July 2011 No Buy Thread - Let the savings sparks fly!

[ronnmel]

I've read everything, but don't have time to comment now.

Can I just say, this start of July is EXPENSIVE!!! I completely blew my eating out budget in just one meal yesterday. It was DH's birthday and we went out to eat. Now, I probably should have budgeted a bit more knowing that, but even then I never would have thought I would spend that much on a meal (at least, when not at Disney. ) We were just walking around an area of town with lots of restaurants, looking at all the menus. The one he chose seemed reasonable, but then we both took the most expensive items on the menu, plus a very expensive appetizer for him, plus wine, etc. With tip it was over 160$ for just the two of us!

No Buy Days : 0/8
Gas : 41$ (max 140$)
Groceries : 0$ (max 200$)
Eating out (and snacks) : 166$ (max 100$)
Non-necessities : 146$ (max 400$)

01/07 : 5$ (greeting card)
02/07 : 113$ (DH's gift, snack)
03/07 : 16$ (movie)
04/07 : 178$ (dinner + movie)
05/07 : 41$ (gas)

 

[Debbie]

New to this but want to figure out where the money goes so here I am! . . . . I'm off during the summer so this is bonus vacation money, school tuition and winter oil money....noticed I listed them in order of importance

on the finding out where the money goes (mine should be a marathon runner....I can never find it!). And I love your order for the extra money!

I spent $32.80 on gas today. BUT I drove right past mcdonalds and made some eggs for my dinner! It's so tempting to eat out on a 13 hr work day.

Balances: Grocery (118.43/150) Eating out (67.88/75) Biz (196.23/200)

That's when I go to my standby.....peanut butter and banana sandwich.

But they had girls jeans marked down to $2.48 and boys to $3.33 - so I picked up two pairs of girls and 3 of boys. So I spent $16 for 5 pairs - and that means I have almost NO SCHOOL SHOPPING to do in August! Worth spending the $16 now!

Welcome to all of our new friends!

We ended up spending the evening at an urgent care center having DS6's chin glued back together. Both boys were terrific, so we took them out for ice cream afterwards as a treat. Worth giving up a no buy for!

Oh, my! I had one of those....we spent many an hour in ER! Yep, ice cream for sure! :

Yesterday was a $0 day! DBF surprised me by showing up to my school today! We pretty much live in 2 different cities and he took a "sick" day to visit me, so today's a $0 day too! Woohoo!

July
Overall budget: 30.07/400
Gas: 0/80
$0 days: 3/10

Misc.
Eating out: 0/5
Clothes: 0/4
The Body Shop: 0/2
Gifts: 0/2
U.S shopping: $50 (Since I can't declare any MORE than that)

to the BF visit..... on the shopping in the US. I spend that in the first store! [and as long as there is no alcohol or cigarettes, we've been okay. I figure, if I have to pay duty/GST, it's worth it over the years. ]

I am calling it a $0 day so I am not tempted to go out and buy anything. I am spending the day gathering up clothes to sell at our local consignment shop this weekend.

I'm decluttering, too. I'd love to make money on the decluttering, but most will be old teaching resources. Hard to let go, but GO they must!

You have 2 out of 4 days as $0 Days!

Your budget is very tight. You have a family of 3 in a high cost of living area. I struggle to stay within $400 for just DH and I (and a dog). Having lived in NYC, I know that New Orleans is not cheap, but it's not as expensive as Long Island!

Have you looked at past bank or credit card statements to see what you have been spending in past months? I wouldn't be surprised if you're attempting to shave your budget down to a half or third of what you're accustomed to spending.

I am not saying this to discourage you. I just know (from my own experience!) that if I am not at least somewhat successful, I will give up. The whole point of this challenge is to find goals that are just challenging enough to be a motivation, but not too challenging that one gets discouraged and gives up. It seems to take about 3 months for people to find their groove with this.

If your current goal is not working to motivate you, I encourage you to either modify it or start fresh from this point in the month. Alternatively, maybe you find that your spending is just timed so that most of it is at the very beginning of the month and you actually are more on track than it appears at first glance.

I've been on this thread for several months, and last month I threw in the towel on about the 10th! I stepped back from the thread, did some recalculations, and came back and finished out the month within the new budget I had created for myself. Every month, many more people start the thread than finish it, so please know that you are not alone!

WELL SAID!!!!! Words of wisdom to us ALL!

I've read everything, but don't have time to comment now.

Can I just say, this start of July is EXPENSIVE!!! I completely blew my eating out budget in just one meal yesterday. It was DH's birthday and we went out to eat. Now, I probably should have budgeted a bit more knowing that, but even then I never would have thought I would spend that much on a meal (at least, when not at Disney. ) We were just walking around an area of town with lots of restaurants, looking at all the menus. The one he chose seemed reasonable, but then we both took the most expensive items on the menu, plus a very expensive appetizer for him, plus wine, etc. With tip it was over 160$ for just the two of us!

Oh, Mel, sometimes we have to splurge...just no more eating out for the month. Our anniversary is tomorrow, and DH wants to go out. Lucky for me, his idea of a gourmet meal and a good time is the Mandarin Buffet!

 

[Debbie]

So, let's see.....yesterday, we ordered the garage door. It is actually going to cost me ~$500 less than I had planned. It's coming from money that my Mom gifted us back at Christmas, so doesn't count. DH just had to buy gas, though, breaking the $0 day, all for a "top up". I didn't get as much decluttered today as I'd have liked, but it was okay. Oh, and I popped into Value Village (like Goodwill) and got a new-to-me toothbrush and toothpaste holder. Saved a bit. I needed sheers for my laundry room, but they wanted too much for them.......or at least I thought so. Tomorrow will not be a $0, since it's our anniversary, and DH and I will go out to eat at some point.

Unfortunately, this is going to be an expensive month for me.

1. DD will be home (I think) from Egypt for the last week or two.
2. I'm off for the summer, and my sanity is sending DH (SAHD) out to shop
3. Need to get the garage door replaced.
4. House needs repairs: painting, carpet, blinds etc.
5. Changing classrooms means updating some things.
6. I'm going 'over the river' to a Daily Café workshop with "The Sisters"

Oh, well, here's the budget as it stands.

Budget: Actual (last month expenses)
Gas: $600 $83 ($535) Allowing for some vacation driving
Groceries/Household: $600 $86 ($512)
Drug co-pays/medicine/lens: $40 $0 ($75)
Misc including gifts: $400 $72 ( $816 ) Not counting the garage door, or the hotel/expenses for the Daily Café workshop that I'm going to
Pool expenses: $200 $0 ($0)
Dining: $200 $0($81) Upped this for our 'vacation' mode
July 1: $0 (Thank Heaven's for HOLIDAYS!)
July 2: gas $33, groceries $38, market (more groceries!) $15
July 3: gifts $43, household wasp spray/foam stuff $25 (really want to get rid of those suckers!)
July 4: gas $10
July 5: gas $40, groceries $33

No Buy Days: 1/10

 

[IMALOVNDISNEY]

I'm back...Last month I spent alot more then I should have. But, still had 16 out of 10 No Buys Days. I can remember only spending $100 a month for groceries not to long ago. OMGish I miss those days! Plus, we did ate out of the freezer a lot

06/01 -0-This should have been an expensive day. We went to the beach and stopped at the casino on the way home. We won enough money to cover all expenses today...And even had a little extra.
06/02 -0-cheer2: Stayed home and did yard work. And swam in the pool -0-
06/03 -0- Another day at home.
06/04 $27.00 groceries. Nice day by the pool with DH, DD and a couple of friends.
06/05 -0- Spent the day on the lake tubing. Used all our left overs from yesterdays mini picnic. What a great way to end our 5 days off. Tomorrow is back to work.

Auto: /$200
Groceries/Household Goods:$27.00/$200.00
Eating Out/Entertainment: /$100.00
Misc:/$200
No Buy days 4/10
Coupon savings $8.00

 

[Virgderon]

Today is a 0 day, which is good because tomorrow I start the drive from Tampa to Chicago for my daughters bridal shower. I don't anticipate any 0 days for the next week.

If I should pass through your town, you will know it. I'll be the one singing loudly to the Grease soundtrack, and then switching to Van Halen 5 minutes later, and then possibly N Sync or a Glee cd. I have eclectic musical taste. And eating . I like to eat and sing while I drive.

I dont know if I will be able to post , so have a good week everyone if I don't see you for awhile.

Running Total: Spent $146
$1100 budget... $954 left
$0 Days: 3
Goal is 7 or more!
coupon/sale savings : 13

Groceries budget- $300-7= 293 left
Wedding shower budget - $600 -100= 500 left

July 1: 77 ( 25 to check DDs bag at airport, 17 gas, 35 misc stuff for DD)
July 2: 0
JUly 3: 0
July 4: 69 (26 shoes for my MOTB dress that ended up not matching, 17 Walgreens for pop and laundry detg, 10 gas , 16 movie)
July 5 : 0

 

[Virgderon]

Did they dye your shoes?

No, my dress is sort of a champagne color, and its really hard to find shoes. It has little gold beading on it, so I think I will just buy gold shoes. However, I really like yesterdays shoes, so I might try to convince myself to keep them and buy another pair of wedding shoes. I have no good justification or reason for doing that , but I am working on it.

List of reasons to keep the shoes:

I work my a-s off. I deserve shoes.
I walked around the store, so the shoes are now used. Can't return used shoes.
I have not bought ice cream in about 3 weeks, so that money saved will pay for the shoes.
I dont own any shoes in this color.
I will donate one pair of my shoes to charity if I can have these.
My husband owes me $69 dollars, and these shoes were only $26.

I think these reasons are good. I'm keeping the shoes.

 

[ronnmel]

I'm decluttering, too. I'd love to make money on the decluttering, but most will be old teaching resources. Hard to let go, but GO they must!

Oh, Mel, sometimes we have to splurge...just no more eating out for the month. Our anniversary is tomorrow, and DH wants to go out. Lucky for me, his idea of a gourmet meal and a good time is the Mandarin Buffet!

I only had one year in my classroom and yet so much to declutter when I moved classroom. Good luck on the decluttering. It's hard, btu so worth it in the end!

DH has been in a seafood mood, unfortunately. And I have just discovered that I don't dislike all kinds of steak. I actually very much enjoy Filet Mignon. Too bad it happens to be the most expensive cut of meat.

No, my dress is sort of a champagne color, and its really hard to find shoes. It has little gold beading on it, so I think I will just buy gold shoes. However, I really like yesterdays shoes, so I might try to convince myself to keep them and buy another pair of wedding shoes. I have no good justification or reason for doing that , but I am working on it.

List of reasons to keep the shoes:

I work my a-s off. I deserve shoes.
I walked around the store, so the shoes are now used. Can't return used shoes.
I have not bought ice cream in about 3 weeks, so that money saved will pay for the shoes.
I dont own any shoes in this color.
I will donate one pair of my shoes to charity if I can have these.
My husband owes me $69 dollars, and these shoes were only $26.

I think these reasons are good. I'm keeping the shoes.

These are all excellent reasons!


A little bit of self-publicity. If you visit my PTR, post 249 and post 250, you're going to see a lot of pictures like this one:

 

[wlake]

Ronnmel, I know what you mean about expensive starts!

As soon as I log off here, I'm registering for the Princess Half marathon! I can't believe I'm going to do this!

Here are my goals:
no buy days: 0/10 (it's always harder when I'm home full time!)
longest no buy streak: 3 (I really want to extend this to 4!)
dinners out: 0/4 (not counting traveling)
current no dinners out streak: 3
longest no dinners out streak: 12

7/1: $35 gas
7/2: Oh my. We were visiting my MIL, so... $9 bagels, $46 Trader Joe's, $17 IKEA, $10 dinner on the road home
7/3: $27 groceries
7/4: $8 ice cream
7/5: $12 Kohl's, $19 Walmart, $130 Princess Half registration

 

[aprilfoolwed]

Can i just say how impressed I am with all of you who have budgets? I am lacking in that department! I am enjoying looking at all of your monthly budgets a lot.

Had a good day today. Spent $1.64 at Walgreens - 2 toothbrushes, a new nail file and a new bottle of polish (I figured a little splurge was ok )

Otherwise, we ate at home and did no other shopping.

We also did a huge library trip today and stocked up on new books and videos for the week. DH and I were enjoying PBS's Colonial House earlier tonight.

Thinking about taking the kids to the movies tomorrow - the Rave theater offers free movies on Tues and Wed mornings. I know they are going to beg for food - and I don't want to spend the money (or have them eating all the popcorn at 10 AM!). So not sure if we'll try it or not.

 

[aprilfoolwed]

Ronnmel, I know what you mean about expensive starts!

As soon as I log off here, I'm registering for the Princess Half marathon! I can't believe I'm going to do this!

Here are my goals:
no buy days: 0/10 (it's always harder when I'm home full time!)
longest no buy streak: 3 (I really want to extend this to 4!)
dinners out: 0/4 (not counting traveling)
current no dinners out streak: 3
longest no dinners out streak: 12

Good luck with your marathon training!!!!

Love your "streaks!" I would be so proud if I could do 12 days without eating out/ordering in. I think I could do maybe 5 days! Good for you!

 

[Debbie]

I'm back...Last month I spent alot more then I should have. But, still had 16 out of 10 No Buys Days. I can remember only spending $100 a month for groceries not to long ago. OMGish I miss those days! Plus, we did ate out of the freezer a lot

I am looking forward to those days in the fall when my youngest heads off to university...well, if I can convince my oldest DS to move into the city with his girlfriend.

Today is a 0 day, which is good because tomorrow I start the drive from Tampa to Chicago for my daughters bridal shower. I don't anticipate any 0 days for the next week.

If I should pass through your town, you will know it. I'll be the one singing loudly to the Grease soundtrack, and then switching to Van Halen 5 minutes later, and then possibly N Sync or a Glee cd. I have eclectic musical taste. And eating . I like to eat and sing while I drive.

I dont know if I will be able to post , so have a good week everyone if I don't see you for awhile.

Virgderon, have a WONDERFUL time! I have a strange taste in music, too....country, Broadway, gospel, chamber (especially the CDs where the girls' choir is singing)....Safe travels! Oh, and I think that your reasons for keeping the shoes all add up!

I
A little bit of self-publicity. If you visit my PTR, post 249 and post 250, you're going to see a lot of pictures like this one:

Clicked your Trip report, Mel, and the shots are amazing!

As soon as I log off here, I'm registering for the Princess Half marathon! I can't believe I'm going to do this!

I did the Donald half in 2005 with my 3 sisters. Memories like you wouldn't believe, and NOW when we play 2 truths and a lie at school, no one new guesses that I could ever have done that (all the weight...back on )

Thinking about taking the kids to the movies tomorrow - the Rave theater offers free movies on Tues and Wed mornings. I know they are going to beg for food - and I don't want to spend the money (or have them eating all the popcorn at 10 AM!). So not sure if we'll try it or not.

Just make sure that you've literally just had breakfast! They'll be too full (or at least that's the line to use) to eat anything! With a promise of ice cream (at home) or a picnic....you should be good to go! Have fun!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

My goal is $400 for food and miscellaneous and $75 for gas.

General

1 - $67.01
2 - $0!
3 - $0!
4 - $17.35
5 - $0!

$400-$84.36=$315.64
$0 Buy Days: 3

Gas

$75-$0=$75

Can I just say, this start of July is EXPENSIVE!!! I completely blew my eating out budget in just one meal yesterday. It was DH's birthday and we went out to eat. Now, I probably should have budgeted a bit more knowing that, but even then I never would have thought I would spend that much on a meal (at least, when not at Disney. ) We were just walking around an area of town with lots of restaurants, looking at all the menus. The one he chose seemed reasonable, but then we both took the most expensive items on the menu, plus a very expensive appetizer for him, plus wine, etc. With tip it was over 160$ for just the two of us!

Did you enjoy the meal? Happy birthday to him!

Welcome to all of our new friends!

We ended up spending the evening at an urgent care center having DS6's chin glued back together. Both boys were terrific, so we took them out for ice cream afterwards as a treat. Worth giving up a no buy for!

I missed this earlier. How is his chin healing? I agree that ice cream was worth it!

I'm decluttering, too. I'd love to make money on the decluttering, but most will be old teaching resources. Hard to let go, but GO they must!

WELL SAID!!!!! Words of wisdom to us ALL!

I've come to the conclusion that the resources are of no use to me if I cannot find them because there are too many.

Thanks!

So, let's see.....yesterday, we ordered the garage door. It is actually going to cost me ~$500 less than I had planned. It's coming from money that my Mom gifted us back at Christmas, so doesn't count. DH just had to buy gas, though, breaking the $0 day, all for a "top up". I didn't get as much decluttered today as I'd have liked, but it was okay. Oh, and I popped into Value Village (like Goodwill) and got a new-to-me toothbrush and toothpaste holder. Saved a bit. I needed sheers for my laundry room, but they wanted too much for them.......or at least I thought so. Tomorrow will not be a $0, since it's our anniversary, and DH and I will go out to eat at some point.

[*]I'm going 'over the river' to a Daily Café workshop with "The Sisters"

It sounds like you got a good deal on the garage door!

Happy Anniversary!

The part I bolded, I had to laugh. I read it at first as you got a new to you toothbrush! I was thinking, okay, so I see your list of expenses this month and I know it's tight, but seriously? A used toothbrush? It's not THAT tight! Then duh...I realized it was a new to you container that holds both a toothbrush and toothpaste. Phew!

I've heard of the Daily Cafe but I don't know very much about it. I am a little more familiar with the Daily 5. I think your workshop will be very good! I'd love to hear about it after you attend.

Today is a 0 day, which is good because tomorrow I start the drive from Tampa to Chicago for my daughters bridal shower. I don't anticipate any 0 days for the next week.

If I should pass through your town, you will know it. I'll be the one singing loudly to the Grease soundtrack, and then switching to Van Halen 5 minutes later, and then possibly N Sync or a Glee cd. I have eclectic musical taste. And eating . I like to eat and sing while I drive.

I dont know if I will be able to post , so have a good week everyone if I don't see you for awhile.

I'm sure you're on the road already and I'm not sure when you'll see this, but I hope you have a safe and fantastic trip!

No, my dress is sort of a champagne color, and its really hard to find shoes. It has little gold beading on it, so I think I will just buy gold shoes. However, I really like yesterdays shoes, so I might try to convince myself to keep them and buy another pair of wedding shoes. I have no good justification or reason for doing that , but I am working on it.

List of reasons to keep the shoes:

I work my a-s off. I deserve shoes.
I walked around the store, so the shoes are now used. Can't return used shoes.
I have not bought ice cream in about 3 weeks, so that money saved will pay for the shoes.
I dont own any shoes in this color.
I will donate one pair of my shoes to charity if I can have these.
My husband owes me $69 dollars, and these shoes were only $26.

I think these reasons are good. I'm keeping the shoes.

Good reasons!

A little bit of self-publicity. If you visit my PTR, post 249 and post 250, you're going to see a lot of pictures like this one:

What a stunning picture! I love it!

And I did not realize you were going to WDW in just over a month! What a fun summer you are having!

As soon as I log off here, I'm registering for the Princess Half marathon! I can't believe I'm going to do this!

I'm excited for you! I did the Princess in 2010 and I hope to do it again once my finances (and my body ) are in healthier shape! Since Ronnmel plugged her TR, I'll plug mine! The link to my Princess TR is in my signature. It's been completed for quite some time, but it has a lot of photos and information about the race in there.

Good luck! And it is true, a large portion of completing a half marathon is in your attitude and belief that you can do it...the rest is in the training and building up your stamina and endurance!

Can i just say how impressed I am with all of you who have budgets? I am lacking in that department! I am enjoying looking at all of your monthly budgets a lot.

Had a good day today. Spent $1.64 at Walgreens - 2 toothbrushes, a new nail file and a new bottle of polish (I figured a little splurge was ok )

Otherwise, we ate at home and did no other shopping.

We also did a huge library trip today and stocked up on new books and videos for the week. DH and I were enjoying PBS's Colonial House earlier tonight.

Thinking about taking the kids to the movies tomorrow - the Rave theater offers free movies on Tues and Wed mornings. I know they are going to beg for food - and I don't want to spend the money (or have them eating all the popcorn at 10 AM!). So not sure if we'll try it or not.

Stick with this and you too will have a budget soon! A budget is just a plan for your money. You know how much is coming in, and then you divvy it up and tell it where you are sending it. The hardest part is not creating the plan, but following through on it!

And it sounds like you did have a great day yesterday!

 

[charming23]

Went out to the library, target, and Wendy's for lunch.

July 2011 Budget

Groceries/Household- $300/$197.22 Left
Cat Supplies- $30/$14.82 left
Car/Gas- $70/$45.43 Left
Eating Out- $50/$41.94 left
Misc/Entertainment- $100/$77.67 Left

Total- $550/$377.08 Left

Goal of 15 No Buy Days

7/1- $84.72 Grocery/Household, $15.18 Cat Supplies, and $24.57 Gas
7/2- $0
7/3- $0
7/4- $18.06 Giant Eagle/Groceries
7/5- $0
7/6- $22.33 Target/Misc and $8.06 lunch at Wendy's
7/7
7/8
7/9
7/10
7/11
7/12
7/13
7/14
7/15- Kelley's Island
7/16- Kelley's Island
7/17- Kelley's Island
7/18
7/19
7/20
7/21
7/22
7/23
7/24
7/25
7/26
7/27
7/28
7/29
7/30
7/31

3/15 No Buy Days

Coupon/ Store Savings- $20.20

 

[YukiPhnx]

Debbie, I usually DO buy more than I'm "allowed" but I think this time....I want to try to limit myself. Now you're giving me the idea to raise my spending limit....$100 sounds like a pretty cushy place....I mean, they have a COACH outlet. That's gonna be real hard....

Virg, hope you have a safe drive!

Mel, I love your wedding photos! They're so gorgeous.

wlake, it's great that you're doing the Princess marathon!!!

Where'sPiglet, I read it as that in Debbie's post too!!

Made lunch and dinner today, so it's another $0 day for me!!! Three in a row, BOOYAH!

DBF brought me to see Cars 2 last night. I'm a big Mater fan, and it was VERY Mater oriented, so I liked that. I laughed a lot and there were many things I found cute. Like Lassetyre! Definitely a fun movie and enjoyable movie. Dbf liked the car chases and I liked the jokes. We both agreed that the plot was pretty complicated....but overall, we liked it.

There's a good chance tomorrow will be a $0 day too!

July
Overall budget: 30.07/400
Gas: 0/80
$0 days: 4/10

Misc.
Eating out: 0/5
Clothes: 0/4
The Body Shop: 0/2
Gifts: 0/2
U.S shopping: $50 (Since I can't declare any MORE than that)

1-$0 (Off to a good start!)
2-$1.05 (McDonald's iced coffee)
3-$29.02 (groceries)
___
$40-30.07=$9.93

(This will be longer cause of the "uneven-ness" of days)
4-$0
5-$0
6-$0
7-
___
$40-

8-
9-
10-
___


11-
12-
13-
___


14-
15-
16-
___


17-
18-
19-
___


20-
21-
22-
___


23-
24-
25-
___


26-
27-
28-
___


29-
30-
31-
___[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

 

[ronnmel]

Happy Anniversary Debbie!

Hope you have a safe trip Virgderon!

Ronnmel, I know what you mean about expensive starts!

As soon as I log off here, I'm registering for the Princess Half marathon! I can't believe I'm going to do this!

Good luck with the Princess Half Marathon. I'd like to try a 5K one day.

Clicked your Trip report, Mel, and the shots are amazing!

Thanks!

Did you enjoy the meal? Happy birthday to him!

The meal was delicious!

I've come to the conclusion that the resources are of no use to me if I cannot find them because there are too many.

Exactly! That's what my friend helped me understand when I was holding onto all those wonderful plans I made in university. They were no use since they were all hidden in boxes.

The part I bolded, I had to laugh. I read it at first as you got a new to you toothbrush! I was thinking, okay, so I see your list of expenses this month and I know it's tight, but seriously? A used toothbrush? It's not THAT tight! Then duh...I realized it was a new to you container that holds both a toothbrush and toothpaste. Phew!

I read the same thing! Had to do a double, and even triple, take.

I've heard of the Daily Cafe but I don't know very much about it. I am a little more familiar with the Daily 5. I think your workshop will be very good! I'd love to hear about it after you attend.

I just started doing the Daily 5 in my class this year. I like it so far. I'd love to hear about your workshop too.

What a stunning picture! I love it!

And I did not realize you were going to WDW in just over a month! What a fun summer you are having!

Thanks! And yes, leaving for the world in 35 days. Can't wait! I'm not doing so great with the saving for the trip, but we did receive a lot of wedding gifts...

I'm excited for you! I did the Princess in 2010 and I hope to do it again once my finances (and my body ) are in healthier shape! Since Ronnmel plugged her TR, I'll plug mine! The link to my Princess TR is in my signature. It's been completed for quite some time, but it has a lot of photos and information about the race in there.

I read your TR a little while ago. I'm very proud of anyone who can do that!

Mel, I love your wedding photos! They're so gorgeous.

Thanks!


Another day of eating out for me. It was not planned, but met up with a past colleague who's going to work with me again next year, and we went out for breakfast.

No Buy Days : 0/8
Gas : 41$ (max 140$)
Groceries : 0$ (max 200$)
Eating out (and snacks) : 178$ (max 100$)
Non-necessities : 146$ (max 400$)

01/07 : 5$ (greeting card)
02/07 : 113$ (DH's gift, snack)
03/07 : 16$ (movie)
04/07 : 178$ (dinner + movie)
05/07 : 41$ (gas)
06/07 : 12$

 

[aprilfoolwed]

Made two stops this evening - Big Lots and the grocery store. I like to try to buy as many snacks as possible at Big Lots because their prices are good.

Spent $15 @ Big Lots, which included snacks, a "baby" card for a friend who just delivered today, and a new school year planner.

Grocery store - $75.

Not too bad - I wanted to stay under $100, so with both stores I am still under that!

Also cooked dinner @ home tonight - 2 days in a row! LOL

And we're still enjoying our free library movie rentals, so entertainment costs have been low.

I did not end up taking the kids to the movies today, because it is a film we already own (Wimpy Kid). Maybe we'll try the free movies next week!

 

[neatokimmo]

Just a quick note so I can remember what I did. Tuesday, we had Chinese for lunch and that put us over eating by a little. I will plug in the actual number when it pops on my card. I took 2 pairs of shoes back to target and bought another pair of shoes, cat litter, cat food and 15 spools of ribbon for 50 cents each. I will need to do some math for the final number. I also went to michaels and got some stuff.

Yesterday was zero.

I am going to end up blowing my biz allowance out of the water. My ribbon is about 12% cheaper this week than normal and that stuff really adds up. So I will prob put in an order with them and it is always in the 400-700 range.

Balances: Grocery (118.43/150) Eating out (67.88/75) Biz (196.23/200)

7-6 zero
7-5 fill in
7-4 $32.80
7-3 $21.26
7-2 $66.71
7-1 $16.27

 

[wlake]

Here are my goals:
no buy days: 1/10 (it's always harder when I'm home full time!)
longest no buy streak: 3 (I really want to extend this to 4!)
dinners out: 0/4 (not counting traveling)
current no dinners out streak: 4
longest no dinners out streak: 12

7/1: $35 gas
7/2: Oh my. We were visiting my MIL, so... $9 bagels, $46 Trader Joe's, $17 IKEA, $10 dinner on the road home
7/3: $27 groceries
7/4: $8 ice cream
7/5: $12 Kohl's, $19 Walmart, $130 Princess Half registration
7/6:

Good luck with your marathon training!!!!

Love your "streaks!" I would be so proud if I could do 12 days without eating out/ordering in. I think I could do maybe 5 days! Good for you!

Thanks for the race encouragement! I like keeping track of the streaks because sometimes they convince me to cook and I hate cooking!

I did the Donald half in 2005 with my 3 sisters. Memories like you wouldn't believe, and NOW when we play 2 truths and a lie at school, no one new guesses that I could ever have done that

I'm running with my sister and my cousin -- I'm looking forward to the memories too!

I missed this earlier. How is his chin healing? I agree that ice cream was worth it!

I'm excited for you! I did the Princess in 2010 and I hope to do it again once my finances (and my body ) are in healthier shape! Since Ronnmel plugged her TR, I'll plug mine! The link to my Princess TR is in my signature. It's been completed for quite some time, but it has a lot of photos and information about the race in there.

Good luck! And it is true, a large portion of completing a half marathon is in your attitude and belief that you can do it...the rest is in the training and building up your stamina and endurance!

He seems fine, thanks! He's pretty tired of me constantly checking it to make sure it's not infected.

Thanks! I'll have to read your TR! I keep picturing myself crossing the finish line, trying to reassure myself that I can do this. (Right now, 5 miles kicks my rear pretty badly.). My problem is that my mental image of crossing the finish line has me in a tutu, which I have NO intention of doing!

YukiPhnx and Ronnmel, thanks for the encouragement!

Also cooked dinner @ home tonight - 2 days in a row! LOL

Good start!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Wlake- I didn't sign up or start training for the Princess until October, and I was not doing 5 miles at all at the time! I think you will be fine! I alternated walking and jogging throughout training and the race. Look up Jeff Galloway's training plans if you haven't already.

And remember that it's not a placement medal, it's a FINISHER'S medal. Everyone who finishes gets the same one! I did try to get my training time down to below a 14 min mile so I would have some wiggle room for the bathroom and taking mile marker and character pictures!

I also did the Disneyland Half so I could get the Coast to Coast medal. I never did the trip report for that one. I ended up with a migraine that morning and I also had not trained as well for that one, so it was not as fun of an experience. I did finish, but there were a few mile markers where the flag people were standing by! We were only a few minutes ahead of pace! If you see a flag on a mile marker, you are at risk of being picked up by the bus!

 

[wlake]

Wlake- I didn't sign up or start training for the Princess until October, and I was not doing 5 miles at all at the time! I think you will be fine! I alternated walking and jogging throughout training and the race. Look up Jeff Galloway's training plans if you haven't already.

And remember that it's not a placement medal, it's a FINISHER'S medal. Everyone who finishes gets the same one! I did try to get my training time down to below a 14 min mile so I would have some wiggle room for the bathroom and taking mile marker and character pictures!

I also did the Disneyland Half so I could get the Coast to Coast medal. I never did the trip report for that one. I ended up with a migraine that morning and I also had not trained as well for that one, so it was not as fun of an experience. I did finish, but there were a few mile markers where the flag people were standing by! We were only a few minutes ahead of pace! If you see a flag on a mile marker, you are at risk of being picked up by the bus!

Thanks! I need all of the encouragement I can get! On race day, we're got a cheering squad of about 17 (the whole extended family is coming!), and I'm already grateful that they're going to be there. Now to get them spread out over the whole course....

I started training in March using Jeff Galloway's conditioning program. I was doing really well until about a month ago. I've got to get back into it! My sister and cousin are already runners and do about a 9 minute mile, but I've been training at about a 13 1/2. That pace just works for me.

Being picked up is my worst fear!