Well, the month will officially be over after tomorrow.

I've saved a little less than I wanted to with the money transfer from checking to savings, but my bank account looks a lot healthier than it did before, so it was still a success.

I missed my shopping excursions, but also found out that I can cook (the *healthy* cooking challenge comes next month) and have a lot less junk in my house for it.

We're going to try to continue with some of our new habits of taking lunch to work and not ordering out as often as we had been.

Today's been fun! Julia didn't have school today, and we had her conference this morning, which is a really good way to start the day. From there I took her to the 99 cent sweater sale where she picked out several sweaters she did NOT need! Then I got three for Kate, and they are all Talbots Kids (orig b/w $65 and $80), and look brand new. Of course I found seven things for myself, as they have many tops marked as "sweaters" which really are just knit tops. Even my Spring wardrobe is now complete! Anyway, then I took her out to lunch and bought bagels at Bread Co. for us to have over the weekend. All told, I spent $47. It's a gorgeous day, and we'll go to pick up Kate soon. I don't think we'll spend any more money this weekend, and Monday Julia and I are planning some sewing, so I think I'm in the clear until at least the middle of next week. Certainly until March 1st! On Sunday I'll go back over what I've done this month. I certainly didn't do the No Spending I'd thought I might, but I cut my spending easily in half. The interesting thing is, I haven't given up anything at all! I have been helped out, in this regard, by the ridiculous sale prices showing up so early in the season. All in all, I'm happy with the way the month went, and the changes I've made, and plan to continue to try to cut down even more in March.

I've been pretty good this week outside of dr copays and medication.... oh, and buying lunch yesterday.

I guess I've just not been in the mood to shop. I've made an effort to delete any incoming coupons via e-mail as soon as they come in so that I'm not tempted, but I now find myself with a Gap savings card and a 25% off coupon. They are still both still valid into March, so I'm planning my shopping ahead...

Well, my husband just brought down dinner (frozen pizzas that we already had in the house), so I'd better go eat.

Can't stop thinking about the sweaters. And by that, I mean, I hope I can get more tomorrow! Is that bad?

Spent $18 today on sweaters. Nothing else, though!

FYI, I'm over the whole cooking thing.

Went to the store with things to return and a list of a few things to buy. I ended up spending about $35 over the amount of the returns. Not a lot of junk though -- various foods and things we "needed" that were on my list. That's it, though! I feel good about it. It would be better if I hadn't bought anything. Today reaffirmed the idea that I simply need to avoid trips to the store. Perhaps I need to make running lists and shoot for shopping only one or two days a week, Tuesday and Saturday perhaps? It helps that all the major sales are pretty much over. They're either literally over or so picked over that they might as well be. :)

As you know, I did something awful to my back and of course, am having migraine troubles, so I ended up at Walgreens again today to fill prescriptions. I was really proud of myself for walking out with only $4 of extra stuff that was all 50% off.

The weekend was pretty easy for me as I didn't leave the house. And even though my back was killing me, I made two crockpot meals that we are just finishing up tonight... and we actually might even have enough for me to take to work tomorrow. I need to e-mail you those two recipes because they were so easy, quick for crockpot meals, and included ingredients we already had in the house. All of these crockpot recipe blogs and groups are going to help me get through some of the ridiculous amounts of food we have in the cupboard! We certainly have enough food in the house for meals for another month.

I did send my husband to the store for a couple of things Saturday, but he stuck to the list and only bought the grocery items we NEEDED.... well, except those crockpot liners, but that was the only "luxery" item.

With many of my friends giving stuff up for lent, I'm wondering if I can continue to stay away from my "dangerous" stores (Target, Walmart, KMart, Walgreens, Borders, and Gap) until Easter. My Gap reward card is good until June, so I don't have to worry about being too terribly tempted.

I did it! I was so good today! Hooray for me! I went to the post office and mailed one package, which was of jewelry which I'd been paid for, so it was actually paid for by the person who bought the jewelry. I thought about going shopping -- I'd like to buy some crockpot liners & a can of air to clean my laptop keyboard. I will go and get these things -- but not until I have more items on the list, or am going grocery shopping for milk anyway, since every time I go to the store I end up with extra stuff. Part of the key here must be to cut down the number of times I go shopping.

Looking ahead in the week, aside from this inevitable shopping trip, I can't see any spending at all. On Wednesday, when I'm here by myself, I think I will try to do some sewing. I have several items of clothing that I could alter easily, rather than continuing my endless search for perfect - fitting clothes, I just need to get on a roll. To this end, tonight I'm bringing my machine upstairs. I'm going to empty one of the cabinets beneath the bar, which currently holds some "theme dinner" bags, and put my sewing machine in there. Perhaps if it's easier to pull our (and put away) I'll actually get to my projects. I have a couple of tops which I'd like to make in to dresses for the girls, too. I think that changing clothing we already own could end up saving some money, but mostly would save time, and I might end up with clothes that actually fit. I'd like the girls to know how to sew -- not expertly, like making their own wedding dresses or anything, but just generally know how to stitch up a seam that has come apart, stuff like that. Perhaps that's what I'll do with Julia on Friday, as she's home that day & Kate's not, and it would be free!

Friday and Monday are both days that J's off school. I could make use of our memberships to the zoo and museam, also, which wouldn't cost money but would be special treats for the girls. In any case, I don't anticipate spending money during the week this week, other than the gorcery/can of air trip. I don't think I'll even need to get gas! If I can do that, my credit card bill (I do not use cash) will be 1/2 of what it usually is. Closing date is the 27th. 'Til then. . . .this is starting to feel good. :)

Sunday. Easy. No spending! Tomorrow I have a long list of things to do. One of those things is to mail a couple of packages, so I'll spend money on postage, but otherwise I don't expect any spending. I'll also be making a donation for Jump Rope for Heart, but I'm not counting that as spending.

My small goals for tomorrow are to make a meal in the crock pot and fold laundry. There are others, but those are the biggest of the small. Perhaps I ought to make my big goal for the day . . . finishing the taxes! Now I have to see if I actually follow my "monday plan" and spend under $10 for the day, just the postage. What are the chances?

I envy you, for having done your taxes already, and for apparently having gotten yourself in to new habits, given that you've used (and plan to use!) your kitchen to cook food :) Now I'll work on that too, and hopefully it will keep me out of the grocery store, instead of sending me there more often. My weakness. . .

I was not good today. Sort of. I mean, I spent a lot of money this morning, mostly on ridiculous luxuries which I refuse to name. I also spent a couple hundred dollars on pants, but I had a gift card, and they were hardly optional. ;) On the other hand, I did spend less than $100, if you don't count the gift card purchase (and I don't). Okay, so I went $26 over the gift card amount. Sue me.

And I have been so bad this week!

We've ordered in, I couldn't stop myself in the Walgreens clearance aisle, I had a hair emergency but probably could've gotten out of the salon without buying product, I stopped at Radio Shack after work today (I really needed a new hands free headset for my phone), we ordered out for dinner tonight...

I feel like I've earned a bit of shopping this week, though. I started doing all of my knee exercises again, with ankle weights, so I'm kind of working out. I think that deserves a reward, even if it is only a new headset or dinner I don't have to cook.

There are no other plans for the rest of the weekend, so I guess I'll start over, again, tomorrow.

Yeah me!!! I've been so good this week. Yesterday I didn't spend anything but the planned expense of bookclub. It was $20 for dinner (yea!) and $36 for the babysitter. Even with that expense, my day was at 56% of my average spending! Today I am taking Kate to the dr., so I'll have that co-pay, but I don't anticipate any prescriptions or anything. Oh, but I have to pick up $40 cash for the cleaners. So today will be $65, if I don't spend any other money.

Tomorrow I'm going hunting for a case of a certain wine for Andy's bday, and will also need to buy groceries for that. Wish me luck in limiting it to that! Really, how much extra could one spend in a liquor store??? ;)

I need to hit the reset button

We were at the same office today for a training and ended up going out to lunch and then we both felt way too lazy to cook dinner, so we ordered in.

I need to regain the momentum I had last week of starting dinner as soon as I walk in the door.

No spending yesterday! I don't anticipate a problem with today, either. The kids being home from school helps, as it's not as if I'm already in the car, and I'm not tempted to disturb happily playing children in order to browse. I remember thinking this would work over the summer, at the cabin, but once I fugured in the cost of gas & the much higher cost of food there, plus any shopping I did online, it really didn't save me much money. This week, though, is going very well. Hooray!

No Spending, No Problem!

HA! I spent NO MONEY today! A one - day victory! Julia doesn't have school Monday or Tuesday, so I'm hoping to keep busy with projects around the house, & don't plan any spending for the next couple of days. She really wants to sew, so I'm going to pull out the little machine for her. At most we may end up needing needles for the machine, since I have some jeans to take in, and I keep breaking the needles for denim. I have several items of nice clothing that just don't quite fit, but I'd like to try to fix them. I've found instructions on how to make your own dressform, so I might give that a try! It sounds crazy, but so does a $150 dressform. The final thing I really need is the elusive perfect pair of black pumps. I have a couple that are passable, and I have a couple of gift cards for stores which may eventually have what I'm really looking for, so I'll just keep my eyes open.

On the cleaning - out front, I have a couple of pick-ups scheduled with a local charity. On Friday we'll say goodbye to a bunch of big stuff from the garage. A jogging stroller, bike trailer, school desk, and toy ATV are on the list. Clearing that stuff out will go a long way in the garage!

On Wednesday there's bookclub (at least it doesn't bring anything new in to the house), Thursday housecleaners, and then maybe no spending for Friday, Saturday, or Sunday? Can I keep myself busy organizing my closet? You never can tell. . . but I'm hopeful!

Why I can't walk into Walgreens

After picking up a great deal on DVDs so I can clear everything from the DVR, I stopped by Walgreens to pick up pictures of my hair from the last 6 months.

Since my hair disaster on Thursday, I've gotten into someone else to fix it this coming Thursday, but he asked me to bring photos so he'd know what I like and don't like. I used a coupon and put the order through online. This should've been a 60 cent trip to Walgreens.

As soon as I pulled up to the parking lot, I remembered that I needed to get a sympathy card for someone from work (my boss asked me to pick it up) which reminded me that I should at least get a card for Valentine's Day for my husband.

I have no idea how I ended up in the clearance aisle. It's like a mystical force just drew me there. I was only going to look, but they had my favorite yoga pants on sale for $3.50 and there were three different colors in my size. I really couldn't pass this up!

I then remembered that we were out of milk, so I bought two half gallons, one skim and one 2%.

My 60 cent Walgreens trip cost me $22. This is why it's best for me to just avoid the stores altogether.

This morning I bought some books, shoes, and groceries. What I have learned about myself in the last few weeks is this: I spend $100 a day, almost no matter what. Even if I cut way back, I average about $60, although these numbers include gas, food, doctors, & prescriptions. There's simply not much variation in my spending, and hasn't been in about ten years. If I cut out most "fun" spending, and hit the $60, that's significant savings, though. There is significantly less STUFF coming in to the house. I was thinking that next week I may do no spending -- really -- but am now realizing that I have bookclub Wed. night, which means a fairly expensive dinner, as well as $12 / hr for a babysitter. By the time I've picked up some prescriptions, etc., I'll be surprised if I get lower than the $60. Lauren, you'll have to talk to me a lot. I guess this is "cut back spending" month for me. :)

Shopping lists

I think the new key to the no spending (or at least, limited spending) is going to be making lists before I go into the store.

I made it through the grocery store today buying only the one thing on my list and tomorrow, I need to go get DVD-Rs, but if I walk in knowing that's the only thing I need, maybe I'll avoid the clearance rack. Or maybe I'll buy them at an office supply store so that I'm not tempted to go through the clearance rack at all... Walgreens, Walmart, and Target are all dangerous for the lure to clearance.

We did go out last night, but kept the spending down to a small percentage of our remaining January money.

The killer this week was my hair appt... and the fact that I'll probably be making another one in the next week or so to correct the one today.

shift to no-spending "week"

Well, good thing we've decided to do this in March also, because so far this month has been a huge failure for me. I think that I may soon be tired of shopping - who knows? I'm hoping. Here's the thing. I should not have decided to clean out my closet and put together my wardrobe in a month in which everything's on sale for 85% off and I obviously need new clothes. I have spent the last two months buying gorgeous clothes and full outfits for very little money. In fact, I think I'm probably at about half my daily average, even with all of this shopping! I still need a couple of things: brown leather loafers with and without heels, black heels of a reasonable height (as opposed to those of only unreasonable height which I now own), and a white belt with a gold buckle. Okay, a FEW things.

Anyway, I should be finished with the wardrobe project in another week or so, and the good sales will have petered out. I should go with the plan I mentioned in an earlier post, and try to do this by the week rather than by the month. This WEEK would actually have gone very well, except for an $8 (85% off!!!) skirt I bought today, because I was home sick for three days. Unfortunately what I saved by being stuck in the house was offset by dr. copays and prescriptions, and then today I had my monthly hair appt. So. I'll hit "reset" for Monday!

And I was starting to get good at this....

Another day, another day tempted with eating out.

My husband's cousin was in town, so we ended up out to dinner.

I keep reminding myself that at least I'm only purchasing consumables and not bringing more stuff in the house.

I've committed myself to saving a certain amount though because I already gave my percentage to the Symphony last night as my charitable contribution. I must make sure I meet the goal now!

Tomorrow we have a night out for which we already planned ahead. If I can curtail the spending to just the evening out, we just might be in good shape.
It looks like we'll have to continue to try in March, though, because the NO spending hasn't happened yet... just the LESS spending.

Cooking is getting easier

My husband keeps saying that I just need to practice to get better at cooking. Before this challenge, I didn't really bother but maybe once a week. This is why our biggest hurdle was going out or ordering in our meals.

I have now successfully made dinner two nights in a row! It's amazing what kind of confidence that gives me to continue trying new recipes.

I've found that if I start on dinner as soon as I walk in the door from work, I don't lose the momentum of the day. Sitting down in front of the computer when I get home starts a lazy-cycle that causes us to order in so much.

Granted, I haven't started my 3-times-a-week-workout-in-place-of-shopping like I had intended, but I'm not sitting in front of the computer or tv for nearly as long in the evenings anymore... surely cooking is a form of exercise. Well, at least I feel like the meals are better for us.

Superbowl Sunday

So we didn't watch the game, but I got caught up in the food frenzy. $56 on food this morning. I had to go out for garden salsa, yogurt, and milk. I added several cans of various ingredients I hope to use this week. . . Anyway, it was all "allowed" stuff, nothing junky or extra, but still. Sigh. No other spending. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. . . I may be saved from shopping by the bad weather or by the fact that the house must be picked up for housecleaners to come on Thursday. I don't know. Sigh. I'm not feeling good about how I'm handling this, and it's only been one week!!!

Saturday, usually a big shopping day. Today I did buy some books in the morning, a total of $26.54. Then we went out to buy food, toilet paper, and kleenex. That was $55.34. So, I wasn't far off my daily average spending. Still, it was lower. Lauren, I'm going to take your idea, and transfer the amount I'm NOT spending each day (difference from my normal avg. spending) in to a different account.

Today, I can see the flaw -- I actually am fine with the books, it's the other stuff that bothers me!!! I know that going to a warehouse store may be a lower price than another store's regular price. The thing is, we don't need to have this quantity on hand, and I'm sure I could get the toilet paper & kleenex (brand is important, though!) for less money if I just watched sales and used coupons.

Tomorrow I'll actually look through the coupons in my paper, Wednesday I'll actually pay attention to the grocery ads, and I'll try to do better with those things. I also need to have more FOCUS if I'm going to continue to shop on Saturdays. Tomorrow I'm going to have to go to the grocerystore and get milk, yogurt, & salsa, but I'll try to shop specifically with a list. Perhaps I need to approach this by week? I will get groceries tomorrow, and then try for No Spending starting on Monday.

Not meeting my goals, but still spending a whole lot less!

Thursday, we had to take the cat to the vet, but that falls under medical expenses. Unfortunately, we got bad news and neither of us felt like cooking dinner. I could have pulled out a couple of microwave meals, but instead we did fast food.

Today, I had a baby shower during lunch and it seemed so much easier to order Subway with everyone else in the office than to make my ramen noodles.

The fortunate thing here is that we both have used our "January money" that we pulled out in cash last month for these little indulgences instead of pulling out of our bank accounts.

I did cook dinner tonight at home using some of the boxed stuff in our pantry and we are committed to continue cooking at home for the rest of the month.... except for tomorrow night when we're going out for a friend's birthday, but we had already made an allowance for that.

We are also talking about extending the "no spending" for another month because we have spent a lot less so far this month. Maybe the more we practice, the better we'll get at not buying a bunch of stuff we don't need.

One thumb up, one thumb down. . .

On Thursday I did very well and spent no money. Basically, Kate was home and we just didn't leave. Today, however, I got sucked in to a store by a need for cold medicine! I ended up buying $5 of headbands and such for the girls, some trouser socks for myself (a color I needed to put on right away!), and the cold medicines (small fortune).

Then I got sucked in to the mall by a love for the outfit I was wearing. I thought that maybe they'd have the same pants in a different color, and they were 80% off, only $14. Of course I walked out with a skirt and sweater, and plans to go back on Sunday, when I will stalk the shoes (nearly 90% off w/ a coupon by Sunday). Then Andy & I met for lunch at a restaurant, but I'd allowed for that anyway.

I realize, just these few days in to it, that "NO spending" isn't going to work for me. In addition to hair, lunches, etc., I also need to set a monthly (low) allowance in some amount. That way, I can do some of this extra shopping, but will have to weigh one purchase against another to stay within the limit. I'm thinking something in the ballpark of $150 or $200. Perhaps I'll see how this month goes, and then try to do the "no spending" again next month, but stick very strictly to my allowance limits! Maybe I can get away w/ an allowance of $100?

UGH with the no spending, but I really do have some great looking outfits for the rest of the winter! :) I'm wondering what I can cut back to make this break even. . . sigh.

Day 3 -- I'm not trying hard enough

Today I met a friend for coffee, but spent less than $2. After that, I went to the store to buy some $1 nail polish to try to repair the scuff on a pair of shiny shoes (long story). I walked out with several tote bags, the nail polish, and three sets of scarves & gloves. The sales are what killed me, as all of these things together only $30! So, huge failure as the goal goes -- $32 today. Still, I figure that's about 10% of what I'd normally spend in the first three days of a month, so I just don't feel too bad about it.

Obviously, this is going to be my challenge, taking it seriously. I have been too complacent, and didn't hold back in the store, nor did I feel bad about it after I spent the money! I am having a hard time feeling bad about $32. Perhaps if I chant something nasty to myself, over and over, I will get the message? I don't know. I don't have any plans to go shopping Thursday or Friday --- Saturday, of course, is usually a disaster. . . Maybe I should just try to do "no shopping except on Saturday." UGH. I obviously need some inspiration.

The good news is that I've gotten rid of about 30% of the clothes in my closet! :)

I blew it... but I only spent $3, does that count?

I called ahead to the Jury Duty office to see if there were microwaves available so I could bring my own lunch, but I forgot about asking if I could bring in cans of soda.

Not wanting to be sent back to the car because I brought in something I shouldn't have, I left the soda and my water bottle in the car.

I paid $1.25 for a bottle of water in the morning, but kept refilling it throughout the day, but I needed some caffeine by lunchtime, so I bought a soda for $1.38 at the snack shop.

Not too bad, but not what I wanted to do. The only consolation is that I now have change to put in our change jar.

The goals

One of my goals is to transfer a set amount of money from checking to savings each day so I have a visual of my savings.

I did my transfer from checking to savings this morning as a reminder not to spend today and noticed our MO taxes have already been direct deposited!

This doesn't change the goal of not spending. I have 4 new books I bought last weekend, plenty of food, school stuff to read, and clothes out the wazoo! It's time to use what I have rather than get anything new.

I also want to try to just not spend. I want to see what it's like to make do purchasing only the necessities like gas, milk, perishable fruits and veggies, and hair. (yes, hair is a necessity!)

I want to give at least a percentage of what I save to charity as well ... we have so much while so many have so little. The rest will go into our Roth IRAs. Who knows, maybe we'll max out on our contributions this way!

28 Days of No Spending, except. . .

Lauren & Kim,

I'm glad we're doing this together, but I fear we may be bad influences on each other! Today is day 2. Yesterday I did not spend any money. However, after "talking" it through with the two of you, I realize my list of exemptions is growing exponentially! I'm going to try to lay out my own ground rules now, in writing, in an effort to limit my deviation from the goals.

My personal goals are to spend less money (I would like to pay off my house, but have no other debts) & to accumulate less stuff. We have so much food, clothing, and so many books, that I don't think we could make use of it all even if we bought nothing new for three months! Because the primary goal is to clear things from my closets and not bring a lot of new purchases in to the house, I'm exempting several expenses that don't result in re-filling my closets. If I can master the "no buying stuff" part of this, I'll probably start to write about my efforts to clean out these full houses (cabin cleaning-out is a summer project), just to be in some way accountable.

This month, I know that I will be spending money on my hair, birthdays of husband and friend, bookclub (& babysitter), and some coffees and lunches with friends. I am fine with that, as my spending will be a reflection of what I really value.

On Saturday, I'll be taking a carload of things to the local thrift store. I have a jogging stroller, bike trailer, huge plastic play workbench, and a school desk, which are eating up space and are no longer used. Can I use the money I'll get back on my taxes, if I take the time to calculate it, to buy books??? ;)