2017 controlled Spend/ No Spend

[3catslady]

January update:  10 NSD, 3 CSD

[Blonde Granny]

Day 14 and I still haven't done any impulse spending for the month. Even the airline ticket I bought last night was budgeted for, and my yearly allowance for travel will still have $3K left.

As for gasoline for my car 14 days and I have used 1/4 of a tank.

[moneysquirrel]

Update: 11 NSDs and 4 CSDs

Ran some errands today -- all needed and planned for so a CSD.  Groceries, Meds and Lowe's for the light bulbs.  Been fighting the  allergy/sinus that I get yearly and needed to restock my basics that I use to combat the issues.  If I catch it early I can usually avoid the visit to the doctor so I try to be proactive in this area. 

This is my expensive time of the year as I will be paying my annual home insurance this week.  pay it it on CC to get points and will pay it as it hits the bank.  Next month is flood insurance so this one will be finished before the next one comes in. Then taxes.  This is my time of the year where so much goes out -- all planned but I hate pulling money out of saving even though that is why it was there in the first place.  I budget so much for insurance each month so that when the statement comes in the money is there for it.

[shanendoah]

I only had one spend day, Friday through Monday, and that I am incredibly proud of. Here's why:
Friday: Work from home. Go pick up BFF from work (she broke her arm on Tuesday) so she doesn't have to ride bus. Go grocery shopping. Spend 7 hours in transit/urgent care with roommate, as she gets put into an in-patient psychiatric care program (left home at 5:30p, returned at 12:30a). CSD.
Saturday: Arrange for friends closer to the in-patient hospital to go visit roomie at Noon. Pick up my mom from the airport at noon. Get home, put on Seahawks game. Watch most of the game (Seahawks go on to lose). BFF and her wife arrive, all 5 of us (C, Mom, BFF, Wife, Me) pile into car around 4p to go visit roomie at 5p. Visit roomie for about 30 minutes, then all pile back into the car to go to dinner and a movie (planned in advance- my mom wanted to go to a movie while she was here). CSD.
Sunday: Fairly quiet morning, but then lunch and shopping with Mom and Pop Tart. Mom paid for lunch, and Pop Tart had gift cards for her new jeans, but she needed new bras. $150 right there, but I had planned for it. Sunday family dinner. Watched the Kansas City lose. CSD.
Monday: Go to Chihuly exhibit with Mom (this was the one other thing she really wanted to do). Mom paid for entrance. Took lots of pictures. I paid for parking (about $4). Went home for lunch, then took mom back to the airport. After the airport, we had a little time to kill before visiting hours for the roomie, so we hit the Barnes & Noble. Didn't buy a book, but did get a snack at Starbucks. Visited roomie. BFF and Wife were there at the same time. We left and went out to dinner with them. Spend.
Today: Got up 8 minutes before the alarm went off, because Beagle needed out. Made my lunch and left it on the dining room table. While I was getting dressed, Beagle got up on the dining room table and decided my sandwich smelled good. Came downstairs to find that she had just gotten the plastic bag open and had about one bite of my sandwich. Throw that away, make new sandwich. Thanks to getting up 8 minutes early, I still made my bus. Got to work, got a Starbucks.
C and Wife will be going to the hospital today to meet with roomie and social worker to discuss family plan, and find out when roomie will be released.

	Starbucks	Spend	Controlled	No Spend
Week of Jan 1	2	3	3	1
Week of Jan 8	2	1	5	1
Week of Jan 15	2	1	1
Week of Jan 22
Week of Jan 29
Total	6	5	9	2
Goal	<11			>4

[wvugurl26]

I tend to spend more on drinks and snacks when I'm away for extended periods of time like the 7 hours. I think you did a great job. I've been looking lately for more opportunities to bring food from home where possible. This helps since I also have food allergies. I was up sick last night since the spinach artichoke dip we had contained soy. Sometimes I just don't want to plan ahead, pack it up, etc. Especially if I need to go grocery shopping.

[shanendoah]

Just the Starbucks yesterday, so CSD.
Roomie came home yesterday, which is good. Have to find the line to walk between treating her like the adults she is (she's 1 month older than me) and treating her like the teenager she sometimes acts like (she is trans, and on hormones, so her body really is going through puberty). I don't want to have to question a 41y/o every time she leaves the house, but considering she had been leaving the house to engage in risky/dangerous behavior, how much questioning do I do? Not really questions anyone can answer.
I am glad that while our copays went up by $10 this year, our deductibles went down by a LOT. I swear last year they were at least $1,000/person, maybe more. This year, they are $250/person. I do have counseling today with copay, and then will get the bill for remainder as part of my deductible, but that will take me to $200 in deductible met, so when I go again in 2 weeks, I'll only owe $50 more and then be done. That I am very happy about.

	Starbucks	Spend	Controlled	No Spend
Week of Jan 1	2	3	3	1
Week of Jan 8	2	1	5	1
Week of Jan 15	2	1	2
Week of Jan 22
Week of Jan 29
Total	6	5	10	2
Goal	<11			>4

[shanendoah]

Yesterday ended up being a spend day. We kept forgetting to take something out for dinner, so I picked up a Papa Murphy's pizza on the way home from counseling. They were offereing 50% off on online orders yesterday, and it will feed the two of us for 2 nights, so at under $10, it's not a bad deal, but we still hadn't been planning on spending.
Made it into the office without visiting Starbucks this morning, so I'm on track so far today.

	Starbucks	Spend	Controlled	No Spend
Week of Jan 1	2	3	3	1
Week of Jan 8	2	1	5	1
Week of Jan 15	2	2	2
Week of Jan 22
Week of Jan 29
Total	6	6	10	2
Goal	<11			>4

[shanendoah]

I got my NSD on Thursday again - which makes total sense, as it's one of my no SB days, and we have plans every Thursday night that don't involve leaving our house.
Friday was supposed to be my do nothing day, but it's for the best it wasn't. I went out that morning and bought myself some new orthotics - I'd been planning on doing that for a while, but had finally found a nearby store, and then had the time crunch due to wanting them before the Women's March on Saturday. I am calling that a controlled spend because I had been planning on it, and it really was a need. (And I found a pair that lessened my heal pain instantly. Also, I am pretty certain they are the reason I was not crippled on Sunday or still today, after spending 4+ hours on my feet, walking almost 4 miles, on Saturday.) We also CostCo shopped on Friday.
Saturday was the Women's March. The only spending I did was on "lunch" (at 3:30pm) when we finished it. We got to the park where it started about 11:30a, but ended up in about the last 10th of the marchers, so didn't leave the park until about 1p (the front part of the march had already reached the end before we even started). I had planned on lunch out that day, so controlled spend.
Sunday was a spend day. I took Pop Tart swimming, which was planned, but then we decided to have lunch out, which hadn't been planned. And then, after buying her new bras last week, and having known for a while that I needed new bras myself, I went back to JCP, where they were still having a sale, and got myself some new bras. However, between the sale and some rewards, I did end up spending only $25/bra, for good bras, so I'm not complaining.
Today was a planned Starbucks day. I am also planning on dinner out on Wednesday, as we'll be going to see The King and I with a group of friends.

	Starbucks	Spend	Controlled	No Spend
Week of Jan 1	2	3	3	1
Week of Jan 8	2	1	5	1
Week of Jan 15	2	2	4	1
Week of Jan 22	1	1
Week of Jan 29
Total	7	7	12	3
Goal	<11			>4

[shanendoah]

Starbucks only yesterday. No plans for spending today.

	Starbucks	Spend	Controlled	No Spend
Week of Jan 1	2	3	3	1
Week of Jan 8	2	1	5	1
Week of Jan 15	2	2	4	1
Week of Jan 22	1	1	1
Week of Jan 29
Total	7	7	13	3
Goal	<11			>4

[shanendoah]

No spending yesterday, meaning I've reached my NSD goal (minor though it was) for the month, and hope I may be able to best it by adding at least one more NSD on Thursday. Plus, I'm on track to have one fewer Starbucks than I budgeted myself, so in that sense, I'm overachieving 
Today should be a CSD. Starbucks this morning, my once/week lunch bought on campus (and I didn't have one last week), and dinner out with friends prior to seeing The King and I - all of that planned.

	Starbucks	Spend	Controlled	No Spend
Week of Jan 1	2	3	3	1
Week of Jan 8	2	1	5	1
Week of Jan 15	2	2	4	1
Week of Jan 22	2	1	1	1
Week of Jan 29
Total	8	7	13	4
Goal	<11			>4

[shanendoah]

Yesterday went as planned, so was a CSD. 

	Starbucks	Spend	Controlled	No Spend
Week of Jan 1	2	3	3	1
Week of Jan 8	2	1	5	1
Week of Jan 15	2	2	4	1
Week of Jan 22	2	1	2	1
Week of Jan 29
Total	8	7	14	4
Goal	<11			>4

[shanendoah]

It's like the all shanendoah thread in here. I hope everyone else is doing okay with their goals and spending. Sometimes I feel silly for how much I am posting in here, but it really is one of the things that keeps me motivated.
I have now exceeded my goal for no spend days. Looking at the calendar, it is possible I could get up to 3 more no spend days this month, depending on how we organize our shopping. Tomorrow the dogs have a vet appointment, so if we do all of our grocery shopping then, we could conceivably end up with today, Sunday, and next Tuesday as no spend days. But I am not going to count on it. I will aim for next Tuesday being an NSD, but I don't want to micro-manage the weekend that much.
I am also on track to have one fewer Starbucks day than I allowed (thanks to working from home), which also makes me happy.
And now that I have almost one month of complete data to go from, I'm starting to think about what I want my February goals to be. Probably fewer spend days, so that I really concentrate on planning my spending in advance (which also helps me spend less, because I plan, I research, etc.)

	Starbucks	Spend	Controlled	No Spend
Week of Jan 1	2	3	3	1
Week of Jan 8	2	1	5	1
Week of Jan 15	2	2	4	1
Week of Jan 22	3	1	2	2
Week of Jan 29
Total	9	7	14	5
Goal	<11			>4

[moneysquirrel]

Update:21 NSDS and 6 CSDs


Things have been busy and I think I forgot to update last week.  Had a few days of spending - groceries, gas and insurance were needed items.  Some other items were craft related and I use money I earned from crafts to pay for them.  I did have a few purchases which were not immediately needed but I would have gotten  them at some time soon.

Shen -- I am not on often.  I post maybe once a week.  I am on the computer a lot at school so when I am home I try to avoid it at times.  I don't post from work as everything is monitored.  I teach in a middle school.

[shanendoah]

I was not thinking on Friday. Friday I got a starbucks, so it could not have been a no spend day. However, with proper planning on Saturday, Sunday was a no spend.
Saturday was a controlled spend, but it was still an expensive day. Dogs had their annual vet appt, and because they are both senior dogs now, that means senior dog panels. Plus miss Junebug has some growths on her neck we believe are related to her impacted saliva glands, but wanted those checked out as well.
Starbucks this morning, but hopefully that will be all, so should be a CSD today, and am hoping for an NSD for tomorrow, which would put my NSDs at the same as my Spends for the month, which would be nice.

moneysquirrel - I totally understand about not being on at home. I am able to post from work, and really spend very little time on social media or message boards from home. If I'm on the computer at home, I'm probably playing a game.

	Starbucks	Spend	Controlled	No Spend
Week of Jan 1	2	3	3	1
Week of Jan 8	2	1	5	1
Week of Jan 15	2	2	4	1
Week of Jan 22	3	1	4	2
Week of Jan 29	1			1
Total	10	7	16	6
Goal	<11			>4

[shanendoah]

Last day of the month. I will meet the goals I set for myself. I am excited about that. One less Starbucks than I'd allowed for, and at least 2 more NSDs than I'd hoped for, with the possibility of 3 more (a whole week worth of NSDs), as long as I don't spend today. So I am excited about that.
I also keep track of spending on my calendar. It looks like I had 7 days (another whole week) that could have been NSDs if I hadn't gotten Starbucks. I think that for next month, I'm going to change my tracking a bit and have Spend, Controlled, SB Only, and No Spend. My hope is that seeing a daily reminder of how many days I could have had as no spend days, if only I didn't get Starbucks, will help me move even more away from my morning SB. 

	Starbucks	Spend	Controlled	No Spend
Week of Jan 1	2	3	3	1
Week of Jan 8	2	1	5	1
Week of Jan 15	2	2	4	1
Week of Jan 22	3	1	4	2
Week of Jan 29	1		1	1
Total	10	7	17	6
Goal	<11			>4

[3catslady]

final January update:  19 NSD, 12 CSD.

A good month but I need to do better.

[shanendoah]

Final January count: 7 SDs, 17 CSDs, and 7 NSDs. 
I had a goal of at least 4 NSDs, I beat that by 3. I also had a goal of 11 or fewer drinks bought at Starbucks in the month, which was a substantial decrease (without that goal, I would have been looking at 20 Starbucks drinks in the month) to begin with. I beat that goal by 1, only buying 10 drinks.

I have to head off to a meeting here in just a couple minutes, so my new February chart and February goals will wait until tomorrow.

3catslady - I think you're doing amazing. I have such respect for you.

	Starbucks	Spend	Controlled	No Spend
Week of Jan 1	2	3	3	1
Week of Jan 8	2	1	5	1
Week of Jan 15	2	2	4	1
Week of Jan 22	3	1	4	2
Week of Jan 29	1		1	2
Total	10	7	17	7
Goal	<11			>4

[shanendoah]

Yesterday was a Starbucks only day, but no new fancy tables or anything today, as I am actually not at my normal computer. My BFF is having surgery on her broken arm, and her wife, while an amazing person and super competent at most things, is not good at taking care of herself while people she cares about are having medical issues. So I am at the surgery center, hanging out with wife, and making sure she eats and drinks, etc. Plus, I am doing the driving, so she doesn't have to worry about that.
I was good and packed myself a whole assortment of snacks, so with the exception of paying for parking, I hopefully won't spend anything today.

[3catslady]

February update:  1 NSD, 1 CSD.

I ran out of cat food so I had to buy it.  I can now cross it off the grocery list for Sunday.

[shanendoah]

Okay,  time for the new chart and the new February goals. I am still keeping track of how many times I pay for Starbucks in a week, but not in the chart.
I am going to track how many days my only spending is on Starbucks. I am hoping that will help me cut down even more.
So February goals:
1) 6 or more No Spend Days (I know I got 7 in January, but February has 3 less days, so I'm allowing for that.)
2) 6 or fewer Spend Days (in general, I'd like to keep my spend days equal to or less than my no spend days)
3) 10 or fewer times paying for my Starbucks

	Spend	Controlled	SB Only	No Spend
Feb 1-4		1	1
Feb 5-11
Feb 12-18
Feb 19-25
Feb 26-28
Total		1	1
Goal	<6			>6

Starbucks: 2 (goal <10)

Yesterday was an interesting day. I have counted it as a controlled spend. I spent $12 on parking as part of BFF's surgery odyssey yesterday. While I hadn't known until Wednesday what day the surgery would be happening, I had volunteered to do this three weeks ago when BFF first broke her arm, so I do feel it was planned. 
And then, since I was working from home (after getting BFF back home), C and I decided to do our CostCo shopping last night. While not one of our normal days to do it, it was our normal shopping. There's no reason for us to be back at CostCo for 2 weeks, so I'm counting it as part of the normal cycle of things.
Today should also end up being a CS, as I bought my Starbucks this morning, and I've had lunch planned with a colleague for a while now.

[moneysquirrel]

Update: Final January 22 NSDs 7 CSDs
February Update: 4 NSDs and 1 CSD
I have been fighting the sinus/allergy crud all week. Home to school to home.  Only got gas for the car.  

[shanendoah]

	Spend	Controlled	SB Only	No Spend
Feb 1-4		3	1
Feb 5-11				1
Feb 12-18
Feb 19-25
Feb 26-28
Total		3	1	1
Goal	<6			>6

Starbucks: 2 (goal <10)

[3catslady]

February update:  3 NSD, 3 CSD.

[shanendoah]

There was a part of me that kept wanting to call yesterday a controlled spend, and if I'd only purchased the tickets to take Pop Tart to the screening of Allegiance, I would have gone with that (as I've had this plan for about a week, but yesterday was the day the plans firmed up). But, I also purchased a small pillow to go in the sham a friend made for me (from a latch hook I'd done). And that wasn't really planned, no matter what I try to tell myself. So yesterday was a spend.
Hoping today will be a no spend. I got in before Starbucks opened, so even though my baristas wished me a good morning (they were outside), I came straight into my building.

	Spend	Controlled	SB Only	No Spend
Feb 1-4		3	1
Feb 5-11	1			1
Feb 12-18
Feb 19-25
Feb 26-28
Total	1	3	1	1
Goal	<6			>6

Starbucks: 2 (goal <10)

[shanendoah]

My desire for an NSD yesterday managed to outweigh my craving for salty snack food. So that's good.
Starbucks this morning. Had a chat with one of my baristas about the fact that I'm only coming in every other day now, and he was like "I totally understand. I can only wish I had enough money to go to a coffee house every day." My baristas are the best, and I'm finding not starting my day talking to them to be the hardest part of cutting back on my habit. 

	Spend	Controlled	SB Only	No Spend
Feb 1-4		3	1
Feb 5-11	1			2
Feb 12-18
Feb 19-25
Feb 26-28
Total	1	3	1	2
Goal	<6			>6

Starbucks: 3 (goal <10)

[shanendoah]

Starbucks only yesterday

	Spend	Controlled	SB Only	No Spend
Feb 1-4		3	1
Feb 5-11	1		1	2
Feb 12-18
Feb 19-25
Feb 26-28
Total	1	3	2	2
Goal	<6			>6

Starbucks: 3 (goal <10)

[shanendoah]

It's been a really good week so far. I'm already half way to my no spend goal. 
I also have stuff for lunch today, so I will go this whole week without buying lunch on campus. If I can get myself into the habit of only buying lunch once every other week, I can reduce the amount of money I put on my campus ID card even more, and get a few more dollars back in the regular budget. If I can pull that off for the whole month of Feb, I will try making that change at the start of March.

	Spend	Controlled	SB Only	No Spend
Feb 1-4		3	1
Feb 5-11	1		1	3
Feb 12-18
Feb 19-25
Feb 26-28
Total	1	3	2	3
Goal	<6			>6

Starbucks: 4 (goal <10)

[moneysquirrel]

Update: 10NSDs 2 CSDs
Still fighting the allergy.  Will try to see dr. this week.

[shanendoah]

We went out to dinner on Friday, as an early Valentine's day thing. Used a groupon, but still spent money, making Friday a spend. Saturday was groceries only, and, thanks to planning ahead, Sunday was an NSD.
I did go to Starbucks this morning.

	Spend	Controlled	SB Only	No Spend
Feb 1-4		3	1
Feb 5-11	2	1	1	3
Feb 12-18				1
Feb 19-25
Feb 26-28
Total	2	4	2	4
Goal	<6			>6

Starbucks: 5 (goal <10)

[shanendoah]

Yesterday was a CSD. I went ahead and bought lunch at the student union. Because I am budgeted for one lunch out/week (and I really only plan them if I'm having lunch with a friend), it counts as a controlled spend.

	Spend	Controlled	SB Only	No Spend
Feb 1-4		3	1
Feb 5-11	2	1	1	3
Feb 12-18		1		1
Feb 19-25
Feb 26-28
Total	2	5	2	4
Goal	<6			>6

Starbucks: 5 (goal <10)