $173.46 and February was $497.02. Some of that was re-stocking basics and hosting but there was also a lot of processed food when we were tired/sick. My goal for this month is $300.00.
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All of the inexpensive socks I have tried so far rub on my right little toe regardless of which shoes I am wearing so I'm trying something more pricey ($11/pair...just got two different test models, if I like them, I will look for sales). I am so tired of my foot hurting.
Have you tried injinji toe socks? Not cheap, but they're the only thing that solves this problem for me. I even wear the super low profile ones under tights with dresses, to keep my feet comfy and blister free.
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I'm not sure whether I'm in for March - I need to buy some maternity wear, and it'll be a spendy month on a few fronts. But I'm reading along so I can cheer everyone on :D
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All of the inexpensive socks I have tried so far rub on my right little toe regardless of which shoes I am wearing so I'm trying something more pricey ($11/pair...just got two different test models, if I like them, I will look for sales). I am so tired of my foot hurting.
Have you tried injinji toe socks? Not cheap, but they're the only thing that solves this problem for me. I even wear the super low profile ones under tights with dresses, to keep my feet comfy and blister free.
Yeah. DH loves his Injinji toe socks. They feel super weird. My little toes are curved and under my next toe so they get freaked out by the separation. I will try to increase my time wearing them but it's tough. I'm trying a type from DarnTough (when they arrive).
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All of the inexpensive socks I have tried so far rub on my right little toe regardless of which shoes I am wearing so I'm trying something more pricey ($11/pair...just got two different test models, if I like them, I will look for sales). I am so tired of my foot hurting.
Have you tried injinji toe socks? Not cheap, but they're the only thing that solves this problem for me. I even wear the super low profile ones under tights with dresses, to keep my feet comfy and blister free.
Yeah. DH loves his Injinji toe socks. They feel super weird. My little toes are curved and under my next toe so they get freaked out by the separation. I will try to increase my time wearing them but it's tough. I'm trying a type from DarnTough (when they arrive).
For me, it's my 2nd toe, which is longer than my big toe. No matter what, it ends up getting a lot more pressure and friction - I buy shoes that are long enough, but then there's more room for my feet to move around inside. So the tips of my toes are super sensitive, and especially, to the seams across the toes of socks. If it's the seam that's bothering you on socks, you could try what I have to resort to sometimes, which is turning the socks inside out. Not quite as good as owning socks that don't have a seam in the place that bothers you, but tolerable.
Also, I don't think it's for the same reason, but my mom wears some kind of little mesh sleeve over one of her toes. I don't know what they're called. I just googled for "toe sleeves" and this is what came up: https://www.amazon.ca/Visco-Gel-Little-Sleeve-Pack/dp/B000LX2X3S (https://www.amazon.ca/Visco-Gel-Little-Sleeve-Pack/dp/B000LX2X3S) . It's not the same product as what mom uses, but maybe something along those lines would help?
Edited to say: Oh. Just noticed the price on that product. Don't buy those. But maybe something in the "related items" section, a bit more reasonably priced?
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Thanks. I'll try the inside out trick until my new socks arrive. If they work, I'll buy more on sale. Usually I'm too cheap to buy anything for myself unless it's a dire emergency (last pair of pants getting an inconvenient hole type thing) but DH urges me rather strongly to replace non-functional items. And then I often get the cheapest thing available. I do, however, keep DH and the kids in sufficient levels of clothes at all times (spending on others is much easier for me). DH pointed out that a pair of socks in the regular weekly rotation will easily last me 10+ years so we can afford to get quality as it works out to $6/year for 6 pairs for example (it doesn't put us in debt or over budget or keep us from paying off debts since we retired our last non-mortgage debt last year). I do like to be under budget all the time so the savings builds up faster.
Today I go to the bank to replenish my grocery/food, clothing, and miscellaneous funds. I do those in cash, mainly because I am super reluctant to spend cash. Added bonus is that it's easy to see how much is left. I also pay for the kids piano lessons (aka homeschool music class) in cash. That comes out of a separate homeschool budget. Then we need to hit the grocery store. Goal is to stick only to my list!
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I forgot to mention that one thing which might throw us off track: my husband's superpower of Breaking Shit. Roughly every 1-2 weeks something randomly breaks for him. Sometimes it's something small, like the handle of a metal measuring cup that breaks off while scooping flour (that's happened twice) and sometimes it's bigger. This week: the derailleur on his bike. The bike that just needed a new wheel because the chain kicked off and broke three of his spokes a couple of weeks ago. Which also means that he's driving everywhere for the time being, which means we'll probably have to fill up the gas tank this month. Sigh.
I will try to stay on planned budget and take repair expenses out of the food budget, but I'm going to be realistic too. If things are expensive to fix but necessary then I'm just going to file it under "we have no way of planning for this" and move along.
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Over January and February, I had some "extra" money come in - expenses reimbursement at work, some gift money, etc. I was super disciplined with all this, seeing as how I was participating in UFJ and UFF. I made great progress in paying down one of my CC's, the one with the highest interest.
But, there are no such significant incoming monies this month.
I did some rough calculations late last night, since I just got paid a couple of days ago, and have my downstairs sub-letting tenant rent coming in too. It will be much harder to achieve a satisfying reduction in the CC statement this month. Need to do some more "official" (i.e. write it all out and make sure I'm not forgetting anything) calculations, but am realizing that I really want and need this to be a very UFM, so that I can get to my next CC balance target. I have a minimum in mind, which should be doable. But I have a desired goal in mind, which may be a stretch...
We'll see! Praying for smooth sailing and no crises!
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Posting to follow and will circle back. Uber Frugal February was kind of a bust for me -- I haven't been doing several key things:
1. Set concrete goals for month.
2. Track spending regularly and religiously (every few days ideally).
3. MENU PLAN. This has been my downfall. Complete lack of meal planning, which has led to more frequent and more expensive grocery trips.
I think as far as overall spending goes, I've done OK (better than average spending pre-UFJ) but could have saved several hundred dollars by being more on top of things. Gonna set some goals for March and will come back and share them here once I've done that.
Happy uber-frugaling!
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Off to the spending races. Also bought some of the same clothes online for DH (from the men's section though) and some fancy socks for me. All of the inexpensive socks I have tried so far rub on my right little toe regardless of which shoes I am wearing so I'm trying something more pricey ($11/pair...just got two different test models, if I like them, I will look for sales). I am so tired of my foot hurting.
I'm starting to gather homeschool curriculum for next year as it goes on sale but that's not included here since it comes out of a separate budget.
Forgive me if this is something you already do- but turning socks inside out helps a TON with seam rub on little toes! The seam being outside makes a big difference for me. Good luck.
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My February expenditures were under budget, except for food. Took advantage of a few sales and stocked up. Cut my gas bill in half. Sold some furniture that was just sitting around.
Goal for March is to be under budget, pay off motorcycle insurance premium, and sell some items on eBay. I also want to add $1,000 to my emergency fund.
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I'd like to join in! I need to lower my astronomical grocery bill. Goals are to:
1. Eat from the pantry
2. Avoid dining out last minute by prepping emergency meals
3. Making the effort to shop at cheaper stores
4. Initial goal: Keep food budget below $605 (the USDA Food Budget "Moderate" plan for two.) That's got to be doable, right? I mean it's a MODERATE plan.
5. Separate non-food costs when entering receipts (batteries on my Costco receipt, etc).
6. Rice and beans or Indian Lentils (dal) at least once a week.
Baby steps!
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My uber frugal February was rather catastrophic, so I need to refocus for March. Our savings rate won't be impressive since the biannual car insurance premium will auto charge tomorrow, but that category is fully funded in YNAB.
My goals:
Normal spending less than 50% of take-home pay.
No spending on craft/sewing supplies (exception for elastic or thread I need for time sensitive gift projects)
$600 grocery spending (we will be stocking up on farm-raised meat or that number would be lower)
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Off to the spending races. Also bought some of the same clothes online for DH (from the men's section though) and some fancy socks for me. All of the inexpensive socks I have tried so far rub on my right little toe regardless of which shoes I am wearing so I'm trying something more pricey ($11/pair...just got two different test models, if I like them, I will look for sales). I am so tired of my foot hurting.
I'm starting to gather homeschool curriculum for next year as it goes on sale but that's not included here since it comes out of a separate budget.
Forgive me if this is something you already do- but turning socks inside out helps a TON with seam rub on little toes! The seam being outside makes a big difference for me. Good luck.
Sadly, the inside out trick for the socks was a total fail for me today. Same spot rubbing on the same toe. :-( New socks are on the way. I'm hoping that'll help. May try my fancy dress socks. I wear them 2-3 days a year.
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Off to the spending races. Also bought some of the same clothes online for DH (from the men's section though) and some fancy socks for me. All of the inexpensive socks I have tried so far rub on my right little toe regardless of which shoes I am wearing so I'm trying something more pricey ($11/pair...just got two different test models, if I like them, I will look for sales). I am so tired of my foot hurting.
I'm starting to gather homeschool curriculum for next year as it goes on sale but that's not included here since it comes out of a separate budget.
Forgive me if this is something you already do- but turning socks inside out helps a TON with seam rub on little toes! The seam being outside makes a big difference for me. Good luck.
Sadly, the inside out trick for the socks was a total fail for me today. Same spot rubbing on the same toe. :-( New socks are on the way. I'm hoping that'll help. May try my fancy dress socks. I wear them 2-3 days a year.
YMMV, mongoose, but I have found that socks are one area where a little more up front actually saves you in the end. For example, I'll buy good running socks for $6-10/pair (though you often find them on sale cheaper), but they last at least 3x as long as the cheaper Hanes, etc socks AND they don't give me blisters. I just got really frustrated to find a hole developing in one of my favorite Balaga socks, but then I remembered that I have been wearing it for regular workouts and running for approximately 5 years.
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I'm in. My goal is to keep up the changes we've made to our life to do Frugal February:
- all home-cooked food
- no going out
- no ordering in
- more free activities around town when possible
- no random purchases when walking around
- no buying clothes or home stuff
- more no-spend days
This is going to continue to coincide well for me with the One "Odd" chore a day and the Upcycle / Found / Made / Budget Home Decor threads. The odd jobs usually keep me entertained/happy about my house enough to keep my "I need to buy something to cheer myself up" feelings away, and the thread about upcycling reminds me that I love making things, and that if I'm feeling like the couch needs a new throw cushion, it's pretty easy to whip one up from my stash of stuff.
I think we might be soul sisters, I could have wrote this entire post. :)
Me too. I'm struggling specifically right now with furnishing my place—no furniture, no real household goods, so I'm starting from scratch!—and impulsive clothing purchases are a huge weakness for me. I've been fairly disciplined in January/February about food costs, but home goods/fashion are my frugality enemies.
Goals:
-Cancel my Sephora Play subscription (my 10 dollar treat to myself - but I can do without for a couple of months)
I should do this too! It's only $10.95/mo, but there isn't really an "only" when it comes to uber frugal months, I think! I originally kept this expense because I've banned myself from all makeup/skincare purchases until I totally run out of some product (I have 15 lipsticks, so…I basically shouldn't buy lipstick for the next 3 years, easily)…anyways, I was thinking the Sephora subscription would be a cute little thing to give me some variety in an inexpensive way. But I don't really use the products they send me…
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I'm in. My goal is to keep up the changes we've made to our life to do Frugal February:
- all home-cooked food
- no going out
- no ordering in
- more free activities around town when possible
- no random purchases when walking around
- no buying clothes or home stuff
- more no-spend days
This is going to continue to coincide well for me with the One "Odd" chore a day and the Upcycle / Found / Made / Budget Home Decor threads. The odd jobs usually keep me entertained/happy about my house enough to keep my "I need to buy something to cheer myself up" feelings away, and the thread about upcycling reminds me that I love making things, and that if I'm feeling like the couch needs a new throw cushion, it's pretty easy to whip one up from my stash of stuff.
I think we might be soul sisters, I could have wrote this entire post. :)
Me too. I'm struggling specifically right now with furnishing my place—no furniture, no real household goods, so I'm starting from scratch!—and impulsive clothing purchases are a huge weakness for me. I've been fairly disciplined in January/February about food costs, but home goods/fashion are my frugality enemies.
Goals:
-Cancel my Sephora Play subscription (my 10 dollar treat to myself - but I can do without for a couple of months)
I should do this too! It's only $10.95/mo, but there isn't really an "only" when it comes to uber frugal months, I think! I originally kept this expense because I've banned myself from all makeup/skincare purchases until I totally run out of some product (I have 15 lipsticks, so…I basically shouldn't buy lipstick for the next 3 years, easily)…anyways, I was thinking the Sephora subscription would be a cute little thing to give me some variety in an inexpensive way. But I don't really use the products they send me…
If it helps, I dont look at expenses on monthly basis. It costs over 130 dollars a year for something you don't fully use. Wouldn't you rather save it for a beauty item you want instead that you would actually use?
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It begins!! I started the month by redeeming myself from my massive February FAIL. I had been totally on budget and at the last minute bought a pile of clothes for my capsule wardrobe. And a pullover for my SO. But the stuff arrived yesterday and wasn't awesome and I'm returning everything! I also got paid for tutoring and got some b-day money so I'm back on track. Righting my past wrongs got me pumped up for this month!
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I'm joining for March!
I've never joined one of these threads, but I think it'll help me to stay focused.
My goal is to not spend anything beyond monthly bills, groceries, and fuel.
Note: Aside from a Fuel Filter I need to change. It runs $70, and the dealership wants $200 to change it. My Brother said he'd do it for $50, so I'm going to do it with him to learn how it's done.
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My March started on Feb 23rd because I run my months by my CC statement. So I am 6 days in and I am annoyed with myself. I have spend roughly $100 on groceries already (my monthly spend is $250) and I am not even sure what I bought that added up so quickly. I feel like I need groceries already as I am low on a few key things.
The lesson learned is that when I am really busy with work / social I sometimes don't meal plan as wisely as I should and don't pay enough attention to my purchases. Luckily thanks to updating my budget daily I have been made aware of my oversight and can correct it for the rest of the month.
Back to focusing on meal planning and using up the stores!
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I know the month didn't start until today, but yesterday my win was to make dinner with only ingredients we already had on hand (free salmon in the freezer, some carrots, some parsnips that were in danger of being forgotten until they'd dissolved into a puddle in the drawer).
Then HusbandX and I had a conversation about our old lady dog. Her arthritis is so bad and we're (I'm) going to make an appointment to get her some medication. We'll also most likely be told that, despite regular cleaning, her ears are infected. So, we'll have the cost of the vet appointment and the medication to absorb this month. I doubt our food budget can absorb all of that, so I already know I'll be going over my stated spending goal. On the other hand, keeping our old lady comfortable and happy is worth it. I'd rather do that than save a few extra dollars.
I will figure out more meals like last night's, though, to try to make up somewhat. We'll see what my end of month spending actually ends up as.
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My month has started with some unforeseen expenses - my kid broke his finger, poor guy, so we spent the day getting X-rays and doing doctor visits. Oh well, these things happen. Luckily he isn't in any pain!
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I will try an uber March. I wont count necessary expenses though and an additional expense out of the norm will be my car insurance that will be due, but for everything else I am in.
I have really curtailed my shopping, even groceries, so another challenge will keep me pretty honest.
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No spending today and even sold a book on Amazon. Have plenty of food in fridge. So ready for March!
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Day 1 - $52.03 at Aldi. I'm completely fine with this because I haven't stepped foot in a grocery store since Feb. 11th! I did get a few leftovers from work, and my bf bought and prepared a dinner (with leftovers for lunch). I could get my food budget down but it's actually not bad. And considering that my bf and I hardly ever go out, cooking is entertainment for us. So far this year, I've only gotten take out once (my son stopped by and I wasn't prepared to feed him...) and haven't eaten out at all. Haven't even bought anything at the vending machine at work (which is not even the least bit tempting). I never go out for coffee. So, all my meals are made at home.
I will spend a little next week as my daughter is coming to town for a visit. Nothing fancy but we will probably go out. She's very frugal too so it won't happen much. But then I'm back to my plan.
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Day 1 - $52.03 at Aldi. I'm completely fine with this because I haven't stepped foot in a grocery store since Feb. 11th! I did get a few leftovers from work, and my bf bought and prepared a dinner (with leftovers for lunch). I could get my food budget down but it's actually not bad. And considering that my bf and I hardly ever go out, cooking is entertainment for us. So far this year, I've only gotten take out once (my son stopped by and I wasn't prepared to feed him...) and haven't eaten out at all. Haven't even bought anything at the vending machine at work (which is not even the least bit tempting). I never go out for coffee. So, all my meals are made at home.
I will spend a little next week as my daughter is coming to town for a visit. Nothing fancy but we will probably go out. She's very frugal too so it won't happen much. But then I'm back to my plan.
Good plan Kristen! Sounds like your priorities are in line for you!
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Oh dear, SisterX and Road42, hope dog and kid both are ok and medical expenses not too extensive.
And a warm welcome to those joining us for the first time :-)
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Well, I already had a pretty costly trip to Target, but it's all stuff we really needed.
~$90 for Diapers, Wipes, and a Child-Safety Kit (Cabinet locks, outlet covers, etc.). The 2yo is starting to explore cabinets, and is often seen walking out of the kitchen with his arms wrapped around a box of cereal and a huge grin. Although the cereal isn't a concern, it's the under-the-sink door that I really want to keep closed.
I really didn't need two boxes of diapers, but there was a cartwheel for a $15 gift card if you spend $75 on kids stuff. So, I guess it really only cost me $75 total, once I use the gift card on my next visit.
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Finally made it to the grocery store. $163 for our big beginning of the month restock of staples. We should be good until sometime next week when more milk and vegetables will become necessary.
Time to go pack lunches and snacks for the day and double check our readiness for dinner.
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Day one was good. No spending and I even made $2, woo hoo! lol
Day two is grocery shopping, and it will be spendy, but my kids insist on eating, so there's that.
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3/1 $0 spent
3/2 TBD
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I'm about to spend $45 I didn't budget for.
My SO (live separately) and I both use Nellie's laundry soap. Well Costco has the big 16.6kg tub on sale for $20 off - so $90 with shipping and taxes, which is an awesome deal. We split the tub and it usually lasts us each 2.5 years each!!! We still have some left from our last tub, but this sale rarely happens.
So dang good deal, I have the money, I just didn't budget it, so I might be over my $2000 monthly goal. That's just annoying :)
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Oh dear, SisterX and Road42, hope dog and kid both are ok and medical expenses not too extensive.
Thanks, PJ! Well, he very narrowly avoided needing surgery so yay! But he is in a cast for three weeks on his dominant hand, so boo. Honestly, I'm so relieved about the no surgery (he's only 7, so it would have needed to be general anesthesia), that I don't care at all about the $.
We celebrated with candy bars - on a Target gift card.
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My month is not off to a great start. I paid for dinner out with friends I was visiting, ate lunch out with my kiddo on our drive home today (we needed food but I could have bought sandwiches at a grocery store instead of going to a restaurant), stopped at Starbucks twices (long drive, and I didn't get fancy coffee, but there were certainly less spendy options), and bought a pair of jeans.
Holy smokes.
Now I am thinking ahead to what is coming up this month: getting alignment checked on my car when I take it for scheduled maintenance (I hit a pothole at 40mph in December and want to avoid costly damage to the car from alignment issues), stocking the deep freezer with an order of pastured meat from a local farm, birthday gifts for two of our siblings, paying a babysitter to attend DH's work event. All the more reason to keep an eye on the day-to-day expenses, I suppose.
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My month is not off to a great start. I paid for dinner out with friends I was visiting, ate lunch out with my kiddo on our drive home today (we needed food but I could have bought sandwiches at a grocery store instead of going to a restaurant), stopped at Starbucks twices (long drive, and I didn't get fancy coffee, but there were certainly less spendy options), and bought a pair of jeans.
Holy smokes.
Now I am thinking ahead to what is coming up this month: getting alignment checked on my car when I take it for scheduled maintenance (I hit a pothole at 40mph in December and want to avoid costly damage to the car from alignment issues), stocking the deep freezer with an order of pastured meat from a local farm, birthday gifts for two of our siblings, paying a babysitter to attend DH's work event. All the more reason to keep an eye on the day-to-day expenses, I suppose.
Tee hee. Wouldn't it make more sense to get someone to watch the kids, and you go with DH? *giggle*
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My month is not off to a great start. I paid for dinner out with friends I was visiting, ate lunch out with my kiddo on our drive home today (we needed food but I could have bought sandwiches at a grocery store instead of going to a restaurant), stopped at Starbucks twices (long drive, and I didn't get fancy coffee, but there were certainly less spendy options), and bought a pair of jeans.
Holy smokes.
Now I am thinking ahead to what is coming up this month: getting alignment checked on my car when I take it for scheduled maintenance (I hit a pothole at 40mph in December and want to avoid costly damage to the car from alignment issues), stocking the deep freezer with an order of pastured meat from a local farm, birthday gifts for two of our siblings, paying a babysitter to attend DH's work event. All the more reason to keep an eye on the day-to-day expenses, I suppose.
Tee hee. Wouldn't it make more sense to get someone to watch the kids, and you go with DH? *giggle*
Ha! So true! More fun for me, too, than sitting at home while he had fun.
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Another $24 in groceries: $187 total.
Plus I got coffee and kid drinks out on our long day: $12. Should've made extra and brought a Thermous and stuff for the kids. This weekend I'll plan better.
We also spent ~$50 of our miscellaneous money getting packs of craft supplies for the kids for summer. Should be the only such purchase since it rounds out my stocks. They get to do various art and craft stuff when it's too hot to be outside and we need to work.
I did score a cool freebie. We need some table for our work area so the kids have a place to commit art while we work (and potentially do school while we work some days too). A lady in our homeschool group was getting rid of some furniture and I got two free kids school desks (the steel ones where the table and chair is one unit and there is a cubby for books and supplies). Problem solved with zero cost.
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Instead of going out to the grocery store last night, to pick up fresh produce, I cooked a bunch of stuff (posted in Eat All the Food) using up some produce in the fridge (limp celery) plus onions and some frozen veg.
This morning, coffee and breakfast at home. Accepted email rent payment from basement apartment tenants (subletting from me). The husband had called me in a panic earlier this week - he doesn't have direct deposit at his new job, and hadn't realized they would hold his paycheque. They are great about paying on time, and will send the money early if they get paid a few days before the end of the month, so I reassured him it was fine.
Anyway, with all money in for the month (I get paid monthly, on or around the 25th) I can look at what money needs to be allocated where, and figure out how much I might be able to squeeze out for debt repayment. Got to wait on a couple of bills though, to be sure. Oh, and I should probably think about doing my mileage and reimbursement form for work soon too.
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Ok! I'm ready for March! These threads have been a great source of motivation and accountability for me.
The goals for this month:
1. Continue eating out of my freezer/pantry and keeping my grocery bills low
2. Continue with zero eating out by myself (though I might need to add in a monthly exception for ice cream now that it's getting warmer)
3. Continue being very thoughtful about how I spend my money with regards to all other purchases
4. Continue spending on social activities as needed
March challenge: The last 6 days of March (and first 9 days of April) I'll be on a combination work trip, then vacation, which is going to require spending more money than usual. Luckily, my airfare, hotel, and cruise fare are already paid, so the main expenses will be food and drink, activities, and local transportation/airport parking.
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Anyway, with all money in for the month (I get paid monthly, on or around the 25th) I can look at what money needs to be allocated where, and figure out how much I might be able to squeeze out for debt repayment. Got to wait on a couple of bills though, to be sure. Oh, and I should probably think about doing my mileage and reimbursement form for work soon too.
Gulp. Well, I am really committed now. And I should really do my mileage and reimbursement form.
I got out pen and paper, and listed all my expected expenses for the month. I took a wild stab at estimating my utility bills, and saw that my stretch goal for CC payment was within reach, leaving just over $100 as a buffer, in case I'm wrong about the utility numbers for the month. So I went ahead and made the CC payment.
Will have to keep things really really lean while I wait to see what the bills actually come in at. Uber Frugal, in fact! I've got some cash in my wallet, which should be enough for two partial fill ups at the gas station, and some veeerry select groceries. Which would be easier if I didn't think that I also need to pick up some cat litter this month. I think I will try to make my own bread the next couple of weeks, so I only need to pick up produce and a bit of dairy. Pay day is 3 weeks away!
My reasoning for going ahead, even though it feels too close, is that it will force me to make harder decisions. So far, I haven't been faced with any huge dilemmas. Also, it will push me to do a couple of things that will help in the long run - getting in the practice of submitting my expenses more regularly, for one, and, I really should cancel my gym membership, since I don't actually go. It's not expensive (Planet Fitness) but every little bit helps.
Also, I figured that even if I end up putting an emergency fill-up of gas in the car on the CC, or even a few emergency groceries close to payday, I'll still come out ahead of where I would have if I'd made a more conservative credit card payment. I really want this card done (so that I can start work on the next one!) and this puts me within 2 months of getting it paid off.
The biggest challenge will be that there's no room for social spending. So will have to use my movie gift cards and points, but bring my own snacks, or invite myself over to friends and family's houses, or be able to suggest uber uber frugal options to them...
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Don't be intimidated by making bread PJ. It's not at all bad and it is cheaper and tastes way better!
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PJ I am completely impressed with your commitment. I absolutely get the driving need to pay down debt and you are really making a serious play to do exactly that.
I dont have the opportunity to make overtime pay in my industry but I do have the chance to work extra hours for the next 17 weeks. Regular hours 42.5 and I could work up to about 53.5. I know I will end up very tired at the end, but I am seriously considering pushing myself as much as possible, so I can pay off a massive chunk of debt at the end of June.
Not necessarily relevant specifically to uber March, but your post inspired me to really bust butt.
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Today was successful. Finally made it to the thrift store. Been putting it off for a few months (okay over a year). I hate clothe shopping at the best of times. But I went in when it wasn't busy, actually I had the whole place to myself. Got to chatting with one of the volunteers, apparently we share a love of hats.
I came out with 3 brand new pairs of jeans and 6 awesome tops (and okay 4 books, will be part of hubby's birthday present) I think the Thrift store angels decide to take pity on me and made sure there was some fun clothing that fit me, looks good and came from some actual designers. I had to look them up, I'm clueless, but apparently I got some *really* good deals. Total bill was 36.00. That was because the volunteer was more happy to chat and got bored of looking for price tags so she said: "Oh, how about this much for it?" I had no idea if I was getting a deal or paying more but I figured it was for a good cause. So, I totaled everything up when I got home and it would have been about 56.00 worth.
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Don't be intimidated by making bread PJ. It's not at all bad and it is cheaper and tastes way better!
Thanks Mongoose! I used to make my own bread in the bread maker all the time, actually. So it's more a matter of "unorganized" or "unmotivated" than intimidated.
I don't know what it is exactly. I moved 3.5 years ago, when I changed from one church to another. Yes, there's a difference in job responsibilities and the rhythm of life between the two places, but there are specifically things around the bathroom and kitchen that have not translated from one house to the other. I used to love to take long hot bubble baths as a form of relaxation in the evening (with a book, and a glass of wine or port), but I don't enjoy hanging out in my current bathroom the same way I used to. And I did a lot more cooking in my old place, which, objectively speaking, was actually much harder to cook in! I have WAY more counter space here. But hardly cook or bake at all. I can't decide if it's just that I got out of the habit during the transition period, or if there's something about the layout that and organization of the kitchen that's inhibiting. If it's the latter, I'd happily work to change things around!
LindseyC, thanks so much for your kind words. I am so often inspired by the amazing progress other folks here are making on their finances; I'm so flattered to hear that I inspired you. Having the debt is absolutely exhausting - it's always there. I feel like I can't make progress toward a better future for myself until I clear it, and in the short term, I can't plan anything fun, like travel, because I *should* be putting the money toward debt. I've made progress before, but never stuck with it long enough to see all the debt go away - something always comes up to throw me back, or I just generally lose motivation and momentum. This time has to be different. So yay! Let's really buckle down this month, get ourselves a step or two further along the road, eh?
Once this card is done, I have another card (lower interest rate) plus my LOC. So I'm a long way away from being done completely. But when this card is taken care of, and I make a bit more progress on the other CC, then I can look into some travel hacking stuff so that I can at least go on trips to stay with friends various places. That will help keep me going while I work on the LOC! My best friend moved to Edmonton a few years ago, another very good friend moved to Santa Cruz around the same time. I've been to see them both, but not for a while. And then more recently another good friend moved to Florida. I'd love to go and see her too. And of course, I'm sure there are mustachians around in all of those places, to connect with!
swick, just a quick note to say congrats on the successful thrift trip! 3 pairs of jeans and 6 tops is an awesome trip, and I'm glad you got something for DH's birthday as well. Sounds like the clerk gave you a really good deal!
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Ok, I'm going to do updates on Saturdays.
3/1: $65 (bus pass); $20 (bulk bins rice and beans, will last a while); $10 (Udemy course that I've wanted was discounted); $10 (Netflix renewal); $800 (rent, utilities)
3/2: $0
3/3: $35 (groceries for 7 days)
3/4: $20 (I'm going out with friends for my b-day-- this money will come from gift money but I'm still atoning for it here)
$960/$1300
So far I'm pleased with my results. My b-day is an exception I'm willing to make and my other spending has been thoughtful. I also don't have any expenses on the horizon. Thanks everyone for the motivation!
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I forgot to mention that one thing which might throw us off track: my husband's superpower of Breaking Shit. ...The bike that just needed a new wheel because the chain kicked off and broke three of his spokes a couple of weeks ago.
Too late now, but for future rererence, unless the rim is damaged, spokes are cheap and easy to replace. Not mech harder than changing a tire, which is good, because the tire has to come off to replace the spokes. It's one of those little skills with a high badass quotient.
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I've spent $118 on groceries in the past two days, but should not have to go anywhere near a store for anything but more fruit for my kiddo's snacks for at least a week. I'm now shooting for no-spend days until I pick up my meat order from a local farm on Wednesday.
Swick, that's fabulous thrift store deals! I need to find a time to go deal hunting without my son in tow. Last time I let him pick out a toy right off and it got me a little more time than usual, but his patience for any kind of shopping (other than groceries) is pretty low. It prevents mindless browsing, at least. :-)
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I need to go to Aldi in the morning to get some meat and veggies. It should be a pretty cheap week compared to last week when I bought saffron. I seriously need to grow my own saffron.
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This morning, I got a call from the alarm monitoring station from the church. It didn't seem like the time of day that someone would try to break in, but I couldn't think of who would be there. I told them I'd go over and check it out, and was getting ready to go. Then it occurred to me to check with our cleaning person - he often knows who's planning to come by on a Saturday. Turns out, he was there! Had just been a bit slow getting his code into the alarm, didn't realize it had triggered a notification.
So by calling to check, I saved myself the gas it would have taken to drive over myself. Good to have a Saturday where I didn't leave the house, for a change!
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My Wife and I used to play trivia with some of her friends at a local bar. Then our little boy came along, and we hadn't attended in ~2yrs. So, Friday, the friends contacted us about going to trivia, and we couldn't resist. I definitely could've eaten beforehand, but oh well.
All in all, I spent $33 for the two of us, which was worth it. We also got 3rd place out of 9 teams, so we won a $10 gift card. Looks like we'll be going back sometime soon.
Not Uber Frugal, but I'm OK with it, as long as we only do it once in a while.
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I'm in!
Am trying to find more money to throw at Roth IRAs (or taxable investments if the market has a correction) in March so we'll have to make frugal choices to find extra.
Goals:
-Cancel my Sephora Play subscription (my 10 dollar treat to myself - but I can do without for a couple of months)
-Convince DH to take dinners in addition to lunches on nights when he has to work late
- Keep all food spending under 500 for the month (am also doing eat all the food in your house challenge to help with this)
-Keep gas/electric under $90 for the month
- Put off haircuts until April
If I can do all of these things I can find a few hundred bucks to throw at investments.
Sidenote- leftcoastenvy - I lived in Hillsborough for several years and it broke my heart to move. I think it is one of the loveliest small towns in the world!
oof-
Well I cancelled my sephora play subscription - hurray PLUS 10!
But I ended up in the emergency room on March 1st with what ended up being my first ever Migraine which had me passing out and vomiting (hence the trip to the emergency room). So good goodbye thousands of dollars there :)
Also my 9x13 pyrex exploded in the oven so goodbye $75 bucks to the appliance guy to take apart the oven for cleaning. We tried to clean it ourselves but after several hours and still finding shards and not being comfortable messing with the gas line we just paid someone who knew what they were doing.
But back to the positive - we are on track for $500 dollar grocery spending, DH has not bought any dinners out yet this month and the bizarrely warm temperatures mean we haven't turned our heat on for days so we're also still on track for low utilities.
Just because we blew our budget on March 1 doesn't mean we can't still be careful with everything else :)
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We're doing good at keeping our grocery spending low. I'll need milk (the kiddos go through a lot) and a couple of other things this week but it should be a small trip.
Made a turkey yesterday that I bought on sale after the holidays and stashed in the freezer plus a ton of vegetables. Busy week for me this week so I wanted to get ahead on the cooking. Everyone should have sufficient food for most of the week without me having to do much. I need to make pizza tomorrow (from stuff I have) so we can keep not eating out for lunches (the turkey was a small one so it will only do dinners for my super hungry crowd).
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I'm in!
Am trying to find more money to throw at Roth IRAs (or taxable investments if the market has a correction) in March so we'll have to make frugal choices to find extra.
Goals:
-Cancel my Sephora Play subscription (my 10 dollar treat to myself - but I can do without for a couple of months)
-Convince DH to take dinners in addition to lunches on nights when he has to work late
- Keep all food spending under 500 for the month (am also doing eat all the food in your house challenge to help with this)
-Keep gas/electric under $90 for the month
- Put off haircuts until April
If I can do all of these things I can find a few hundred bucks to throw at investments.
Sidenote- leftcoastenvy - I lived in Hillsborough for several years and it broke my heart to move. I think it is one of the loveliest small towns in the world!
oof-
Well I cancelled my sephora play subscription - hurray PLUS 10!
But I ended up in the emergency room on March 1st with what ended up being my first ever Migraine which had me passing out and vomiting (hence the trip to the emergency room). So good goodbye thousands of dollars there :)
Also my 9x13 pyrex exploded in the oven so goodbye $75 bucks to the appliance guy to take apart the oven for cleaning. We tried to clean it ourselves but after several hours and still finding shards and not being comfortable messing with the gas line we just paid someone who knew what they were doing.
But back to the positive - we are on track for $500 dollar grocery spending, DH has not bought any dinners out yet this month and the bizarrely warm temperatures mean we haven't turned our heat on for days so we're also still on track for low utilities.
Just because we blew our budget on March 1 doesn't mean we can't still be careful with everything else :)
Ouch, sorry about your month. I hope you are feeling better
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Alright, I got the gym membership cancelled.
Electric bill was down 30 this month thanks to the changes we made in Jan/Feb (that's 360 annually!!!). I hope it will be even lower this month as our new normal since today begins a new month of all my changes taken into account (no clothes dryer, LED's, and unplugging old vintage freezer). Keeping heat at 64 and no one still has noticed. I also sold aforementioned vintage freezer over the weekend on Craigslist, so I now have my money for new bedroom curtains! Just waiting on free shipping code to pop up now to order. I think our Ting bill will come I'm at 40 this month total for both phones (a few months ago it was about 90). I think 40 is about the best we can do there.
Grocery budget in check. I confess we bought bottle of wine over weekend and even ordered pizzas that cost 25 (but lasted 4 meals).
I need to call Verizon about lowering bundle package. Also put maybe 1 thing on Craigslist or ebay. Those are my only goals this week. Here's to a boring financial week!!!
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StarBright, so glad you are ok, on both fronts. Both of which seem like ok places to have spent some money...
But you're right! Back on track now, on the double! :-P
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Goals:
-Cancel my Sephora Play subscription (my 10 dollar treat to myself - but I can do without for a couple of months)
I should do this too! It's only $10.95/mo, but there isn't really an "only" when it comes to uber frugal months, I think! I originally kept this expense because I've banned myself from all makeup/skincare purchases until I totally run out of some product (I have 15 lipsticks, so…I basically shouldn't buy lipstick for the next 3 years, easily)…anyways, I was thinking the Sephora subscription would be a cute little thing to give me some variety in an inexpensive way. But I don't really use the products they send me…
If it helps, I dont look at expenses on monthly basis. It costs over 130 dollars a year for something you don't fully use. Wouldn't you rather save it for a beauty item you want instead that you would actually use?
Thanks for the encouragement. This framing honestly made a huge difference for me. $130 is enough to buy quite a few nice things, too. Canceled my subscription.
What also helped was looking at my Spotify subscription ($9.99/month, but I spend 2 hours/day listening to music)! It's about the same cost but brings me much more joy and utility…
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StarBright, so sorry to hear what's been happening to you. Hope the rest of March goes more smoothly!
Also, I think it's not about "how much did you buy?" at the end of an Uber Frugal Month, but "how much did you not buy?" Continuing to be frugal in all kinds of tiny ways helps too!
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Goals:
-Cancel my Sephora Play subscription (my 10 dollar treat to myself - but I can do without for a couple of months)
I should do this too! It's only $10.95/mo, but there isn't really an "only" when it comes to uber frugal months, I think! I originally kept this expense because I've banned myself from all makeup/skincare purchases until I totally run out of some product (I have 15 lipsticks, so…I basically shouldn't buy lipstick for the next 3 years, easily)…anyways, I was thinking the Sephora subscription would be a cute little thing to give me some variety in an inexpensive way. But I don't really use the products they send me…
Yay for you on canceling Play! I have to admit I am sad to not be getting my delivery this month but I've done it for about 8 months and have more makeup than I'll use.
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Another $117 in groceries: $304 total. We may need a bit more milk and vegetables next week but otherwise should be good for the rest of the month...maybe? Is that possible? * We're currently $396 under budget. $300 under budget would be spectacular as I could use the extra to cover our trip.
I spent $35 on kids clothes yesterday (big sale). I think we may have enough for summer although one or both kids might need a few pairs of shorts. I mainly got a few things in larger sizes yesterday that were marked down to $1 for shirts, $3 for pants. They each did get a bathrobe for $5. They've been asking for one for awhile but I waited for a >50% off sale.
*Edited to add: it occurred to me after typing this that we've been eating a lot of our meat from our freezer stocks which is helping a lot. Plus we seem to be less hungry after switching to meat-vegetables. The kids are still eating the same things though (and eat as much as we do already).
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Well, we are 8 days into March and I haven't bought a thing besides groceries and the necessities. So far, so good. While my groceries haven't been uber frugal, compared to what I was buying, it is pretty damn good. I think I am finally gaining a bit control in my spending. It is getting easier sidestepping temptation. I don't really keep track of expenses, but I think I may in April just out of curiosity.
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I need to call Verizon about lowering bundle package. Also put maybe 1 thing on Craigslist or ebay. Those are my only goals this week. Here's to a boring financial week!!!
Done. Even listed 2 big ticket items on Craigslist for $300 total.
ETA: Cut 150 annually off cable bill by opting out off some additional packages to offset a discount that ended (cable is DH's cable, so no comments needed :0) I didn't have cable till we moved in together. I am going to try Sling when this contract expires to see if he is up for it with sports).
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We had an Uber Frugal MMM Meet-Up in Toronto last night. We met at a downtown office building underground food court seating area after work, and everyone brought snacks to share. I even brought my coffee in a thermos, and parked at the subway and rode transit down instead of driving the whole way! I brought veggies to share, but what's left of them from last night (plus the parts I didn't take) will be my fresh veggies for the week - tomato and cucumber and red pepper.
Proof that it's possible to have inexpensive gatherings, as long as you're with like-minded folks!
There had been talk of people bringing games, but we just ended up sitting around and chatting, getting to know each other or getting to know each other better.
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3/1: $25 beers at bar (spouse)
3/2: $16.41 fast food (spouse)
3/3: $0
3/4: $0
3/5: $0
3/6: $27.99 printer ink (business expense)
$166.33 groceries
$106.16 clothing + snacks at Target
$11.69 prescription
3/7: $5 groceries
The clothing was four pairs of pants for my husband. We always have trouble finding good pants used and since my husband's time is very limited he went straight to Target instead of digging through the racks at a thrift store first. And, kids + Target = buying snacks, an equation I apparently haven't beaten yet. Good thing I generally avoid going there.
I had to shake off another "wantiness" attack. It all started because I had a couple of items one could say I legitimately need. My daughter cut herself on our hanging shower shelf because the white coating is falling off and the metal beneath is rusted. Seems like a reasonable purchase to replace it. Also, we like to have a lid on our kitchen trash can so we're not inviting critters in, but we've just been using a cutting board as a lid with a cast iron pot on top to weigh it down. This is frustrating to use and it seems like a reasonable purchase to replace it. Sounds like a trip to IKEA is in order. Suddenly, in my mind I start going through all the other "reasonable" and "useful" household items I "need" from IKEA. Oh boy. That list is adding up. Now I can't be trusted to go to IKEA!
Somehow, we managed to live without these things just fine a few days ago.
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I could see replacing a dangerous shower rack. Can you limit yourself to just that?
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I could see replacing a dangerous shower rack. Can you limit yourself to just that?
Yes, replace the shower rack.
I would go for a kitchen trashcan with a lid too. It wouldn't be terribly expensive, and it'd save you so much hassle.
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I had to shake off another "wantiness" attack. It all started because I had a couple of items one could say I legitimately need. My daughter cut herself on our hanging shower shelf because the white coating is falling off and the metal beneath is rusted. Seems like a reasonable purchase to replace it. Also, we like to have a lid on our kitchen trash can so we're not inviting critters in, but we've just been using a cutting board as a lid with a cast iron pot on top to weigh it down. This is frustrating to use and it seems like a reasonable purchase to replace it. Sounds like a trip to IKEA is in order. Suddenly, in my mind I start going through all the other "reasonable" and "useful" household items I "need" from IKEA. Oh boy. That list is adding up. Now I can't be trusted to go to IKEA!
Somehow, we managed to live without these things just fine a few days ago.
My advice is to go to IKEA at a time when you have a limit to how long you can spend there. If you only have time to go in, get the 2 things you need, pay and get out, then you are less likely to pick up extra stuff.
I'm using this technique myself. Right now, while I'm limiting my grocery spending to mostly produce, it makes sense for me to go to Walmart at 10:15/10:30 at night, when they close at 11. This gives me only 20 minutes or so before I want to be getting into the line, and stops me from wandering aimlessly up and down all the aisles in search of other good *bargains* that I don't really need. But gives me *just* enough time that if I need to grab something from a particular aisle, I can do that.
(Note: I realize that some of you might do a whole big grocery shop in 20 minutes. But I am a slow shopper, picking through the apples to find the right one, turning over the clamshells of berries to check for any moldy ones, etc. A full-on shop, price matching, and especially if I don't have a list, can certainly take me an hour.)
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Yeah, just coming here and fessing up to my covetousness helps put the brakes on. I will safely only buy my two items now ;)
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Yeah, just coming here and fessing up to my covetousness helps put the brakes on. I will safely only buy my two items now ;)
Accountability FTW!
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Grocery spending so far has been good. We're at $310 for the month since we restocked our freezer with meat. I originally set a goal of $600 for the month with this in mind, but I'm rethinking that and maybe I should aim for $550 instead.
Confession, since we are on the subject: I bought a fancy hanging shower organizer last month. It was $40 but very solidly built, fits snugly over the neck of the shower head, has suction cups to keep it from shifting, is adjustable for different size bottles. All three of us share one bathroom and keeping things organized, and out of toddler reach but still accessible was proving to be annoying. I justified it as a BIFL type of purchase, which is silly since it's a shower organizer! Face punch away! :-)
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Mid Week Update!
3/5: $11 (movie theater, caved b/c friends, but saw Get Out which was def a big screen movie!)
3/6: $0
3/7: $0
3/8: $0
3/9: $0
Woo! On track. This week I've planned out frugal meals for the next few weeks. A mini frugal win has been stretching my natural mascara (my only makeup weakness other than good sunscreen). It's drying out so I let it sit in bowl of hot water then added a few drops of coconut oil. Should last a few more weeks!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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(Note: I realize that some of you might do a whole big grocery shop in 20 minutes. But I am a slow shopper, picking through the apples to find the right one, turning over the clamshells of berries to check for any moldy ones, etc. A full-on shop, price matching, and especially if I don't have a list, can certainly take me an hour.)
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Always shop with a list, and don't shop while hungry are always rules 1 or 2 on every frugality advice source. Although, if you've perfected the MMM middle-finger method, maybe you don't need a list.
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My month starts on the 23rd of each month, so today I am half way through my March and I am $275 over my $2000 budget goal. Some of my overage was worth it.
1. I bought a $90 tub of laundry detergent that will last me just over 2.5 years (as well as my boyfriends household) so that expense doesn't happen frequently and I couldn't pass up a $20 discount even though I still have some left in my last tub. Altogether with the remainder I still have, I'm good for 3 years.
2. I stocked up on 3 months of cat food because of a great sale.
3. Paid for the online software to do my taxes.
4. Where I blew it. $46 on eating out and $118 on household items (none of them were essential)
The good news, I'm getting $235 back on my taxes and I have a few clothing items I am selling that will earn me at least $100. I am also debating selling a MCM credenza I was going to refinish, I really like it but I'm questioning whether it fits the room I was going to put it in. I bought it for $25 (which also included an upright dresser which I have already sold for $100) so it's pure profit.
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(Note: I realize that some of you might do a whole big grocery shop in 20 minutes. But I am a slow shopper, picking through the apples to find the right one, turning over the clamshells of berries to check for any moldy ones, etc. A full-on shop, price matching, and especially if I don't have a list, can certainly take me an hour.)
RecordScratch.wav
Always shop with a list, and don't shop while hungry are always rules 1 or 2 on every frugality advice source. Although, if you've perfected the MMM middle-finger method, maybe you don't need a list.
Yeah, I usually don't have a list because I'll be coming home at 9:30 at night and passing by where I need to turn off to go to the store and remember that I have no fruit, or no bread, or no milk, or no coffee at home. So I go shopping, cause the grocery store is open to 11. But yeah I never said I was perfect!
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Can you keep your list in your purse...like on a little spiral notebook or something. I do that because if I don't have my list, I only buy things that I remember on the list or wander for a bit and buy nothing because I can't remember what I need. No list to shop from = anxiety. I'm more inclined to get "extra" stuff when I have my list; I guess because I'm more relaxed.
Should have a no spend weekend. Spent $20 yesterday on my contacts and $11 on dinner for myself (working late and failed to pack food for myself). I only anticipate needing some milk and maybe a few veggies this month. DH has a short business trip so we'll probably cover the food out for that. Since we're so far under budget, I feel pretty comfortable giving him $50-60. Some of his meals might get covered so hopefully some of the money will return. I'm going to make pizza to take with us to DD's after choir concert pizza party next weekend (she can't eat gluten so we have to bring our own). If I plan well and pack coffee, we might have a no spend week* which would be awesome.
*I don't count gas for cars or medical co-pays because they are constant, regular, and necessary.
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Can you keep your list in your purse...like on a little spiral notebook or something. I do that because if I don't have my list, I only buy things that I remember on the list or wander for a bit and buy nothing because I can't remember what I need. No list to shop from = anxiety. I'm more inclined to get "extra" stuff when I have my list; I guess because I'm more relaxed.
I have a notepad app on my phone. No need for data or anything. This way I can make the list and I know I've always got it with me when necessary. Also, super easy to take stock of the pantry/fridge/freezer. I keep a running tally of things roughly categorized into "stock up when on sale/at the cheapest store" and "things for meals this week".
I also meal plan based on what we've got in the house and what our schedule will be like, and I keep a different note about meals I can make based on what we have available. That way there's no real question of, "What's for dinner tonight?" and it's incredibly flexible.
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YMMV, but I just don't find the need for a list. I'm only one person, and because I get fed through work quite a lot, my grocery shops are never that huge. And I don't have a meal plan (and don't plan to start), so I'm looking for things that will generally go with other things that I already have at home, and look interesting to make in the near-ish future.
Then too, I'm price matching, and don't necessarily know whether I'll find the item listed at Store A, when I go to Store W, where I shop. So my store flyers for Stores A-F kind of function as my grocery list, but then I expand my meal ideas sometimes, by some wandering up and down the aisles browsing to see what they have.
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I was all gung ho about going uber frugal this month, but then I fell off the posting wagon, and now have only come back to shame-facedly admit that because I totally failed to check my Amazon subscriptions on time, I'm about to be the proud recipient of a bunch of stuff I don't actually need. So, I'm really not feeling like I'm living up to my frugal aspirations. When the paper towels and whatever comes in the mail, I'll see if I can return them somehow, although then I think I'll be out shipping (and I'm not completely sure whether you can return the subscription things). Grr, I need to be better about checking my email rather than boycotting my computer.
On the plus side, I haven't spent any thoughtless money on anything, and I've quit my daily Coke habit entirely. Not as unhealthy as a daily coke habit would have been, but certainly something I am better off without.
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I was all gung ho about going uber frugal this month, but then I fell off the posting wagon, and now have only come back to shame-facedly admit that because I totally failed to check my Amazon subscriptions on time, I'm about to be the proud recipient of a bunch of stuff I don't actually need. So, I'm really not feeling like I'm living up to my frugal aspirations. When the paper towels and whatever comes in the mail, I'll see if I can return them somehow, although then I think I'll be out shipping (and I'm not completely sure whether you can return the subscription things). Grr, I need to be better about checking my email rather than boycotting my computer.
On the plus side, I haven't spent any thoughtless money on anything, and I've quit my daily Coke habit entirely. Not as unhealthy as a daily coke habit would have been, but certainly something I am better off without.
If these are things that you will need eventually (I assume subscription items would be those you use regularly) I would definitely not pay shipping to send them back. Just chalk it up to experience, dust yourself off, and get back on the horse again! :-)
Now, I myself am having strong shopping urges today. I have not been exposing myself to flyers or emailed coupons or anything, but my mind keeps straying to the idea of visiting Michael's. I'm not going to do it, just logging the thought, trying to figure out where it's coming from ...
Possible explanations:
1. I drew down my bank account pretty low this month, and leaving myself little money to spend. There could be a rebellious reaction to that going on, or it could be triggering my "I don't have a lot of money, I need to find some bargains" line of thinking.
2. I've been spending my personal time lately online (here!) rather than more creative/rejuvenating outlets. That's partly because my creative area is a mess, to say the least. And I don't have the emotional energy to tackle it until I get some time off. In the past, I've sometimes (often!) substituted shopping for creativity supplies, for actually doing the creative stuff. Is that what's happening here?
3. .... (still thinking)
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Goals:
Food spending total of $200 or less (avg for last 6 mos or so has been ~$410; I think the cut will be achievable through better planning, reducing waste, cooking at home more, and the fact that I'm slowly transitioning to a vegetarian diet)
"Fun" spending total of $300 or less (avg for last 6 mos has been $807 a month)
Have fallen off the wagon **about posting, but cautiously optimistic about hitting my goals right now:
44 of 200 spent for food (mitigating factors: got a target gift card from trading in some FF miles that I used for some groceries, which I don't count in my spending)
85 of 300 spent for fun/misc purchases
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I'm in for Uber Frugal March!
Last month was very spendy so having support from everyone in this forum to cut down on unnecessary expenses is very welcome and needed!
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Hi MissPiggy! Glad to have you with us!
But screw those cup of soup things, they're too expensive! And if you're eating baked beans on toast, you'd better have made the baked beans, and the bread too!
Just kidding! Though baked beans are actually super easy to make, even from dried beans. A bunch of hours in a low-med temp oven, with onions and molasses and ketchup and mustard powder and water. Yum! I made some just last week, and bread is on my to-do list to help with keeping my groceries low until next payday on March 25.
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So, my utility bills got here nice and early this month, and having my downstairs tenants away for a couple of weeks, plus all my frugal utility use (turning down the heat a bit while they were away, hanging clothes to dry, at least partly, turning out the lights while lounging around in the evening and just lighting some of my large stock of candles, etc.) made an obvious difference in the gas and electricity bills. I've also kept my grocery spending to a minimum, and am doing pretty well with gas for the car - still have a half tank left.
I get paid again in exactly 2 weeks. So I started doing the math. I thought I was leaving myself $100 buffer, accounting for all possible bills and what I thought was reasonable in spending money. But if my bills and spending have been lower than expected, how much money was I really leaving idle? Ran the numbers a couple of times to make sure, then went ahead and put an additional 135.00 toward my CC. This leaves things much closer to the bone. I have about $40 for groceries and possibly a little social spending, and about $40 for gas for the car. Other than that, I left enough money to cover one more possible bill that might come in, and about $23 buffer in the account in case I've underestimated that bill a bit. CC #1 is now at $1,750. I may not be able to squeeze enough out of my March paycheque to cover that, since I will have some essentials to purchase, but I should be able to get it done with the April one! Month and a half away!
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Go PJ. Getting out from under the credit card companies is fantastic!
Everyone's posts here are inspiring.
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Nice, PJ!
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Thanks everyone! I just need to keep on keeping on! Lather, rinse, repeat!
On that note, I think I posted like a week ago about needing to submit my expenses again, but I haven't done it yet. I get a little money toward my phone, plus reimbursements for things I have to purchase in the course of my job. I did host a couple of meetings recently, so have some receipts to put through for the refreshments, as well as the March phone money and my mileage.
I'll go do that now...
Oh! But before I do, a little story about getting the refreshments for my meeting last Thursday. I didn't really have any money in my wallet, and was supposed to provide the drinks (coffee/tea/juice) for the inter-faith group that was coming to meet at my church. The coordinator of the group provides the food, so it was only drinks that I had to worry about. I almost decided to go to the bank to take money out. But then I counted up the change in my wallet, and I had $3.75. Hmm. So, I asked the people organizing the Seniors Lunch earlier in the day if I could get them to keep their excess coffee and tea and milk and sugar for me, and then I stopped and got a couple of litres of juice, for $1.25 each. It's a small group, and that was plenty, with some juice and snacks left over, which I gave to the after-school program that rents our parish hall.
I ended up going to the bank on Friday anyway, but if I'd had more money in my wallet when I stopped to pick up the juice, I would have been tempted to buy more variety and some extra snacks unnecessarily.
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Hi MissPiggy! Glad to have you with us!
But screw those cup of soup things, they're too expensive! And if you're eating baked beans on toast, you'd better have made the baked beans, and the bread too!
Just kidding! Though baked beans are actually super easy to make, even from dried beans. A bunch of hours in a low-med temp oven, with onions and molasses and ketchup and mustard powder and water. Yum! I made some just last week, and bread is on my to-do list to help with keeping my groceries low until next payday on March 25.
Yum! You know your beans! I might just need to fly over to have a taste... although that wouldn't be very mustachian...
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Hi MissPiggy! Glad to have you with us!
But screw those cup of soup things, they're too expensive! And if you're eating baked beans on toast, you'd better have made the baked beans, and the bread too!
Just kidding! Though baked beans are actually super easy to make, even from dried beans. A bunch of hours in a low-med temp oven, with onions and molasses and ketchup and mustard powder and water. Yum! I made some just last week, and bread is on my to-do list to help with keeping my groceries low until next payday on March 25.
Yum! You know your beans! I might just need to fly over to have a taste... although that wouldn't be very mustachian...
LOL! No, not really, eh?!?!
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We often do a "low spend" January (which nicely follows our gluttonous December...the kids don't need anything and I surely need to cut back on the eating and drinking at that point, my main weak points) and I'm sure many on this thread have done extra-Frugal months before. So what difference does everyone generally see in their overall spending for the month? I've noticed for us its generally about a 20% reduction in overall spending compared to our average, which probably shows how much fluff is in our regular spending...
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...I will definitely be back in for April. Took this month off for my firstandonlyborn kiddo's birthday :) Nothing extravagant (in fact the only thing he asked for is around $20) but I also celebrate myself - take time off work, reflect on being a mama, and maybe even get some wine or *gasp* coffee out. Both of those usually occur but I don't know if I can actually break my streak of not buying coffee!
Checking in here for motivation in the meantime - as always, lots of great work being done 'round here!
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We often do a "low spend" January (which nicely follows our gluttonous December...the kids don't need anything and I surely need to cut back on the eating and drinking at that point, my main weak points) and I'm sure many on this thread have done extra-Frugal months before. So what difference does everyone generally see in their overall spending for the month? I've noticed for us its generally about a 20% reduction in overall spending compared to our average, which probably shows how much fluff is in our regular spending...
I participated in Uber Frugal February and reduced by 20%! And it was more of a Fairly Frugal February, all things considered. I was very strict in some categories, like food costs and transportation (both reduced by 30%) and less so elsewhere (new running shoes, new home goods where I bought a pricier version than strictly necessary). I think an Uber Frugal Month could shave off an additional 12%…so being frugal makes a 32% difference in my budget?
Important to note here that I'm single, young, no kids—so it's easy for me to shave away at my budget because there are few necessary expenses, and many discretionary ones. And I currently have many discretionary expenses to pare down.
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Sold a porch set on CL today. $180 in my pocket and a ton of room in basement cleared out!!!!! Someone may be coming for a coffee table tomorrow for $90.
Bought some extra groceries in light of blizzard coming this way, but I walked there for a liitle exercise . Also I started Whole30 today, so I expect our food bill will be different.
Our water bill came in the lowest since we lived here, so that officially makes every single utility has decreased since Uber Frugal January to the tune of about $1,000+ a year collectively in utility savings with my various money saving activities. :0)))))
I am going to list 2 more things on CL/ebay this upcoming week for frugal activities (and side benefit of decluttering).
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Today, someone gave me a cash gift that I wasn't expecting. I went immediately to the bank and applied it to CC#1. I also submitted my reimbursement sheet to the Treasurer, so should receive a cheque sometime this week. Also earmarked for CC payment.
That got me wondering whether I was actually possibly maybe within shouting distance of being able to pay off CC#1 with my next paycheque after all...
So, I've just spent the last hour adding and re-adding columns of numbers, as well as doing things like counting pills (pet meds) to be sure what I will and won't have to pick up with this month's paycheque. Have I mentioned how hard I find it to get paid only once a month? It requires such a fine level of detail when you're trying to allocate down to the last penny. Bottom line, I think it might be doable, though it might end up being heart-poundingly tight! For example, I will give my cat the last of one of his pills right on payday!
I'll re-calculate when the paycheque comes in, but in the meantime, it's good that I'm committed to Uber Frugal March, because I want to be uber careful with my money, to give myself the best possible chance. And I guess you can count on me for Uber Frugal April too!
Actually, I know I CAN do it, but it would require doing something that I don't want to do. CC#2, which is a lower interest rate card, has my cable/phone/internet bill charge to it automatically. Each month, I make sure that my payment for CC#2 equals the Bell bill + interest + a little extra, so that balance doesn't grow, and actually shrinks a teeny bit. If, at the end of this month, I make only a minimum payment (i.e. only the interest plus a little bit extra) then I would certainly have the wiggle room to pay CC#1 fully. Given the interest rate differential, that would actually make sense. But I hate the idea of seeing CC#2's balance actually grow, just for the sake of paying CC#1. Hopefully it won't come to that!
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PJ - I don't know how much interest we are talking about, but your carefulness makes me nervous for something going wrong and you need the money. How many days away are you from next check? I remember these date pay off days so well!
Awesome you got a gift too....great job in getting over to cc#1 ASAP.
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Have I mentioned how hard I find it to get paid only once a month? It requires such a fine level of detail when you're trying to allocate down to the last penny. Bottom line, I think it might be doable, though it might end up being heart-poundingly tight! For example, I will give my cat the last of one of his pills right on payday!
It is tricky getting paid monthly especially in the first month when switching from fortnightly or weekly to monthly, and budgeting for the time difference. I have multiple bank accounts for everyday spending, bills and savings which automatically schedule transfers for all my bills and savings and the remainder is grocery money + spending money for the month. It helps a lot removing all the bills automatically and only seeing what you have left to spend.
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PJ... I would personally just pay the minimum on the lower interest card and get the big one gone. for. good. Would it help to think of it as transferring the last remaining bit on high interest card to low interest card? Because that's what you would be doing...but in a frugal way because you're avoiding the 3% balance transfer fee. ;-)
It looks like we're going to come in at around 40% down on grocery spending this month. It's not sustainable because we've been eating out of our freezer stocks but helps right now. We had a potentially ridiculous amount of food reserves.
One time when DH was teaching (our only income at the time), he got paid for 3 months all at once. It was horrible. I decided to prepay all our bills (mortgage, insurance, electricity, etc.) for all 3 months so the money wouldn't just float away. Had a devil of a time getting the companies to accept overpayments. The mortgage was especially problematic since they wanted to apply a one-time overpayment and I wanted to pay 3 regular payments...just well before their due dates. It ended up being fairly amusing by the time I got to the last stop and had to explain, yet again, that I was paying ahead on purpose. I also withdrew our grocery budget in cash and separated into into envelopes so we would have a steady stream of grocery money. The amount of planning it took to pay those bills was exhausting.
Oh...and definitely count me in for uber frugal April. Our tax return is half what I was expecting. Totally fine but we have some savings to do to make up for that.
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DH getting paid monthly is a big part of what brought me to MMM, I'm pretty sure (although I don't remember for sure how I ended up here, hah). It definitely can be hard for budgeting, especially when you fly with low numbers! And our income can be hugely variable. (Less so now, but when DH was low man on the totem pole? Feast or famine wages!) Definitely a balancing act, but in some ways I consider it a gift, because it *necessitated* us paying super close attention to our spending. Silver lining =)
Spending has been higher on alcohol than I like, but we've been doing fairly well on groceries and restaurants. Several no spend days. The restaurants are low in spite of going out *three times* this month. One was on a gift card I had, and needed to use up because it was for a city where we no longer live. The other two times were BIL and then MIL/FIL taking us out for my birthday =) Although we just got an appetizer and a drink on BIL's dime, he doesn't make enough to treat us but it's thoroughly his love language. Which reminds me, I need to do better with gifts for him- gifts are definitely not my love language, and I suck at/forget to give them. Total side tangent there.
So much is plugging along at 'fairly frugal'. We aren't going full bore on groceries, but are trying to keep things low overall.
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I recently came to the conclusion that I need to tighten my frugal belt for a little bit as sort of a detox. My budget has been inching up and it's time to tighten the reins a bit so I don't lose those frugal muscles. I know it's the middle of the month already but I'm going to commit to a no-spend week to get back on track. This month has actually been really good for us anyway so far so my remaining goals for the month are:
1. No going out to eat.
2. No spend week starting today.
3. No miscellaneous purchases for the rest of the month only needs- ie bills, mortgage, and groceries. I'd also like to spend less than $100 on remaining groceries for the month.
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nottoolatetostart, very sweet of you to worry for me. My carefulness probably has more to do with anxiety about whether I have forgotten anything, and a lack of confidence in my financial skillz, than any real likelihood that I could run into trouble. Really, worst comes to worst (shhh ... don't tell the face punching type of mustachians!) I could put anything I need onto my credit card, if I had to. And I get paid on or nearest business day to the 25th of each month, so a little ways to go, but I should be just fine.
MissPiggy, LOL at the google search. Yes! The highs and lows of monthly pay, when you can't or don't want to keep a good size buffer in the account, can feel much like that!
Mongoose, yikes about the significantly lower tax return than expected! Also, funny you tell the story about DH and trying to pay things 3 months in advance. I was reflecting on the fact that before I started working for the church, back when I was getting paid every two weeks, I actually used to pay things that way. The utility type bills naturally split themselves into those that came earlier in the month, and those that came later, plus I even paid my rent bi-weekly instead of monthly. My father was my landlord, so he didn't really care how it came in to him, as long as it all worked out right over the course of the year. But yes, your suggestion to think of it like a balance transfer is Uber Uber Helpful! That's what I will do, if I don't think that I can manage paying both CC#1 in its entirety, plus CC#2 monthly charges plus minimum payment.
But, I am feeling more and more confident that I'll be able to make it. Because today, I was very productive on little financial tasks...
1. I stopped by the gym that I have never gone to and cancelled my membership (it hadn't opened yet at the time I signed up for the membership, but then life got in the way by the time it did open, and I still have never gone and it is just ridiculous but I don't see myself starting anytime soon, so boom! Cancel!) That means paying a little bit less this month (before my next pay) and a little bit less (leaving more room for bill payments) on next pay.
2. I submitted an expense form for a couple of prescriptions. Not very expensive ones, but almost $50.
3. I submitted an expense form for Continuing Ed account for books I bought a few months ago. Another $60 or so?
I was remembering that I should also be getting a cheque for a $10 rebate on dog/cat food that I sent off at the end of 2016. Every little bit helps, right?
I also mailed off requests for a free copy of my credit report, from both Equifax and TransUnion. I intend to apply soon for a new CC with a balance transfer / 0% interest rate offer, but I have been wanting to check my report before I do. Besides, it's been a while since I've reviewed my credit report, and that's something that's good to do periodically!
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We often do a "low spend" January (which nicely follows our gluttonous December...the kids don't need anything and I surely need to cut back on the eating and drinking at that point, my main weak points) and I'm sure many on this thread have done extra-Frugal months before. So what difference does everyone generally see in their overall spending for the month? I've noticed for us its generally about a 20% reduction in overall spending compared to our average, which probably shows how much fluff is in our regular spending...
I don't know exactly since I prepaid many expenses early and also normally take a big hit since property taxes, home insurance (I don't escrow taxes and insurance), and auto insurance all due. But what I can say is that today is March 14, I have very few bills yet to pay this year since we prepaid quite a few and we are only 5 paychecks in the year (21 to go!).
We cancelled gym, downsized life insurance (saving 500 a year), made some efficient changes in utilities (see my previous posts) to save about $1,000 annually, sold stuff on ebay, Amazon and Craigslist to pay for indulgences (like new living room curtain rod, bedroom curtains, kids school outings, LED lights for kitchen chandelier). Our restaurant expenses totals less today at $86 in 2.5 months than maybe what we previously would have spent in 1 week. We have filled 1 car two times in the last 2.5 months with gas (with almost a full tank still to go) and are considering going down to 1 car. We walk everywhere, so we are healthier. Travel hacked our way to what would have been an expensive wedding this year (retail value >$2500, we paid $22 for flight taxes and staying at super fabulous hotel where rest of weddding party is staying for free with points). I even learned to fix my own car battery. This Uber Frugal exercise has really made me more confident in our retirement budget and how we would make it all work. I can't say enough about it.
It has given me clear headness to confidently do Whole30 too because we truly eat in virtually every meal and it is no longer in our option set whether to eat out. So I hope to see some benefits there too.
Yes, totally sign us up for Uber Frugal April. I nominate PJ to kick off our thread. :0)
I feel like I was a slightly fit person before (affordable home, paid for cars, 401k maxed out for years, >60% savings rate) to a fitness ninja thanks to this uber frugal challenge. I expect us to get to 70% savings rate by year end (and I am a SAHM). Love this thread!!!! I can't wait to see other changes
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We are going to deliberately eat out on Thursday. Should be around $30 for the 4 of us. Our schedules are currently super crazy and we decided (after much deliberation) to get dinner out. I'll still pack a picnic lunch but this way we won't need a picnic dinner too. Convenience is going to win this time to keep my schedule from getting unmanageable. I will also pick up a few things at the store that day. Should be our only spending other than gas for the week.
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PJ - you can also get your credit report from creditkarma.ca it's free and uses the info from Transunion but it's instantaneous, no waiting for the mail.
I have sorta blown this month. I am $300 over budget. $150 is for legitimate items I stocked up on to take advantage of sales, the other half was poor planning on my part. The only good news is I got $235 back from my taxes and I have another extra $100 from the government coming in April. While one part of me is annoyed with myself, the other part recognizes I am still making positive progress and I am a paying down debt continuously, just not as fast as I would like to.
The three months of spring are always crazy busy at my job so I should be able to work lots of extra hours. I am just gonna keep on chugging away and recording my spending to keep myself in budget.
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Nottoolatetostart - Those are some pretty awesome and major changes, Way to go!
Updates: In general we have been doing pretty good. Although Hubs just spent 60.00 on a snake camera, too see under the drywall he had to cut away from our finished basement, to see what the hell is happening that would cause water to show up in our closet. I think we are pretty certain that it is not a pipe, and that the drainage around our house sucks. Pretty sure there are a few issues previous owners didn't disclose. So in anticipation of foundation repairs (or moving, if it is cheaper) Uber frugal April, here we come!
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LindseyC, thank you so much for the creditkarma suggestion! I really appreciate it, because I'd heard the company name but didn't know what they did. Assumed it was some kind of "we can help you fix your credit" kind of thing.
I signed up, and got my credit report, which is great because they also show you your credit score. The other places you can get your report, but no score. So, things are about what I'd expected - I'm in the good category, but not excellent. I had a late payment on one of my cards a while back - just lost track of things. Plus, I'm sure that my utilization is a major factor too. Still, should be good enough for me to be able to apply for another card in the next little while, to get a 0% balance transfer for CC#2. That will help me pay it off faster - it's on a "low interest" card, but you know, what I consider low interest, and what the bank considers low interest, are two totally different things! Down the road, I also want to start doing some travel hacking, but that will have to wait until the urgent debt (i.e. CC's) are dealt with first.
In other news, I checked my online banking today, and CC#1 has posted the newest statement. Balance was better than I'd estimated it would be, in terms of how much interest was charged this month, due to my aggressive paying down over the last little while. Also, didn't I just say it? My dog food rebate cheque came in the mail today. Only $10, but I think I will stop by the bank (halfway between home and work) and drop that on CC#1, and maybe add a little bit of the cash that's in my wallet too, to make the stop seem more worthwhile. The closer I get to payday, the more confident I am about estimating how much cash I'll need for gas or food!
nottoolatetostart, you've done some amazing things. Well done! I don't track my spending or savings rates well enough to be able to answer Strick's question about how much change to expect, numerically speaking. But I can track changes in thought patterns, and point to a huge difference in confidence about being able to get.this.done!
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Update!
3/10: $2.75 (hedonistic adaptation, Uber); $42 (groceries from Trader Joe's)
3/11: $11 (drink w/ co-workers); $9 (Uber again.. help me...)
3/12: $0
3/13: $2.75 (Uber, but I had to to take it because I finished work at 2:45 and had a meeting in another building across town at 3:00, and I get paid for participating in this particular set of meetings)
3/14: $0
$1027/$1300
So basically all my unnecessary spending is Uber. I think I may need to just build in a $20 a month budget for this because reasons to use it keep coming up. Once spring hits I may be able to use my bike instead in some of these situations if I can overcome my biking fear. I also did some spending for my upcoming April travel. I needed to purchase a bus ticket, a ferry ticket and a charger adapter. I am not including this in my spend because I took the cash out of my separate travel fund, and basically I can spend this travel fund however I want but once it is empty-- no more travel for me! I'm also considering buying a $900 ticket to Japan for this summer, and using my $550 credit from my Barclaycard, because the tickets are never this cheap! Again, this will come out of my separate travel fund.
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westtoeast, does your area have any slow roll social biking rides? I know some cities also have biking skills days/classes that cover ways to be a more confident commuter.
Minneapolis has a few clubs that offer slow rides with super welcoming people - my monthly ride has a huge mix of skill levels (I am slow slow slow and quite clumsy) and there's always a mechanic tagging along so there are really no barriers to showing up and just riding. It's helped me a TON in general bike handling and knowing how traffic acts in different parts of the cities.
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I failed out of Uber Frugal February, mostly due to losing control of my grocery spending. My next attempt will an Uber Frugal April, when I'll be working too much to spend much money. However, I wanted to cheer all of you on and let you know I'm appreciating your updates! Keep up your great Uber Frugal March!!!
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Fun comparison of 2016 vs 2017:
I'm getting ready to go on my annual vacation. Last year, I spent $320 buying stuff for the trip. This year, I've spent $8.50.
Now to be fair, a lot of the stuff I bought last year I really needed, and am continuing to use (a decent bathing suit, etc.), but it's still fun to think about the contrast!
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That is a great comparison, SquashingDebt. Why do we fall into the "need to shop to travel" trap, do you suppose? I've done it too. Suddenly the clothes that I happily wear around in my normal life, aren't good enough for whatever I am going to do while I'm away. Weird.
SweetRedWine, you're welcome to participate whenever and however you can. We'll look forward to seeing you in Uber Frugal April, but in the meantime, don't hesitate to capture any uber frugal wins you might have this month too, if you want. :-)
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PJ - so excited for your cc paydown, I feel like it's my own. Also, the utilization in credit never goes away (at least here in US). I pay off our cards every week, so maybe when statement closes (due to timing, also have zero interest charges) we owe $200 or whatever compared to our available balances of >$100k (that sounds like a lot of available cc credit)....anyway, I digress.....because of our mortgage (we have no other debt) it always perpetually says we have high utilization. When I worked in process design, we always thought of possible failures and ways to avoid those failures. Your late payment dent will go away, but do you have good systems in place to make sure you NEVER miss a minimum payment again? For example, my credit card companies will send me texts or emails if closing date is approaching and no payment made. I am so excited for you!
Sweetredwine -please join us despite your grocery budget. I think most of us can attest to going over budget in an area, especially groceries, no reason to throw the baby out with the bath water, per se
Squashingdebt - I hate buying stuff before a trip. Great job on reducing that before trip expense. Thats pretty huge
Swick - we could be twins. We too are dealing with some basement water issues.(well the appearance of it coming through cinder blocks). I absolutely now despise dealing with contractors, so hubby's purchase of snake cam sounds well needed. I really wish there was a local mobile truck that could bring tools around to borrow once and then return same day or within a few days. Many times I buy stuff for 1 use and despise that too. Maybe a business idea! Good luck with that...sounds stressful
Lindsey - every time I spend more than expected it always come back to poor planning. Hang in there and is there anything you can do to prevent in future? Anything you can return?
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My own update: super snowy here thanks to storm Stella. Stayed home, made a fire, shoveled sidewalks/driveway yesterday (now sore upper body to show for my 'exercise'), played outside with kids. So Stella made for naturally simple frugal day and will today too. Few cars on road so it was awesome to see how safe it was for people to walk in the streets with all the snow. So lovely!
I have a pork roast in the slow cooker now for whole 30 Chipotle-like fajita bowls for myself and DH wants potato soup, so no need for grocery store. DH got his annual bonus yesterday (it was over 30 percent more than I had budgeted/estimated for) and his employer made a crazy large unexpected contribution to his 401k (like over 5k) yesterday.
March is almost half done!
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Wow! I feel like this thread moves fast. Lots of good updates.
Miss Piggy - I am living for your memes.
PJ - you are doing so great with CC paydown! Well done.
We aren't coming in frugal this month on the big things - Ugh Emergency Room and Taxes :( BUT - we are doing great on the small things. We've only eaten out once for an unplanned emergency and grocery spending is at about is just under $299 so far for the month - and my freezer is stocked! I think I'm going to keep it under $500 for March.
We are also like nottoolatetostart and all of our annual bills hit in the first quarter. After we pay Fed taxes in April everything opens up for us for the rest of the year - I need to sort of remind myself to hang in there for another two months :)
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nottoolatetostart, I'm so excited for you with the good news from DH's employer! That's fantastic stuff and I bet DH feels really valued :-)
StarBright, sorry to hear about emergency rooms and tax hits. Hope all is ok, and that April will be better. Holding the line on the small stuff can help you get through the big stuff, sometimes. :-/
I didn't stop by the bank last night - my work meeting ended really late (after 11). And it's possible (though unlikely) that at tonight's meeting the Treasurer might bring my mileage/reimbursement cheque. So makes some sense to hold off and see - I should be able to make the stop tonight because tonight's meeting isn't as full an agenda.
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westtoeast, does your area have any slow roll social biking rides? I know some cities also have biking skills days/classes that cover ways to be a more confident commuter.
Minneapolis has a few clubs that offer slow rides with super welcoming people - my monthly ride has a huge mix of skill levels (I am slow slow slow and quite clumsy) and there's always a mechanic tagging along so there are really no barriers to showing up and just riding. It's helped me a TON in general bike handling and knowing how traffic acts in different parts of the cities.
Ooh, this is exactly what I need! Googling now. Sounds like a great way to build courage, thanks!
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That is a great comparison, SquashingDebt. Why do we fall into the "need to shop to travel" trap, do you suppose? I've done it too. Suddenly the clothes that I happily wear around in my normal life, aren't good enough for whatever I am going to do while I'm away. Weird.ftp://
This was a really well timed comment for me. I've been stuck at home due to Stella, which means I finally booked my summer travel to Japan using points and I've been doing lots of pre-trip research... which somehow led to filling up a Uniqlo cart with cute summer travel basics. I was sitting on the cart trying to resist when I read this comment. I'm going to dig into my closet right now and remind myself what I already own that could meet my needs. Thanks!
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That is a great comparison, SquashingDebt. Why do we fall into the "need to shop to travel" trap, do you suppose? I've done it too. Suddenly the clothes that I happily wear around in my normal life, aren't good enough for whatever I am going to do while I'm away. Weird.ftp://
This was a really well timed comment for me. I've been stuck at home due to Stella, which means I finally booked my summer travel to Japan using points and I've been doing lots of pre-trip research... which somehow led to filling up a Uniqlo cart with cute summer travel basics. I was sitting on the cart trying to resist when I read this comment. I'm going to dig into my closet right now and remind myself what I already own that could meet my needs. Thanks!
Happy to help! I haven't been doing much travelling lately, but I have a friend who *always* shops before she travels, and her closet is always full to overflowing already (to the point that she complains about sleeping on the couch because her laundry is all over her bed). So I'm familiar with the phenomenon, from my own past experiences, and from listening to her.
I think part of it is just forgetting what we have! When we're booking a trip to somewhere warm, in the dead of winter, we forget what we loved wearing in the summer. We make the comparison between our winter wardrobe, which obviously isn't suitable, and not with our summer stuff.
Or we think that we'll be doing such different stuff than in our daily lives, and therefore need different types of clothes. But how different is sightseeing, from running errands? Both require in and out of transportation, and lots of walking. How different is going out for dinner in (Paris, London, Havana, etc) from going out for dinner with friends here?
It all depends on the type of travelling you're doing, of course. Some trips really do call for easy to wash and hang to dry clothes, for example. But we're not always stuffing everything in a backpack, and washing all our clothes in bathroom sinks for months on end. :-)
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I came to confess my frugal fails but my post got eaten...so I don't have to tell everyone how I got too busy to even stop at the grocery store, ran out of food that wasn't in the deep freeze and time to prepare it, and caved to eating fast food yesterday....twice. My only saving grace is that I did have and prepare food for the kids...but only because they don't eat gluten. Sigh... I really must get to the store soon.
I have time today to make food for all of us and I'm going to do that right now. :-)
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Still doing pretty good in March. Everything I get tempted to buy, I pause, give myself room to rationalize the purchase and then realize I don't need it or will go in a drawer never to be used again. I come to my senses and I have been loving the feeling.
The best of all I have curbed my grocery spending and am looking forward to really eating through my kitchen and only buying things that round out or just essentials for the week. I might of bought a few extra things but not nearly what I use to buy. I really want to get down to the point where the cupboards and storage areas are empty. I buy too many specialty ingredients that always end up getting tossed and now I am trying to use them. I started looking up different recipes. At worst, I will learn a few recipes.
I have really enjoyed these challenges. The timing was perfect with my goals for 2017.
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PJ - you are most welcome! A user on Reddit pointed me to creditkarma.ca the other day and I was impressed with the service. I am glad I was able to pass it on to someone else, I always learn so much from others!
Nottoolatetostart - nothing I can return. I didn't actually buy anything silly, I just stocked up too much on some stuff and miscalculated when a bill was due. So next month I should come out with better numbers. I was just frustrated because I killed February!
Alleykat - your goal is exactly the same as mine, I just want to get to the point of bare cupboards and freezer and then meal plan a week at a time from there. I seem to save the most when I have a very specific plan and shopping list.
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I came to confess my frugal fails but my post got eaten...so I don't have to tell everyone how I got too busy to even stop at the grocery store, ran out of food that wasn't in the deep freeze and time to prepare it, and caved to eating fast food yesterday....twice. My only saving grace is that I did have and prepare food for the kids...but only because they don't eat gluten. Sigh... I really must get to the store soon.
I have time today to make food for all of us and I'm going to do that right now. :-)
Don't worry, Mongoose, since your post got eaten, we'll never find out!
So, some frugal wins and some frugal fails today.
Frugal fails:
Had to go visit someone in hospital. This particular hospital has zero neighbourhood parking nearby; it's 20 minutes walk to a side street where parking is allowed. Way too cold out for that, so I had to pay for parking. $12. Will get reimbursed by work, but it's a shame to have to front that, or even to have to pay it in general. This kind of expense is exactly the kind of thing I will be able to put through on the CC, once I'm not carrying a balance, and then have it paid back by work.
Also, stayed longer than I'd expected, visiting with spouse of person in hospital, and offering them support. That's part of why the parking was as high as it was. Last time I saw him, he was tired, and I was in and out in less than half an hour - only $4. Oh well, it really was a good visit. But then I was running late, and though I'd brought food with me, I wasn't going to have time to stop, heat it up, and eat it. Resorted to grabbing a bagel and coffee at Tim Horton's, but no out of pocket expense because I had a gift card.
Frugal wins:
Refrained from going grocery shopping. I really didn't need anything urgently, and there were no absolutely screaming deals in this week's flyers, so I'll wait until tomorrow to see what's on sale this coming week.
Did pick up my reimbursement/mileage cheque tonight, so went straight after work and deposited it, along with the dog food rebate cheque. CC#1 is now under $1400, and it is a sure thing, barring an emergency in the next couple weeks, that it will be paid with my next paycheque.
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To repent for our double eat out, we are going to picnic today. Ok, it's not mainly the money. Darn restaurant food makes all of us so thirsty we are miserable. The kids practically beg at times to not have to eat out. I don't get it. Everyone else seems to enjoy it so much and we just spend money to make ourselves feel bad.
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Let's see...
I've spent $300 on a wedding gift, about the same on gardening/landscaping supplies, intend to buy yet more gardening supplies, may drop a couple hundred on tickets to a really good show, donated a ton of money to student activities...
I'd still consider this frugal as all of these expenses are for things I truly care about, so I haven't wasted a cent, but I think "uber" is out.
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Let's see...
I've spent $300 on a wedding gift, about the same on gardening/landscaping supplies, intend to buy yet more gardening supplies, may drop a couple hundred on tickets to a really good show, donated a ton of money to student activities...
I'd still consider this frugal as all of these expenses are for things I truly care about, so I haven't wasted a cent, but I think "uber" is out.
LOL!
To repent for our double eat out, we are going to picnic today. Ok, it's not mainly the money. Darn restaurant food makes all of us so thirsty we are miserable. The kids practically beg at times to not have to eat out. I don't get it. Everyone else seems to enjoy it so much and we just spend money to make ourselves feel bad.
Ontario has recently passed legislation requiring calorie labelling on restaurant menus. That's a helpful start. Personally, I'd love the fat content, and I'm sure the low-carbers would want the carb count. But what we should all be interested in is the sodium count, because it's astonishingly high in virtually all restaurant food!
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For myself, not too much to report. Trying to eat at home, minimize utilities and driving. Took a look at the flyers for this week, and there are some good prices on produce and other things that I need. Salt, for one (ironic, considering my comment above). My crazy dog gets a spoon of salt on her food every evening - prescribed, because she has Addison's disease and her bloodwork early on after diagnosis showed the need for her to be supplemented. One store nearby has 2 boxes (1 kg each) for $1! So I'm going to buy a few of them, because I know I'll use it eventually.
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To repent for our double eat out, we are going to picnic today. Ok, it's not mainly the money. Darn restaurant food makes all of us so thirsty we are miserable. The kids practically beg at times to not have to eat out. I don't get it. Everyone else seems to enjoy it so much and we just spend money to make ourselves feel bad.
The dining out thing happens. I would think it would be motivating to have kids also saying they don't like it too now that you had this experience. Plus you love your vegetables too! Is there anyway you could pack a cooler of carrot sticks, those individual Justin packs of peanut butter/almond butter, hardboiled eggs, etc, or anything else just to tie you over to make it home so you aren't ravaging when you get in the door?
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Mongoose, as soon as I post about your dining out, realized that I had my own battle with the dining out dragon last night. DH got home later than normal due to offsite work event. The kids were about to go to bed and they had been kind of grazing, so no proper meal required. Doing dishes at 8:30 at night was not appealling so I asked him to pick up Chipotle on way home. Because I am doing whole 30, I looked up to see what I could eat and realized the only things I could eat there, I likely already had in my fridge or could quickly make. Doh! So I got to cooking (made him some rice) and made up the fajita bowls in like min (cleaning up was another story but I got it done). I had never made them before but it is amazing what a squeeze of lime juice and cilantro will do. Next time, I will actually try to do a copycat bowl. Anyway, three cheers to eating more of our existing inventory, $16 saved, and trying something new. I am totally going to do the bowls again. Highly recommend for quick meal.
Still sorely lacking in listing something on Craigslist. Too much going on with whole 30, snow storms, shoveling and doing refinance mortgage stuff.
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Harvey's has just introduced "bowls" to their menu as well, including a rice one. If they add a special price on bowls to their regular coupon inserts, I may on occasion decide to pick one up since there's a Harvey's between work and home. But I haven't seen yet what the regular price is - as an introductory special they sent a 50% off coupon. I don't have the money for any eating out in my March budget, but I was thinking about trying it next month. Well, not next calendar month. The coupon is good until March 26 - I get paid on the 25th so that's when my April budget starts. It would just be good to know if that's a reasonably healthy and tasty option, as there aren't a lot of choices around here.
Though even as I was thinking about this the other day, I was realizing I could easily make such a thing at home. The difficulty is when I don't have a lot of the ingredients lying around...
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As posted in Eat All the Food, I took snacks with me today when I went out to the National Home Show with a friend (I get tickets from a Real Estate agent friend), and managed to make them tide me over until I got home to eat.
I also drove only to the subway station (free parking) and took the subway downtown for the show. Transit isn't free, but is a lot cheaper than parking down at the Exhibition Place! My friend was running late and drove, and parked in the parking lot on the grounds instead of across the street, and paid $18! Yikes. Any regret I'd had about my long trip down vanished when she told me that. Also, she was quite unusually in a shopping mood, whereas I was not at all tempted by most of the stuff I saw. Much of which was beautiful, or cute, but, really was just "stuff." Which I didn't need.
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It was a spendy weekend...
3/15: $0
3/16: $0
3/17: $100 (vitamins and supplements prescribed by my doctor-- hate to spend it but health is a priority); $25 (charger adapter)
3/18: $50 (groceries)
3/19: $25 (mascara replacement-- I buy pricey natural stuff)
1265/1300 spent. Yikes, it's so hard to stay under my budget-- every month there is something that gets me! But if I can do a very frugal grocery shop next week I think I'll make it, or maybe just go over by a few bucks. I really want the satisfaction of staying under 1300-- I haven't done it yet, but if I do it means I only spend 35% of my monthly net income.
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March ends for us in just 2 days. I'm happy with our efforts...our grocery budget is $200 under for the month ($500 for 4). We did spend some clothing budget money and $100 in miscellaneous as well but are also under budget in those categories. We don't need anything this week. I took some previously made lasagna out of the refrigerator and we will have that for a couple of days.
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As posted in Eat All the Food, I took snacks with me today when I went out to the National Home Show with a friend (I get tickets from a Real Estate agent friend), and managed to make them tide me over until I got home to eat.
I also drove only to the subway station (free parking) and took the subway downtown for the show. Transit isn't free, but is a lot cheaper than parking down at the Exhibition Place! My friend was running late and drove, and parked in the parking lot on the grounds instead of across the street, and paid $18! Yikes. Any regret I'd had about my long trip down vanished when she told me that. Also, she was quite unusually in a shopping mood, whereas I was not at all tempted by most of the stuff I saw. Much of which was beautiful, or cute, but, really was just "stuff." Which I didn't need.
PJ - I loved reading this. Way to go! How incredibly powerful to not feel tempted.
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So my Uber Frugal March ends today, and it was not frugal! :(
I blew it in a couple of categories, groceries, eating out and household items.
Despite planning for a very cheap month of groceries I was $150 over! This was due to being sick and requiring some easy on the stomach foods I did not have in stock, also I had quite a few (well wishing) visitors to feed and I also just seemed to lose the plot the last week of the month. I did buy a few expensive items (like ground pepper $16) that will last a significant amount of time, so it will save me future expense.
I also ate out a few times and purchased takeout a few times because I was just sick and tired. Blah, easy excuse. My only saving grace was I bought nothing in this category for 6 weeks prior. April, I am back on the nothing at all in this category train.
The last big expense for me was household items but I am stocked up for a pretty long time, so I can't complain too much. I took advantage of sales / coupons so it was long term frugal and short term budget busting.
Luckily I did get a modest tax return this month, plus some additional side job funds so I was still able to throw a chunk at debt. Really my main focus on sticking to a budget is to pay off my debt, so as long as I am throwing as much as reasonably possible at it each month I can not complain. April will be much better, I have lots of extra hours to work, I am feeling much better and because it is such a busy season at my job I won't have time to spend money.
I also brought back a few cheap but healthy recipes from my student days that I haven't really eaten in years. (I have no idea why) I made a GIANT tuna casserole with plenty of veggies for a total of about $10 and it amounts to at least 8 meals for me. Silver lining of the month, tuna casserole is back on the menu rotation. :)
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3/7: $26.94 son's one birthday gift from us
$36 drop off at the dump
3/8: $52.27 groceries
3/9: $23 pot (this line item is nearly all for my husband, btw)
$23.98 grocery store sushi
3/10: $4.77 snack
$7.20 dessert
3/11: $0
3/12: $0
3/13: $43.98 motor oil and filter
$33.79 fast food
$9.75 candles
3/14: $46.04 groceries
$23 pot
$57.92 house paint and supplies
$27.54 pizza
3/15: $103.54 groceries
$79.99 car battery
3/16: $31.38 gasoline
3/17: $17.67 groceries
$20.70 fast food
3/18: $0
3/19: $0
3/20: $32.48 fast food
$74.06 groceries
$17.46 dessert
$40.98 swimsuit
$40 thrift store clothing for children
$25.18 motor oil
$21 beer as gift to guy who helped us when our car battery died
3/21: $225.43 groceries
$23 pot
$2.99 shower shelf and lampshade (used gift exchange for remainder)
Ok, way too much on convenience foods this month. It's no coincidence that this happened while I was neglecting to update here as often as in past months. Much of it was my husband grabbing food after very late nights at work. Also spent a ton on groceries, including specialty baking ingredients at the fancy natural foods store. Did you see I only spent $2.99 to get that dangerous shower shelf replaced?
So I've been an MMM reader for probably close to 2 years and have done all the little improvements like negotiating bills and breaking our Verizon contract and trying to keep silly purchases down. I, like I imagine thousands of other readers, have resisted the two big changes (moving to a smaller place closer to work and bike commuting. I have a thousand convincing reasons why those aren't options for us (kids need a yard, the housing market has gone insane in the past few years and we're priced out of the neighborhoods closer to school and work, etc., etc.). Well, after all this time being blocked to the possibilities, I looked around and did the math on dropping one car, renting out our house and moving into a studio two blocks from our kids' school (it's a charter school across town and their attendance there is non-negotiable). It turns out we'd save $20,000 a year! Wow. It changes one's perspective to see what it actually costs to keep a house (and our current house is not a fancy place. It's a <1200 sq ft 2 bedroom in a working class neighborhood crawling with homeless people). Now I don't know if I could convince my husband of the switch, but I am discussing the possibility with him of just trying it out as a one year experiment while the kids are still small.
How about you guys? Are you all already badasses on all fronts or are some of you still only dipping a toe in like me?
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How about you guys? Are you all already badasses on all fronts or are some of you still only dipping a toe in like me?
Definitely not badass on all fronts! We have an oversized house, a new car, and spend way more of groceries than a lot of people on the forums. I also opt to work part time in a lower-stress area of nursing. If I were really badass, I would get a job at my nearby hospital, work full time, and bike there. Instead, I get paid less, have a long commute, but also have total control over my schedule. Oh, we would also give up coffee. And when Old Miss Dog passes, we wouldn't get another dog. (But we totally will get another dog. And I have zero plans to give up coffee. Or work more)
Still, we managed a 64% savings rate last year in spite of buying a house and moving, so not too shabby ;)
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Not having the greatest March, unfortunately. Every time I hang out with family, I end up spending a lot of money (taking my mom out to eat, thankfully one day I was able to cook for her, later buying an expensive plane ticket to see her). That's just part of staying in touch when we usually live across oceans, and I'm trying to look on it with an open and loving heart, but it's also kind of depressing watching (relatively to me) large chunks of $$$ disappear so I can spend a day and a half with her.
Also I know I have a tendency to stress shop when I'm stressed, and work sure is stressful right now! So far, I've managed to mostly curb my buying to things I'll definitely use (fancy home made soap....) and stuff I've been planning on purchasing, but I'm definitely feeling the itch to buy things right now. Also need to make some purchases for my hobby of choice.
Anyway, this is a long winded way to say I've got 8 days left for this month and am already over budget by about $50, so things are only going downhill from here. Here's to April, I suppose.
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$150 of $200 spent for food
$239 of $300 for fun & misc
I thought my goals might be too ambitious, but just paying more attention has made it way easier to stay within my budget and reduce food waste. Feeling good about the last week.
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Unfortunately, I was doing so well and then lost it a bit. However, comparatively to other months, I did awesome. So, I am okay with that. I would say not spending is becoming more easier, however, I am not totally convinced. Some days are great, other days I fight the urge. So, I wonder if that urge ever goes away.
I have kept track of expenses but I see there is another thread for April and I will start to keep track of expenses for next month. It will be interesting to see.
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How about you guys? Are you all already badasses on all fronts or are some of you still only dipping a toe in like me?
Definitely not badass on all fronts! We have an oversized house, a new car, and spend way more of groceries than a lot of people on the forums. I also opt to work part time in a lower-stress area of nursing. If I were really badass, I would get a job at my nearby hospital, work full time, and bike there. Instead, I get paid less, have a long commute, but also have total control over my schedule. Oh, we would also give up coffee. And when Old Miss Dog passes, we wouldn't get another dog. (But we totally will get another dog. And I have zero plans to give up coffee. Or work more)
Still, we managed a 64% savings rate last year in spite of buying a house and moving, so not too shabby ;)
Lemon - not super badass here but doing pretty well. We did crazily move last year to a cute town 15 min away where everything is walkable. We could bike, but we just walk for now. It has made a positive difference in our life, not just savings. Our quality of life is better. We also downsized from 2500 sq ft to 1600 sq ft (but our house was slightly more....lol). I don't think I could do a studio though, especially with our children.
Throughout this challenge, we are doing 90 day trial of not using our 2nd car. It ends next week so we may go down to 1 car soon (both cars are 9 yr old cars at that).
My grocery bill is my nemesis. I like being able to make almost any dish at any time. But we eat in for 99.999% of meals now thanks to this challenge that it has become second nature.
What I like best about this challenge and doing it for so long that every month I have focused on a certain area - like electricity bill drainers - or other DIY things around house or eating in / reduce alcohol or use clothes dryer that it became a habit, then something we don't think about. The long-term savings start happening there, rather than an uber frugal one-time thing and then I go back to my old ways. So, my advice, pick a couple areas first, find success, then tackle something else the following month. Good luck!
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Well, budget goals have failed...
3/23: $10 (movie with friend)
3/24: $15 (Uber to doctor appt-- no time for public transport from work); $54 (groceries)
3/25: $8 (sunscreen); $1 (tea with friend)
3/26: $25 (Uber, took SO on surprise picnic... should have found another way to get there...) $12 (picnic snacks); $6 (Hulu-- basically just subscribed to watch Handmaids Tale)
So I've totally gone off track. $1456/1300. One bright side is my food spending was only $211. I also made cash tutoring so my savings still increased a nice amount. I'm also struggling because upcoming travel = more spending. For example, my headphones and umbrella broke and there is no way I'm going to the U.K. without those! I'm really ready for April so that I can crush the first few weeks with a spartan budget.
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Well, damn. Still a huge improvement, and I did choose goals to challenge myself, so even though I failed at my numeric goal I feel like the experience was useful and something I want to keep practicing.
Food - 216 out of 200
Fun/misc money - 378 out of 300
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I'm in!
Am trying to find more money to throw at Roth IRAs (or taxable investments if the market has a correction) in March so we'll have to make frugal choices to find extra.
Goals:
-Cancel my Sephora Play subscription (my 10 dollar treat to myself - but I can do without for a couple of months)
-Convince DH to take dinners in addition to lunches on nights when he has to work late
- Keep all food spending under 500 for the month (am also doing eat all the food in your house challenge to help with this)
-Keep gas/electric under $90 for the month
- Put off haircuts until April
If I can do all of these things I can find a few hundred bucks to throw at investments.
Welp- Due to aforementioned mini-disasters on March 1 and 3rd, we didn't actually end up having any money to throw at IRAs -but- I did hit all of my goals!
Food came in at just over $480 and gas/electric usage looks much lower than Feb so we're going to come in under budget. The only other unplanned for expense I had was that both kids blew out their shoes a couple months ahead of schedule - small price to pay for young children being active in the winter :).
Will head on over to the april thread now . . .