No Buy January

[reginaastralis]

1/1 - $0
1/2 - $37 (birthday!)
1/3 - $66
1/4 - $0!
1/5 - $30 ( completely unplanned)
1/6 - $0
1/7 - $23
1/8 - 183 - WOW! Putting a total on it hurt. But, this is money for clothes (for me, I actually bought something for myself!), groceries for the month, and toilitries. I don't think it's too bad honestly)
1/9 - $32 My fourth stop at Target for things I had forgotten, (I really need to get better at this list taking thing) and McDs for dinner b/c I wasn't feeling well.
1/10 - $0!
1/11 - $0!
1/12 - $30 for drinks at Applebee's (Completely needed) and $10 in my mom's tank for being so awesome and letting me drive her car
1/13 - $10 at Taco Bell for the fam ...
1/14 - $0!
1/15 - $60 at walmart, including $20 for gas. Some of it was also groceries. $5 at McD's for breakfast
1/16 - $40 at Publix for dinner ingredients b/c nothing sounded good or was defrosted.
1/17 - $0!
1/18 - $40 on disneyshopping. I finally caved, but for things Juliette really needed.
1/19 - $40 out for drinks and food after work. I also got $50 worth of free drinks since our server likes me. I told him I can't come back for at least a month ... I've blown a TON of money out this month.
1/20 - $0!

 

[neatokimmo]

I don't know if I have so much fell off the no spend wagon or hopped on the CVS freebie one I decided to spend some $$ to get my ECBs started again.

$2.20 for lunch
$26.23 for CVS

I have $266 to spend for Jan left and I am not going to do it! Instead I am going to use it to pay for my share of a beach trip (7 nights, Myrtle) in May! Only $227 woohoo!

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

I need to post week 3 but I'm soooo tired. I just wrote two-2 hour scripts for our Variety Show, and each night has three MC's (Spock, Captain Kirk, Alien With Crazy Hair (both nights) and Princess Leia). Let me tell you, people, writing comedy is tough. Writing G rated comedy is dang near impossible!

Please let me use one of George Carlin's words, awwwww, please?

So, I have wookies shedding uncontrollaby, tribbles on the loose, and Captain Kirk referring to himself as eye candy and a conehead misunderstanding and trying to chew on him. Oh, high wit and most excellent humor...

Seriously, after doing this somebody shoulda called me for the Golden Globes. "PTA Mom Goes Scab and Writes Golden Globes!"

Today should have been a zero day, but when my DH took me out to eat on our Date Day, I forgot the $50 gift card for the stupid restaurant! Because my brain was totally thinking variety show, not lunch with DH. Bad me.

Yesterday was at least a $0...

 

[luvsJack]

Life has definitely been happening around here and I haven't been able to post or stay completely within my no spend. Work has been crazy, with our office having to stay up to 2 hours late each night. I've had to run home, pick up my dd and run back out to dance lessons and basketball practice. Most of what I have been spending has been on dollar store trips (staying out of walmart!!) for things I have run out of and a couple of fast food meals not budgeted for. Plan to get back on track this week. Off from work monday and tuesday so those two should be no spends, then our hours should be back to normal when i go back on wednesday; that will definitely help.

 

[kandeebunny]

$0 today which was rough since we went to Target but I bought nothing.

Tomorrow (or maybe Tuesday) will end up being $40 or so probably not budgeted for. I am coming down with something ear/sinus related so a trip to the Dr and meds are most likely needed.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

Jan.1 $0
Jan.2 $0
Jan.3 $147 (fix car +subway)
Jan.4 $18 (movies-Enchanted-first movie in over a year with kids, used coupon, still not budgeted for )
Jan.5 $0
Jan.6 $0
Jan.7 $168 (groceries + emergency breakfast stop at McD)
Jan.8 $61.70 (home maintenance, in budget)
Jan.9 $125 (DD's birthday party, paid in advance, under budget so far)
Jan.10 $58 (gas+subway)
Jan.11 $0
Jan.12 $0
Jan.13 $164.93 (church and groceries, in budget),
Jan.14 $94.82 (groceries, still in budget but getting a little nervous)
Jan.15 $0
Jan.16 $0
Jan.17 $214 (lowes, ow), lunch $15, publix $94.07, dinner $26. Evidently I try to save up being bad for one day!
Jan.18. $0
Jan.19 $0
Jan. 20 $48 (it should have been zero except my dizzy self forgot the gift card!!!! )

I know I've blown my home repair category for the month and auto repair, but I am zero so far for clothing, personal care (I'm starting to look like sasquach) and more than half under budget for DH's birthday (this coming saturday). I'll have to add up the rest and see how on track I am later-Dh is kicking me off the computer to do the bills...

 

[smiller]

I don't have a recipe as such as I just eyeball it but typically I put in the following -
- Oats - the real thing and not those horrible instant powdered ones
- Sultanas and other diced dried fruit - apricots, prunes, figs, peaches etc - just whatever you especially like
- Nuts - again your preference, I like almonds, hazelnuts and pumpkin seeds
- Sometimes I add yogurt coated sultanas too
- to vary it, I also sometimes add wheatgerm and flaked oats but not too many or its sawdusty

I like it raw but if you prefer toasted muesli, add some honey and oil to coat the pop it in the oven to roast for a bit - about 20-30 minutes until its golden.

To serve it, the night before I put 1/2 a cup into a container, add some yogurt and/or juice and some fresh or canned fruit. The oats soak up the moisture so its like a bircher style muesli.

In the winter, I put my 1/2 cup serving into a bowl and add milk and heat until really hot. I leave it to cool for about 10 minutes and the oats soften and the fruit absorbs some of the milk.

Enjoy

I prefer knowing what is going into my breakfast, its got less sugar and fat than the boxed stuff and is an easy way to increase fibre and my fruit intake for the day.

Thanks!

I don't know if I have so much fell off the no spend wagon or hopped on the CVS freebie one I decided to spend some $$ to get my ECBs started again.

ITA! It's hard to know which one it is - I'm in the midst of a great CVS run, so I don't want to fall off that wagon, but I can't figure out from which envelope to take that $0.77! I can't go over budget just in the name of getting a great deal (although it's always for stuff I or my family needs or really wants).

1/20 - $0

Today I HAVE to go pick up my other coat from the seamstress and, of course, go to the CVS! Should be a low-dollar day, but not a no-dollar day. But, I did have lots of $0 days recently, so I'm feeling good about it!

 

[neatokimmo]

ITA! It's hard to know which one it is - I'm in the midst of a great CVS run, so I don't want to fall off that wagon, but I can't figure out from which envelope to take that $0.77! I can't go over budget just in the name of getting a great deal (although it's always for stuff I or my family needs or really wants)

This afternoon will be my first cheapie in a long time at CVS! I am getting 10 bags of M&Ms for 17.45 and some real food items like milk to get it up to $24. Then I am going to use my 19.95 ECB and my $4 off of $20 and not pay anything wooohhooo! And the best part, I get another $15 ECB back

 

[smiller]

This afternoon will be my first cheapie in a long time at CVS! I am getting 10 bags of M&Ms for 17.45 and some real food items like milk to get it up to $24. Then I am going to use my 19.95 ECB and my $4 off of $20 and not pay anything wooohhooo! And the best part, I get another $15 ECB back

Ohhh, I so want some of those M&Ms. I hadn't worked that into my transactions!

Back to the drawing board...

 

[delmar411]

1/21:

$31.66 ~ pay off hospital bill

$500 ~ DVC deposit

that's it so far..a few other auto-drafts to go through over the next day or so but obviously those are budgeted items.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

1/1 - $0
1/2 - $0
1/3 - $9.62 (Groceries)
1/4 - $1.88 (Groceries)
1/5 - $25.44 (Groceries)
1/6 - $5.64 (Groceries)
1/7 - $19.53 (Groceries)
1/8 - $0
1/9 - $0
1/10 - $0
1/11 - $10.09 (Groceries)
1/12 - $1.51 (Groceries)
1/13 - $17.51 (Groceries)
1/14 - $13.24 (Groceries)
1/15 - $12.82 (Groceries)
1/16 - $0
1/17 - $0
1/18 - $1.36 (Groceries) $135.53 (Clothes - Unbudgeted) $20.02 (Amazon - Unbudgeted) $50.00 (Used Gift Card - Budgeted)
1/19 - $1.88 (Groceries)
1/20 - $1.36 (Groceries)

Month Total So Far - $317.43

 

[tinkarooni]

This is my first month posting on this thread and I really like how you guys do running totals. I will do that next month...it must make it easier for you to see how you are doing.

1-21-08 $101.00: planned coming out of food budget - Costs for gardening supplies, seed potatoes, seeds, onion plants and organic fertilizer all mail ordered today. Sounds like a lot but we are still eating plenty of stuff from our supply of canned goods, frozen foods and even basement stored potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, pumpkins, squash, garlic and fresh herbs....but that's a whole different thread.

Yesterday we had a smorgasboard lunch and and we all used up all sorts of crazy food leftovers. For example my DS 9 had chicken noodle soup with veggies, one meatball, a slice of plain pizza and home canned peaches for lunch. Now the fridge is cleaned out for Wednesday grocery shopping. The grocery budget is doing so great that I am putting aside $40.00 to use for my DD communion party coming up in May. By than I should have enough put aside to cover everything! WooHoo!

 

[gottalovethem]

Wow, some of you have done GREAT! I fell off the bandwagon and have not kept very good track But I have FULL intention of keeping better track next month!

 

[smiller]

1/21 - $3.02 at CVS for 40 rolls toilet paper, 3 boxes puffs plus, pads, shampoo, conditioner, 10 sticks deodorant, 6 bags M&Ms, 6pk candy bars, 2 toothbrushes.

This is the only store I can leave RICHER than when I entered and carrying bags and bags of merchandise.

I think work this afternoon will be much more enjoyable with my M&Ms!

 

[kandeebunny]

Well today was HORRIBLE for m budget...$135 at the dr's to cover my deductable for this year, and $40 at the pharmacy for meds. Obviously unplanned.

 

[Siouxstone]

Friday, I spent nothing. Saturday, I spent $20 and totally spontaneous. One of my sisters is disabled and she still has one teenager at home. They have a really tough time making ends meet on disability and child support. My DNiece ran up her cell phone bill to $200 over the holidays. One of her siblings paid off the bill for my sister, but the offender decided to see if anyone would hire her at 15. She got a job bagging groceries 15 hours a week and I am so proud that she is stepping up. She was totally blown away by her first paycheck, even if it all had to go to the cell phone bill. So, I dropped $20 into her lunch money account at school so she can have a few extras at lunch. She is on reduced lunches, so it will last a really long time, even if she buys something different once in a while. I also made her a proposition: If she saves 10% of each paycheck (once the cell bill is paid off) I will match that 10% in July and she can have the match to go back to school shopping. I would also match in December what she saved from July until then for Christmas shopping. That way they start building up an emergency fund. They live so close to the vest that I worry.

Sunday, DH went off to get my Houston Chronicle and it had no coupons in it at all. When I got to work, none of the ones had coupons, so I think the out of town papers didn't get the coupon drop? I bought an Austin American Statesman because it has more coupons than our local paper, but not as many as the Houston paper. So I went over budget there.

Today, I did most of the weekly grocery shopping. I got really excited at Kroger because my total fell from just over $110 to $51 with my coupons and Kroger plus card. The lady behind me came running out when I was putting my groceries in the trunk to find out how I did it. I gave her my grocery game sheet and explained it to her. I also wrote my email on it, so hopefully I'll get a referrel. I also discovered our Mrs. Baird's Bread thrift store this weekend, so I went in today. I got two loaves of their high end bread for $1.56! It's almost $3 a loaf at Kroger & HEB! I'll still have to get gas today, but I'll do that tonight when I go back to work.

Let's see if I can catch up my totals:
1/18-$0
1/19-$20 for DNiece
1/20-two Sunday papers- $3.35
1/21-groceries w/list and gas

I'm super excited at how well we've all done this month. I know some have had setbacks, but really it's all about awareness and I think everyone has reached a better awareness of where their money goes. I can't wait to see how many we have back for February!

delmar411~ Congrats on the DVC! One of the things we have talked about lately is how much easier it would be to buy in if we continued our No Buy lifestyle for a while. Who says you can't buy magic?

 

[disneymom3]

Hi guys. I am back from my trip to CA and actually spent less than I thought. My sisters kept paying for my meals out so it was a budget saver for me!

However, get this! I went to see one of my sisters at her beach house. I parked where she told me to park and she said her DH would move the car before 8 the next morning. Well, she mentioned it to him but we didn't really get it planned and she and I slept past 8. There was a ticket on the car when her DH went to move it. So, I have a $50 parking ticket to pay in CA. My other sisters are ticked at her because she TOLD me to park there. Oh well. What can you do? Guess I'm not going back to her beach house any time soon!

We are going out to dinner tonight which is totally not planned and I SO don't want to, but DH told the kids that when mommy got back we could go to this Chinese buffet they like. Sooo, we'll go. At least I know what it will cost.

My other expenses for CA were that I spent about $35 on chocolate from See's and I had forgotten about the $$ for parking at the airport while I was gone. Good thing I am teaching a class this week!

 

[delmar411]

well we went out to do some errands:

$1.16 @ CVS (all tax)

less than $10 @ Meijer. DH needed something so that was almost $6 of the total.

That's it. Doing really well!

 

[reginaastralis]

Wow, you all are inspiring me to do the CVS thing.

The more I think about it ... the more I want to do it. Plus, with all my "extra" (it's just Julie and I) I was thinking I could send them over to my brother in Iraq so he can give them to people he's stationed with. I will have to warn him before I start sending over women's hygeine products, but they always need toilet paper, and 40 rolls of tp could make 40 soldiers REALLY happy.

Today was a zero day, but I am being lazy and don't feel like going back to find my totals, so I will do that later. Julie has ANOTHER fever, so she missed school today. I swear, I feel like it's every other week. UGH! I feel like I am getting it too ... but maybe I'm just sleepy.

 

[Adi12982]

Friday, I spent nothing. Saturday, I spent $20 and totally spontaneous. One of my sisters is disabled and she still has one teenager at home. They have a really tough time making ends meet on disability and child support. My DNiece ran up her cell phone bill to $200 over the holidays. One of her siblings paid off the bill for my sister, but the offender decided to see if anyone would hire her at 15. She got a job bagging groceries 15 hours a week and I am so proud that she is stepping up. She was totally blown away by her first paycheck, even if it all had to go to the cell phone bill. So, I dropped $20 into her lunch money account at school so she can have a few extras at lunch. She is on reduced lunches, so it will last a really long time, even if she buys something different once in a while. I also made her a proposition: If she saves 10% of each paycheck (once the cell bill is paid off) I will match that 10% in July and she can have the match to go back to school shopping. I would also match in December what she saved from July until then for Christmas shopping. That way they start building up an emergency fund. They live so close to the vest that I worry.

You are a WONDERFUL aunt and sister! I thought I should pat you on the back, since so often in life our good deeds go unnoticed or uncelebrated!