No Buy April

[Siouxstone]

The Game Plan: Everyone sets their own lists of essentials and exemptions. Think carefully over the month and try to plan ahead. For example, if you know you have a birthday coming up and need to buy a present, or if your Disney trip is coming up, list the trip period as an exemption. Everyone sets their own rules.

The Goal: To become aware of everyday spending habits and save a little money. Or, as I think of it, to end the $100 detergent habit. What's $100 detergent? It's when you run in Target or Wal-mart for laundry detergent and end up spending $100. Now, you may use everything you bought and it may fit into your budget structure, but if you are in a saving mode, did you really need it at that time? Or is it a money leak?

Posting: Try to post your progress every Monday. I found that the more often I posted, the more it kept me honest and the more I thought about it while I was in dangerous situations. If you need/want to post more often, that's up to you. We love lots of posts!


Take the next couple of days to get your lists together! In the mean time, if you haven't checked us out before, try reading through the No Buy March thread. We'd love to have you along as a participant or even just for support. Please feel free to ask any questions.

Good Luck Everybody!

 

[kandeebunny]

$200 as always this is for gas/food/post office/incidentals as everything else is already allocated!

 

[reginaastralis]

I am commited to actually keeping up with my budget this month!

I have it all written out (did it two weeks ago) and will post it later. LOL, I feel ahead of the game, for once.

I did think it was pretty cool that it's not the end of the month yet, but I am done wth my bills this month ... which is pretty cool when you work for tips and let's say ... it hasn't exactly been "busy" lately. I really feel ahead this month, and I'd like to keep it that way.

 

[KarenAylwood]

Alrighty... so I took the month off in March. I had been doin No Buy since August and felt a little burnt out and also kept slipping. So I took the month off, haven't been all that bad except in terms of eating out. I'm going to try to come back strong this month!

Also, my challenge right now is working towards not using my CC as much. I do pay in full each month but I feel like I spend more when it's on a CC. This is going to be HARD because I get paid once/month and have already gotten into the habit of charging everything and paying off once I get paid (leaving nothing in my bank acct after savings & the rest of the bills!). I just got a pretty nice raise at work that will hopefully up my income by about $200/month (starting April 15th), and I don't forsee any big expenses before I pay my CC bill on April 16th, so hopefully this can be my transition month!

I'll think about my budget and post later.

 

[megveg]

Hurray! Newww to the No Buy but I really need it

$200 for Gas mostly for the whole month
$100 for last minuite trip stuff (and food)


=/ I hope I can do thissssss

 

[mmfan53226]

I am so ready for the new month. Fell off the track the last couple of weeks in March and REALLY went over budget on food/spending with Easter, didn't really adjust the budget.

The good news is DH took a different job and will be getting more overtime, which is a good thing. And we have gone 3 months without using CC's and paid off DH truck one month early.

So even though I had went over budget, because I was staying focused on prior months, we had the money. Because I was on vacation this past week, I did find myself wanting to go shopping, but I updated the check book and realized what I would be doing to the budget and pulled it back in. And got right back on track.

Here is to getting back on track!! Still keeping the $250 weekly budget for food/spending/gas.

Krystine

 

[vegasnative]

March That's all I can say about that. We got a pay raise and my goal was to save the raise and spend less than $500 at the grocery store.

We went out twice in March, had to pay the babysitter and of course spent money while out. There went the pay raise. I have not added up the grocery bill for March yet, as I have kept all the receipts in an envelope and will add them up on April 1.

My goal for April may change over the next few days. We put an offer in on a house today, so if we get that, I'll have to adjust the budget. If we do not get the house, my goal is to once again save the raise and spend less than $500 at the grocery store. We also have no plans to go out in April, except to the Circus (so no babysitter & the tickets are already paid for).

Also, another goal for April. I need to check in more. I noticed when I check in here more often I seem to do better with my sepnding. It's when I spend money I know I shouldn't be I don't check in...like a guilty conscious. So, I'll try to check in more to keep myself more in check. Plus summer is coming and we have some camping trips and our trip to Disney that we need to save for!

 

[disneymom3]

I am in. My biggie is that I am going to try to knock about $125 off my food budget this month. I have never tried to stick to a specific budget for that before just bought whatever I needed so this will be a big change. Going to be hard to get DH on board for that because he doesn't have a $100 detergent habit, but he does have a $25 pizza habit. (Goes into Walmart for a $1 pizza and comes home with a bunch of other stuff.)

The rest of my spending is getting pretty good. This month I do have a homeschool conference I am going to and we'll be going out to eat a bit when we are there. I am holding back some of my paychecks from my extra job that we really don't count in the budget for that. DS is also having a birthday party so I need a bit of extra for that as far as food goes. Then I am going out to tea with friends toward the end of the month. We will also go to lunch with friends from our co-op twice this month. I think we should plan a night out to dinner sometime this month too.

 

[jrnunzio3]

OK, I'm in. It is my first time joining (although I have followed it a couple months on my own and have been reading the threads). I am going to try to only go out to eat once a week. I am doing all I can to save money at the grocery store/CVS (I am really shopping the circulars and using coupons and planning menus accordingly). My husband and I each have a $25.00 allowance each week as our blow money (dunkin donuts in the morning, magazines, going out to lunch at work, etc.) Everyone at work laughs at me because I have an "allowance" and they think that you should be able to spend what you want. I am sure that they don't have much of a savings and aren't current on all of their bills (i.e. carry a balance on cc's). If we don't spend that amount, we put it in our savings. I am going to try to buy only necessities this month (except for my race tickets for our November vacation in which I will get the credit card bill in May). Wish me luck!!!! I will try to keep everyone updated once a week.
Jenny

 

[neatokimmo]

Hi everyone

Ok, so I didn't do too bad for March, I was about $100 over budget (better than the $500 from Feb hehe). My goal for April is not to just stay on budget but to be $200 under budget to add to our beach trip that we are leaving for on the 30th. I have a few gift cards and I am doing a freezer/pantry cleanout. I went through the freezer this afternoon, it is crazy the amount of food you stockpile without even knowing it!

My April budget starts on Monday - good luck everyone

 

[rparmfamily]

I'm in!

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

I'm in, I have to work on the budget today, though.

What worked for me last month was to roll the eating out/grocery bill into one number, I think I will be in budget for the first time ever on groceries because of that.

What didn't work, um "slush fund". No more of that. I'm going to be specific on what I allocate money for.

Apr 5-12, Vero trip (first time!), have to figure out whether to just completely exempt that week or try to work a budget on it.

Looks like I may actually make the March no buy, by like, 5 bucks! .

I'm looking to repeat my super fabulous October no buy, though, I'm still amazed by that month. I rocked!

 

[Siouxstone]

I am so excited to have people on board again this month! I always wonder if it's getting old and I'll have to go it alone! I am so thankful for all the support here!

I've almost completed my April Budget and it doesn't seem too bad. Well, the tax man cometh, but I've made a few changes in our deductions so this should be the last year I pay anything! And, it should only be about $225! I can handle that.

I'll get it posted tomorrow.

Thanks again everyone! I think April will be a super month!

 

[SnowWhite607]

I have never done a no-buy month but I would love to try! Count me in (I think!!)

 

[tasha99]

Hi. First "no buy" month for me.

Here's what I have to buy:

Birthday gifts for 2 sisters: $50
Yearbook for my son: $20

Here's where I need to STOP spending money:

Breakfast (coffee and danish) and/or lunch out for me. I can't stop this completely, but if I limit it to one lunch with my teen daughter per week (I pay for both lunches) and one lunch per week with my friend (we go dutch), I'll save a whole lot of money!

Dinner out at night. It really adds up. I'm thinking 2 pizzas per month (every other Saturday) and making homemade hamburgers on the other Saturdays could still keep our family "Saturday meal" going, but save over $100. We'll still rent a movie.

Also, I'm going to write down what my teen daughter spends. She always hits me up for money above and beyond her allowance. I could probably save a lot by telling her no--she doesn't really need to go to the movies or if she does, she could hit the dollar theater or have a friend over for a rental on our big screen.

That's it. I think I can save $300 or so per month just by not buying junk, not eating out so much, and saying no to DD.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

So, thinking about my success in October, I went back and looked at the October thread because I am having trouble thinking ahead about what I need to budget for (shocker! you think I'd get better at this).

It helped me to remember 25 for auto maintenance and 100 for yard work, so here's my budget with Vero Beach April 5-12 exempted:

Dog vaccinations $250
Dog boarding 105 (yeah, technically part of vero, but I'll put it in there)
Food (groc & eating out) $ 600 (we'll be gone a week)
Clothing $100 (actually already spent this for Vero but it won't show up until April so in it goes...)
Personal Care $100 (no, this isn't the slush fund. really. I swear! )
Auto Maint: $25
Yard: $100

Total for April: $1280

 

[SnowWhite607]

Eating out is our problem too. Also I bring my lunches to work, DD eats at school but DH goes out every day. He wont make his own lunch so I end up having to do it for him but then he forgets to take it to work and I have to throw it out. So he goes out every day. Granted its only Burger King or McDonalds but $6 a day adds up!

I eat a $2 frozen meal every lunch with some fruit. Dinner is usually home during the week but out on weekends. $40 a meal once a week adds up to $160 a month!

I try to do small things like save overripe bananas and freeze them for smoothies for breakfast, have meatless one night a week, breakfast for dinner one night a week, use coupons, etc. I would love to save more more more though! (the more we save, the longer we can stay at Disney, I always say! LOL!)

 

[smiller]

Hi everyone!

I was REALLY bad about posting for the past week, and we all know what that means! Too much going out!!!

I had friends in town from Sweden and it was so fun to visit with them, go out for dinner, cook dinner at home, meet for lunch - unfortunately, that equals in the budget department.

I do think I pretty much stayed within budget for household/personal/groceries, though, which is encouraging.

I feel like I have so little wiggle room right now but I need to take another look at some of my amounts. I'd love to up Going Out as the weather is *hopefully* getting warmer and it's just the nature of a Chicago Spring & Summer that one goes out more often. We appreciate days above 40 degrees when we get 'em!

It also seems like all my shoes, pants, and coats are falling apart . I need to up my cleaners/cobblers or at least take a "advance" from the upcoming months' allotment.

I'll post the specifics of my budget later; I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting!

Oh, yes. The $200 I'm putting down on this month on the upcoming WDW trip. (To be repeated the next month, and the next...)

 

[Siouxstone]

April's Budget

The usual suspects-mortgage, household bills on autopilot
Gas/Oil-$45 a week
Groceries & Household-$110 a week
Work Breakfast meeting-$10
Clothing-$100
Sunday papers-$7
DH weekly allowance-$20
DH's car registration-$55
Tax Man- $200 (taxes due and software)
Family Fun Day- $50 for the circus!
Disney deposit-$200

I'm dropping my groceries and household a little bit, but upping the gas/oil for obvious reasons. I have no idea if we are having the monthly work breakfast meeting, but I think this has gone to the wayside! However, if I don't plan for it, it will happen. Maybe if I plan for it, it won't happen! I didn't use all the clothing budget last month because of all the repairs, so maybe I'll make myself do a little shopping this month. I need to add some staples to my work wardrobe in the worse way.

We may or may not go to Disney for DS's 4th birthday in September. I will make that decision in the next two weeks. But, you know I wanna...

 

[DawnM]

Oh, I am so hoping our tax return comes in April (mailing it out today!) We have got to get our heat pump replaced!

Anyway, as always, no buying that isn't planned for. I typically will budget $200 "extra" for garage sale buying, discount buying and I will do the same this month.

Dawn