November No Buy: Still trying to come up with a catchy phrase LOL

[BernardandMissBianca]

Welcome back to the thread for the regulars and to any new posters!

Rules are simple: you decide what to track, how to track it and what your goals are. While many people choose to try for as many $0 days as possible (hence the "no buy" title), if some other target works for you, then go for it![Stole this intro from MomtoOne]

I'm starting tomorrow because I haven't tracked the first 7 days

11/8
11/9
11/10

 

[stayhomemom77]

I knew someone would start a new thread sooner or later so I tracked carefully in Word.

As with last month, I am only tracking my MISC spending. I take $20 a week for pocket money for misc. disposable spending but I've found that if I have it, I spend it whether I NEED to or not. So, I'm trying to cut back and toss the leftover money in the Disney jar...because it has been woefully neglected lately.

I will receive $20 each Thursday...on November 1st, November 8th, November 15th, November 22nd and November 29th (which will go until December 5th). Each time I take out the new $20, the remainder from the Thursday previous will go into the Disney jar. Hopefully I won't have to pull any out again like last month.

My goals for November are:

1. Hit the dollar store a maximum of once a week.
2. Buy fast food/junk food a maximum of once a week. (Better for the waistline as well as the wallet!!)
3. Try to make purchases only on errand day (Thursdays) to keep the impulse shopping to a minimum.

So I'm a week in, and here's what I've got so far:

No Buy Days: 6/26
Trips to the Dollar Store: 0/4
Fast food stops: 1/4
Total in the change jar: $9.02

Nov 1-$0
Nov 2-$0
Nov 3-$10.98 Ben and Jerry's ice cream and bakery coffee cakes from RCSS--the family had a junk food treat night
Nov 4-$0
Nov 5-$0
Nov 6-$0
Nov 7-$0

 

[pjlla]

Hey there BAMB! Love to join you, but unfortunately I've been indulging in some "retail therapy" during the hours I need to kill while DD is at swim. I've been trying to be good and stick with "necessities" (like groceries and scrapping paper! ), and I did make it through BB&B last night and only buy the SodaStream refills I went in for.... but it is HARD!

I did buy something impulsively at ACMoore on Wednesday, but thought about it and will be returning it next week. Sure it was only $12, but that is money better saved for Christmas or next year's "fingers-crossed-hope-it-works-out" graduation trip to WDW for DD! .......................P

 

[NorCalGal]

Hello:

This is my first time trying this. I used to see the threads and thought you were all trying to have a whole month of not buying anything (or maybe just minimal groceries.) I was too intimidated to even look in the thread!
I did finally check one out and was happy to see that wasn't the case! I'm pretty frugal with most of my expenses, but I had become concerned about how much money I was spending for food, and that I made far too many impulse purchases - even if they were small ones. I tracked my expenses for three months, and verified that my other expenses were fine, and when I first looked at food I thought it wasn't bad either. I was averaging $25 per week on groceries; another $25 per week on "luxury food" (snack items, trips to Starbucks or the bakery), and another $25 on dining out. Taken individually, I thought it wasn't too bad, and then I realized that I was spending $75 per week to feed myself

My goal is to spend $40 per week, and to have 10 no buy days per month (I hope to work that up to 15.) I pro-rated for this month because I leave for WDW on the 27th, for free dining at Pop! So, far:

No buy days: 2/9
Food: $43.27/$149

This is for the 1st thru 7th, so I went a little over on food, but doing better. I figure I can make that up easily. I may try to do the "envelope" method so I know how much of my $40 I've spent, but that might get complicated since I buy other items at the grocery store when they're having a really good sale (toiletries, paper products, etc.) Anyone else have a good method to do this?

 

[stayhomemom77]

Welcome to the thread!!

I like the envelope method and use it but I also keep a separate budget for stocking up on good sales. I track it separately from the regular food budget (I don't even take that money out in cash since it's nowhere near regulated) so perhaps going ahead with the $40 in the envelope and ringing up the sale deals in a separate transaction would work well for you?

Good luck with your goals this month...and have a great time in Disney!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Welcome everyone!!

Hey Pamela!

If you want to take DD to WDW, I will help. Nancy and I are planning a double trip with our DS16's because they will be graduating soon too so we need to bank some serious cash!! Glad you are taking the impulse item back, did you really need it??? I'm having the same problem here, I am really trying to justify the scrap stuff I buy.

Good job on the budgeting Cindy! $75 a week isn't terrible, but we could all do better in that department. Can you bake something at home for the week instead? Better for you and your wallet!!

I'm having a tough time getting my brain wrapped around a budget for the month. Between the kids being sick, the 8000 days off this month for storms and holidays, it's killing me! I need to dig out my receipts tonight and see how bad the damage is.

 

[stayhomemom77]

For those struggling with impulse buys...may I share something that worked for me when I was in a similar situation a little while back? I found myself shopping to kill time while I waited and buying all sorts of stuff I really didn't need.

I used reverse psychology on myself...and it actually worked!

I gave myself permission to spend $10 per week on frivilous items and then (perhaps because it was no longer illicit) I found I wasn't usually spending anything.

Sometimes I made a game of it...trying to find something for less that $3, trying to find something for a certain member of the family or for a certain room in the house (new soap dispenser for the bathroom, etc) or sometimes I'd only let myself buy something if it was marked down by at least 30%.

If I was really desperate, sometimes I'd shop away...adding things to my cart or basket or just carrying them in my hands until 5 minutes before I had to leave...AND THEN I'D PUT IT ALL BACK!! After all, there's nothing wrong with shopping...it's the BUYING that destroys the budget.

I felt pretty empowered once I was able to exert control over myself and it ended up being a great experience...and it's much easier for me now to rethink unnecessary purchases.

HTH!!

 

[NorCalGal]

Welcome to the thread!!

I like the envelope method and use it but I also keep a separate budget for stocking up on good sales. I track it separately from the regular food budget (I don't even take that money out in cash since it's nowhere near regulated) so perhaps going ahead with the $40 in the envelope and ringing up the sale deals in a separate transaction would work well for you?

Good luck with your goals this month...and have a great time in Disney!

Thank you! I like the idea of having a separate "stock up" budget.

For those struggling with impulse buys...may I share something that worked for me when I was in a similar situation a little while back? I found myself shopping to kill time while I waited and buying all sorts of stuff I really didn't need.

I used reverse psychology on myself...and it actually worked!

I gave myself permission to spend $10 per week on frivilous items and then (perhaps because it was no longer illicit) I found I wasn't usually spending anything.

I am a horrible impulse buyer - more food than anything else, but sometimes fun seasonal items and the Dollar Store. I think giving myself limits will help that. I was hoping to spend less than $40 this week since I went over last week, but I'm already over and there's three days left! Darn those Starbucks holiday drinks. I'm glad that I have a specific goal, though, because when I realized I was over I decided to cancel Sunday buffet brunch and am committed to having three no-buy days to not make things worse. I have to decide on my budget, and if it will work for me to have envelopes or if I should just add up the numbers every night so I know where I stand. I tend to pay cash for everything except travel, so I think the envelopes might become complicated if I have to pay for things separately. I'll try doing a running balance in a notebook next week and see if that helps.

 

[annsteere]

Hats off to those of you that are hanging in there and doing a version of "no buy" this month. I was very strict and frugal Sept/Oct. which was designed to get me ready for Nov/Dec. I spent less than $20 on "silly stuff" or "random impulse buys during that whole 2 month period.

With so many planned expenses between now and 12/25, I can't figure out what a budget for Nov. would be

I'm just going to try to make good choices: 1) buy what I want, not what someone is trying to sell me and 2) look for good prices on those choices.

So far we gave DS and DDIL frequent flyer points worth $400 to come home in Dec (free to me and valuable to them) and I got a nightie in her fave color for my Mom. (With the $10 off $10 and a 30% off coupon for an on sale item, that gift cost just 5 bucks). We picked up a rotisserie chicken ($6) on the way home from church Sunday since I'm exhausted from fighting some respiratory yukk.

See you in Jan for a very disciplined NO silly spending month.

 

[NorCalGal]

Here's my update for week 2:

5/9 no buy days
$101.32/$149 spent on food

So, I am soooo disappointed in myself on how much I've gone over on my budget (s/b at $80.) If I can't get it back on track, I'll have to think about whether it's too low, but in my head $40 per week sounds like plenty to feed myself One of my issues was unavoidable - my frig is dying! I rent, so it's up to my landlord to fix, but I had to buy more groceries so I could fix meals out of some ingredients I didn't want to waste (and then I froze the meals at a friend's house - LOL I guess I could have kept the ingredients at their house instead but didn't think of it - in panic mode!) Plus, I bought some things like canned soup, etc, that don't need to be refrigerated before cooking. On the plus side, I should have a very low food budget next week because of that, so maybe it'll all work out. I have gone to Starbucks too often, so I'm working on that. I think the "no buy" days are brilliant. A couple of days I thought about stopping for a treat on the way home but I hadn't spent money all day and didn't want to ruin a "no buy" day! I think I'll be able to do nine this month with no problem.

 

[stayhomemom77]

No Buy Days: 17/26
Trips to the Dollar Store: 0/4
Fast food stops: 2/4
Total in the change jar: $27.36
Nov 1-$0
Nov 2-$0
Nov 3-$10.98 Ice cream and coffee cakes at Superstore—had a junk food treat night
Nov 4-$0
Nov 5-$0
Nov 6-$0
Nov 7-$0
Nov 8-$5.66 on chocolate (DH brought home 5 chocolate bars!!!), $0.34 in the Disney jar, $14 remaining
Nov 9-$0
Nov 10-$0
Nov 11-$0
Nov 12-$0
Nov 13-$0
Nov 14-$0 spent, 14.00 in the Disney jar!!
Nov 15-$0 spent, $4 in the Disney jar!!
Nov 16-$0
Nov 17-$0
Nov 18-$0
Nov 19-$0


**Edited

On the 15th, I went to the dollar store for some craft supplies for some gifts I'm making this year. I took $60 in cash with me (plus my misc $20) thinking that was what I had budgeted for all the stuff I needed. I underestimated so I spent $16 of my misc money and then tossed the other $4 in the Disney jar when I got home.

When I did the bills up yesterday, I realized that I actually HAD budgeted $80 for the craft but just mistakenly took out only $60 at the ATM. So, I'm rectifying that now. I may need to dip into next week's misc money for a few more of the craft supplies though...as I'm not done yet and I'm running out of garland already.

 

[NorCalGal]

I may need to dip into next week's misc money for a few more of the craft supplies though...as I'm not done yet and I'm running out of garland already.

I say we allow ourselves a little wiggle room for the holidays - mostly because I'm over-budget.

I did well for week 3, Nov 15 - 21:

6/9 No Buy Days
$119.90/$149 for food

I got myself back on track for my food budget! Of course, I've already gone over budget for the last partial week of the month (I leave on Tue for WDW, and I refuse to count when I'm on vacation. I do track my expenses, but one of the reasons I budget is to I can splurge for vacation!)

If I can keep myself out of the store Sunday and Monday, I'll end up on the 26th at:

9/9 No Buy
$166.52/149 for food ($17.52 over budget)

I thought I was going to make it, but I had a special lunch out today that kind of blew my budget. I will say that it felt REALLY special, though, because I haven't been going out as much and it really felt like a treat (I've missed that feeling since I got into the habit of "treating" myself several times a week.) I did find that having no buy days helped a lot. Even though I don't always get the absolute cheapest price on everything, by combining my shopping trips into fewer stores on fewer days, I spend less overall my keeping down those impulse purchases (and I'm especially a sucker during the holidays.)

 

[stayhomemom77]

I say we allow ourselves a little wiggle room for the holidays - mostly because I'm over-budget.

You betcha!! LOL
I did well for week 3, Nov 15 - 21:

6/9 No Buy Days
$119.90/$149 for food

I got myself back on track for my food budget! Of course, I've already gone over budget for the last partial week of the month (I leave on Tue for WDW, and I refuse to count when I'm on vacation. I do track my expenses, but one of the reasons I budget is to I can splurge for vacation!)

If I can keep myself out of the store Sunday and Monday, I'll end up on the 26th at:

9/9 No Buy
$166.52/149 for food ($17.52 over budget)

I thought I was going to make it, but I had a special lunch out today that kind of blew my budget. I will say that it felt REALLY special, though, because I haven't been going out as much and it really felt like a treat (I've missed that feeling since I got into the habit of "treating" myself several times a week.) I did find that having no buy days helped a lot. Even though I don't always get the absolute cheapest price on everything, by combining my shopping trips into fewer stores on fewer days, I spend less overall my keeping down those impulse purchases (and I'm especially a sucker during the holidays.)

Great job!! Have a great vacation!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Haven't been keeping a tally, but haven't been spending much either. Can't spend what you don't have! LOL

I did go to Stabucks today and redeem my Free birthday drink though.