Catching Fireflies July Controlled Spend Thread

[shanendoah]

Hello Everyone. Here is this month's Controlled/No Spend Thread as promised. Please post your goals for the month if you would like me to include them in the bi-Monthly update.
For the new people there are no real set rules here, you set your own. The basic goal most if not all of us have are to keep track of the days we don't spend and hopefully by that work on saving money. Some are looking to put it into savings others to pay down debt.
For some they only count the day as a no spend day if they spend nothing at all. Others will count it if they keep their total under $5. Some count all spending others only count a certain part of their budget. For example I personally take $400 out of the the bank in cash for everything that is not related to vehicle expenses (like gas, oil changes, insurance etc) or the house (mortgage, utilities, HOA) If I spend out of the $400 I count it as a spend day (although if it is less then $5 I usually count it as a no spend day.) You set your own rules. Any questions feel free to ask.
You can post your no spend days daily or whenever you want, just put it in bold at the top with the first number being the number you want me to record. If you are doing daily then:
Today (or yesterday) $0 Spend day
More then one day at a time:
4/31 days $0 Spend Which translates into 4 out of 31 days in December have been no spend so far. Some use the bigger number as their goal number so do 4/15 No spend Days which means they have a goal of 15 no spend days this month.

CSD: Controlled Spend Day
BFF: Best Friend Forever
DH/DS/DD/DSS: Dear Husband, Dear Son Dear Daughter, fiance, boy friend, Dear Step-Son
DIL, MIL, BIL, SIL: Daughter in law, Mother In Law, Brother in Law, Sister In Law
NKCW: No Killing Co-Worker Day (could also be no kill DH NKDH etc)
MOAN: Moving our a$$ Now aka exercising
NS or NSD: No Spend or No Spend Day
NEO: No eating out
HTH: Hope This Helps
KWIM: Know What I mean
FWIW: For What It's Worth
IMHO or IMO: In my Humble Opinion or In My Opinion
Getting Nitzed is referring to when you have a long post and MSN cuts you off so its in two posts instead one.
Having a Startsmart Day is referring to when you have 20+ things on your must get done in a day and you accomplish them.
Sharing the Simple Lifestyle aka Toasty;
Single Mom-KY aka Smokey;
MittenKitten aka MK;
Pt_In_NY aka Pointy;
Red2Black aka R2B2.
The Boy is Sheila in Cali's son.
the boy or Mowgli is Nsinglet's son
Blue is Red_Wagon's DH

For a while I was doing a Question of the Week. One week my question was "How has this thread changed your habits? What tangible benefits have you seen by being a member? I know we occassionally get someone on here that just doesn't get the concept of no spend is so much more then no spending 10 days to blow everything on day 11."

Honeylioness had a wonderful answer I think really defines WHAT we are about:

"I will admit that during my first two months of lurking, I wondered just how in the WORLD someone could not spend any money at ALL for 25 days? Did they just pay all their bills one day a month, and that same day do the food shopping for the month? Like many new to the concept I saw it as horribly, and restrictively, black or white – an opinion first based merely on the name of the thread.

But once I came to understand that it was not so totalitarian and was more about finding a way that worked for you to track your spending and any “leaks” in the wallet, it has felt more like a tool and less like a punishment. I wish I could say that I have paid off five extra years from the mortgage, or now have an EF of six months take home – but alas that would not be true.

What I do have however is a better awareness of where my “leaks” are, what are my hot buttons that make me want to spend on things I really don’t need or really cannot afford right now. And an awareness of the fact when I AM spending money. I think that awareness is key to learning a new behavior or paradigm. Just like lumberlady, some of us have had to look hard in the mirror and acknowledge that we had a problem. Until people can do that, be it an addiction to alcohol or drugs or credit cards ….. they will never really GET it."

Thanks Honeylioness!

[shanendoah]

Starting the thread for MK since she's on the Black Hill excursion.

Coming up with a name that fits in the character limit is HARD, just FYI. So if you hate it, let me know, and we can change it.

[mizbear]

I will post my goals tomorrow. But I definitely have to tighten the belt this month. Probably going to have to hurt DMs feelings too. Her EO habits are killing her budget and my diet.

[3catslady]

Shanen; How about "Ain't no spendin' August" for starters.
Did you see my suggestion? That's okay, I just didn't know if you saw it. I forgot to bold it.
I had to look it up. It was "Just crackin' down July"

[muttleynfelix]

I'm in for July. My budget was so busted in April, May and June. So, now we are broke, broke, broke and need to tighten the belt.

[midjd]

I've been lurking for a couple of months but I'm in! My goal is 18 NSDs ( but I'll be happy with 15). Counting everything, because it's the $2-3 leaks that blow my budget!

[singlemomky]

I'm in for July and I'm going to stick to actually writing everything down this month. Since I haven't been too good these past few months I'm going to shoot for 14 CS and increase from there throughout the fall months!

[sheilaincali]

With home improvement projects in June our budget was flat out busted. Not too much was spent but it wasn't spent wisely. This weekend we ended up making so many trips to Lowe's they started laughing at us I swear. I heard "you two are back again!" more than once.
Implementing a new plan for July in which I send a set amount to one account every pay period for the mortgage and do the same thing for my car payment. Trying to get the car paid off faster.

Otherwise the usual goals- 20 NSD, 25 NEO days.

Thanks for setting up the new month Shanen

midwesternjd: Welcome. I had/have the same problem as you. We weren't going on shopping sprees so much as just letting our money trickle through our fingers every week. Good luck

[mizbear]

Super Savin September?

I promised my nieces 2 EOs (they have not gotten their b-day presents from me yet), so there will be 2 confirmed EOs- I am going to plan 3.
I am figuring this way:

25 NS/CS
28 NEO
Today should be a NS because everything today is in the budget.

[shanendoah]

3cats: I'm sorry, I had totally missed your suggestion. And it would have fit, too. We have 50 total spaces to deal with when creating thread titles, and we need to make sure we have at least "Controlled Spend Thread" in there, which takes up 23 of our spaces.

smokey, sheila & muttley: Welcome back on the wagon.

midwesternjd: WELCOME! We're glad to have you. I have the same problem- vending machines are my nemesis. (I'm no longer allowed to carry cash, and luckily I've moved buildings, away from the coke machine that took my debit card.)
We each set our own rules and definitions, but I am going to say, even 15 NSDs are hard. I am rooting for you to reach your goal, but I think it took me 4 months, and changing my goals to the slightly more liberal NS or CS in order to meet my goals. Even when you're tracking every dime you spend, unless you are tracking what days you spend it, it really can come as a shock how many times you swing by the store for just one or two items, etc.
What I'm saying is that even if you don't reach 18 (or 15) NSDs this month, don't beat yourself up, and don't give up. Re-evaulate and see if you just need more discipline to get there, or if its just not realistic given your family's spending patterns. (18 NSDs is not realistic for my family, and even 15 is pushing it.)

Goals: July goals are 15 CS + 12 NS = 27. I am once again allowing us one unplanned spend a week, and of those 12 NS days, 4 of them can be "gas only".

I've got to be on the ball these next couple of months, as its going to be a little crazy.
We acquired an extra 19y/o last night and will have her through Monday evening. My mom will fly in tomorrow at 1pm and fly out Monday at 1pm.
DH finishes his summer class 7/22
At the end of the month, DC goes home to Wyoming for a week. When she returns in August, she may or may not have another 19y/o with her. If she does, we'll have 2 19y/os for 2 weeks. If not, then the extra kid will fly in a week later and we'll have them both for 1 week.
There is a possibility that we will be permanently acquiring that 19y/o, depending on what her decisions for college are.
August is also the month of the Ren Faire, which we normally go to twice. We will be taking both 19y/os at least once and possible both times. There was much "squeeing" as they realized that they would both be here for that.
Late August, DC goes back to school.
My mom is visiting 8/29-9/3. My father is visiting 9/13-9/19. I want to be in Portland for Roller Derby Regionals 9/23-9/25. I fly to Reno/Tahoe the next weekend for Firebird's wedding, and the weekend after that is the first annual Geek Girl Con here in Seattle, which I will be attending and possibly volunteering at.
DH starts fall quarter (full time) on 9/26.

On top of all of this, I'm adjusting to live without UE. We're prepared for it, but it still takes an adjustment. Currently, in the first 4 days of the month, we have $2600 in bills due (mortgage, student loans, basement work), which is more than one of my paychecks, so I've got to get used to leaving us a cushion there. September's 3 paychecks will help.

When I look at the big picture, I get a little overwhelmed, so I'm taking it one NS/CS day at a time. At least our gas expenses will drop considerably between 7/15 and 9/26 when DH won't have to commute to school.

[dakota4600]

Okay- Like everyone else the last few months have slowly spiraled out of control. So I am on board for July.

I'm going for 15 NS, 5CS and 18 NEO. Regular bills don't count and gas & Groceries within budget don't count. But everything else does.

This weekend I know Saturday will be spend. Need to get DOD a b-day present, pick up fireworks for mini-D and the other little boys, and use a great coupon DH got from the dollar store. Now if I can keep DH from going out to eat tonight we might start out on the right foot.

Then we are prepping for the garage sale my mom is having next weekend. Selling off mini-D's big baby stuff hopefully we will make a couple hundred off them.

[zippy478]

I'm going to join in here this month. I don't know yet what a realistic goal is for me so I'll throw out what I think I can do. I'm going to go with 15 NSD. We'll see how I do.

I'm only going to include myself here at first to see how it goes. I'll spend this month working on DH to see if I can get him on board.

Fortunately I'm fairly used to grocery/household shopping once a week and it's pretty rare that I go to the market in between those trips. It's got to be a mega emergency to get me there after work...LOL. I also tend to not buy stuff at work - although I do have a muffin fix that needs quieted every once in a while. So I think I've got this but I'm not sure. We'll see how it goes!

[muttleynfelix]

shanen - I got overwelmed just looking at your list. Good luck.

Wednesday for lunch, I got carry out from the mexican place a couple doors down. I got fajitas because I know they make 2 meals - so $9 for 2 meals. Yesterday, the boss paid for our lunch out (well he told us to put it on the company CC) because we all came in at the crack of down to get some work done (field work, it is too freakin hot to work outside past noon). So, today I don't have to buy lunch because I still have left over fajitas. Although I may go out to eat with my coworker and then my fajitas will be supper for DS and myself (DH said he's going to do yard work tonight). Yesterday started work at 6am, today it was 6:30. But we were done in the field at 10 yesterday and a little after 8 this morning. Next week, I may be back in the field off and on. It just depends.

Tonight, I have to do the last load of laundry (good clothes, the only thing DH refuses to touch). DH and I split the 4 loads we did yesterday. He got them started. Then I got 2 loads folded and one in the drier and he finished the last 2 loads after he got home from helping out his brother. We tag team chores so well sometimes. I also need to balance the checkbook and figure out how much money I need to transfer out of savings. DH was suppose to have a check in the mail for a little project he did, but it has not come through. GRRRR.THe infamous, the check's in the mail. I also need to get back on the ball for meal planning. I did great in April and May, but have fallen off the wagon big time in June. We'll go grocery shopping on Saturday, church on Sunday and then the in-laws will be coming out to the house on Monday. DH'll want to buy a few fireworks sometime this weekend.

[startsmart]

I'm in! Aiming for 15 NSD this month (besides budgeted bills) and could use the tracking again. I went through receipts list night and listed all purchases on my calendar. Woah. That's telling.

It looks like lots of us need to be tracking more carefully (myself included) therefore:

First Day of the Month Challenge! Woot!

Grab your calendar, your day planner, a calendar from the dentist office or just find one free online.

Look around the office and kids stuff for stickers, stars or just 3 colored markers

Every night write down your expenditures:
gas station $35, medical co-pay $20, vending machine $0.85

OR

NO SPEND DAY!

Every Friday when we have virtual happy hour (and tea for 3cats) look over that calendar and tally up your NSDs.

Bonus Offer: I have hundreds of little colored stars so if you want a sheet of them I can mail them to you. I have full sheets, envelopes and stamps so there's no real cost to me. PM me your address if you want some (or your office address or your PO box) and I'll send them out.

eta: the stickers do not have real or imaginary magic powers. they are fun for color coding your days and when you place one on the calendar you must mutter 'iz a star!'

[muttleynfelix]

Startsmart - I love it.
in 4 more minutes, because I exalted someone 56 minute ago.

[azmom]

I posted this on the June thread but thought it i'd post it here too! I'll go catch up and then post my goals:



***FINAL UPDATE: 10 NSD*** Ladies, I deserve an award for pulling out a no spend yesterday. DH came home from work early because I had a meeting at 1p. He decided to drop me off and use my car to redeem their free lunch coupons they received as an award from the Summer Reading program at our library. Well, I was at my meeting and the power turned off. It was only realized after it started to get warm because no lights or electronics were on. Anyhow, DH cam to pick me up and he said the power was out all over the city 100,000 without power, including ours, AND because we left in such a hurry (running late due to a cut finger, missing shoe, and keys). We took the spare key (notice not keys as in with the house key attached) and used the garage door opener to get out. Funny thing about the garage door opener, they don't work when the power is out. UGH, we decided to go and look at model homes nearby. The power was on there for some reason. We spent about an hour there and then went home to check and it was still not on. We tried to find refuge in Wal-Mart and Target but the power was off there too and every other store in the area. We ran into another model home five miles east of us and they had 16 homes to look at. We did 10 out of 16. The power was off but they were comfortable. We drove back to our house again around 6ish and still no power. We started to get concerned about the food so DH found a way into our house and then came up with a plan for the fridge. He decided we were going to go to his work and get an RV and run an extension cord from the fridge and plug it into the generator. I went with it, it was too stressful of a situation to argue. Plus I was really worried because I'm doing this cash challenge and bought all the meat for the next six days and only have $25 left. I was scared I out food was going to be ruined. So we go to his work he gets this RV and we drive home. I followed him in my car and I decided to give the garage door opener a go and guess what it worked!!! The kids played in the RV and watched TV in there while I made dinner at home. I had only had oatmeal that day and was starving. I already started to think about where we were going to go get dinner, completely justified by the fact that we did not have power. Given the circumstances I think I could have justified going to eat after dealing with the power being off. It was 107 or so outside but there was a slight overcast making it tolerable. Rolling black outs throughout the city. Ours was off for five hours but my MIL was only off for an hour and we had friends who was off for 9 hours!! The moral of the story is I DID NOT SPEND A DIME!

[azmom]

AZMOM GOAL: AS MANY AS I CAN I will be doing a cash grocery budget challenge this month and a snowflake challenge (courtesy of Mrs. Lynch). I will count the day I take cash out but not the days I spend it providing it is on my list and I do not go over the remaining will be spend days. Luckily I have some momentum from June going into this month because we really need to buckle down~school shopping is three pay checks away!!

***WELCOME MIDWESTERN AND ZIPPY*** So happy to have newbies.

DH Tip: I think the consensus would be to start the challenge for yourself. You can't control anyone else and it will only lead to frustration and/or cause you to give up. Some things that have worked for me are to agree on an amount of fun money for DH and give him that in cash. All I have to record is the cash and he is free to spend it without having to tell me every single one of his purchases. I was a nut case when I first started and expected him to be on the same page as me immediately when the truth is we all hit are aha moments at different times. I also kept track for an entire month of all of our spending and made a spreadsheet to show him just how much money we were spending on "wants" and it was an eye opener because $20 here of there doesn't freak you out but seeing $500 a month eating out might! I still don't keep track of his spending, only mine~unless I ask him to go and get something. Good Luck and ask any questions you have.

SS: LOVE LOVE LOVE the challenge. I am in, although I do believe the colored stars to have real magical powers. Seriously, when I first started to track my No Spends, the stars were all the motivation I needed! Awe, Back to Basics I love it. Because I am nerdy, I will be using a spreadsheet to keep track of my expenses.

July is going to be a bit expensive for our family:
Football Registration: $205 plus cleats and practice clothes
Softball Registration: $85
Dr's Apt: $25
Prescriptions: $22
We also have DD's 4th birthday, a D-Backs Game (we already have the tix but parking and goodies will need to be purchased), DH's BFF is visiting for a week, and two day camping trip. I don't have a budget yet for these things because it depends on how much DH's checks are for July. The joy of commission based paychecks!!

[pointy]

I'm in for July - 23 NS and 28 No QVC Days.
startsmart's method works - I write down on a calendar every day whether it's a spend or no spend day - accountability helps!

[dakota4600]

SS- I use my calendar at work. Since I'm here more than home. And I have a code for each day. The sad thing is June's calendar is completely blank, I didn't even write my goals on it.

AZmom- I would have been thinking about dinner out after that saga! Good for you.

[startsmart]

azmom- I'm taking my parents to the SF giants on July 10th! it was part of dad's bday present and boy those seats are expensive! Seriously so... But it's worth it, he used to take his dad and I'm sure he wouldn't go now that grandpa is gone.

Dilemma I need help with:

I've been friends with a gal I met through my client and we've been really close the last 2 months. She's a great resource and mentor and helping me do some transition work right now. Plus she only lives about 3 hours away until she moves to Florida in 6 months time.

We've been trying to meet halfway for weeks but she doesn't have a car to borrow (turned in her lease to save money and is staying with family). So I thought I might take one day this weekend and go to her town so we can hang out.

Problem: it's a 3.5 hour drive ONE WAY. I'm concerned my back will be way too sore driving 7 hours in one day (plus all the time hanging out with her) plus I don't want to leave the dogs that long. With the holiday they're going to be barking and freaking out. There's no one here who can dog sit for me either.

My choices:
take 2 or 3 dogs with me (2 dogs are okay in the sm car, with 3 I'll need the jeep)
drive the sm car or the jeep (difference of 38 or 15 mpg)
go halfway, get a hotel (cost $50-60)
scrap it all for another weekend

It sucks because I really really want to meet her in person and hang out and she's somewhat stuck right now. But between juggling the dogs, the cost of gas in the jeep, needing to get a hotel and then having so many logistics I wouldn't feel like this is a fun trip anymore, I'm not sure.

I'm leaning toward taking the two small dogs, leaving Jackson in the garage with his crate open, water, food, chew toys, a fan and music BLASTING and going for one day. I can't leave him overnight, he'll bark constantly and then I'll have to deal with nasty anonymous notes from cowardly neighbors.

If I take the two little guys I can go in the Toyota, take the collapsable crate and get there and back on one tank of gas ($35). I'm just worried I'll spend all day Monday on my back, miserable and not get anything else done.

I have the saw from my cousin for 2 weeks so I need to start working on the new bench slats plus get work done in the garden.

[3catslady]

I'm in for July. I went from $3,000 in March to $1,000 July 1st. That sucks. So I am down to base 2. At least I got on base. My problem with the grocery store is "I work there". So if I need a roll of tp, I pick it up on my way home. If I need cat food, I pick it up on my way home. See where this is going? I don't make a one day spending day but I do try to keep in budget. I have been spending at least $50 a week for groceries and that includes paper products and cat stuff. The rest of the money just went to bills that came up and, yes, I helped DS out because DIL was not working and DS's boss stiffed him with his last pay. His boss owes him $600+ but decided that his vacation was more important than paying DS. So now we wait for his boss to get back. DIL is now back to work and working at least 30 hours so that part of the budget will be back in line, but I have to do a "catch-up" on the saving. Thank all for getting me on base with a savings. I still have the gift cards that I started in January and I am half way there for December, so that is good. I may want to use a few for the twins birthday but that is all. I am saving the rest for a true "emergency" which I will define when it happens.
My July goals are 25 NS/CSD, 5 EOD, and 1 whatever day. That will probably be the twins birthday.

[3catslady]

Has any one heard from Honey? Someone asked on the other thread but I didn't see an answer.

[muttleynfelix]

3cats - I have not heard from Honey.

UGH!!! I so screwed up!! Grrrr. So mad.
How we did on our budget for each month -
Feb +55.80 (great since I was getting unemployment for 2 days a week)
March (2540.76)
April (got our refunds and a 3 paycheck month) +2889.00
May (1007.16)
June (841.79)

So now, I have to transfer $1000 out of savings or carry a balance on my CC and then figure out if we tighten the belt if we are going to get caught up or not. Last month I carried $500 over for no reason (ok I would have ended up with $14 in my checking account). I don't know what the answer is other than stop extraneous spending. GRRR. I'm so mad at myself. I just can't seem to be motivated to stick to the budget.

[ses]

BLACK HILLS MEET UP

So much fun! KCgal arrived at my house late Friday afternoon just in time to spend some quality time sitting in the basement waiting out the sirens and warnings of a tornado. So much for the planned trip to see Mr Popper's Penguins. Saturday we really cleaned out about 8 boxes of mom's stuff--almost done! We left Sunday morning to meet moneysquirrel at the Rapid City airport whose arrival was delayed shortly by storm clouds. After a leisurely lunch we joined up with Mittenkitten, DS1 and Momcat and finally got to see Mr Popper's Penguins. Such a giggle! We were to meet Sapphire and Momsapphire's flight at 6:13. After MANY delays they finally got here at 1:00 AM. I'm sure it was the trip from he!! After a short night we started Monday with a trip to a local museum for an overview of the area then on to lunch in the original city firehouse for a yummy lunch, buffalo burgers for many of us. In the afternoon we headed out to Bear Country, a wildlife preserve where visitors drive through in our cars(our cages) to see the wildlife. Lots of fun. Then we were on to Keystone, a little tourist town at the foot of Mt Rushmore. There some panned for gold, and even found some flakes, while others wandered through the shops. We regrouped and headed to see the faces on Mt Rushmore. Mittenkitten's DS had fun scrambling over the rocks. Oh, to have such energy! Tuesday morning we took a two hour tour through the hills on an 1880's steam train. Afterwords, we had a surprise birthday party (8th) for MK's DS#1 with cake, singing and presents, right in the middle of a Subway sandwich shop. That afternoon we toured some of the twisty-turny mountain roads,--- tunnels, pigtail turns and jumpy tummies and everything. Later we visited the mountain where a memorial to Chief Crazy Horse is being carved, and will be for many, many decades to come. That night we checked into a darling '50s vintage motor court motel. Smartstart, you would have loved the vintage car parked by the office. After a buffalo steak dinner some of us enjoyed the beautiful evening on the lawn chairs provided outside the rooms and had a good chat. The next day we split up and did some different activities. MK did some things that DS wanted to do and Moneysquirrel and I visited some rock shops and then joined the rest of us headed through Wyoming to a restored 1880's army fort, this is where I learned Momsapphire is a big history buff. Driving across some of this country makes me realize I would have never survived as a pioneer woman settling the West.
Wednesday evening we spent in my hometown and everyone got the chance to meet Onyx and Calleigh, or at least see Calleigh run away in full panic at all these strangers. We then took a drive around the area and got to see "No gas hill" (I will post that story later).
Thursday morning we visited a dig site of ancient mammoths that got trapped in a mud pit. Kind of interesting. We met up with the others for a late lunch in Rapid City, where we visited for a long time and a young man working there took group photos for us. After everyone got checked into their rooms KCgal and I started home. Some of the others were going to explore Rapid City on Friday before leaving Saturday morning. I just got a call from KCgal that she got home safely despite all the flooding on her route. I just hope everyone else has a good trip home.

Now back to a more mundane life--cleaning kitty litter, laundry and cleaning out the fridge and cuddling kitties feeling neglected.

[ses]

Welcome midwesternjd and zippy!! It is so great when new people find us. Go easy on yourselves at first so you don't burn out. I like to suggest that your first month you just track every penny of your spending to get a feel of what will be doable for you. The first month seems to be an eye opener for most if us, and gives us a chance to see our spending patterns. It will be easier to get the rest of your family on board once you know your habits.
Smartstarts calendar plan really works well

This is a story from my second month here.

You all are CORRUPTING me. I have 24/29 $0 spend days and I only have one day to make it 25. Coming home from work the low fuel light started blinking. I told my car "you are a PT Cruiser-so cruise!" then I kept coaching it every block. Then the emergency bell started to ding (less than one gallon , I think) I wanted those 25 days sooooo bad. I made it home without any gasping noises. But I still had to get to work tomorrow. I cleaned out my purse of loose change, I even emptied the gunk from the vacuum, raided the junk bowl in the kitchen, raided my quarter stash-still not enough. Then I remembered the parking change stashed in the car! I only need one gallon to get to and from work for one day. I "cruised" the four blocks to the service station ( 4 blocks all downhill), then pumped one gallon into the car went inside and counted out $3.19 in change. a NO SPEND day was achieved!!! I still have $.17. All that grief and drama for a smiley. I haven't pulled a stunt like that since prehistory when I was in high school. I'm just glad no one I knew was around. I know where I will be first thing Saturday morning. As I said you all are corrupting me, getting in my head and not letting me spend. So I guess if I do get my 25/29 days the cake (or is it the present?) I'll share it with all of you.

No matter how discouraged you might feel, stick with us.

AZmom--here is for you. I honestly don't know how you did it, I would have caved.

We missed you, Sheila!

[mizbear]

I am counting today a spend- it was one of those shadowy- not quite a spend, but I spent more than I intended days. I did better on snacks for the nieces than I thought because 2L soda was 10/10 and big bags of chips were $1.78 instead of $3.99- but after we opened the chips we found out they aren't staying for the weekend. So, I am going to have to send the chips with them. I told them that I can't afford to buy snacks for everyone else's house and so no more snacks until the other adults can give me the courtesy of a schedule- and stick to it. They are costing me money.
I also forked out for lunch- but DM paid me back for that. So I guess it wasn't really a spend, but it felt like one since the snacks ended up going to someone else's house.

[ses]

RE Honey
Isn't this the time of year she goes to Vermont for her quilting conference? right after she sends "her girls" home.

[3catslady]

I had my "Happy Hour" drink. Did any body else? DS gave me a half gallon of milk so now I have to drink that. I've got a fridge full of water bottles, 35 to be exact, 2 cans of Mist, a bottle of Coke, and a half gallon of iced tea. My freezer has 10 meals in it and I have enough oatmeal for 10 days also. I think I am set for the next 10 days. Oh yes, I have pudding and fruit in the fridge also. Now if I can stick to that menu.

[DVM gone riding]

wow end of the first, most people out of town and there is already 27 replies!!

I am in again--going to do better--with 8nsd and 8csd we will see if this doesn't go better.

[startsmart]

wow, today ended up being spendy! I was all set to go to a monthly write in and got a last minute email that the host had to cancel. After I picked up chips and salsa for the group. So since I was out of town already I went to the co-op and then picked up a few things I forgot earlier at the grocery store.

I did get a great deal at Salvation Army - a wood open bookshelf for $5! I'm going to stain it and put it outside next to the bench. Perfect place to hold lemonade, magazines and another plant.

I found 4 plants on clearance at the grocery store too so I'll be filling up the bookshelf soon!