2020 Controlled Spend/No Spend

[moneysquirrel]

Look at the fitness trackers and smart watches while I was at Best Buy getting the replacement battery for my fitbit.  Decided that at this time I could forego that purchase.  It is still on my wish list but not a need at the present.  Will continue to work with what I have.

Picked up 2 skeins of yarn at Joann's. Needed a few new colors for the afghan I am trying to complete.  With what I have on hand and these I should be able to complete it by the end of the month.  This has been the first craft purchase I made in 2020. Trying to stay out of the craft stores and work with what is in my stash.  Did not realize how much yarn I worked with over the last several years.  My stash is very low I have made within the last several years -- 1 queen size blanket, 2 afghans that were gifts and 1 for I kept for me.  The one I am working on now #4 will also be a gift.  

Placed the home insurance on the CC for points.  Will pay that off asap.  Money is in my sinking account.
December  and January have been always been the most expensive months as several insurance premiums and property taxes are due then,  I think that the worst is over for several months now.

[Iggy aka IG]

Payday today.  Had been figuring out how to report here as I don't necessarily want to list *all* my expenses, so I decided to keep track of things that aren't necessarily needs.  So, for this month:

Personal:

Hair appointment

XM radio

Niece2 BD cash

Business:

High school donation

Total YTD spending $390.47

Oh, and I paid off our boiler today, two months before the zero interest offer was to go away. 

[nikiz628]

I've been super busy but can say we have spent $0 to date on non essential spending (since we started our NS on 1/6). Going back on WW on the 6th has really helped, and so has declaring it a No fast food month. 
They also did away with $1 tacos at our local Mexican restaurant (meat prices went up), so our little Tuesday dinner group is trying to figure out how we will proceed with our weekly date night together. Someone mentioned just rotating houses and I loved the idea. I would only have to cook for 11 every 3 weeks so it wouldn't be too bad at all. 

SPENDING TRACKER: JANUARY

6-15: $0.00
16:
17:
18: 
19:
20: 
21: 
22: 
23:
24: 
25: 
26: 
27: 
28: 
29: 
30: 
31: 

[TheOtherMe]

I'm only tracking my Amazon purchases here.

I got a delivery today of a need.  I won't need to re-order for 5 or 6 months.

I did order Lucy a heated bed as a splurge today.  She sleeps under the covers during the day and I'm hoping she will sleep in the living room once she figures out the bed is heated.

I spent zero on Christmas so Merry Christmas Lucy.

[laterbloomer]

I spent $30 on cheater reading glasses. I needed them for a health and safety course I'm taking. The print on that handbook is small! I got caught because i neededl them right away and didn't have time to go to the dollar store. So $72 non essential spending so far.

[Blonde Granny]

I had to spend for a new RX today at $7 and tomorrow 2 refills, one will be $41 the other $46. At least all 3 are budgeted for in YNAB.

Someone here just mentioned Sirius XM, just spent (unaccounted for) $72 for 12 months.  What can I say, I like XM.

[Iggy aka IG]

Jan 15, 2020 18:26:54 GMT -5 Blonde Granny said:

I had to spend for a new RX today at $7 and tomorrow 2 refills, one will be $41 the other $46. At least all 3 are budgeted for in YNAB.

Someone here just mentioned Sirius XM, just spent (unaccounted for) $72 for 12 months.  What can I say, I like XM.

Hi, BG.  That someone was me, and I'm glad you posted this.  Is your XM in your vehicle?  If so, I've got a call to make as I pay over three times that amount for XM service.

[shanendoah]

TheOtherMe - We have been talking about getting the Terrier a heated dog bed since this summer. As it is, we've put a heating pad in his crate, under a blanket. It has an auto-turn off feature, so it won't burn him.

[TheOtherMe]

Jan 16, 2020 11:08:09 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

Jan 15, 2020 18:26:54 GMT -5 Blonde Granny said:

I had to spend for a new RX today at $7 and tomorrow 2 refills, one will be $41 the other $46. At least all 3 are budgeted for in YNAB.

Someone here just mentioned Sirius XM, just spent (unaccounted for) $72 for 12 months.  What can I say, I like XM.

Hi, BG.  That someone was me, and I'm glad you posted this.  Is your XM in your vehicle?  If so, I've got a call to make as I pay over three times that amount for XM service.

Iggy, you need to make a phone call.  I pay about $5 per month for my car for Sirius XM but it has to be done over the phone, not the website.  

[Blonde Granny]

Jan 16, 2020 11:08:09 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

Jan 15, 2020 18:26:54 GMT -5 Blonde Granny said:

I had to spend for a new RX today at $7 and tomorrow 2 refills, one will be $41 the other $46. At least all 3 are budgeted for in YNAB.

Someone here just mentioned Sirius XM, just spent (unaccounted for) $72 for 12 months.  What can I say, I like XM.

Hi, BG.  That someone was me, and I'm glad you posted this.  Is your XM in your vehicle?  If so, I've got a call to make as I pay over three times that amount for XM service.

My trial period ends Febr. 1, and yes it's in the car.  I received an offer for $5/mo + tax.  If you hold out a while the offers get better and better.

[wvugurl26]

Call and select the option to cancel Iggy. You have to do it that way. Tell them you are cancelling bc it's too expensive. Then they'll start giving you lower priced offers.

[Iggy aka IG]

Thank you, TheO, BG and wvu.  I had the free trial, and then held off for the first XX months while they sent several different offers.  Last year they started charging me, and then a few months ago it increased by another $1 or so.  I'll put it on my list to call them.  Thanks again.

[TheOtherMe]

I've been paying $5/mo plus tax for several years now.  The customer service rep will tell you the date it expires and you have to call before it expires or they will charge you the full price.

[TheOtherMe]

So far, Lucy has paid no attention to the heated cat pet.  I hope it's because it's new, but she is a cat.

[moneysquirrel]

Continuing to bleed money.  Most of all of it was insurance, dentist, grocery, and household items plus the balance owed for my summer craft retreat.  I did breakdown and purchases the smartwatch.  It was on sale and only slightly more expensive than the Fitbit that I was looking at earlier in the week.  I still have at least several utility bills coming in next week plus whatever it cost for the repair that I hope will be finished next week.  All expenses have been cash flowed (sinking funks are dwindling).  

Hoping that there are no surprises in store for the next few weeks  months.

[TheOtherMe]

Jan 15, 2020 16:16:56 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

I'm only tracking my Amazon purchases here.

I did order Lucy a heated bed as a splurge today.  She sleeps under the covers during the day and I'm hoping she will sleep in the living room once she figures out the bed is heated.

I spent zero on Christmas so Merry Christmas Lucy.

On Day 1 of the heat cat bed, Lucy ignored it.  I tried to entice her by putting catnip in it.  She ate the catnip.  I put her catnip carrot in it and she took the carrot out.

Today, she is using the heated cat bed the way it's supposed to be used--until she got scared off by a snow plow on the drive.  She will be back now and will use the bed.

[Iggy aka IG]

Spent a few hours in the ER with DH Thursday night (left shoulder injury, we'll know more if he still has restricted movement by Tuesday).  On the way home I picked up dinner since it was too late to cook what I had planned.

$23.05 YTD Coffee/dining out

or

$378.28 YTD Non grocery/shelter/bills related spending.  (I backed out the $31 I reported on the prior page as it was food.)

[moneysquirrel]

Since my last post no unexpected spending.  Handyman is scheduled for tomorrow.  Not sure what the cost will be but have several repairs that are needed and hope that he can get it done asap.  I figured out that 93% of the spending thus far this month was on regular bills both monthly and annual ones.  Three of the big items are annual ones while one was semi-annual.  Lots going out this month but the bleeding should be stopping soon. Sinking funds were hit badly.  But that is what they are there for.


Iggy aka IG -- Hope your DH is feeling better.

[Iggy aka IG]

moneysquirrel, thank you.  He has a doc appt today. 

[Iggy aka IG]

I had a rather long conversation with a loved one yesterday.  Their office is going through more corporate shake downs, so there are a lot of uncertainties.  This person is of retirement age, but wants to continue working for a few more years.  When she disclosed to me how much she has in her 401K, and the withdrawals she made last year and the one she plans for this year, it frightened the crap out of me. 

More motivation to continue squeaky clean spending and buff up those retirement accounts.

[Blonde Granny]

I don't know if it's controlled spending, but I'm off to Verizon shortly. My iPad is getting old and since I use it a lot, it's behavior is beginning to get the best of me. Maybe there is something these tech guys can do, and if not, looks like an unexpected expense is going to happen.

[laterbloomer]

$5 for a hot chocolate. $77 unnecessary spending so far this month. But necessary spending has being a PITA.

[Blonde Granny]

The young man at Verizon couldn't have been more disinterested. It appears now I may have figured out how to get these websites back where they belong.

[nikiz628]

Jan 15, 2020 15:14:34 GMT -5 nikiz628 said:

I've been super busy but can say we have spent $0 to date on non essential spending (since we started our NS on 1/6). Going back on WW on the 6th has really helped, and so has declaring it a No fast food month. 
They also did away with $1 tacos at our local Mexican restaurant (meat prices went up), so our little Tuesday dinner group is trying to figure out how we will proceed with our weekly date night together. Someone mentioned just rotating houses and I loved the idea. I would only have to cook for 11 every 3 weeks so it wouldn't be too bad at all. 

SPENDING TRACKER: JANUARY

6-15: $0.00
16: $0.00
17: $0.00
18: $0.00
19: $0.00
20: $0.00
21: $6.20 (ordered DS1 a new pair of sunglasses for baseball season, he doesn't NEED them, but his current pair aren't going to last long) 
22: 
23:
24: 
25: 
26: 
27: 
28: 
29: 
30: 
31: 

Basically we are kicking January's @$$ right now, with regards to unnecessary spending! I am definitely excited by this.

[shanendoah]

Update: 9/10 NSD for January.

Last week was a pretty good week. I did buy concert tickets to go see Matchbox 20 in the fall, but we generally go to 2-3 concerts a year, so I feel like this fits in the overall plan idea.
Dogs had a vet appointment on Saturday. It was not expensive, but we're scheduled for both dogs to go back in for dental cleanings (which will be a bit more expensive), and Larry has to get an EKG first because he has a heart murmur. That will run $400 all on its own. But, we do have savings to cover pet medical expenses.

I made a beef barley stew yesterday that will be our dinner most of the week. C thinks it is a little heavy on the Worcestershire sauce, but I like it.

[Blonde Granny]

Ding Dong.....door bell rang about 4 PM yesterday. Gentleman asked if I was Bobcatkitty and I said yes.....then!!!! the magic words " you've been served".

Yes dear money saving friends. Due to a stint on the local (26K) people community HOA I am being served along with 46 other past or present board members, we've been sued for $4.1M and a jury trail has been requested. Break that down and we all would owe $100K ,

Oh what I joy. I never wanted to live in that damn place to begin with it was my late DHs idea. If I could get my hands on him now I'd strangle him. I did do some loud hollering at him but doubt he heard it.

I have 30 days starting today to answer the summons, but need to talk to a couple of other previous board members to see where this is going.

[nikiz628]

Jan 21, 2020 13:34:06 GMT -5 Blonde Granny said:

Ding Dong.....door bell rang about 4 PM yesterday. Gentleman asked if I was Bobcatkitty and I said yes.....then!!!! the magic words " you've been served".

Yes dear money saving friends. Due to a stint on the local (26K) people community HOA I am being served along with 46 other past or present board members, we've been sued for $4.1M and a jury trail has been requested. Break that down and we all would owe $100K ,

Oh what I joy. I never wanted to live in that damn place to begin with it was my late DHs idea. If I could get my hands on him now I'd strangle him. I did do some loud hollering at him but doubt he heard it.

I have 30 days starting today to answer the summons, but need to talk to a couple of other previous board members to see where this is going.

Whoa. 

[vetswife]

BG  That's terrible!


Today I'm spending money on the van, about $341 for oil change, brake inspection and new part for the oil pump.  The van's 7 years old and has given very little trouble so I can't complain too much.

[shanendoah]

Blonde Granny - I would definitely talk to a lawyer. There should be no reason someone should be able to hold you (or any other member) personally responsible for whatever it is. I am saying this because they are suing 47 past and present board members, so this is not a case of specific discrimination against one person. And there are usually indemnification laws about this sort of thing, unless someone can prove specific discrimination/harassment. 

Spent $80 last night that wasn't in the plan for right now. We had a tire repaired a few weeks ago, but the damage was worse than realized and the repair caused the tire to separate. Had to get a new tire last night. But, while not in the plan, it is in the savings. And since the savings is there for that, and not replacing the tire isn't exactly an option, that's a controlled spend in my book.

[Blonde Granny]

Yesterday I received all the names/addresses of the insurance companies involved in all this mess. There are 2 local attorneys, and I also have received the info for filling out the paperwork to send to the lawyers/insurance co. in Philadelphia.

The local ones have made agreement that the "summons answers" can have an extension to March 1 to get that paper work to the County Circuit court.

Sheesh!!! Who ever dreamed this could happen when I haven't lived in the dreadful city of Bella Vista, AR since 2013. No wonder I couldn't stand living there.