MAY we interest you in a month of No Buy???

[bigmama67]

Going for 9 no-buy days this month...fell off the wagon BIG TIME in April and didn't even track the last 11 days, UGH!

Happily, I'm able to lower the utility bill allotment this month but it will be most likely eaten up by the gas increases...


5/1: $25.96 Petco (more stuff for DS' "free" fish); $7.46 CVS; $33.81 Home Depot (new grill cover and play sand).

5/2: $139.36 groceries (aggregate from the weekend but don't know what was when); $5 gas; $12 doctor (but they should have charged $15 so I'm sure that will be resolved); $9.58 for potty training DVD and VHS for DD (Craig's List); $5 overdue fines at library (still owe $9, ugh!).

5/3: $0!
Paid bills and spent $26.65 on groceries/$433.99 left for the month and I don't need too much more meat!

5/4: $0!
$108.26 groceries (stocked up on a LOT, decent coupon/sale day too!)/$325.73 left for the month
(Edited upwards - we were at dinner when I realized the kids were out of milk boxes, which involved another grocery store run!)

5/5: Paid a few bills; $11.74 Post Office to mail Mother's Day cards and gifts; $33.90 for pet food and a few other groceries/$291.83 left for the month! At least I got a deal on the pet food; spent about $28 and got $20 in coupons to use on future Purina purchases which means, between what I bought today and those coupons, we won't have to pay for pet food again for several months.

EDITED TO ADD: we'll have to pony up $1 for the Tooth Fairy - DS lost #7 today! ;o)

5/6: DS school lunch $4.65; Dunkin' Donuts iced mocha $3.52; homebrew ingredients $48.95

5/7:

5/8:

5/9:

5/10:

5/11:

5/12:

5/13:

5/14: Going to Great Adventure for the first time this season! I've already told DS we will NOT be buying meals there if he wants to go more than once a month (season passes).

5/15:

5/16:

5/17:

5/18:

5/19:

5/20:

5/21:

5/22:

5/23:

5/24:

5/25:

5/26:

5/27:

5/28: Going to Six Flags New England - definitely not a no-buy day!

5/29: Coming home from Massachusetts.

5/30:

5/31:




No-buy days: 2/9

 

[Virgderon]

They had a huge neighborhood garage sale today, which I guess is pretty famous around here. My daughter is coming home from Japan and needs everything. I spent $37, but got: toaster, George Foreman grill, rice cooker/steamer, vegetable steamer for the microwave, coffee maker, salad spinner, 12 huggable hangers, cappuchino maker, a set of 4 brand new soup bowls and a dress for me.

Running Total: Spent $141
$948 budget... $807 left
$0 Days: 3
Goal is 9 or more!
coupon/sale savings : 16

Groceries budget- $250 -18-28= 204 left

May 1 : 76 (Mothers day gift , card & misc.)
May 2 : 0
May 3 : 18 ( groceries, misc)
May 4: 0
May 5: 0
May 6 : 28
May 7: 37 ( garage sale finds)

 

[bigmama67]

Going for 9 no-buy days this month...fell off the wagon BIG TIME in April and didn't even track the last 11 days, UGH!

Happily, I'm able to lower the utility bill allotment this month but it will be most likely eaten up by the gas increases...


5/1: $25.96 Petco (more stuff for DS' "free" fish); $7.46 CVS; $33.81 Home Depot (new grill cover and play sand).

5/2: $139.36 groceries (aggregate from the weekend but don't know what was when); $5 gas; $12 doctor (but they should have charged $15 so I'm sure that will be resolved); $9.58 for potty training DVD and VHS for DD (Craig's List); $5 overdue fines at library (still owe $9, ugh!).

5/3: $0!
Paid bills and spent $26.65 on groceries/$433.99 left for the month and I don't need too much more meat!

5/4: $0!
$108.26 groceries (stocked up on a LOT, decent coupon/sale day too!)/$325.73 left for the month
(Edited upwards - we were at dinner when I realized the kids were out of milk boxes, which involved another grocery store run!)

5/5: Paid a few bills; $10.78 Post Office to mail Mother's Day cards and gifts; $33.90 for pet food and a few other groceries/$291.83 left for the month! At least I got a deal on the pet food; spent about $28 and got $20 in coupons to use on future Purina purchases which means, between what I bought today and those coupons, we won't have to pay for pet food again for several months.

EDITED TO ADD: we'll have to pony up $1 for the Tooth Fairy - DS lost #7 today! ;o)

5/6: DS school lunch $4.65; Dunkin' Donuts iced mocha $3.52; homebrew ingredients $48.95; CVS $10 (prescription)

5/7: Groceries $77.07/$214.76 left for month (HARDLY NEED ANYTHING ELSE; got some great deals!); DH gas $41.47; $17.10 AC Moore (DS wanted to make a gift for me and got a T-shirt and some Dollar section stuff); $4 snacks at DS' B-ball game; $10.99 McDonalds.

5/8: This MAY actually be a no-buy day because I think we'll just go to the park but that's not definite; maybe $1-a-game bowling instead. I'll see what I feel like tomorrow!

5/9:

5/10:

5/11:

5/12:

5/13:

5/14: Going to Great Adventure for the first time this season! I've already told DS we will NOT be buying meals there if he wants to go more than once a month (season passes).

5/15:

5/16:

5/17:

5/18:

5/19:

5/20:

5/21:

5/22:

5/23:

5/24:

5/25:

5/26:

5/27:

5/28: Going to Six Flags New England - definitely not a no-buy day!

5/29: Coming home from Massachusetts.

5/30:

5/31:




No-buy days: 2/9

 

[wlake]

Picked up some groceries including Diogiorno pizza. Sometimes you just cant cook.

And that's why dinner here was sandwiches tonight!

Ooooh. TWO days in a row, I managed to keep DH OUT of the stores. I'm taking that and running!

Maybe you'll get him on board yet!

At least the only "impulse" buy was $3 for a slice of pizza. I teach college and was in the middle of a grading marathon that began at 4:20 am.

And I think grading a stack of 4th grade stories is bad...! I can't imagine.


5/1: $110 for DS6's birthday party (so worth it!)
5/2:
5/3:
5/4: $30 dinner out
5/5: $15 jacket for DS (I just realized how small the one he's wearing is. I can't believe I let him out of the house in it.), $50 water shoes for DS and pants for me, $30 for field trips
5/6:
5/7: $84 Target, ? potting soil, ? lunch out, and ??? (the other three went out to buy a Mother's Day gift, so I wasn't with them! Guess I'll find out tomorrow! )

no buy days: 3/10
longest no buy streak: 3 days
meals out: 1/5
days since our last meal out: 3
longest no meals out streak: 10

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I have been doing the $400 for the month as a whole, and I'm going to try something different this month just to see how it works. I'm going to try a limit of $40 for each 3 day period. $400/30 days is the same amount as $40/3 days over the month, but mentally it's a very different approach. I only have $40 to spend, but I only have to make it last 3 days! I have no idea if this will work or not, but it's worth a try.

I'm tracking groceries, eating out, and miscellaneous only in this top part.

CASH:
1: $0!

2: $0!
3: $23.50 Winn-Dixie
4: $0!
$40-$23.50= $16.50 left

5: $11.27 McDonald's
6: $0!
7: $0!
$40-$11.27= $28.73 left

8:
9:
10:
$40-$0=$40 left
$45.23-$0=$45.23 overage left

GAS:
2 - $21 (3.68/gallon)

TOTAL: $55.77

Gas was $3.68 on Monday and $3.89 on Friday. WTH?!? Up 21 cents in 5 days?!

I was going to go buy food and some plastic bins tomorrow. I have been doing some cleaning today and I think I can rearrange things in the bins I have so I don't need to buy any at this time. I still plan to buy groceries tomorrow.

I saw a camera with 12x optical zoom on sale for $149. I wanted it, but it's not in the budget so I didn't get it! I thought about it really hard though!

 

[charming23]

Went and got groceries today to make my mom a special breakfast tomorrow. I also grabbed some snack foods for our trip to the zoo on Monday. It is a mother's day surprise for my mom as our zoo has a new elephant exhibit and residents of our county get in free every monday.

May 2011 Budget

Groceries/household- $300/ $151.34 Left
Car/Gas- $50/$23.17 left
Cat Supplies-$50/ $44.31 Left
Eating Out- $50/$44.93 left
Entertainment/Misc- $100

Total Budget $450/ $262.95 Left

Goal of 15 No Buy Days


Week One
4/30- $99.35 Groceries/Household and $5.69 Cat Supplies
5/1- $0
5/2- $0
5/3- $0
5/4- $22.73 Groceries/Household, $26.83 Gas, and $5.07 Eating Out
5/5- $0
5/6- $0

Week Two
5/7- $27.58 Groceries
5/8
5/9
5/10
5/11
5/12
5/13


5/15 No Buy Days

Store/Coupon Savings- $48.10

 

[A.Mickey]

Running Total: Spent $253.95
$0 Days:4/14

Groceries ($186-$6/day)- $69.88
Eating Out ($217-$7/day)- $40
Misc. (Shopping/Entertainment) ($713-$23/day), Broadway Tickets, 1st Month Tuition for preschool $102
Gas $300- $42.07 (5/3-$4.44/gal)= $42.07

1- $22.82 (Walgreens-Groceries), $15.03 (Dominick's-Groceries), (Meijer-Groceries), $8.18 (Meijer- Groceries), $100 (Fry's Electronics-Hubby's Birthday)
2- $0
3- $0
4- $2.03 (Meijer-Groceries), $10.96 (Walgreens-Groceries), $3.82 (Jewel-Osco-Groceries), $.57 (Wal-Mart-Groceries)
5- $0
6- $0
7- $4.10 (Jewel-Osco-Groceries), $2.37 (Walgreens-Groceries), $2 (Dollar Tree-Papers), $30 (Lou Malnati's-Eating Out), $10 (McDonald's-Eating Out)


Budget: $1416....18%
Month: 7/31: 23%
No Buy: 4/14: 29%

My savings from coupons and sales: $338.71

August: $300 Hotel Room for Cedar Point
October: ~$250 Rental Car

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Misc. (Shopping/Entertainment) ($713-$23/day), Broadway Tickets, 1st Month Tuition for preschool $102
Gas $300- $42.07 (5/3-$4.44/gal)= $42.07

Who would have thought a month of school tuition would be less than a month of gas?!

$4.44 a gallon?

 

[Debbie]

Hard to believe that the month is just 1/4 done, since I've spent more than 1/4 of my grocery, dining, and gas budgets. DH did just say he was heading out to buy lunch meat (to make my lunch for tomorrow). I encouraged him to check the shelves-and he found canned salmon. He is always surprised when he does that, but I don't know why, since I always 'stock up'. You'd think he'd know that after almost 27 years.

Budget: (last month expenses)
Gas: $300($337)
Groceries/Household: $600($675)
Drug co-pays/medicine/lens: $30 ($149)
Misc including gifts: $150( $395)
Pool opening expenses: $600 ($0)
Dining: $60 ($0)

May 1: groceries $60
May 2: $0
May 3: gas $45 (does include gas for the lawnmower)
May 4: groceries $60, supper $30, Mother's Day gift $23
May 5: $0
May 6: $0
May 7: market $21 (bread and flowers to go with my Mother's Day gift), card, $4, groceries, $30, gas $55


Gas: $100
Groceries/Household: $161
Drug co-pays/medicine/lens: $0
Misc including gifts: $37
Pool: $0
Dining: $30

No Buy days: 3/12

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I have been doing the $400 for the month as a whole, and I'm going to try something different this month just to see how it works. I'm going to try a limit of $40 for each 3 day period. $400/30 days is the same amount as $40/3 days over the month, but mentally it's a very different approach. I only have $40 to spend, but I only have to make it last 3 days! I have no idea if this will work or not, but it's worth a try.

I'm tracking groceries, eating out, and miscellaneous only in this top part.

CASH:
1: $0!

2: $0!
3: $23.50 Winn-Dixie
4: $0!
Subtotal: $23.50
$40-$23.50= $16.50 left

5: $11.27 McDonald's
6: $0!
7: $0!
Subtotal: $11.27
$40-$11.27= $28.73 left

8: $84.45 Walgreens, Starbucks, McDonald's, Rouses
9:
10:
Subtotal: 84.45
$40-$40=$0 left
$45.23-$44.45=$0.78 overage left

GAS:
2 - $21.00 (3.68/gallon)
8 - $13.75 ($3.59/gallon)
Gas Subtotal: $34.75

TOTAL: $153.97

I ran a bunch of errands today. I hope I am good for at least a couple of days, although I am roughly on pace to stay within budget as of now.

Today's breakdown:
McDonald's $4.99 - Split a 2 cheeseburger meal (we got hungry while running errands)
Walgreens $18.08 - Mother's Day card + 5 fridge packs of Pepsi (12 x 12oz cans)
Starbucks $20.00 - Gift card
Rouses $41.38 - Groceries
Exxon $13.75 - 3.8 gallons of gas. I just wanted to top off my tank before the price went up again.

I did read an article that they expect gas to drop 50c/gallon by the summer, but that it will be a gradual drop. I am hoping that it goes down soon. This constant price increase is insane.

 

[Virgderon]

Got some groceries and saw the Prom movie with my friend who also has no kids in the area. It was cute, probably could have waited for the video.

Running Total: Spent $196
$948 budget... $752 left
$0 Days: 3
Goal is 9 or more!
coupon/sale savings : 24

Groceries budget- $250 -18-28-39= 165 left

May 1 : 76 (Mothers day gift , card & misc.)
May 2 : 0
May 3 : 18 ( groceries, misc)
May 4: 0
May 5: 0
May 6 : 28
May 7: 37 ( garage sale finds)
May 8: 55 ( movie, groceries)

 

[wlake]

Where'sPiglet?, I heard the same thing about gas prices. I can't wait! It's $4.51 here in town!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers on this board!


5/1: $110 for DS6's birthday party (so worth it!)
5/2:
5/3:
5/4: $30 dinner out
5/5: $15 jacket for DS (I just realized how small the one he's wearing is. I can't believe I let him out of the house in it.), $50 water shoes for DS and pants for me, $30 for field trips
5/6:
5/7: $84 Target, ? potting soil, ? lunch out, and ??? (the other three went out to buy a Mother's Day gift, so I wasn't with them! Guess I'll find out tomorrow! )
5/8: $18 Target (a case for my Mother's Day iPhone!!), ? groceries

no buy days: 3/10
longest no buy streak: 3 days
meals out: 1/5
days since our last meal out: 4
longest no meals out streak: 10

 

[figaromeetsmarie]

Groceries $300/$175.67
Eating Out $75
Gas (for my car only) $100/$20
Misc. $150


May 1st-$0
May 2nd-$22.98 Target
May 3-$30 Gas $60 groceries
May 4-$0
May 5-$40 gas gc ($50 value!) Groceries $41.35
May 6-$0
May 7-$0
May 8-$0

Coupon Savings $199.72


Goal: 9 no buy days!

 

[ronnmel]

I'm back! Trip and wedding were awesome.
I set up a low no-buy days goal since I'm not counting the first week. I'm not sure how well I will do though as my mom is in the hospital and so I'll have lots of parking and gas to pay for.

No Buy Days : 0/9
Gas : 0$ (max 120$)
Groceries : 0$ (max 200$)
Eating out (and snacks) : 21$ (max 100$)
Non-necessities : 23$ (max 200$)

05/08 : 44$ (dinner + flowers)

 

[wlake]

I'm back! Trip and wedding were awesome.
I set up a low no-buy days goal since I'm not counting the first week. I'm not sure how well I will do though as my mom is in the hospital and so I'll have lots of parking and gas to pay for.

Welcome back and congratulations! Can't wait to see some pictures! Hope your mom is better soon, too.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I'm back! Trip and wedding were awesome.
I set up a low no-buy days goal since I'm not counting the first week. I'm not sure how well I will do though as my mom is in the hospital and so I'll have lots of parking and gas to pay for.

I'm so happy to hear that the trip and wedding were awesome!

I'm sorry to hear that your mother is in the hospital. I hope she gets well soon!

 

[charming23]

I'm back! Trip and wedding were awesome.
I set up a low no-buy days goal since I'm not counting the first week. I'm not sure how well I will do though as my mom is in the hospital and so I'll have lots of parking and gas to pay for.

No Buy Days : 0/9
Gas : 0$ (max 120$)
Groceries : 0$ (max 200$)
Eating out (and snacks) : 21$ (max 100$)
Non-necessities : 23$ (max 200$)

05/08 : 44$ (dinner + flowers)

Glad to hear your wedding was awesome. Hope we get to see some pictures soon. I hope your mom gets better soon.

Hope Everyone had a wonderful mother's day. I made my mom breakfast and then we went out to dinner with my Grandma and family. We had a giftcard for dinner so we spent nothing out of pocket today.

May 2011 Budget

Groceries/household- $300/ $151.34 Left
Car/Gas- $50/$23.17 left
Cat Supplies-$50/ $44.31 Left
Eating Out- $50/$44.93 left
Entertainment/Misc- $100

Total Budget $450/ $262.95 Left

Goal of 15 No Buy Days


Week One
4/30- $99.35 Groceries/Household and $5.69 Cat Supplies
5/1- $0
5/2- $0
5/3- $0
5/4- $22.73 Groceries/Household, $26.83 Gas, and $5.07 Eating Out
5/5- $0
5/6- $0

Week Two
5/7- $27.58 Groceries
5/8- $0
5/9
5/10
5/11
5/12
5/13


6/15 No Buy Days

Store/Coupon Savings- $48.10

 

[Debbie]

I'm back! Trip and wedding were awesome.
I set up a low no-buy days goal since I'm not counting the first week. I'm not sure how well I will do though as my mom is in the hospital and so I'll have lots of parking and gas to pay for.

Welcome home! We're waiting for pictures, but understand that you might be a bit busy for a while getting back into routines. I'm sorry that your mom is in hospital. Hope she feels better soon. (and boy do I know about the parking charges!) Take care!

 

[Debbie]

A new week! Let's hope we are all up for the challenge!

Budget: (last month expenses)
Gas: $300($337)
Groceries/Household: $600($675)
Drug co-pays/medicine/lens: $30 ($149)
Misc including gifts: $150( $395)
Pool opening expenses: $600 ($0)
Dining: $60 ($0)

May 1: groceries $60
May 2: $0
May 3: gas $45 (does include gas for the lawnmower)
May 4: groceries $60, supper $30, Mother's Day gift $23
May 5: $0
May 6: $0
May 7: market $21 (bread and flowers to go with my Mother's Day gift), card, $4, groceries, $30, gas $55
May 8: $0


Gas: $100
Groceries/Household: $161
Drug co-pays/medicine/lens: $0
Misc including gifts: $37
Pool: $0
Dining: $30

No Buy days: 4/12

 

[Tigger1]

This sounds fun. Can I hop on starting in June?

Tigger1