No Buy May

[smiller]

Welcome, everyone!

Post your monthly budgets here and we'll encourage each other to minimize the spending.

 

[2002Disneybride]

I never did this before...but I am going to try!
What do I need to do? Post a monthly budget. I have not budgeted before...
We usually spend about $75 on groceries a week...and I know I spend $ I shouldn't!

 

[smiller]

Hi everyone!

May - and beyond - is going to be TIGHT for me. I'm quitting my job! Ack! Tomorrow is my last day. It's a decision for the best, but I don't have anything lined up at the minute. I can survive for a few months, and I've got a bunch of traveling and other goals at the moment. I'm confident everything will work out!

$200 Total (to be increased by extra income earned)

New this month - I used to pay my CTA/public transportation as a fixed monthly expense, but since I no longer need the monthly pass, I'm including it in my discretionary spending. I'll try to walk and bike as much as possible to save money. Metra/commuter train out to the suburbs is still covered by a monthly debit - but if I need more rides I might have to take out of the $200.

I'll also be including: groceries, clothes, household, personal, going out, eating out, gifts, tailor's, etc.

I have a Cubs game planned for today that I'm counting in May, a trip to OH over Memorial Day weekend, and I desperately need new shoes. Plus all the usual stuff!

5/1 - $20.00 CTA (starter amount on pay-per-ride pass)

$20.00/$200.00

 

[smiller]

I never did this before...but I am going to try!
What do I need to do? Post a monthly budget. I have not budgeted before...
We usually spend about $75 on groceries a week...and I know I spend $ I shouldn't!

You'll see the different ways people post - I track all my individual spending as a lump sum.

Others post how much they want to allocate to certain areas: groceries, household, clothing, etc. Some track by week, bi-weekly, monthly.

It might be helpful to simply record your spending for a month or two to see how much you actually buy - then you can better create a budget and focus on reducing spending in areas you'd like to cut back in.

Knowing I have to come here to No Buy and post I bought something unnecessary and frivoulous is a big deterrent for me. I love it!

We're all happy to help!

 

[2002Disneybride]

Knowing I have to come here to No Buy and post I bought something unnecessary and frivoulous is a big deterrent for me. I love it!

We're all happy to help!

Thank you! That is actually the reason I thought I would try it...I am staying home with my kids so we are a 1 income crew...and we have huge debt.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I haven't been doing the "no buys" for a couple of months because of birthdays and other expenditures that came up, I just didn't think I could do it. Dh's hours have been cut and our budget is tighter than usual this month so I really need to stick to this now.

My exceptions are:
Groceries: $700
Cub Scout camp: $50
Vehicle Registration renewal: $70 (I don't really know how much this will be because we're renewing in a different state, I'm just going to budget the old state amt.)
DD's birthday presents: $120
Driver's License renewal: $30 (I don't know how much this will cost either)
Fillings at the dentist for DS and copay for other DS: $82


Ugh, just looking at that is stressing me, I think I need to start looking around for some more things to put on ebay to cover this, the only things I can cut back on are DD's presents and maybe groceries .

 

[hoffmann2828]

No Buy May!

I'm going to do a new budget this month, since last month, I went WAY over budget! I completely forgot certain things since it was my first month.

Hope to be on better track this month!

May's Budget:
Groceries - $220
Eating out - $90
Babysitter - $100
Household - $70
Miscellaneous - $90
Gifts - $30
= $600

 

[Tiggerish]

My budget for May is $700 which is high but I have car insurance and Mother's Day. In order to keep track I break it down into categories. For April I was over in a couple of categories but overall budgeted $600 and spent $586.65. My goal is to get my spending down to $475 a month and the first step was to track what I was actually spending. Then I can identify how to save.

For May, my plan is:

Church/Giving $50
Groceries $160
Gas $45
Auto insurance $240 (ouch)
Mother's Day $90
Medical $50
Eating out $15
Misc. $50

 

[mistymouse5001]

I want to sign up. I don't know how to budget. We spend about $300 dollars a week at the grocer. We spend $200 on gas probably $150 on eating out. $400 on cigarettes but I'm quitting so THat will be down a bit. What's a good amount to allocate for these things?

 

[casper_jj11]

I didn't do too bad last month but I know I forgot to include a bunch of things... including the tux dh had to rent for this thing he has to go to tonight ($200 ) Anyway, this month I'm going to try and post every day so I keep track of everything. And I'm going to lower my grocery bill. Went way over last month... got sucked in by sales and coupons.


For anyone new, I don't know how to quote so I'll just add my two cents The thing I love about this group is that everyone is there to help ... and no one judges when we fall off the bandwagon

I think everyone does it differently, it all depends on what works for you. I need to detail everything. Otherwise I'll justify my way into spending way too much money. That said, I don't list bills or regular monthly expenses like parking, etc. Those things I have no control over. As for things under my control, I try to list as much as possible. I throw all the toiletries and baby supplies into groceries since that's where I usually buy them. I have a discretionary budget for me and dh and if its something I really didn't have to buy, I put it there so I'll take it into consideration when I'm buying other things. My budget always looks high to me but I'm actually cutting my spending signficantly by making myself keep track of it and post it here. It really curbs my extra spending. Hope everyone has a great month!

Here's my budget:

groceries $540
gas $500
cat food $90
hockey registration for DS $500
summer activity registration for DD $100
Mother's Day $100
haircuts for both DS $30
new dishwasher $700
my spending $150
DH spending $150

Total: $2860 (it would have been such a great month if I paid hockey last month like I planned and didn't have our dishwasher break beyond repair yesterday....)

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

Hi! I'd love to join you guys!

I do have a monthly budget set up in a spreadsheet, but thankfully 99% of my expenses don't vary much and my estimates are always high. Anything extra I do my best to put towards credit card debt.

BUT.

I'm not always good about that and I need to reign in my "needless" spending. For example...

I didn't NEED the coffee from Dunkin' Donuts today.

I'm the worst when it comes to buying 2 things "needlessly": food and books.

The latter I've about got under control. I now take part in paperbackswap.com, so I have, easily, 100 books on my bookshelf to be read. The only expense is if someone requests a book from me, it'll cost me a few bucks to mail it. That I can deal with.

The former is my REAL weak spot. So, I'm hoping if knowing that I have to true up with someone here on the boards I'll reign it in. In addition, I've got a weight loss goal I'm working towards so not spending on food like this has dual purpose!

There's only two of us (me and BF) in the house and he gets his lunch free from work (he works in a hospital and gets it from the kitchen for free) and neither of us are big dinner eaters, except on the weekends. That being said, our grocery bill is usually pretty small - about $50/week. The plan is to maximize that spending to stock up on lots of stuff so that I'm not tempted to be buying out.

The only exception may be Saturday night dinner or Sunday morning breakfast. It's our weekly date.

So, tomorrow is a new day! And I will not by anything "needlessly"!

 

[spare+a_pair]

Hi everyone! I just found you guys, and I'm glad to be here!

We are working on paying off debt, and all of my extra money from "set" bills (electric, phone, etc) go towards that so I won't list those here since we spend everything in that catergory and don't go over.

We are on a cash only basis and that is the one that I need more accountability with. As of now, any cash that is left (and all change) go into the big piggy bank to use for spending money for our WDW trip. I also save any $5 bills that I get and that goes into the savings account - it's a nice way to build up an extra stockpile

So here are my budget categories for May - This is for a family of 5 (me, DH, DS (9), DS (4), DS (4)):

Food/Household: $375
Gas: $450
Medical: $135
Entertainment: $275
Clothing: $100
Misc: $290

Total: $1625


1 - $73 - gas; $125 - Mothers Day Meal (ouch! But this was WORTH IT!)
2 - clothes for twins - $23
3 - Lunch after church $35
4 - $0!!!!
5 - $15 - groceries
6 $0!!!
7 - $60 - gas, $20 - food, $30 DMC
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31


Total Spent/Total Remaining:
Food/Household: $35/$340
Gas: $113/$317
Medical: $0/$135
Entertainment: $125/$150
Clothing: $23/$77
Misc: $65/$225

 

[paulasillars]

May is going to be expensive I think... off the top of my head I have the following -
$303 for cruise payment (final payment is due in June)
$45 for drivers license renewal (and another $20 if I fail the stupid eye sight test which DH failed last month, only to be told by the optometrist that his eye sight is perfect but the test is flawed)
$36 for my WV sponsored child
~$800 for extra mortgage payments (this is in view to pay off the first "chunk" by the beginning of August)
$60 for eating out but will try to keep this to a minimum
$50 for stuff I've forgotten...

Extra income will be ~$300 for working away from home next week, though I will be using that to pay for my meals and I hope to do my income tax return which will be around $150 back.

So far ...
1st May - $0 and long may it continue

 

[flowerpower]

Ouch- April turned out to be an expensive month! Need to do better in May...

budget for the month

Auto $ /$100
Groceries $ /$300
Gas $ /$200
Ent/Out to eat $ /$75
Clothing $ /$50
Animals $5.36/$50
Misc Household $ /$50.00
Personal $84.00/$50.00
Donations $56.00/$100
Medical $ 50.00 /$50
Cigarettes $391.02/$250
Travel $45/$100
DD $23.00/$25.00

Total $/$1,400

DH $1240.00

5/1 Fundraiser donation $10/DH $50=$60
5/2 Haircuts/gel DD and me $103.68, $40 fundraiser/DH $50=$193.68
5/3 $0/DH $50, $65.17 cigarettes=$115.17
5/4 $10 DD field trip spending money/DH $50=$60
5/5 $2.25 DH coffee/DH $50.00, website $19.95=$72.20
5/6 groceries $21.04, $1.04 coffee, $6.00 Book Fair DD/DH $50.00, $22.55=$100.63
5/7 Drycleaning $6.35/DH $40, gas $23.80= $70.15
5/8 milk $2.59, gas $30, cards $12.24/DH $40, $76.53 BJ=$161.36
5/9 0/$50 DH=$50
5/10 Groceries $10.24, Mother's Day dinner $61.51/DH $50=$121.75
5/11 $50 dentist copay/DH $50==$100
5/12 $3.48 sandwich $0.85 soda/DH $50=$54.33
5/13 coffee $2.00 groceries $10.11/$40 DH $65.17 cigarettes=$117.28
5/14 $2.59 milk/$0=$2.59
5/15 $9.00 lunch, $20 gas/DH $50=$79
5/16 cat litter/lightbulbs $9.92, $1.00 donation, Panera $4.18/DH$ 50=$65.10
5/17 $0/DH $50=$50
5/18 DD lunch $2.25/DH $40, cigarettes $65.17=$107.42
5/19 $0/DH $30=$30
5/20 groceries $7.48/DH $40=$47.48
5/21 $2.25 ice coffee, $5.00 donation fireworks=$7.25
5/22 DD $7.00 lunch w/school/$3.25 breakfast me/DH $80=$90.25
5/23 groceries $12.48 $ 20.00 lunch/friend/DH $80.00 $65.17 cigarettes =$187.65
5/24 $50 gas, $2.25 creamer, $2.59 milk, $30.88 groceries/DH $0=$85.74 MTD
5/25 plants $12.47, $7.97 groceries=$20.44
5/26 $0/DH gas $33.75=$33.75
5/27drycleaning $12.45/$60 DH=$72.45
5/28 SW tix $45.00, groceries $7.38/DH $40 cigarettes $65.17=$157.55
5/29 $20 pizza for sibs and me (cleaning out parents house); coffee/cinnamon stick $3.00/DH $30=$53.00
5/30 Donation $1.00, groceries $94.51, $3.67, recycling bins $9.00, sub $1.86/DH $16.14 ??, $19.95 ??=$137.13
5/31$90/$40 DH =$40 Total $2492.84

 

[Debbie]

I'm in. I'll figure out my 'budget' over the weekend.

Everything is accounted and budgeted for with automatic payments: Church, hydro, water, gas (natural), RESP, savings for music lessons/trips etc. The things that I want to work on are 10 $0 days and:

groceries (including household and drugstore purchases) 115/600
gas (including vehicle maintenance) 66/240
misc 67/200

1- $69 (groceries and drugstore ) + $28 (dining-which we rarely do)
2- $7 groceries
3- $38 groceries + $33 drugstore purchases
4- $15 girls night out making cards
5- $35 gas
6- $41 groceries....DH and I both shopped, so now we have doubles of some things.
7- $3 groceries (DH's motto....a day without a trip to the grocery store is a sad day, indeed)
8- $22 groceries and prescription + $27 Mother's Day gift
9- $11 gas for lawn mower + $11 groceries for Mother's Day lunch
10- $3 buns for Mother's Day + $10 for Raspberry bushes (DH planted while I was at Church) and DD bought me a Tim Hortons green tea for Mother's Day
11- $0 (finally!)
12- $25 for gas
13- $90 for groceries
14- $10 for cat litter, $10 for decongestant
15- $0
16- $35 for gas, $25 for bathroom lightbulbs $75 for groceries
17- $8 groceries for holiday weekend
18- $0 (It helps when the stores are closed for the holiday!)
19- $0
20- $20 for school talent show
21- $50 when wallet stolen
22- $38 gas + $25 groceries + $10 water softener salt
23- $24 groceries
24- $20 plants + $25 storage tub (both out of household)
25- $28 gift, misc
26- $0
27- $36 groceries, including watermelon for after prom treat + $10 gas
28- $5 buns....sigh
29- $0....if you don't count the $478 for flights for August's trip! (that will actually come from a separate budget!)
30- $15 groceries (DH bought the expensive milk again) + $20 gas + $50 gardening supplies
31- $24-2 tickets to the final Amabile choir concert + $20 for Tim Hortons for the choristers [predicted expense]

 

[plummer925]

DH and I are working on our May budget today. We have a wedding to attend that we will be giving cash to the couple, so no 'buying' there, just budgeting. We do have a museum membership that we'll be buying (which I consider VERY well worth it!), but other than that, it's going to be regular expenses.

DH was laid off in January and gets VERY little unemployment, so we have had to cut our spending down to practically nothing (our monthly income is about $1200, but we thankfully have no rent/mortgage - his parents own the house we live in).

I'll post my actual budget as soon as it's ready!

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

So far so good today! I was good and made a lunch even though our fridge is sadly devoid of groceries. I need to hit up the market tomorrow morning. Just an FYI if you shop at Stop n' Shop - the flyer they distributed in the mail this week (at least in my area) had for coupons for doubling $1 coupons. You just have to spend at least $15. I'm looking through my coupons to see what I have to see what I can save on. I don't want to spend just because we have the coupons but if I can get a couple of things close to free then it's totally worth it!

Tonight I have a dinner/movie date with a friend that I completely forgot to budget for so I'm going to add that in to 'unexpected spending' which I suppose I could group with 'needless' for now. LOL Perhaps it'll help me work this into my regular budget every month. We're going to Vinny T's ($10.50 + tip - I'll have the Apple Gorgonzola Salad and a water w/lemon) for dinner and then a movie ($10.50). $25 isn't too bad for a night out.

So...

5/1 - nothing needless; $25 for dinner and a movie with Crys

Happy Friday!

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

SO in!

May is Cold Turkey Month for me.

No spending at all, on anything if I can help it.

Credit card is out of the purse, DH is going to do all the food shopping, only outlay for me for this month should be gas to and from work...

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

Knowing I have to come here to No Buy and post I bought something unnecessary and frivoulous is a big deterrent for me. I love it!

Yeah, posting that last number in April was simply really embarrassing for me. Nobody needs to spend that much. I couldn't WAIT for April to be over. I think it's the first time I ever felt bad about shopping. I used to enjoy it, a lot...

Now I'm starting to enjoy seeing how many $0 days in a row I can rack up. Cold Turkey March, I did really well...

 

[MomtoGKC]

I'm in - we went over in April so we'll try again! We go week by week bit it's always $400/week so I guess I can just say $1600 for May. I haven't broken it down. When I go over in one area I try to compensate in another. Like last week we went way over when visiting with old friends, so I didn't pick my bike up from the shop until this week.

May didn't start off great because I went over the last week of April so I took some out of my budget for this week. I'll figure out the exact numbers later today.