This was by far our biggest No-spend September fail!
The kitchen remodel we are in the middle of threw a wrench in our plans that we were not prepared enough to tackle as far as our no-spend month went.
Our goal is to spend less than $400 on groceries and we far exceeded that. Probably by more than we have ever before in any of our no-spend months. I was so depressed I stopped actually keeping track. And the worst part of it all, is that it all happened in the last week of our challenge. I think we spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $430 - $445. I'm sad.
In addition to overspending on out grocery budget. we spent money in other areas too. We ran out of slow-cooker liners about 10 days ago and the store was out of them when we went to buy them. (Because we have no kitchen, we are very dependent upon our slow-cooker, but because we also have no kitchen sink (and therefor no garbage disposal) we are using the liners.) We were unable to make dinner at home a for a few nights and we ran out of frozen meals, so we went out to eat.
If nothing else, I'm going to remember that we did our best. We didn't buy Starbucks (without a gift card) this month. We didn't buy any new clothes or shoes. I didn't get a manicure or pedicure (even though I so badly wanted to). Neither The Husband nor I got a massage this month; and the vast majority of our purchases were either for or because of the kitchen. (I'm not trying to offer an excuse, but rather an explanation.)
This year's no-spend challenge was such an epic fail that it definitely gives us a goal to shoot for next year.
There were some positives that came from the challenge. Our total debt load during this time decreased and we did increase the number in our savings account. My goal next year, will continue to be keeping our grocery budget in check, to grow our savings account, and to stay under budget and NOT spend over $1000 at Home Depot during our no-spend challenge.
I'm still proud of us for trying to meet the challenge amid the chaos that is our home and life right now. Isn't there some saying that failure builds character?
Although this post was painful to write, I also wanted to be honest. There's no point in publishing a blog if I'm not going to tell the truth.
Friday, September 30, 2016
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
How We Budget (Part 1)
Many years ago The Husband and I took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, FPU, through our church. It was life changing, although for us it didn't stick right away. Remember, we got out of debt just to get back into debt. We are doing much better now: still in debt, but working a plan to get out of it; and NOT adding to our debt each month. I'm not always able to attack our debt with as much vigor as I'd like, because we aren't gazelles, but our debt load decreases (at least a little) every month.
Now that we are back on the payoff-debt-wagon, we have gone back to Dave Ramsey's envelope system; in fact, I actually use the Dave Ramsey FPU wallet. (PS I love it! It has 6 envelopes, a coin pouch, and several extra tracking sheets for when the envelopes run out of room.) It's actually this one! And I love it! It works great for my purposes and is small and light enough to fit in my small purse, but plenty big enough to hold everything I need. (PPS This is not an affiliate link. I just really like the wallet!)
As a public school teacher, I get paid once a month on the last working day of the month. The Husband gets paid every other Friday. My paycheck pays our mortgage, usually our cable bill (yes, I'm into personal finance and we still have cable,) my daughter's dance tuition, and anything left over usually goes towards the credit card that we pay off monthly.
The Husband's paychecks cover everything else: internet service, utilities, cell phones, (at least) the minimum due on our credit card that still has a balance, and it funds all of our budget categories.
Our budget categories are: food/groceries, gas, car repair, essentials/miscellaneous, clothes, hair care, school, and kid's activities. For many people, that's too many, but for us it works. Some of these are sinking funds where the money continues to add up and others start over every pay period. (I'll write a later post about what we do with that money. Also, you might have noticed, there is nothing there about home repair, home owner's insurance, or car insurance, we handle these a little differently too. Again, another post for another time.)
We only have a couple of budget categories that start over every pay period, those are food and gas. We budget $250 for food every two weeks and $300 for gas for the same amount of time. Sometimes we use it all, sometimes we go way over and charge the difference, and sometimes we have "left over money". The rest of our budget categories are sinking funds. Their balances continue to grow. None of these envelopes ever get too full because, in all honesty, I don't fund all of the categories with enough money they need over the course of the year, but usually it's enough to get us through.
Many people think we have "too many" budget categories, but they work for us. Each category we have, except maybe with the exception of food and gas, was created because when I looked at what was really busting our budget every month I realized it was something we were always having to pay for. The most recently added categories are school and kids activities. One way or another we were always having to pay money towards those things. Now that we have them in our budget, we are more prepared each month to pay for the things we need.
As I was writing this post, it became more and more long winded so I decided to break it up into two posts. This being part 1 where I explain a little bit about how we budget. In my next post, I will explain exactly what we pay for out of each envelope.
Now that we are back on the payoff-debt-wagon, we have gone back to Dave Ramsey's envelope system; in fact, I actually use the Dave Ramsey FPU wallet. (PS I love it! It has 6 envelopes, a coin pouch, and several extra tracking sheets for when the envelopes run out of room.) It's actually this one! And I love it! It works great for my purposes and is small and light enough to fit in my small purse, but plenty big enough to hold everything I need. (PPS This is not an affiliate link. I just really like the wallet!)
As a public school teacher, I get paid once a month on the last working day of the month. The Husband gets paid every other Friday. My paycheck pays our mortgage, usually our cable bill (yes, I'm into personal finance and we still have cable,) my daughter's dance tuition, and anything left over usually goes towards the credit card that we pay off monthly.
The Husband's paychecks cover everything else: internet service, utilities, cell phones, (at least) the minimum due on our credit card that still has a balance, and it funds all of our budget categories.
Our budget categories are: food/groceries, gas, car repair, essentials/miscellaneous, clothes, hair care, school, and kid's activities. For many people, that's too many, but for us it works. Some of these are sinking funds where the money continues to add up and others start over every pay period. (I'll write a later post about what we do with that money. Also, you might have noticed, there is nothing there about home repair, home owner's insurance, or car insurance, we handle these a little differently too. Again, another post for another time.)
We only have a couple of budget categories that start over every pay period, those are food and gas. We budget $250 for food every two weeks and $300 for gas for the same amount of time. Sometimes we use it all, sometimes we go way over and charge the difference, and sometimes we have "left over money". The rest of our budget categories are sinking funds. Their balances continue to grow. None of these envelopes ever get too full because, in all honesty, I don't fund all of the categories with enough money they need over the course of the year, but usually it's enough to get us through.
Many people think we have "too many" budget categories, but they work for us. Each category we have, except maybe with the exception of food and gas, was created because when I looked at what was really busting our budget every month I realized it was something we were always having to pay for. The most recently added categories are school and kids activities. One way or another we were always having to pay money towards those things. Now that we have them in our budget, we are more prepared each month to pay for the things we need.
As I was writing this post, it became more and more long winded so I decided to break it up into two posts. This being part 1 where I explain a little bit about how we budget. In my next post, I will explain exactly what we pay for out of each envelope.
Friday, September 23, 2016
Debt Payment
September 23, 2016
Today I am going to the bank to pay my credit card. The minimum payment on the card this month is
$172. I am going to pay $435 on a balance of $5706. I am paying about 7.5% of the balance
today. Originally, I had hoped to pay
more, $585 or just over 10% of the total balance, but because the credit card
we pay off monthly was so high this month (stupid kitchen) I had to allocate
some of the money there. (Actually, it wasn’t all the kitchen. We bought
tickets to some shows for ourselves and 4 other couples and they owe us the
money for those to the tune of over $600! YIKES!)
Although the minimum payment on the card keeps decreasing,
going forward I’m hoping to pay a minimum of $300, but hopefully more each
month. According to the chart on my
statement, if I pay only the minimum payment, I will be paying this card off
for the next TEN YEARS!!!! That’s crazy, folks!!!! Ten years to pay off
purchases I made 1, 2, 3, or 4 years ago! I don’t want to still be paying off
my Hawaii trip from the summer of 2012 in ten years. It was a great trip, but
no trip could be that great! In fact, I don’t want to still be paying my Hawaii
trip off now!
I will be very excited to get the balance of that card under
$5000. Right now, I’m just trying to keep my head up and remember that with
every payment I make, more and more of it is going to the principle balance and
less and less of it is going to pay interest. I can’t wait until I have more
space left on the card than I owe. That’s a milestone I haven’t crossed in over
four years. I’m hoping that will give me a little boost to keep our debt payoff
momentum going.
My original goal was to have this credit card paid off by
the end of the year, but now it’s really looking like a stretch goal. We only have 3 months left in the year and I
have over $5000 left to pay. As far as
debt payoff goes, the kitchen has really put a cramp in my style. Instead of sending any extra money each month
towards debt, I’m socking it away to help pay for things in the kitchen. Most
importantly, the balance keeps going down. And I haven’t charged on the card
since December of last year. With
Christmas coming up, I definitely want to continue that trend.
I am a little discouraged by the credit card bill of the
card we pay off monthly because only 8 days into our new billing cycle and our
balance is already at $1000, and that’s in the middle of No-spend September. We
have about $200 cash towards that, but that’s still a much larger balance than
I want. The kitchen is killing us. It’s
very expensive and we haven’t even gotten to the finishes yet.
Generally, any money we have left over in our food or gas
envelope at the end of a budget period, goes towards paying off extra debt, but
lately, we haven’t been able to do that. All extra money is going to pay off
our credit card that we pay off monthly. I guess the bonus here is that we can
still afford to pay it off monthly; but the negative is we aren’t able to throw
any extra money at debt.
I know I’m not a gazelle, but I can’t wait to be credit card
debt free!
Thursday, September 22, 2016
No-spend September Updates 4 and 5
September 19, 2016
This was another spendy weekend for No-spend September.
Tracy had an antique fair which I attended with my mom. I only bought one thing. It was $32. Because it was an antique fair, and generally
not available, I felt it was okay to attend. I bought a vintage credit
register. I’m going to use it in my kitchen to hold pictures and recipes.
The next day, I attended the Harvest Festival with my mom and
sister. I only bought one non-food item.
It was an old Gone with the Wind movie
cell. It’s for my mom for Christmas. It cost $90, and my dad is actually going
to pay for it. Both The Husband and I
agree that gift buying is an exception to our No-spend rules. Other than that,
I only bought food items. I bought 5 different loaves of breakfast breads. (The
Kids are sick of only having cereal, toast, and fruit for breakfast, so I
wanted to get them something different.) The breads were $4 each, leaving me
$178.04. I also bought 11 different crock-pot spice mixes which will be great since
our kitchen is still under major construction. Those were $4 each and well
worth the money. (They are delicious! I bought them last year and loved them!)
11 times $4 equals $44, so for the rest of the month, we are down to $134.04.
There are only 10 days left in the month so that’s not too
bad. We do need another Costco trip. We
need bread, milk, sliced cheese, and some fruits and vegetables. I also need to buy meat. We have chicken but I need to buy a pork loin
(and have The Husband butcher it), a couple roasts, and a brisket. I will get
the meat at both Costco and Winco. Also at Winco I need to buy instant mashed
potatoes. By the time I’m done with all of this, I will probably be very close
to our $400 budget. We’ll have to wait
and see.
In some ways, I’m ready for September to be over! I want a
pedicure so badly… my poor feet are awful. I have lost 3 toe nails since the
first weekend in August and now that they are starting to grow back I’m ready
to have someone make my feet look pretty! On the flip side, I haven’t missed
Starbucks this month. I won a $5 gift
card through The Husband’s insurance last month to Starbucks and I saved it for
September. I also had a free drink from using my Starbucks gold card that I
saved to use until September. My best
friend also bought me a drink one day because she knows about my No-spend
months, so I haven’t had a chance to really miss Starbucks.
As I read personal finance blogs, many of them “bash” No-spend
months. They talk about that because you
are paying for things: bills, gas, food, it’s not really a No-spend month or
because you buy things, in October, that you ran out of in September, it’s not
really a No-spend month. I disagree.
Though I may buy things in October, that I ran out of in September,
having a No-spend month forces me to make do. This month, we have run out of
liquid hand soap (except we found some later, but it forced me to figure
something out) so I used a bar of soap I had.
I also ran out of a hair product I use. I had planned to buy some
product in August, but I never got to the store so for the month of September,
I have been using some product I have.
It’s not my favorite product, but I have it and it has been sitting
under my bathroom sink for over a year.
Now, I’m using it up. I also ran out of soap this week. Instead of going
out to buy my favorite shower gel, I opened up another soap we had in the
cupboard. I also ran out of lotion this month. I went to the bathroom cabinet
to see what I could find. I found a pot of lotion and started using it… and I
love it! It was buried in the back of a drawer and I don’t even know where it
came from, but I pulled it out and started to use it and it’s one of the best
lotions I have used in a long time! If it weren’t for a No-spend month I wouldn’t
have used products I already had, I would have made a list and gone to Target
to buy what was on it (and probably $100 more worth of stuff). So although it’s
not technically a No-spend month, it’s forcing me to use what I have on hand;
and that is worthwhile!
September 22, 2016
I went shopping last night at Save Mart (I never shop there, it
was very expensive so I only bought what I needed) and spent $26.37, that
leaves me $107.67 for the rest of the month.
On my way to pick up The Girl from her dance class, I stopped at Save
Mart and bought what I would need for tonight’s dinner (which is already in the
crock-pot) and some things we needed and weren’t sure when we would be able to
get them.
I picked up some pasta sauce, instant mashed potatoes, sliced cheese,
biscuits, and bananas just because we needed them. For tonight’s dinner, I picked up some
shredded cheese, a head of lettuce, and some salsa. For dinner tonight, I am
making Tex-Mex Chicken. It’s one of the slow cooker meals I purchased over the
weekend.
Tonight, I will go to Costco to buy milk, bread, more sliced
cheese, lunch meat, and meat (pork loin and 2 roasts). The whole trip will
probably run me right around $100, which means I will be right at my goal for
the month of September. It will be interesting to see if I can refrain from
buying anything else for the rest of the month.
Monday, September 19, 2016
No Side Hustle For Me
In the personal finance world, "side hustle" is a major buzz word... and I don't have one.
I've mentioned many times before that both The Husband and I are college graduates and have good paying jobs. I've also talked about the fact that we are in debt. Our debt is solely the cause of living beyond our means. Our debt has nothing to do with job loss, financial hardship, difficult circumstances, student loans, or medical bills... just plain stupidity. Most people in the PF community or who are debt bloggers talk all the time about their side hustle or what they are doing to make extra money, and honestly, I'm doing exactly nothing.
I choose not to have a side hustle. Although it would enable us to get out of debt so much faster, I'm not willing to give up the time with my family. In fact, I don't have the time. For many years, 12 to be exact, I worked at a shoe store. It was a job I loved. When I began teaching, I even kept my retail job for the first couple of years. I would only work at the shoe store one night a week and a weekend day here or there. Once the kids got older I had to quit my second job to become a full time chauffeur to my kids. This is also a way we are keeping ourselves in debt longer: we allow are kids to play sports and do extracurricular activities.
Having a side hustle, while definitely financially worthwhile, isn't worth the time away from my family or the strain it would put on my family. And while many hustles get to the point of where they are passive, they usually take massive work to reach that point, work I'm just not willing to put in.
I read all these blogs where the author has quit their day job to become a full-time freelancer, but for a long time they were working 40 hours a week at their day job and another 25+ hours per week developing their brand or padding their portfolio. I just don't have time for that.
I could get a second job but with soccer two nights a week and dance three nights a week, plus comps and games on the weekend, my free time is very limited and I don't want to give up my free time to a side hustle. As much as I want to get out of debt, I don't want it badly enough; that's why we are still in debt.
I admire people who give up everything to get out of debt. I admire people who have a garage sale every other month, who scour thrift stores for clothes, who work two jobs, who turn down invitations because they can't afford something, who clip coupons. But mostly, I admire people who have created a side hustle that works for them and works for their lifestyle. I'm just not that person.
Side hustles are by far the best tool to help you get out of debt faster. As long as you are able to meet all your financial obligations on your day job salary, any extra money you make can be thrown 100% at debt. That works out to be an awesome return on your investment. But do I want to invest my time just to gain financial freedom a couple months earlier? To me it's not worth it so for now I have no hustle.
I've mentioned many times before that both The Husband and I are college graduates and have good paying jobs. I've also talked about the fact that we are in debt. Our debt is solely the cause of living beyond our means. Our debt has nothing to do with job loss, financial hardship, difficult circumstances, student loans, or medical bills... just plain stupidity. Most people in the PF community or who are debt bloggers talk all the time about their side hustle or what they are doing to make extra money, and honestly, I'm doing exactly nothing.
I choose not to have a side hustle. Although it would enable us to get out of debt so much faster, I'm not willing to give up the time with my family. In fact, I don't have the time. For many years, 12 to be exact, I worked at a shoe store. It was a job I loved. When I began teaching, I even kept my retail job for the first couple of years. I would only work at the shoe store one night a week and a weekend day here or there. Once the kids got older I had to quit my second job to become a full time chauffeur to my kids. This is also a way we are keeping ourselves in debt longer: we allow are kids to play sports and do extracurricular activities.
Having a side hustle, while definitely financially worthwhile, isn't worth the time away from my family or the strain it would put on my family. And while many hustles get to the point of where they are passive, they usually take massive work to reach that point, work I'm just not willing to put in.
I read all these blogs where the author has quit their day job to become a full-time freelancer, but for a long time they were working 40 hours a week at their day job and another 25+ hours per week developing their brand or padding their portfolio. I just don't have time for that.
I could get a second job but with soccer two nights a week and dance three nights a week, plus comps and games on the weekend, my free time is very limited and I don't want to give up my free time to a side hustle. As much as I want to get out of debt, I don't want it badly enough; that's why we are still in debt.
I admire people who give up everything to get out of debt. I admire people who have a garage sale every other month, who scour thrift stores for clothes, who work two jobs, who turn down invitations because they can't afford something, who clip coupons. But mostly, I admire people who have created a side hustle that works for them and works for their lifestyle. I'm just not that person.
Side hustles are by far the best tool to help you get out of debt faster. As long as you are able to meet all your financial obligations on your day job salary, any extra money you make can be thrown 100% at debt. That works out to be an awesome return on your investment. But do I want to invest my time just to gain financial freedom a couple months earlier? To me it's not worth it so for now I have no hustle.
Friday, September 16, 2016
Debt Totals
Okay, here goes… I’m going to let the world (even though nobody reads this) in on my debt totals.
Each month, I’m going to do a debt update, obviously starting with September. I will have to decide if I will do
this at the beginning of the month, the end of the month, the middle of the month, or just when I feel like it
each month, but it’s going to happen!
this at the beginning of the month, the end of the month, the middle of the month, or just when I feel like it
each month, but it’s going to happen!
I have been hemming and hawing on putting my actual debt on the blog, but only because I’m ashamed
and embarrassed. Putting it out here, on the world wide web, makes it real. (I know it’s real, but now I can’t
take it back. It will always be here.) I am embarrassed that we have debt! No one really knows we have credit
card debt and one of my biggest fears is that someone I know will find out. I really don’t want that to happen!
and embarrassed. Putting it out here, on the world wide web, makes it real. (I know it’s real, but now I can’t
take it back. It will always be here.) I am embarrassed that we have debt! No one really knows we have credit
card debt and one of my biggest fears is that someone I know will find out. I really don’t want that to happen!
At least for right now, I’m only going to include my credit card debt and my car loan. I’m not at the point where
I’mre ady to put my mortgage on my debt totals. Baby steps. I’m also not going to include the credit card we
pay off monthly. Because it’s paid off monthly, we haven’t carried a balance over on that credit card in going
on 5 years so we don’t consider it “debt”.
I’mre ady to put my mortgage on my debt totals. Baby steps. I’m also not going to include the credit card we
pay off monthly. Because it’s paid off monthly, we haven’t carried a balance over on that credit card in going
on 5 years so we don’t consider it “debt”.
Here are the numbers:
Credit Card 1: $5709.92 at 9.24% interest ~ the current minimum payment is $177
Car Loan 1: $14470.25 at 0% interest ~ payment = $345
_______________________
$20180.17 Total
That’s depressing. :(
Knowing I have debt is one thing. Actually seeing the numbers in black and white is quite another. Seeing the
number, $20000+ is very daunting. I’ve known I had debt, but I never sat down and actually added those two
numbers up, but they hurt!
number, $20000+ is very daunting. I’ve known I had debt, but I never sat down and actually added those two
numbers up, but they hurt!
Right now, because of the kitchen remodel, paying down our debt at any significant rate is hard, so I just keep
plodding along. On our credit card, we are paying more than the minimum, but not by much. A few months
ago, we were paying between $600-700 a month; that number has dropped to only about $300 a month now.
Currently, any extra money we have is going towards paying off the credit card we pay off monthly or towards
paying for something for the kitchen remodel… needless to say, progress has been S.L.O.W.
plodding along. On our credit card, we are paying more than the minimum, but not by much. A few months
ago, we were paying between $600-700 a month; that number has dropped to only about $300 a month now.
Currently, any extra money we have is going towards paying off the credit card we pay off monthly or towards
paying for something for the kitchen remodel… needless to say, progress has been S.L.O.W.
But I guess the takeaway here is that there has been progress. I’m already looking ahead to my next month’s
debt update because I know I will be under the $20000 mark – so there’s my first psychological boost!
debt update because I know I will be under the $20000 mark – so there’s my first psychological boost!
The worst thing about our debt, particularly our credit card debt, is that if we would curb our spending for just a
short period of time, we could be credit card debt free. But we don’t. The balance on Credit Card 1 is very close
to the balance I pay off monthly on our other credit card, yet we still have a balance. For just one month, if we
could truly have a no-spend month, we could be credit card debt free, but we aren’t. I guess that’s because
we aren’t gazelles. I say we want to be debt free, but I don’t pursue that freedom with intensity. We still buy
stuff and go places so we are still in debt.
short period of time, we could be credit card debt free. But we don’t. The balance on Credit Card 1 is very close
to the balance I pay off monthly on our other credit card, yet we still have a balance. For just one month, if we
could truly have a no-spend month, we could be credit card debt free, but we aren’t. I guess that’s because
we aren’t gazelles. I say we want to be debt free, but I don’t pursue that freedom with intensity. We still buy
stuff and go places so we are still in debt.
I’m trying to keep my head up and remember that our total debt load decreases every month, if only by a little.
I try to remember that we haven’t added to our debt total in 9 months and that we are better off now than when
we started 2016. I try to remember that we choose to not let debt dictate our life or to punish our kids for our
poor financial habits/choices. That’s it in a nutshell, I’m trying.
I try to remember that we haven’t added to our debt total in 9 months and that we are better off now than when
we started 2016. I try to remember that we choose to not let debt dictate our life or to punish our kids for our
poor financial habits/choices. That’s it in a nutshell, I’m trying.
Someday, I might start doing net worth updates, too. We do have a home, in which we have some equity. We
do have 3 fully paid for cars. We do have retirement savings. We do have some (not much) cash money in the
bank. It’s not all bad.
do have 3 fully paid for cars. We do have retirement savings. We do have some (not much) cash money in the
bank. It’s not all bad.
Thursday, September 15, 2016
No-spend September Update 3
September 15, 2016
Yesterday I went to Costco and spent about $45, but that was including cups, plates, and spoons; because of the kitchen remodel, I’m not counting them in my no-spend September budget. Of that $45, however, I also bought grapes and strawberries to the tune of $13 leaving us with right about $200 to spend for the rest of the month.
This No-spend month is killing us! We have spent tons of money at Home Depot so far! And tomorrow night is The Husband’s 20 year high school, which we are attending. First we will attend our high school’s Homecoming game (for which we will have to pay an entrance fee), then we will go to a local bar for the reunion part. I’m anticipating tomorrow night costing us around $100 for everything: entrance, food, and drinks.
Our credit card bill (that we pay off monthly) has been around $5000 every month for the last six months… and it’s killing me! We are able to pay it off monthly, but we are not able to get ahead. Our current billing cycle ends today and the balance is at $4500. I was hoping we could use No-spend September to get ahead but unless we are able to really curtail our spending for the last half of the month, that’s not going to happen.
Our gas budget is doing well for the month. I’m hoping to have a few hundred dollars left over at the end of the month to help us pay our monstrous credit card bill that we are currently accruing! We’ll see. Right now, any “extra” money we have is going to pay our credit card (that we pay off monthly) or towards our kitchen and not towards our debt total. We are still deceasing our debt… some, but not at the pace I want.
Saturday, September 10, 2016
No-spend September Update 2
9/10
Well, we are only a third of the way into the month
and I have already spent about half of my grocery budget… EEEEK!
Yesterday I went to both Costco and Winco. I had already spent $46.50 at the Farmer’s
Market this past weekend, leaving $353.50. At Costco I spent $116.83, all on
food, leaving $236.67. Next, I went to Winco and spent another $22.79, leaving
me with just $213.88 for the rest of the month!
At Costco, I only bought food, however, for half of my shopping trip I
had some boots in my cart I was going to buy for The Girl, but then it occurred
to me that it was No-spend September so I took them out of my cart and
continued on my merry way. At Costco, I bought a case of canned green beans (12
cans), 2 packages of bread (2 loaves each), 8 gallons of milk, 8 pounds of
butter, 2 boxes of yogurt, a bag of clementine oranges, baby-bel cheese,
Cheeze-Its, trail mix, Pirates Booty, and Pub Mix. Other than perishables, we
shouldn’t have to go grocery shopping for the next two weeks or so, so I hope
our budget makes it!
I only had to buy a few things at Winco. I bought 4 boxes of tea, 2 for
school and 2 for home, hamburger buns, Ritz crackers, bananas, and 4 boxes of
Lil’ Debbie Nutty Bars.
We were running low on snacks that could be used for school lunches so
that’s where a lot of the money went.
Snacks aren’t cheap. Because
Costco now takes Visa, I charged our purchase there for points and then took
the money and put it in a jar to use to pay off the credit card bill when it
comes due. Winco only accepts cash or
debit so I paid cash there.
Yesterday I also had to give The Boy $15 out of our house “petty cash”
to pay for a Leadership shirt for school. He is in Leadership and expected to
participate in all of the activities so we needed to buy the shirt.
Unfortunately, our school budget envelope is currently depleted so I had to
take that money from somewhere else. (I
also have to pay $60 for a field trip for The Boy, $40 for him, $20 for a parent
chaperone, and I’m not quite sure where that money is going to come from.)
I’m a little nervous… only $213 to last over 3 weeks. That leaves me
with about $71 per week. I need to get
to Walmart and buy The Girl conditioner. She is all out. She has 3 bottles of
shampoo yet so at one point I must have bought 4 shampoos instead of 2 and 2
like I had intended. Normally, this would come out of our essentials envelope,
but in September we pay for toiletries with our grocery budget. Other than
that, I can’t think of too much more I would need to buy that isn’t food
related. I should be able to stretch
$71… wish me luck.
Thursday, September 8, 2016
No-spend September Update
This has already been a very challenging no-spend month for us.
First of all, we did buy our kids' school pictures, which we choose to do every year even though many people think they are a waste of money. In the days of film cameras many people didn't have their pictures taken and printed often. Many people would argue that today, in the days of digital cameras, that's not the case. I would argue, however, that it's the opposite. Because of digital cameras, a lot of people take pictures, but very few print them out. Anyway, long story short, this cost us $93. Of that $93, we had $50 in cash in our school budget envelope and we will just pay the rest.
On Saturday, we went to our local Farmer's Market and spent $41.50 of our $400 food budget for the month. At the Farmer's Market, we allowed each kid to pick out a small treat to eat. That is included in the $41.50.The Boy picked out a piece of alligator jerky and The Girl chose some homemade salted caramel marshmallows. Soon we need to make a trip to Costco to get milk, bread, and some snacks.
On Saturday we had to make multiple trips "out of town", about 30 minutes away and so got gas in my car beforehand. We put $37 of gas into my car and that is also included in our gas budget for the month.
The above are all normal spending during our No-spend September, however with our kitchen situation, we have already had to eat out twice this month... That makes me sad. The first time was after church Saturday evening. We had to go to my sister's and brother-in-law's house to pick up some to more kitchen cabinets that he has completed. By the time we would have been done, we wouldn't have gotten home until about 8:00 pm and since we had planned to grill that night, we wouldn't have been able to eat until 8:30. We did choose a cheap option and ate at Taco Bell. The next night we were invited to a friend's house to barbecue, but we opted to stay home and spend more time working on the kitchen. We dropped The Kids off at our friend's house and we went over later. Cooking for two is no fun so we opted to grab Taco Bell on the way to our friend's house later that night.
These aren't excuses, just explanations. I do think this is going to be the most challenging No-spend September we have ever had. Having no kitchen definitely puts a cramp in our style and takes the importance of planning to a whole new level.
I'm hoping that going forward, we will do a better job of planning and not eating out. We have plenty of food and for the remaining 3 weeks of the month I want to make sure that we are honoring our goals for our no-spend month.
Off hand, I can't think of anymore unplanned spending we will have for the month and I hope we are able to save money to help pay for the kitchen and to make sure we aren't spending any money unnecessarily.
First of all, we did buy our kids' school pictures, which we choose to do every year even though many people think they are a waste of money. In the days of film cameras many people didn't have their pictures taken and printed often. Many people would argue that today, in the days of digital cameras, that's not the case. I would argue, however, that it's the opposite. Because of digital cameras, a lot of people take pictures, but very few print them out. Anyway, long story short, this cost us $93. Of that $93, we had $50 in cash in our school budget envelope and we will just pay the rest.
On Saturday, we went to our local Farmer's Market and spent $41.50 of our $400 food budget for the month. At the Farmer's Market, we allowed each kid to pick out a small treat to eat. That is included in the $41.50.The Boy picked out a piece of alligator jerky and The Girl chose some homemade salted caramel marshmallows. Soon we need to make a trip to Costco to get milk, bread, and some snacks.
On Saturday we had to make multiple trips "out of town", about 30 minutes away and so got gas in my car beforehand. We put $37 of gas into my car and that is also included in our gas budget for the month.
The above are all normal spending during our No-spend September, however with our kitchen situation, we have already had to eat out twice this month... That makes me sad. The first time was after church Saturday evening. We had to go to my sister's and brother-in-law's house to pick up some to more kitchen cabinets that he has completed. By the time we would have been done, we wouldn't have gotten home until about 8:00 pm and since we had planned to grill that night, we wouldn't have been able to eat until 8:30. We did choose a cheap option and ate at Taco Bell. The next night we were invited to a friend's house to barbecue, but we opted to stay home and spend more time working on the kitchen. We dropped The Kids off at our friend's house and we went over later. Cooking for two is no fun so we opted to grab Taco Bell on the way to our friend's house later that night.
These aren't excuses, just explanations. I do think this is going to be the most challenging No-spend September we have ever had. Having no kitchen definitely puts a cramp in our style and takes the importance of planning to a whole new level.
I'm hoping that going forward, we will do a better job of planning and not eating out. We have plenty of food and for the remaining 3 weeks of the month I want to make sure that we are honoring our goals for our no-spend month.
Off hand, I can't think of anymore unplanned spending we will have for the month and I hope we are able to save money to help pay for the kitchen and to make sure we aren't spending any money unnecessarily.
Monday, September 5, 2016
Living Paycheck to Paycheck Sucks
We live paycheck to paycheck... and it sucks!
We are both college graduates who make good salaries but we can't seem to get ahead. No matter what we do, it feels like we can't catch a break. Just when we think we are going to get one step ahead, something happens to knock us two steps back. I know we dug this hole of debt all by ourselves, but sometimes it feels like the universe wants to make sure we stay there.
Living paycheck to paycheck is the worst feeling. I never know when the next disaster is going to hit. We have saved up a $1000 emergency fund like Dave Ramsey suggests, but I'm always afraid it's not going to go far enough. If the washer and dryer both go out, that won't cover it. If we need a major car repair, $1000 isn't going to be enough. Money is a constant worry in the back of my mind. What if? What if? What if?
We are ever so slowly digging ourselves out of the mess we created, but sometimes we make decisions that keep us in debt longer, too. For instance, we are remodeling our kitchen... completely - new floors, cabinets, counters, walls, electrical, appliances, you name it, we're doing it. And we aren't going further into debt to do it. On the flip side, though, all the money that could have gone to helping us pay off our debt faster, is going to help us cash-flow our kitchen.
Every other Friday, which is how The Husband gets paid, I sit down and figure out what has to be paid within the next two weeks and pay it. Ideally, I would like to only have to pay bills once a month, go to the bank once a month, and not have to worry about how this bill being due coincides with this big bill and we don't have enough money to pay for both of them. Although I haven't talked much about my goals yet, (I do plan on getting to that eventually), getting a month ahead with our finances is one of my main goals. I want to break the paycheck to paycheck cycle and start living on last month's income.
We aren't there yet, in fact, we aren't even close to there yet, but we are working on getting our financial house in order so that we can get there. More than anything, I want to get rid of the stress that living paycheck to paycheck brings. I want to stop spending tomorrow's dollars on today's things; that is no way to live. Living paycheck to paycheck makes it very difficult to meet any financial goals, let alone, audacious ones. How can I get out of debt, payoff my mortgage, save for a car, or do anything if I have no idea how much money is going to be in my bank account next week.
The idea of living on last month's income is so appealing to me because then I know exactly how much money I have to spend that month and I'm not banking on money that may or may not show up on payday. As it is, we hope we are going to get as much money on payday as we think we are. If that doesn't happen, then we are in real trouble. If The Husband's job goofs up and we don't get paid, because we live paycheck to paycheck, neither will our bills. If my work has a billing error and my paycheck doesn't go through, because we live paycheck to paycheck, my mortgage wouldn't get paid.
Those are sobering and scary thoughts, and more support for getting out of the paycheck to paycheck rat wheel!
We are ever so slowly digging ourselves out of the mess we created, but sometimes we make decisions that keep us in debt longer, too. For instance, we are remodeling our kitchen... completely - new floors, cabinets, counters, walls, electrical, appliances, you name it, we're doing it. And we aren't going further into debt to do it. On the flip side, though, all the money that could have gone to helping us pay off our debt faster, is going to help us cash-flow our kitchen.
Every other Friday, which is how The Husband gets paid, I sit down and figure out what has to be paid within the next two weeks and pay it. Ideally, I would like to only have to pay bills once a month, go to the bank once a month, and not have to worry about how this bill being due coincides with this big bill and we don't have enough money to pay for both of them. Although I haven't talked much about my goals yet, (I do plan on getting to that eventually), getting a month ahead with our finances is one of my main goals. I want to break the paycheck to paycheck cycle and start living on last month's income.
We aren't there yet, in fact, we aren't even close to there yet, but we are working on getting our financial house in order so that we can get there. More than anything, I want to get rid of the stress that living paycheck to paycheck brings. I want to stop spending tomorrow's dollars on today's things; that is no way to live. Living paycheck to paycheck makes it very difficult to meet any financial goals, let alone, audacious ones. How can I get out of debt, payoff my mortgage, save for a car, or do anything if I have no idea how much money is going to be in my bank account next week.
The idea of living on last month's income is so appealing to me because then I know exactly how much money I have to spend that month and I'm not banking on money that may or may not show up on payday. As it is, we hope we are going to get as much money on payday as we think we are. If that doesn't happen, then we are in real trouble. If The Husband's job goofs up and we don't get paid, because we live paycheck to paycheck, neither will our bills. If my work has a billing error and my paycheck doesn't go through, because we live paycheck to paycheck, my mortgage wouldn't get paid.
Those are sobering and scary thoughts, and more support for getting out of the paycheck to paycheck rat wheel!
Thursday, September 1, 2016
No-spend-September
Starting today, is our family's fourth annual No-spend-September.
Many years ago, I was reading a blog and read about this concept of having a spending hiatus for an entire month. With a little coaxing and cajoling, I was able to get my family on board too and now we are in our fourth year.
We chose September for a couple of reasons. Due to my son's soccer schedule, we are home most of the month because he has practice during the week and games every weekend, school is newly back in session and summer credit card bills are coming due, and we don't have any family birthdays or commitments we need to meet during September.
No-spend-September is a family effort, even if sometimes The Kids wish it wasn't; for the month of September, we halt all unnecessary spending and try to keep our gas and grocery bill to a minimum. During this month, we don't go out to Starbucks or out to eat unless we have gift cards. We don't buy any lunches, and this includes the kids who buy lunch once a week at school. We don't get haircuts or manicures or pedicures. We don't get massages. We don't go clothes shopping, or shopping at all really, unless it's for food.
The goal of No-spend-September is two-fold: to make us more mindful and conscious of our spending and to save money. (For the last couple years, there hasn't been much money saving going on, but it has helped us to cash-flow our home renovations.)
We have some ground rules that we follow, but all of our rules have exceptions. We want No-spend-September to work with our lifestyle, not against it, because it's a tradition we want to continue. Every year during September I choose to still buy The Kids school pictures. To us, that's non-negotiable even if it is to other people. We also continue to buy gifts if it's necessary. We also pay for any school fees and kids activities fees that pop up during this time.
During the month, we try to find free activities we can do with The Kids; things like hiking, going to the park, or going to the library. We also save any gift cards we get throughout the year to use during September. We currently have Red Robin, Baskin Robbins, and movie theater cards.
Unfortunately No-spend-September does not mean we spend NO money throughout the month. We still pay all of our bills: mortgage, utilities, car payment, credit card payments, cel phone, cable, etc. We also still need to drive to work and to eat. The idea of No-spend-September is that we don't buy any extras.
Our normal grocery budget is $500 a month, for September we try to scale it back just a little and spend no more than $400. We also try to eat what we have in our freezer, fridge, and pantry. Some years we do better than others.
Our normal gas budget is $600 a month. Even in September this remains the same because we still have to do most of the same driving: to and from work for both of us, the grocery store, to and from The Kids school, and to and from all of their various activities.
Essentially, we just try to spend less and save more. We don't stock up before the month begins or go crazy shopping once the month is over. It's just one month of mindful spending and purchasing.
As the month progresses, I will write updates about how much money we've spent and what we've spent it on. Wish us luck!
Many years ago, I was reading a blog and read about this concept of having a spending hiatus for an entire month. With a little coaxing and cajoling, I was able to get my family on board too and now we are in our fourth year.
We chose September for a couple of reasons. Due to my son's soccer schedule, we are home most of the month because he has practice during the week and games every weekend, school is newly back in session and summer credit card bills are coming due, and we don't have any family birthdays or commitments we need to meet during September.
No-spend-September is a family effort, even if sometimes The Kids wish it wasn't; for the month of September, we halt all unnecessary spending and try to keep our gas and grocery bill to a minimum. During this month, we don't go out to Starbucks or out to eat unless we have gift cards. We don't buy any lunches, and this includes the kids who buy lunch once a week at school. We don't get haircuts or manicures or pedicures. We don't get massages. We don't go clothes shopping, or shopping at all really, unless it's for food.
The goal of No-spend-September is two-fold: to make us more mindful and conscious of our spending and to save money. (For the last couple years, there hasn't been much money saving going on, but it has helped us to cash-flow our home renovations.)
We have some ground rules that we follow, but all of our rules have exceptions. We want No-spend-September to work with our lifestyle, not against it, because it's a tradition we want to continue. Every year during September I choose to still buy The Kids school pictures. To us, that's non-negotiable even if it is to other people. We also continue to buy gifts if it's necessary. We also pay for any school fees and kids activities fees that pop up during this time.
During the month, we try to find free activities we can do with The Kids; things like hiking, going to the park, or going to the library. We also save any gift cards we get throughout the year to use during September. We currently have Red Robin, Baskin Robbins, and movie theater cards.
Unfortunately No-spend-September does not mean we spend NO money throughout the month. We still pay all of our bills: mortgage, utilities, car payment, credit card payments, cel phone, cable, etc. We also still need to drive to work and to eat. The idea of No-spend-September is that we don't buy any extras.
Our normal grocery budget is $500 a month, for September we try to scale it back just a little and spend no more than $400. We also try to eat what we have in our freezer, fridge, and pantry. Some years we do better than others.
Our normal gas budget is $600 a month. Even in September this remains the same because we still have to do most of the same driving: to and from work for both of us, the grocery store, to and from The Kids school, and to and from all of their various activities.
Essentially, we just try to spend less and save more. We don't stock up before the month begins or go crazy shopping once the month is over. It's just one month of mindful spending and purchasing.
As the month progresses, I will write updates about how much money we've spent and what we've spent it on. Wish us luck!
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