2018 Controlled Spend/No Spend

[shanendoah]

So far, so good. My massage therapist is a miracle worker.

WEEK	IN PLAN?	UNPLANNED SPENDING $	NS/CS DAYS
Jan 29-Feb 4	Y	$13.29	3/3
Feb 5-11	N	$80.00	1/2
Feb 12-18	Y	$45.00	3/3
Feb 19-25			0/2
Feb 26-Mar 4

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Planned	Gas	Massage	Starbucks		Cash ($40)		Pop Tart Visit ($75)
Actual	Gas	Massage

[Iggy aka IG]

Things are going well here.  I did go on vacation for my milestone birthday, so $$ was spent there.  My dad and friends bought my meals out.  Lodging was free since we stayed at my dad's condo.  Admittedly I splurged on a first class airline ticket.  Once there, we went to the grocery store for provisions such as water, snacks and eggs for breakfasts.  I stuck to my list, and even put one of the cheeses for the meat and cheese tray back to try and keep costs down.  The store employee input a savings card number for extra savings since I didn't have one for that particular store.  I didn't buy alcohol because there was plenty of vodka in the freezer, and dad and a friend bought several bottles wine, moscato and sparkling wine. 

Before I left I purchased snacks for the plane to also keep costs down.

Since returning, I've gone to the grocery and saved there using coupons and shopping the sales.  After shopping I filled up the truck using my fuel points for .30/gallon savings.  Last night I went to Wally World for a few items I'd forgotten at the grocery, stuck to my list, and used a coupon.

Tonight I'll buy stamps for the office.

Going out for lunch tomorrow, but my friends will pick up the tab for my belated birthday. 

That should do it as far as spending for the month. 

[shanendoah]

BFF's wife was running late last night, so I hung out with BFF after Weight Watchers and grabbed dinner with her at Taco Time while waiting for her wife to get there. 
Turns out there will be no visit with Pop Tart this weekend - scheduling issue that foster mom thought I'd been told about months ago, but I hadn't been. Need to decide if I am going to go get a mani/pedi myself anyway in prep for Hawaii or just skip it.

WEEK	IN PLAN?	UNPLANNED SPENDING $	NS/CS DAYS
Jan 29-Feb 4	Y	$13.29	3/3
Feb 5-11	N	$80.00	1/2
Feb 12-18	Y	$45.00	3/3
Feb 19-25		$9.85	0/2
Feb 26-Mar 4

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Planned	Gas	Massage	Starbucks		Cash ($40)		Pop Tart Visit ($75)
Actual	Gas	Massage	Taco Time

[Iggy aka IG]

shanendoah, I hope you decide to go ahead and treat yourself to the mani/pedi. 

[wvugurl26]

Feb 22, 2018 11:32:53 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

shanendoah, I hope you decide to go ahead and treat yourself to the mani/pedi. 

Definitely this. If anyone deserves a little treat, it's most definitely you.

[shanendoah]

Thanks, Iggy aka IG & wvugurl26.

The question isn't whether or not I deserve a mani/pedi, as much as it is that I now have the possibility of an entire day where I have no commitments outside of my house. What do I want more? A mani/pedi, or a day where the only time I leave the house is to walk my dogs in the morning? It is two different versions of self care.

[Iggy aka IG]

Feb 22, 2018 14:51:19 GMT -5 shanendoah said:

Thanks, Iggy aka IG & wvugurl26 .

The question isn't whether or not I deserve a mani/pedi, as much as it is that I now have the possibility of an entire day where I have no commitments outside of my house. What do I want more? A mani/pedi, or a day where the only time I leave the house is to walk my dogs in the morning? It is two different versions of self care.

I totally get this!  I now live 20 minutes out of town up a mountain.  Once I'm home, I'm home, and I cherish the weekends with nowhere to go.

Perhaps you can reschedule the mani/pedi to a day where you'll already be out and about?

[TheOtherMe]

Feb 22, 2018 14:51:19 GMT -5 shanendoah said:

Thanks, Iggy aka IG & wvugurl26 .

The question isn't whether or not I deserve a mani/pedi, as much as it is that I now have the possibility of an entire day where I have no commitments outside of my house. What do I want more? A mani/pedi, or a day where the only time I leave the house is to walk my dogs in the morning? It is two different versions of self care.

I get this, too.  I love staying home with just Lucy Cat and me.  

Perhaps reschedule the mani/pedi for another Pop Tart visit?

[shanendoah]

The spending plan this week is now getting a little messed up because I didn't quite think fully ahead.
I am starting the process for getting my house ready to sell. This is a good thing in that I need to do it. Putting it off is not the answer. But that means that yesterday I ordered a POD to be delivered to my house next Saturday (after I get back from Hawaii), and had to pay for that. Tonight I need to run out and buy some bins and boxes, and a couple light bulbs. I also dropped off one of my area rugs to be professionally cleaned yesterday, but I don't have to pay for that until I pick it up.
I am very blessed in that my BFF and her wife are going to come and spend a couple nights with the dogs while I'm away (so that roommate isn't stuck trying to keep all 3 dogs happy the whole time). And BFF's wife (BFFIL), who loves to be busy, asked me yesterday to put together a list of things SHE could start working on to pack up MY house, while I am in Hawaii. (Really, so amazingly blessed with the wonderfulness of my friends.) Plus BFFIL is going with me this afternoon to look at the house/property I am seriously considering buying.

WEEK	IN PLAN?	UNPLANNED SPENDING $	NS/CS DAYS
Jan 29-Feb 4	Y	$13.29	3/3
Feb 5-11	N	$80.00	1/2
Feb 12-18	Y	$45.00	3/3
Feb 19-25	N	$271.85	0/2
Feb 26-Mar 4

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Planned	Gas	Massage	Starbucks		Cash ($40)		Pop Tart Visit ($75)
Actual	Gas	Massage	Taco Time	POD ($262)

[Iggy aka IG]

shanendoah, good luck on the house preparation.  It's so much work! 

[shanendoah]

Iggy aka IG - Hoping that by having the POD delivered and being able to pack in spurts (and get things that are packed out of the house), that will help.
Bur I already know there are somethings I am just going to pay for: Cleaning service & yard service before open house, professional movers. I am pondering whether or not I want full service professional movers who will also pack.

We are expecting that I will walk away from sale of my house with $150k-175k. IF I get the house I'm looking at today, I'll need ~$110k to put down 25%. Current credit card debt is ~$20k, so I'll still have $20k+ to cover moving expenses, complete the fence in the yard, get a new couch (I am not moving the current one), and replenish savings.

[Iggy aka IG]

That will for certain help!    When we moved the past two times, DH rented a storage unit while our home was staged and on the market.  I am so glad you are going to pay for help.  So worth it.  My vote is to have them pack, too. 

Good job on the profit! 

[TheOtherMe]

Good luck getting the house ready shanendoah

I only wish I had a BFFIL to help me get stuff out of my house.

I did go out of budget this week with a vet visit for Lucy.  It was her annual visit, is necessary and cost less than $100.  It wasn't blown money.  It's that I never have money and the furnace repair isn't going to help.  I considered postponing Lucy's vet visit but I don't want her not protected against rabies.

[moneysquirrel]

Still moving forward.  This week was a little pricey but nothing unexpected.  Flood insurance, hair appointment, gas, and driver license renewal.  Glad that last one is over and not set to renew for 6 years.  Had to go in this time (only 3+ hours wait time) since I needed the Real ID for TSA.  State only started doing them this past October and they will be needed starting this October for air travel.

shanendoah -- Good luck with the prep for moving.  Hope that you are able to get the house that you want.  


Iggy aka IG -- Happy Belated Birthday! Glad you enjoy your vacation 

[Iggy aka IG]

Thank you so much, moneysquirrel!  Sorry about the 3+ hour wait time.  Ugh!

[TheOtherMe]

I made an impulse purchase today.  It was for under $30 and for a good cause.

A second cousin is in the midst of an ugly divorce.  She has had an eating disorder since at least high school.  She has been ordered to apply for SSI by the mediator as she can't hold down a job due to her illness.  

She is a very creative, artsy person and opened an Etsy shop making jewelry.  She just started it and has a lot of very pretty jewelry listed but she has only had 4 sales.  Today she offered a 25% discount so I bought a necklace from her.  It's very pretty and I feel like I am helping her a little bit.

I also had an eating disorder which I was pretty much able to beat.  This is an adult woman who weighs less than 70 pounds and has been advised a healthy weight is at least 100 pounds.  She passes out from not eating or from bulima episodes so is stuck at home.  

Sometimes it feels good to help so I did.

[Iggy aka IG]

TheOtherMe, that was very kind of you. 

[TheOtherMe]

Thank you.

[Blonde Granny]

I had a month that just finished and ended up in good financial shape. Not spending certainly helps the account balance.

So far today it was $30 to fill up the gas tank and $38 for groceries along with $100 cash back to hopefully carry me till the end of March. I spent $14 for a new nightgown from Walmart as I already have the black bed jacket to go with it. Time will tell how well I'm able to do. .

[Iggy aka IG]

Unexpected spending today:  A friend took me to a belated birthday lunch.  I offered and paid for the tip.  $5.

[shanendoah]

Last week, I was at a work conference in Hawaii. Most of what I spent will be covered via my per diem, but I did spend around $175 on souvenir type things. But for the most part, I am calling last week an "untracked" week, and I am okay with that. Sometimes, that just has to happen.
Getting back into the plan this week, though.
I am going to see They Might Be Giants on Wednesday night with friends, so will probably grab dinner out as part of that.
Friday morning is going to be a bit tight, as instead of working 7a-Noon that day, I will work 1p-7p due to an evening event at work, so I've got to try and get in a good dog walk and grocery shopping that morning, likely around a vet appointment for Junebug, as she needs to go back in for another liver test.
And we're trying to figure out if we're going to try and see A Wrinkle in Time this weekend, or wait for next weekend.

WEEK	IN PLAN?	UNPLANNED SPENDING $	NS/CS DAYS
Feb 26-Mar 4		UNTRACKED
Mar 5-11
Mar 12-18
Mar 19-25
Mar 26-Apr 1

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Planned	Starbucks		Starbucks Dinner		Vet(?) Gas Groceries ($100)	Starbucks	Pop Tart Visit ($50) Movie(?)
Actual	Starbucks

[Iggy aka IG]

Fingers crossed the test turns out favorably, shanendoah.  Have a blast at the concert!

Bought a client's toddler a birthday gift this morning and stayed within budget.  I don't do this for everyone's child, but their family has been with this agency longer than I have.  Part of the gift is a 6-ish pack of Garanimal socks on clearance for $3. 

I also bought ink for the HP here at the office, but I don't count office expenditures because they are a necessity.

[shanendoah]

Thanks Iggy aka IG
I still need to make the actual appointment for Junebug. Yesterday was just swamped.

WEEK	IN PLAN?	UNPLANNED SPENDING $	NS/CS DAYS
Feb 26-Mar 4		UNTRACKED
Mar 5-11			0/1
Mar 12-18
Mar 19-25
Mar 26-Apr 1

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Planned	Starbucks		Starbucks Dinner		Vet(?) Gas Groceries ($100)	Starbucks	Pop Tart Visit ($50) Movie(?)
Actual	Starbucks

[moneysquirrel]

All of you are doing well. 

I am staying on track with most of the spending for needed items this week.  Hit Walmart for groceries, RX and one item that I have been planning to get for months.  Other than that I got filled up the car. Have been getting some small projects done around the house.  I do have a call in for someone to do small household repairs that I cannot do myself.  Hope to hear back on that soon.  I will also need to get some work done in the yard but the weather is still too iffy for that to happen soon.  I am getting a little bit back on taxes so I plan on using a little of it on these projects. 

[WholeLottaNothin]

Feb 28, 2018 17:49:08 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

I made an impulse purchase today.  It was for under $30 and for a good cause.

A second cousin is in the midst of an ugly divorce.  She has had an eating disorder since at least high school.  She has been ordered to apply for SSI by the mediator as she can't hold down a job due to her illness.  

She is a very creative, artsy person and opened an Etsy shop making jewelry.  She just started it and has a lot of very pretty jewelry listed but she has only had 4 sales.  Today she offered a 25% discount so I bought a necklace from her.  It's very pretty and I feel like I am helping her a little bit.

I also had an eating disorder which I was pretty much able to beat.  This is an adult woman who weighs less than 70 pounds and has been advised a healthy weight is at least 100 pounds.  She passes out from not eating or from bulima episodes so is stuck at home.  

Sometimes it feels good to help so I did.

Would you mind sharing the name of the Etsy shop? I wouldn't mind looking at the jewelry.

[TheOtherMe]

It is FreeBirdsBeads

www.etsy.com/search/shops?search_query=freebirdsbeads

I know she would appreciate it if you see something you like.

[shanendoah]

Took yesterday off just to have a moment to get some stuff done.
Got Junebug into the vet, and I'm pretty pissed at them. The front desk has already heard my wrath, and the doctor will when he's back in the office. When he and I spoke, my options were to bring the Bug in for a more invasive/intensive follow up test, or to wait a couple of months and redo the first test to see if the liver levels had fixed themselves. I chose the wait a couple months and retest. 
So, I call for the appointment, saying I'm booking the re-test. Everything's good. I take her in yesterday morning at 8:30a. They tell me it's an all day thing, which seems a little odd, because last time it was only a couple hours, but I figure it's because I didn't have an actual vet appointment this time, and they're just working her in where they can, and so don't guarantee when it will be done. I mention that I have somewhere to be last night, and I need to pick her up by 5p. I am assured that won't be a problem.
At 4:30p I call them to double check when I can pick her up. At which point I am told that they won't do her last blood draw until 5:30p. This is an 8 hour test. I explained that I dropped her off at 8:30a, so 5:30p is actually 9 hours later, and was then told "oh, but there's meds we have to give her first and give time to work". In other words, it's not an 8 hour test. It's a 9 hour test. So the tech got an earful about the fact that I had specifically mentioned to the other tech that morning that I needed my dog by 5p.
I then called back and talked to the front desk manager about why no one had told me how long this test was/what this test was. And I was told that it was the vet's job to tell me, and she'd have to talk to the vet about why he wanted this test and why he didn't tell me how long it was...
I explained that first of all, it had been two months since I'd talked to the vet (which they could see in their records), so it might behoove the front desk staff to "remind" people how long something was actually going to take. But also, that I was aware this test had been an option, and it was NOT the option I chose. If someone had told me how long the test was when I booked the appointment, I could have questioned it then, and had them go back to the doctor for the test I had actually chosen. As it was, I subjected my Bug to an 9 hour, multiple blood draw test, on a day when I pretty much had to then just leave her home because I had evening obligations.
Not to mention (but I should because we're a money board), that this test was almost $240, because it involved 3 blood draws and a day of "hospitalization".

In good news, I spent $1,188 in Hawaii. But with the higher per diem, I'll be getting reimbursed $1,237.

WEEK	IN PLAN?	UNPLANNED SPENDING $	NS/CS DAYS
Feb 26-Mar 4		UNTRACKED
Mar 5-11			1/2
Mar 12-18
Mar 19-25
Mar 26-Apr 1

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Planned	Starbucks		Starbucks Dinner		Vet(?) Gas Groceries ($100)	Starbucks	Pop Tart Visit ($50) Movie(?)
Actual	Starbucks		Vet Dinner

[Poptart]

Hi ladies, so I'm here because its time I put a stop to my stupid spending. I woke up this morning and my cable was disconnected, why? Because I forgot to make the payment, I made a payment last month but failed to realize that I was behind one billing cycle. This led me to sit down at six in the morning to look at everything and try to figure out where the hell my money is going. I opened up my bank account and to my horror realized that I've been using Uber and Lyft to the tune of $300.00 bucks!

I kinda wanted to die. I could have paid off a credit card with that, I could have paid off my phone, or three months of cable. I walked to work this morning, and I'm going to walk home tonight.

So my No Spend/ Controlled Spend starts now, and just with the Uber and Lyft spending, I plan on paying myself the money I've been spending on Lyft and Uber, so I normally take two Ubers a day at $5.60 a ride, every day that I don't use Lyft or Uber I'll pay myself $11.20 which will be sent to savings, at the end of the month that money will be sent to a credit card.

Wish me luck!

[Blonde Granny]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy to have you with us in our corner of YMAM. No time like the present to start on a new way of thinking and behaving.

BG

[shanendoah]

Talked to the vet's office again this morning. They will be giving me a credit for the test run Wednesday, but yeah, it was the wrong test, so I've got to get the Bug back in for one more blood draw tomorrow morning.  Joy.
I got my balances transferred over to my credit union credit card today, which will get me to one "debt" payment each month, instead of 5. I'll still have some other payments on the cards I use all the time, but it won't be big stuff. And I'll get to carry my 0% APR for an extra 4 months (though I only plan to use 2 of those), so combined with the random raise I just got, it will give my budget a little more wiggle room, let me get a few dollars back in savings.
I had hoped to get gas and groceries this morning, but instead I did some packing in my room, and got on the roof and cleaned the gutters. Lots of fun. I'll have to get gas and groceries after I get off work at 7p tonight.

WEEK	IN PLAN?	UNPLANNED SPENDING $	NS/CS DAYS
Feb 26-Mar 4		UNTRACKED
Mar 5-11			2/2
Mar 12-18
Mar 19-25
Mar 26-Apr 1

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Planned	Starbucks		Starbucks Dinner		Vet(?) Gas Groceries ($100)	Starbucks	Pop Tart Visit ($50) Movie(?)
Actual	Starbucks		Vet Dinner