March No Buy..Rolling Into Spring!

[3goofyboys]

I'm in for the month! This should be a good month. No birthdays, baby showers, weddings, ect! I am hopeful that we will be spending a bit extra on moving, but we'll see if our current house rents soon. We did move back our move date to May 1st, so we have a bit more time.

I'm going for 14 no buys this month.

March 1

March 2 $31 groceries, $40 gas

March 3 $20 groceries (why is there always one more thing to pick up?)

March 4

March 5

March 6 $273 groceries- that will hopefully keep us in food for the next 2 weeks and it includes a baby shower gift (apparently I spoke too soon when I said we didn't have any this month) and dollar bills to play a shower game.

March 7 PLUS, I actually won all my dollar bills back plus $36 at the shower last night. That was enough to cover my baby shower gift. Hooray!! I did pay tuition for my guys today, but that comes out of a separate account, so I'm not counting that.


March 8 $40 gas, $11 landfill run. I also got my hair cut, but I paid for that out of my shower winnings!

March 9


March 10 $16 ticket to the local children's museum

March 11 $17 groceries-it was my turn to parent help in DS's class and I didn't read until this morning that I needed to bring a special snack. Nothing like an early morning grocery run. $40 gas AGAIN!

5/14 No Buys

 

[wlake]

I've decided I'm not going to count after school care towards no buy days anymore. I usually pay it on Fridays, and since I've already "blown" the no buy, it makes me more tempted to give in to the idea of take out for dinner that night.

bigmama67, happy birthday!
charming23, what great news!


3/1:
3/2: $26 groceries
3/3:
3/4: $35 after school care, $540 brakes (ouch!), $12 dinner, $16 skate night
3/5: $13 Christmas Tree Shop (candy for basket raffle, cupcake liners, and replacement garden clogs), $23 Yankee Candle (candle!), $24 Michael's (gifts for parties the boys are invited to), $51 gas and $16 Walmart (groceries and a dry cleaning kit I have a rebate for)
3/6: $35 dinner out to celebrate DS8 scoring two goals in his indoor soccer game today (he's not terribly athletic, so this is huge!) and the end of indoor soccer season (DS5 played too, but he's very athletic and usually outscored the other team) as well as $49 on groceries. A little more bragging here: I saved $30 on that grocery bill between sales and coupons AND walked out with coupons for a free box of frozen fish and a free gallon of milk. I'm pretty proud of myself!
3/7:
3/8: $6 groceries (well, ice cream after a tough couple of days) and $5 books
3/9: $10 lunch, $26.50 x2 for school lunches for the boys
3/10:
3/11:

no buy days: 5/12
longest streak: 3
meals out: 2/5
days without dinner out: 5
longest no dinners out streak: 10
non-consumable items purchased: 2/0 (2 books)

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

Charming, what great news! That is what government aid should be used for. I'm glad it worked out. Sunnie, I agree with Micky Mom that our thread has never been about judging each other. I have made some bad financial decisions, and I have had things happen that I could not control, but this is one thread where I feel "safe" that I will not be judged. Let's keep it that way everyone.

Happy birthday bigmama!

Bought a nice professional dress today for only $15 at Ross. I really have nothing to wear to my new job, so I am shopping, but with caution.

Hey, haven't we all made mistakes. No one is perfect, though some threads lead you to believe they are. That is why I love it here, we all support each other and like each other, imperfections and all!! And great job on the dress!!!

I had not caught up totally when I posted. Yes, Charming, that is great news. My grandpa just found out he needs that surgery as well. I hope your mom's goes smoothly, please let me know how she does. And how did I miss a birthday!!!??? Happy Birthday bigmama!!!

Wlake, I wouldn 't count after care either, it is a bill IMO.

 

[A.Mickey]

I love it here too! I love that this thread lets me be honest with myself and all of you!

One day when I can finally afford my first house I have a huge thank you to all my no buy friends coming!!

 

[charming23]

bigmama67, Happy Birthday to you.

 

[ronnmel]

No Buy Days : 5/12
Gas : 72$ (max 120$ Raising the max due to higher gas prices)
Groceries : 64$ (max 250$)
Eating out (and snacks) : 42$ (max 100$)
Non-necessities : 236$ (max 300$)

03/01 : 45$ (gas + pharmacy)
03/02 : 0$
03/03 : 0$
03/04 : 0$
03/05 : 0$[
03/06 : 95$ (canadian tire + dinner)
03/07 : 0$
03/08 : 118$ (dinner, passport, and a few little things)
03/09 : 79$ (gas + long overdue windshield wipers)
03/10 : 55$
03/11 : 22$ (breakfast, envelopes, groceries)


Happy Birthday Bigmama!

Your wedding sounds like it is going to be spectacular!! I M SO SORRY YOUR MOM WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GO! I think you are wonderful to do the photoshoot now, so she has a chance to be a part of your wedding in this way!! Is someone videtaping the wedding for you? You will be a beautiful bride!!

Ps, I would LOVE a pm of you in your dress!!!!

Thank you Sunnie! Yes, someone will be videotaping. Cuba has very crappy internet and cell phone service, so she won't be able to see it live, but she'll get to see it soon after.
I sent you a PM with the dress.

The best news of the day is that her cateract surgery is going to be paid for in full. She does not currently have vision and her health insurance sucks so it was going to be a lot of money up front that we could just not afford at the moment. So they set her up with financial aid at the hospital and she qualifies to have the surgery paid for because she is retired and on a limited income.

That's great news Charming!

Bought a nice professional dress today for only $15 at Ross. I really have nothing to wear to my new job, so I am shopping, but with caution.

I love buying nice clothes on special. Good job on finding this.

 

[SunnieRN]

Oh my goodness, I didn't take it that way AT ALL!!! That makes me sad, cause we have never been a thread like that. We all support each other and would be happy for our No Buy friends if they got such a nice gift. Plus, you mentioned it ONCE. I am sorry if anyone made you feel like that, but as yo usee your no buy friends are happy for you!

And yes, I think it will make me feel better to hear "I did it!" then "I'm about to do it."

Thank you SO much!! I love the members of this thread!!

WHAT!!?? How awful. Sounds like jealousy to me..sheesh..I'm sorry

Not sure, but I am really happy no one else felt that way!!

Happy Birthday bigmama67.

I wanted to wish you a Haooy Birthday also!! I hope you got a treat you wanted!!

Like a crazy person mom and I went out this morning so she could get her preadmission teasting done for her eye surgery on Tuesday. They had an unexpected opening in the schedule so it was all last minute. We went right there and came home as the weather is horrible.

The best news of the day is that her cateract surgery is going to be paid for in full. She does not currently have vision and her health insurance sucks so it was going to be a lot of money up front that we could just not afford at the moment. So they set her up with financial aid at the hospital and she qualifies to have the surgery paid for because she is retired and on a limited income.
]

Fantastic news!!! Hugs and prayers to you both, that all goes well!!

Virgderon, I know I haven't told you today, how much I appreciate you! Thank you my dear!!

 

[SunnieRN]

RonandMel,

You are going to be an absolute beautiful bride!!! Your dress is beautiful, as are you!! Thank you SP much for sending me your picture!! I can't wait to see wedding pictures on the beach! I am so happy that someone is taping your ceremony!! It will be a great keepsake and help your Mom feel as if she were there!!

 

[SunnieRN]

March 11-25:

Groceries $200/ - $93
Medical $260
Cash/entertainment $100

March 11: $93 Groceries/$23 Gas

I was able to add my leftover Groc, Cash and Med $$$ to my savings!!

 

[annsteere]

Yesterday was my second "spend day" for anything other than necessities this month. Trip to the in-laws, who are in their 80's and deserve some TLC.

DH packed drinks in a cooler--without me suggesting it! I am encouraged that he is coming around to the idea that frugal is a good thing. Not buying "dumb stuff" helps us have money for what we really want/need.

We had McDonalds breakfast a few hours into the trip but were still sipping our own coffee.

Bought KFC chicken for supper for MIL, FIL, SIL, BIL and nephew but threw together some quick sides to complete the meal.

All of that was good.

A quick run to their Goodwill in the afternoon while they napped was mixed. Got white dress trousers that will be a wardrobe basic. I've lost 17 pounds since last summer so they were a need. Also got a pair of "Lilly" print slacks that were definitely an indulgence. But, they were only 5 bucks and that is what allowance is for. . . .the occasional frivolous spend. . . right?

 

[nunzia]

Here we go:
Mar 1: 56.07 Birthday gifts for DBIL and DN, $12.20 for Amazon peanut butter (seemed like a good deal)
Mar 2: Not starting out very well! have to get past these birthdays...$98.34 groceries (bday dinner for 13, dog food, beer..etc), $46.00 DH gas (some will be reimbursed..he has to go to a town 90 miles away for a continuing ed class)
Mar 3: $2.42 for movie rental and a coffee, $9.00 dinner out with friend
Mar 4: DH got $23 reimbursement for the gas, so Plus that..then minus $10 to the church rummage sale (cool pedal car for DGD and really neat vintage desk for DGS), $9.48 Dollar Tree
Mar 5: $0 yea!
Mar 6: $7.43 WalMart (clearance toys..from $6 to $2 for Easter gifts & Sharpies on clearance) $2.19 Dollar Tree...needed 8x8 foil pan for a dessert I have to bring somewhere and got 4 at Dollar Tree for $2 instead of 3 at WalMart of $3)
Mar 7: 24.34 Amazon (2 pop up Harry Potter books and baby gift..had $10 off coupon
Mar 8: $20.00 gas..ack, $3.67 PhotoPass pictures developed at Walgreens
Mar 9: $3.57 movie rental
Mar 10: $18.00 dinner out with friends
Mar 11: $0

$510.29/$800.00 remaining

 

[momabaarjo]

What a crazy week this has been both at home and at work. My librarian’s mother passed away on Sunday…and of course she has the book fair this week. I had to take over and do it for her…not complaining at all because I love her so much and this was what needed to be done and give her the peace of mind not to worry about school and be with her family. At home the normal running around with 3 children and all their activities combined with Lent starting and spring break beginning…I am looking forward to slow motion for a week (wishful thinking I am sure).

Boy does this board move fast, I just spend the better part of an hour trying to catch up on 10 pages worth of posts.

I had to google Runza. Looks good! I've never heard of it. What college did you go to? UNC or CSU? I lived in Longmont several years ago and in Denver not as long ago, for a combined total of 8 years in Colorado.

I grew up north of Greeley my entire life and I went to UNC. My mother still lives there...my middle sister lives in the foothills above Loveland and my youngest sister is in Pueblo.

I just wanted to say GO RAMS !! DH and I are both alumni and still live close enough to support the school.

Go BEARS!

This month has three birthdays, one of which is my son's fifth birthday party. Why don't people RSVP?

I so understand, about the no RSVP thing! It drives me crazy, especially when I make it easy on people and include an email address, text me, or call me! What really makes me grumpy is when people assume that all of their children are invited and drop them all off…seriously a little sister at a party for a 10 year old boy?!?! Grrrr…plus the fact they did not RSVP when I clearly stated I had to have an exact count for the movie theater we were having the party at.

Well, my goal to buy no non-consumables has hit a stumbling block -- books! DS had a book order from school, and I hate to deny kids books! So, I ordered two for him and one for a holiday toy drive, which I'm not counting as it's going to be a gift. A gift that lives in my closet for 8 more months, but still!

I had a book fair this week on my campus and my children had a book fair on their campus. Toys I can deny all the time, but books…they are a downfall. I found a bunch to put in Easter baskets for the boys. DD is a little harder though, she literally reads a book a day (thank goodness for the public library) and I could not find any books for her…guess I will have to pick up an Amazon gift card (for her kindle) or a Barnes & Noble card for her Easter basket.

We are in Nebraska (go big Red!), Runza's are yummy, that's for sure! I made them once, it took forever, but they were so good, I should try that again! We vacation in Colorado, it's such a beautiful place, we rarely eat at Runza when we're out of town, though, just because Runza, Mcd's & a Mexican restaurant are LITERALLY the only places to eat in our tiny town, so we get our fill.

I figured you had to be in Nebraska. I can only think of 1 Runza in Colorado (Loveland to be exact). I remember growing up on "krautburgers" as our school had them at least once a month...I hated them, but with age I am finding comes changing tastes. I come up with a pretty simple recipe...and my family loves them. In fact I plan on making a big batch during spring break to have a few in the freezer...probably my last batch until fall.

 

[momabaarjo]

I am going to start over on this no spend thing! My budget actually runs the 15th of the month to the 15th of the next month...stinks being paid only 1 time a month...and mid month at that. I saw that someone else does the same thing...it will be easier for me to keep track of spending this way. I hope you do not mind.

I feel like the last week I have been nickeled and dimed left and right! There was a book fair at my school and my children's school. Then there was the school talent show, school artworks orders...track meet for dd...regristration fee for an all day scrapbook crop I am going to later in the month...UGH.

I am think for the first month that I am truly going to be committed to "NO SPEND" day I am going to just try not to spend to get an idea/baseline of how many days I actually do not spend...then set a goal the next month.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

1: $0!
2: $12.41 iTunes, Walgreens
3: $1.49 Burger King (5.49), found 4.00 in the street
4: $0! found 0.25 in the street
5: $22.47 gas ($3.35/g ), McDonald's
6: $0!
7: $82.03 Rouses, CVS, Cane's, Girl Scout Cookies
8: $13.15 Popeyes (Mardi Gras!)
9: $35.99 McDonald's, car wash, hair cut
10: $0!
11: $10.50 Girl Scout Cookies


$0 Days: 4
Spending: $177.79/$475 = 37%
Days Passed: 11/31 = 35%
$0 Days/Passed: 4/11 = 36%

My Goal: To keep spending to within $475 for food, gas, and miscellaneous. I do not track bills; I only track "point of sale" transactions.

I ordered GS cookies from a friend and then my boss said she was selling them, so I ordered a few more. It was GOING to be a $0 Buy Day until the cookies came in.

I am debating going to the grocery store today or Monday after work.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I am going to start over on this no spend thing! My budget actually runs the 15th of the month to the 15th of the next month...stinks being paid only 1 time a month...and mid month at that. I saw that someone else does the same thing...it will be easier for me to keep track of spending this way. I hope you do not mind.

I feel like the last week I have been nickeled and dimed left and right! There was a book fair at my school and my children's school. Then there was the school talent show, school artworks orders...track meet for dd...regristration fee for an all day scrapbook crop I am going to later in the month...UGH.

I am think for the first month that I am truly going to be committed to "NO SPEND" day I am going to just try not to spend to get an idea/baseline of how many days I actually do not spend...then set a goal the next month.

I don't think anyone will mind. Everyone on here is very good about supporting people to find the best strategy that works for them.

I think that is a good goal for a first month.

 

[3goofyboys]

I'm in for the month! This should be a good month. No birthdays, baby showers, weddings, ect! I am hopeful that we will be spending a bit extra on moving, but we'll see if our current house rents soon. We did move back our move date to May 1st, so we have a bit more time.

I'm going for 14 no buys this month.

March 1

March 2 $31 groceries, $40 gas

March 3 $20 groceries (why is there always one more thing to pick up?)

March 4

March 5

March 6 $273 groceries- that will hopefully keep us in food for the next 2 weeks and it includes a baby shower gift (apparently I spoke too soon when I said we didn't have any this month) and dollar bills to play a shower game.

March 7 PLUS, I actually won all my dollar bills back plus $36 at the shower last night. That was enough to cover my baby shower gift. Hooray!! I did pay tuition for my guys today, but that comes out of a separate account, so I'm not counting that.


March 8 $40 gas, $11 landfill run. I also got my hair cut, but I paid for that out of my shower winnings!

March 9


March 10 $16 ticket to the local children's museum

March 11 $17 groceries-it was my turn to parent help in DS's class and I didn't read until this morning that I needed to bring a special snack. Nothing like an early morning grocery run. $40 gas AGAIN!


March 11 We were going to run the St. Patricks day run this morning (first run of race season, YAY!!), BUT there was a huge SNAFU where DH and I got seperated and once we finally found each other, we were too late to register (note to selves, never attempt race day registration again). The boys did run in the kids race, which was really the point anyway. Not racing saved us $60. We did spend $1 to park and $4 on doughnuts after the "race". Plus I decided to have everyone over tomorrow for corned beef and cabbage, $25 groceries for that. Tomorrow should be a no buy day.


5/14 No Buys

 

[charming23]

Today is another no buy day. I am just spending it getting some chores done. We are heading down to my Grandma's for dinner later but since we are taking all the food it will be free.

March 2011 Budget
Grocery/Household- $300/$102.93 Left
Car/Gas- $50/$21.25 Left
Eating out -$50/$31.30 Left
Entertainment/Misc- $100/ $66.86 left

Total- $500/$222.34 Left

Goal of 15 No Buy Days

Week One
3/1- $75.27 Giant Eagle and $6.19 Drugmart
3/2- $18.70 Loco Laprachaun
3/3- $0
3/4- $0
3/5- $0
3/6- $10.25 Pat Catan's
3/7- $0

Week Two
3/8- $0
3/9- $95.02 Grocery, $22.89 Misc, and $28.75 Gas
3/10- $20.59 Groceries/household
3/11- $0
3/12- $0
3/13
3/14

7/15 No Buy Days

Coupon/Store Savings- $89.78

 

[suzieQ36]

3/3 - ended up buying some groceries - $40
3/4 - $0

2 out of 4 - no buy days, so far. This is really helping me keep on track. Usually, while my daughter is at dance, I will run around "shopping", but yesterday I spent that time at home and didn't buy a thing!

3/5 - $20.00 Mexican out to eat, $.50 canned drink, $30 for my husbands fishing tournament -no win $$ though:-( $40.00 gas for his fishing boat.

3/6 - No Buy day

3/7 - $30 gas & $70 groceries

3/8 - $40 Rite Aid, $8 CVS (thanks for all of the CVS, Rite Aid advice...going to start saving on shampoo, etc!)

3/9 - $45 Gas & $23 Walmart (seems like I buy gas a lot, but I drive quite a bit for my job and then I'm reimbursed for my milage at the end of the month)

3/10 - No buy

3/11 - $133.00 groceries (due to the wonderful advice on this board, I planned meals for the next 2 weeks, made a list, shopped the sales, even used some coupons, and hopefully will not have to grocery shop for another 2 weeks - we'll see how well it goes). Have a feeling I'll need bread or something between now and then. Plan to run in and buy only what we have to have!!! Wish me luck!! This will help increase my "no buy" days!!

I love this idea and I'm so happy to have found it thru this board!

Life is good when you have Jesus in your heart!!!

If you ever ask "Why do I deserve this?" - for something good or bad, also ask yourself, how can I take this situation and use it for the glory of God!!

 

[Virgderon]

I'm calling this a no buy even tho I spent $98. I got a birthday check for $125 from my uncle , and I really needed professional clothes. I laid out all my clothes on the bed that I thought were still wearable for work, and decided I just needed a couple blouses, a white tee shirt for under a jacket and a pair of shoes. I ended up getting 3 blouses, 1 white t-shirt, 2 pairs of a shoes and some of my favorite shampoo for $98. Thanks New York and company and Payless BOGO, get one half sales.

Running Total: Spent $215
$900 budget... $685 left
$0 Days: 5
Goal is 8 or more!
coupon/sale savings :70

Groceries budget- $250-3-52-47= 148 left

March 1: 22
March 2 : 0
March 3: 52 ( groceries)
March 4: 0
March 5: 11 ( Walgreens pop, cooking supplies)
March 6 : 22 ( cleaning supplies )
March 7 : 0
March 8: 18 ( 13 Walgreens, 5 snack at bowling)
March 9 : 0
March 10: 48 ( Publix)
March 11: 43 ( 15 dress, 28 gas)
March 12 : 0

 

[annsteere]

Whoops. My "real" post follows.