no money for a week...voluntarily???

[jodi]

Re: no money for a week...voluntarily???

Update: preparations for the challenge
In anticipation of starting date of tomorrow -
1. Filled up gas tank (would have done this anyway as it was empty - so no special preparation there)
2. Went shopping - but NOT a stockpile trip. I spent $34, mainly on milk and things we had run completely out of (vinegar for pickling, sugar and flour for baking, meat for dinner tonight and tomorrow) with a few splurges (cheese), but nothing out of the ordinary.
3. Last night I paid a real estate bill for my key and the car payment. Cell phone was already paid for the month. Other than throwing a little more money at the cc, I can't foresee any bills that will come due in a week.
4. Made my lunch already for tomorrow so I won't be running out of the door without it.
5. Stopped at an ATM to deposit a check and purposefully did not take any cash out, even though I have none. If it's not there, I can't spend it.
Ok, I'm ready to start!

[Bookie]

Re: no money for a week...voluntarily???

Day One - Today was easy, but I probably wouldn't have been spending anyway.

Something someone wrote about planning struck a chord with me, so I spent the morning making an inventory of my kitchen cabinets and the fridge. I've begun compiling daily menus to insure a varied diet and make the best use of what's available.

I tend to pick up odd ingredients for recipes I think I want to try -- but never do. That's good for the Challenge because it means I'm going to be motivated to experiment a bit.

Plus, a neighbor showed up on my doorstep. Her garden is heavy with produce, and she brought zucchini, squash, and tomatoes from her suplus bounty. This is too easy.

[Broken Arrow]

Re: no money for a week...voluntarily???

Okokok... I'll do it right this time.

Was real hot today though, and I was really tempted to get a soda or something. I better leave what little cash I have at home....

Oh crap. I just realized that I have to get my tags renewed soon. This is going to be an "interesting" week.

[PrincessPerky]

Re: no money for a week...voluntarily???

It is amazing how often we 'can' spend money..and next time you do the drain with baking soad, follow up with boiling water..and get a kid to watch, the giggles as the bubbles come up is well worth the effort!

[Ima saver]

Re: no money for a week...voluntarily???

Is everybody just starting whenever they want to? I thought it started Monday!? I am going to start Monday, cause my payday is Monday. I guess one of my rules will have to be, we can still eat out, but I am going to try and cut down on that.

[Bookie]

Re: no money for a week...voluntarily???

Ima, I think some of us took Boe up on the challenge to start on Wednesday to make it more interesting. (No time to pre-stock)

Since it's just a fun exercise, do it however you like and report back. I'm going to post a daily status report. I think it will get really interesting as we get further into the Challenge and begin to encounter obstacles.

[getforfree]

Re: no money for a week...voluntarily???

Update:
Wednesday, 3rd day of the challenge:

--Spent $4.19 for milk
--Didn't buy anything else
--Now I have only $13.81 in my milk budget for the next 11 days

What we used from my stockpile:
--lentiles,
--beans,
--some ground turkey from the freezer, pasta, ramen nuddles.
But I still have lots left.

Still have some fresh veg and fruits in the refregerator, some sour cream, eggs and 1 and 1/4 gall of milk

[jaksilee]

Re: no money for a week...voluntarily???

Ok sorry I haven't updated! I did go do my grocery shopping as planed last night. I did not stockpile anything (except for a porkloin that was too cheap to pass up) I spent under the $40 I had alowed myself, so I have $5 left of grocery money. I did relize that I am out of Allergy meds and almost out of conditioner and birth control pills. I think I will wait on buying all 3 (I don't need the BC because I am not in a relationship at the moment and don't plan to be in the next 2 wks) till after the challenge is done.

Like Broken Arrow, I had to go this moring and get new Il license plates and tags...but I had already saved the money for them so I am including them with my regular bills. I spose I could do the same with the bc cause that is a regular "bill" in my budget.

I did not run next door and get my normal arizona tea yesterday so I have saved $1.08.

So so far:
7/26 no tea $1.08
7/27 no bc $24.00
7/27 no tea $1.08
Total saved so far $ 26.16

[Gruntina]

Re: no money for a week...voluntarily???

Ima, I thought it started on Monday too! I guess we will have a small group starting on Monday.

[boefixepa]

Re: no money for a week...voluntarily???

Okay as an update....

I did not turn on the AC and that was hard it was at or near 100 and last night was a workout night, but hey a little more sweat a few more calories burned...let's say I saved $2.00 on that.

I forgot my lunch yesterday(stupid me!), and did not go out cheepest lunch...$2.12 at Taco Bell. I bummed an apple off of a co-worker and tuffed it out until I made it home.

Total savings for yesterday....$4.14

[Thrifty Ray]

Re: no money for a week...voluntarily???

I would join in on all this fun...but out of town company will keep me from being successful this time....however, this is such a good idea---maybe we could do it once every...month everyother month...quarterly???

[boefixepa]

Re: no money for a week...voluntarily???

You read my mind Ray!! I see lots of fun and inventive way to get around spending money coming down the pipe!!

A big part of my motivation to jump on board was I DID have company from thursday to tuesday and so the AC was on the whole time and I went out more....aaggrrr...and I went clothes shopping with them....HELP! It was sooo much easier to pass on clothes when I was FAT and felt I looked FAT in everything! No so now and soooo much easier to spend! But I got a new little black dress (among other things)......and it looks good!!

[Kris10Leigh]

Re: no money for a week...voluntarily???

I love the idea of doing this a few times a month! Now THAT would be a challenge! Little things really do pop up and it's hard to say "no"! Lunch out with a friend, haircuts, little black dresses. Life happens!

I am looking forward to grocery shopping tomorrow. My budget dictates $100 for my family of 4 to get me through the week, and I'm hoping to spend less than that because whatever is left over goes into a "dining out" pot. (I'm just starting this new budget idea.) I know I can do it...I just usually forget something and DH makes a grocery run mid-week. We also love to have friends over at the last minute, which means a grocery run for unplanned guests. So I am not stocking up, but staying within my budget.

Even better for us is that DH should be getting some significant overtime money with this paycheck and we can send all of it plus some to the CC's. Perhaps two weeks of no spending is a good idea to get us through the entire pay period.

Onward challengers!

[tgavin71]

Re: no money for a week...voluntarily???

Update time. First all of what are "tags"? I successfully made it through one day without spending money on 'wants'. Am especially proud as I took my son and his friend to the supermarket as they wanted to buy themselves a treat after doing so well in a major exam in the morning. We would have spent about 15 mins in the lolly aisle while they tried to decide what they wanted to spend their hard earned pocket money. I didn't cave at all. Of course the fact that I didn't bring any money helped a lot as well. My son offered to buy me something but I said no.
This morning I passed up an opportunity to buy my favourite potato chips at less than half price. Now I am off to buy my son's birthday present.
Good luck everyone

So my balance is now $1.

[Bookie]

Re: no money for a week...voluntarily???

Day Two: This was another day of easy sledding. The only temptation was an invite to have lunch with a friend I ran into around noon. Virtuously, I declined, thus saving a hypothetical $10 to $12 based on previous occasions.

I picked up my check from the office and cashed it at our bank across the street. Only two days work, but I use it for walking-around money, groceries, and gas. I guess it's all gravy during the Challenge.

Frankly, this won't get challenging until after the weekend. No grocery run on Monday will be a first for me, but I've counted my eggs (which won't last long enough to hatch) and I'm not concerned.

Not sure how to compute savings during this thing. Maybe use my last couple of week's spending log to calculate economies. What are the rest of you going to do?