No Buy June

[paulasillars]

Welcome to one and all to No Buy June.

For the regulars, welcome back and to the new posters and lurkers - please feel free to join in at any point.

Purpose of this thread is to try to control your unnecessary spending - some call it the $100 habit where you go for a carton of milk and come out of the store with a trolley load of stuff you didn't really need.

How you do this is up to you and your circumstances. Post your budget (personal or household) and any exceptions. Then your goal is to try to stick to it! Remember that you have to come here and confess You can post daily if you need to or just as often as you'd like - some find posting daily keeps them on track.

If you are starting out with a budget, most would agree the first step is to write down everything you buy - then critically look at what you are literally throwing away your money on. As an example, I found by taking lunch to work I could save over $1000 a year - easier than getting a pay rise and something I had complete control over.

So thats it - think about your June budget and post, post, post and save, save, save!

 

[paulasillars]

Exception 1 - $700 for extra mortgage payments - still on track to pay off chunk 1 by end of July
Exception 2 - $36 for my World Vision sponsored child
Exception 3 - Kiva loans - as its a loan and not really a donation, I've decided to exclude this

Budget -
$80 for eating out
$70 for misc and/or stuff I've forgotten...

My eating out budget is a little higher this month as Robert will be away for a few days out of town with work so I'll probably take the easy way out and get takeaways to last a couple of nights.

Also Mum and I are going to see Princesses on Ice next week, and while we have paid for our tickets, we'll probably eat out before the show.

There is also an exhibition of embroidery and quilting at the Buddhist temple and apparently their cafe is excellent so we'll probably have lunch there one weekend.

No birthdays in June to worry about however there in terms of household expenses, our car needs servicing and its making noises so it could be expensive - its a 1993 model and its been very economical so far! Our council also has dog licensing so that is due this month too.

Our pays are also restructuring this month - going from every two weeks to twice monthly pays - means a bit more in each pay packet but two less pays per year. This shouldn't really affect our budget as on my spreadsheet, I go by a calendar month.

Good luck everyone!

 

[maggieusa]

I am going to give it a try this month

 

[neatokimmo]

-Sigh- I am not sure why I always say I am going to join then fall off the wagon..hard! lol

I bought a new house so I have a new budget. Which looks like the old budget except the numbers changed just a little.

Things I can control..

Groceries 200/200
Eating Out 50/50
Cats 50/50
Gas 60/60
Baby Loot 60/60
Mama Loot 50/50
Yardsale 50/50
Misc 67/67

I am going to buy groceries today but count them towards June.

 

[Debbie]

I'm here again. I'll update my budget later.....it's a very busy-and expensive-month for us.

Let's see:
Not included are the budgeted and automatic things: energy, Church, internet/cable phone etc.

groceries- $41/500
hotel/dining out (including grad dinner/lunches etc)- $17/300
gas (up because of a 10 hour round trip for the grad)- $161/350
misc- (Father's Day, shower and retirement gifts included) $-29/200

1- chlorine to shock the pool-20
2- gas-40
3- hair-20
4- final concert treat-10; mail a parcel-12; books/gifts-40 (for school and home)
5- groceries-40
6- gas-34
7- hotel-112; dinner 115; lunches 20; flowers 15
8- iron tablets for DH- 20 (out of groceries)
9- groceries-20 misc (pool stuff)- 28
10- 0 whew
11- 11 for registered letter
12- gifts-43 and groceries-40
13- gas-40
14- groceries 61
15- groceries 35
16- groceries 10
17- 0
18- 0 (but a bill for a pool problem came in)
19- groceries 10, gas 39
20- groceries 27, gifts (2 retirements + secret pal) 45
21- groceries 19 (I think that I need to send DH to food shoppers anonymous! )
22- groceries (including salt for water softener) 15
23- 0
24- gas 36
25- Dairy Queen (Blizzards/sundaes celebrating DD's graduation) 13
26- lunch 8
27- groceries 67
28- tomatoes 1
29- groceries for tortillas 20
30-groceries 70

 

[disneysuncat]

I am doing the "no buy" June. I have tried this before (but not announced it on the DISboards!) and never kept up very far. The one caveat to my no-buy June is that this month is my daughter's 10th birthday. However, I am not going overboard (I do THAT at Christmas!)

My biggest things I "waste" money on is take-out food, whether it's just running to the Chinese food place or going through the Baskin-Robbins drive through. It seems like if there is an extra $20 in my pocket, I am not satisfied until I have blown it on ice cream. Pathetic, I know! So, I am putting my goal of a no-buy June here, in hopes that I will stick to it.

 

[Tiggerish]

Budget for June: $400

Giving $50
Groceries $145
Gas $25
Medical $15
Eating out $15
Misc. $20
Vacation $130

 

[zachnsamsmommy]

I am new to this, but lurked the last week on the May thread. I started last week with a no CC charges...and stuck to it with not a single cc charge.

My problem is the frivoulous buying at Walmart, and fast food. So I'll start from there.

June
Walmart...no more than $100
Fast food/dining out...no more than $75

So far, that is it for me. I need to work out a stricter budget, but if I can keep up with the above...that is big for me!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

-Sigh- I am not sure why I always say I am going to join then fall off the wagon..hard! lol

I do the SAME THING. It's not that I've been doing a lot of frivolous spending - it's that I forget to track it and post it. EVERY. SINGLE. MONTH.

This month I really want to try to stick with it; June is my last month in NYC and we are moving on June 30th. I basically only want to track the food spending; it's my big weak spot. I get a lot of snacks and fast food out and don't track any of it. I DO know that I am spending well within my means based on checking my bank and credit card accounts each week to get a savings - owe on credit cards total. I want to be able to compare the food spending here to the food spending in NOLA in July.

I'm not even going to worry about the other stuff: moving truck, big WalMart trip when we first arrive (i.e. new shower curtains, pillows, cleaning supplies, etc...)

So yeah...that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

[kinntj]

The only budget I'm trying to stick to is groceries - $140 a week
An exception is Father's Day with $50 gift and eat out at $45. This is what I'm allowing, but will adjust as needed.

We're also trying not to eat out so much in June. This past week we only had take out on Friday (pizza). I'm trying to clean out the freezer and pantry.

 

[hardingk]

I am going to jump in on this too. I am going to try not to spend any extra money this month. Just groceries, try to keep it to $40 a week plus one BJ's trip at $100. Trying to save all we can.

 

[neatokimmo]

I spent $41.24 on groceries this morning for the month of June.

Groceries 158.76/200
Eating Out 50/50
Cats 50/50
Gas 60/60
Baby Loot 60/60
Mama Loot 50/50
Yardsale 50/50
Misc 67/67

My huge weakness is eating out breakfast. I am armed with instant oatmeal and cereal bars for the month.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

I'm in!

Do you guys remember when I BOGO'ed lizards, um, over a year ago? My daughters really wanted lizards, and we went to lizard expo (who knew they had THOSE) to learn more about them and somehow I wound up with four lizards, which proceeded to expire on us in gruesome ways until we had one left that we returned to the breeder...

Fast forward to this year when older DD 10 says she wants a Leopard Gecko if she gets A's-well, we get her grades and she misses an A by 1 point in Social Studies. She's bummed, I breathe a sigh of relief. Well, we get a letter in the mail on friday, her teacher messed up the grades and she's got an A in Social Studies.

Sooo, this month, my budget will include the purchase of 1 Leopard Gecko I can't say no, I'm really proud of her for doing so well in a year when she had to change schools halfway through...

And a pedicure for my ugly toes!

I'll post a complete budget for this month tomorrow, I'd like to do a lot of scratch cooking with the girls this month, so i have to do some meal planning along with the budget planning.

It was a good weekend, we spent the whole time outdoors. Sunshine is FREE! And it makes you feel better .

I'm just so relieved to be on normal No Buy and not Cold Turkey No Buy.

Good luck to everyone for June!

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

I spent $41.24 on groceries this morning for the month of June.

Groceries 158.76/200
Eating Out 50/50
Cats 50/50
Gas 60/60
Baby Loot 60/60
Mama Loot 50/50
Yardsale 50/50
Misc 67/67

My huge weakness is eating out breakfast. I am armed with instant oatmeal and cereal bars for the month.

Hey, my husband started eating instant oatmeal and turkey sausages for breakfast over a year ago and he just got his cholesterol tested-the oatmeal dropped it over 20 points! And he hasn't done anything else besides the oatmeal! We have to buy our instant oatmeal at costco in those huge boxes because the whole family goes through enormous amounts of it.

We're all very regular.

 

[mom2kazkids]

New here, I have lurked in the past. What I really would like to be my no buy for June is eating out. I am so horrible with it. We are now planning on going to MOA in August and I want to try to save the money I would spend on eating out and put it toward a shopping spree for DD at the American Girl doll store.

Hopefully me reporting daily will help me keep on track.

Barb

 

[Mama Steph]

Lurker here. I am trying really hard to curb my spending. I am trying to plan a 2 week budget Disney trip for 4 of the kids and myself for August. Dh is not totally against it but doesn't think we can afford the $2500 price tag. He is willing to work with me though. So far I have $300 set aside (our deposit, that he forgot about, from our trip in April) and will be getting a $375 stipend check in a few weeks that is not earmarked for anything. Still a long way from where I need to be. I work in the school so my I only have 2 more checks coming.
I took all the loose change we had in random containers in the house and put them in a sealed 2 liter bottle with a slit for deposits. I am calling it our Disney money. The kids took all there change (and even some dollars) and did the same. Now I am not spending any change, just full dollars. I have also been very concious when going to buy something. Fast food, eating out, stopping for coffee and snacks are my biggest downfalls. I actually pulled out of Starbucks today without buying a Frappuccino. I then came home and put the $5 in the jar. Same with pizza for the kids. I used frozen pizzas that were $3 rather than $12 to order. The extra went in the jar. I also bought a nice salad on sale at the grocery store for $1.50 less than I usually spend at work.
Not tons but definately a start. I soooo want to take this trip!

 

[hoffmann2828]

Month of June's Budget:

Food: $250
Eating out/Entertainment: $75
Gifts: $25
Babysitter: $150
Clothing: $400/$141
Household: $75
Miscellaneous: $25
Total Budget = $1000

Promo's/Rebates/Sales In: + $16

June 1 = Gymboree - $108, Target - $33, Sold Items + $16 = - $125

 

[u2katie]

Another lurker here, I figure why not give it a shot. We're planning a trip to WDW in August/September 2010 and want to pay cash so we're trying to save for that right now. My big money holes are eating out and Target.

June budget - $600
Groceries: $250
Household:$100
Gas: $100
Eating out: $100
Misc.: $50

 

[paulasillars]

I'm thrilled to see a number of ex-lurkers! Welcome to our thread.

Kickapoo - I remember the BOGO lizards, that cracked me up and I still have a giggle about it now when I think about it. If you remember, went on to blow my budget last June with the acquisition of a new dog, $700 for the dog, $125 for the transport, $100 vet bills, $40 accessories and so on... luckily she's been cheap since LOL

Today was a holiday for Queen's birthday, I didn't get an invite so didn't need to buy a gift

1st June - $0

We were going to eat out for lunch but ended up going to the supermarket (so taken out of the grocery budget) and we bought a box of (expensive) vegetarian burger patties, Mum bought burger buns and we put them together with items we already had and served with oven fries.

We worked out if all 3 of us had bought takeaway "burgers and fries" for lunch we estimated it would have been around $16-$18. So instead we got the patties $9 (box of 6), fries ($2.50), burger buns ($3?) and lettuce from the garden, tomato, beetroot (its a Kiwi thing ), cheese, sauce all already in the fridge - total lets say $16 BUT there are still 3 burger patties and 3 burger buns and 3/4 of a bag of oven fries left for another meal so effectively it was half the cost of buying fast food. Not to mention probably healthier and much less calories.

Bad news though - its the first day of winter and this weekend is the last long weekend until Labour Day in October.

 

[flowerpower]

Back for month #6!

Auto /$100, Groceries $75.93/$250.00, Gas $113.21/$200.00, Ent/Out to Eat $153.18 /$50.00, Clothing $6.15 /$25.00, Animals $11.84 /$25.00, Misc Household $83.53/$50.00, Personal $102.34 /$50.00 Travel $ /$50 Cigarettes $ $260.51/$250 Donations $23/$25.00 Birthdays/Father's Day$25/$50 Total $855.35/$1125.00 DH $729.50

6/1 groceries $3.00, Redbox $2.10/DH $60.00=$65.10
6/2 $0
6/3 $0/DH $50, B.J.'s $72.51 toothbrushes/cigarettes=$122.51
6/4 DD $2.25 lunch $35 gas. out to dinner $17.00/DH $40.00=$94.25
6/5 dry cleaning $6.15/DH $50=$56.15
6/6 $20 military museum donation, $3.48 basil plants/DH $40=$63.48
6/7 groceries $12.48, Walmart $74.61, $21.00 lunch with tip for family, $5.00 iced coffee, malasadas/blade meat sandwich $6.50 (2)/DH$59.50=$179.09
6/8 $2.00 coffee/DH $40, $65.17 cigarettes=$107.17 MTD $347.20+339.50=$686.70
6/9 $1.76 coffee, DD school BBQ $5.40 for us both/DH $30=$37.16 MTD $723.86
6/10 Walgreens cards and soda $6.48/DH $40.00=$46.48 MTD $771.39
6/11 $0/$40 DH=$40 MTD $811.39
6/12$53 wax/haircut/tip/$40 DH=$93 MTD $904.39
6/13 gas $25.00 coffee $1.89, donation $3.00/DH $40.00, $65.17 cigarettes=$135.06 MTD $1039.45
6/14 $2.59 milk, $4.49 ice cream/DH $0=$7.08
6/15 $0/DH $40.00=$40.00 MTD $1086.53
6/16 $ 30 out to dinner with coworkers/gift $5.00 lunch w/tip /DH $30 =$65
6/17 $2.00 coffee/DH $40, gas $35.70 groceries $15.85=$
6/18 $0/$30, $65.17 cigarettes=$95.17 MTD $1324.40
6/19 groceries $31.34, milk $2.49 gas $17.51, DD haircut w/tip $42 Bertucci $33.00, cat litter $11.84/DH $60=$198.18 MTD 1522.58-
6/20 $0.85 for Koolaid (kids selling) $17.24 ice cream, $25.00 gc DH FD gift/DH $0=$43.09 $1565.67 MTD
6/21 $0/DH $19.54 groceries =$19.54 1584.55 MTD
6/22 $0/$0=$0
6/23 DD last day of school lunch $5/DH $65.17 cigarettes =
6/24 $10 work lunch, $6.25 gift friend/DH $ =
6/25 $1.50 DD chocolate/DH $ =
6/26 $48 b'day dinner for SiL, $12.08 groceries/DH $ =
6/27 $61.35 gas, $9.99 food Expo , $11 jewelry/DH $ =
6/28 water $1.49 S & S groceries $5.26 Giant groceries HP $25.42 & tix HP $81.90, tix 1/2 $53.90, food HP $12.04 /DH $65.17 cigarettes, $19.67 groceries=
6/29 $45 gas to HP, ice cream HP $7.74, Giant groceries $8.79/DH $=
6/30 $0 /DH $ =