2020 Controlled Spend/No Spend

[moneysquirrel]

This month is shaping up to be much better.  Still have most of the monthly bills to pay but I am feeling more in control of my spreadsheet because no large ticket items will be needed. I do have a quarterly insurance premium due in March but I may pay it earlier as I think I have the payment in my insurance sinking funds.  I will need to make a major grocery run in the near future as I am running low on several of the basics.  

Monthly Paid
Lawn Service
Car Payment

Monthly Outstanding
*Electric
*Gas
*Mobile 
*Telephone -- Landline, Internet
*Pest Control

Possible:
Insurance Premium
Airplane Tickets 
Fundraiser Donation
Mini Retreat Payment

[jenpen]

Hey, all! Mind if I join you? I've mentioned elsewhere that I'm hoping to at least have the option to retire from state employment next year. So, I'm trying to get a handle on my budget/spending and see if I could live reasonably comfortably on just my lowest pension option -- for now, ignoring other retirement savings and social security, which is >7 years away, anyway.

Last month I pulled 10k from savings and paid off my car loan. Without the car payment, I should be able to get by fine on $2,000 / month. That breaks down into 3 spending buckets:

$700 committed/fixed monthly obligations ($308 mortgage, $225 HOA dues, $93 utilities, $60 internet, $14 gym)

$500 transfer to short term savings. $360 is to cover annual/bi-annual expenses (insurances, RE property tax, car tag/tax, routine vet visits and Rxs for 2 cats, cell phone (paid annually to get 17% discount, amazon prime, membership fees) and $140 to cover home/auto maintenance/repairs.

$800 everything else: groceries, hba, paper goods, home and cleaning supplies, cat food/meds/litter/supplies, entertainment, gas, charity, pest control, clothing/shoes, travel, eating out, vices. I don't try to commit specific dollar amounts to these subcategories because they vary widely from month to month depending on activity (eg, Gas was $109 in Dec, $0 in Jan) and buying certain things in bulk at different times of the year.

What I want to track here is that totally discretionary $800 bucket. For a long time I've been spending pretty freely/mindlessly in that area. And averaging closer to probably $1,000 to 1,200/month. I need to start paying attention! I know some months will be over $800, but I'm hoping I can have enough under-budget months to average $800 over the course of the year.

So far for 2020 (goal: <=$800/mo):
Jan: $1,165  Ugh. I was doing okay until I made a Target run at the end of the month. Went in for a $5 shampoo bar, spent>$200. I've been looking for a vacuum for ages, and they were having a great sale. Plus got a bunch of kitchen/food storage items I'd been needing for quite a while. On the way to Target, I discovered that Big Lots had opened their first store in our area. I'd never been in one...wish I could still say that, lol. Also made 3 bulk purchases at end of month for regular-use items that I won't have to buy again for 2-3 months.

Feb is off to a great start:

  2/1-2/7, $110.66  Mostly groceries; some vices.

Just stating this to keep myself accountable: I want to post here with weekly updates for the current month, and then add a running monthly average at the end of each month.

[Blonde Granny]

Welcome Jenpen.  You certainly have given yourself good  head start on your planning.

Between WIR and SS (smart spending) there is  a tremendous amount of information available and ways to cut corners but still live a good life.

Blonde Granny - Admin

[jenpen]

Thanks, BG!  Yes, I've gotten a lot of valuable info and motivation from WIR and SS over the years. I haven't posted much in the past but I am very grateful for all of you who do!

[moneysquirrel]

Still on track.  I did meet a friend for lunch the other day but that was planned and we only eat out a few times a year.  Well worth the CS for that one.  None of the other monthly bills have arrived as of yet.  I expect that several will come in during the coming week.   I don't really count those as spending days or even controlled spending days as they are needs. 

So as of today  I have 7 days of NS and 2 CS days.  CS for me are things that are planned.  So things purchased were on the needs list and not on the "oh this is cute, I have to have it " impulse purchase. 

Staying out of WM has helped a lot but I know that I have both a Sam's and a WM run needed in the next few weeks and that I am not looking forward to in either case.  

I have not visited a craft shop since the beginning of the month.  That has help a bit as well.  Still doing crafts using materials from my extensive stash. I am saving for the craft retreats later this spring as I know that I will have to purchase some kits for the classes and I will find several things that I can use that I can't find locally.

[shanendoah]

Update: February 3/9 NSD, 1 spend

Given my new definition of spend days, there hopefully won't be that many of them. But yesterday was definitely one. C has very little family left, but he's quite close to those he has. His cousin, who is the absolute bedrock of the family, has diabetic retinopathy and is currently dealing with loss of vision. It comes and goes, but right now she's not able to work, though she's still trying to be a caregiver to her parents and disabled sister. Anyway, her son, who is in the military with 3 young kids of his own, and stationed in Germany, put up a Go Fund Me for her to help cover some of the bills. We put $1k toward that. We can afford it. Some savings goals will be set back a bit, but nothing that is going to have a significant impact on us. I'll also be paying close attention to the GoFundMe, and if it doesn't look like it's going to reach goal, we'll contribute the rest. So yeah, major expense absolutely not in the plan, so a spend. But a spend I'd do again in a heartbeat.


Running Year
Jan 11/10 NSD

[laterbloomer]

I've been on vacation for a week. We aren't going to talk about what I spent there So Feb is only going to be 19 days for me. Let's see how close I can get to no spend.

[Iggy aka IG]

Hiya, jenpen!!!

Haven't gone anywhere since last Wednesday, so no spending happened since then.  Tuesday I stopped at the liquor store.

February MTD $26.03

[nikiz628]

Spending Tracker for February:

2/3 $0
2/4 $77.55
2/5 $0
2/6 $32.54
2/7$21.00
2/8$0.00
2/9$27.00
2/10$0.00
2/11
2/12
2/13
2/14
2/15
2/16
2/17
2/18
2/19
2/20
2/21
2/22
2/23
2/24
2/25
2/26
2/27
2/28
2/29

[jenpen]

I forgot to include $7.75 spent at the post office last Friday to send some paper stock certificates via Priority Mail.

This evening I went to Trader Joe's and Walgreens for groceries($39.32), wine(10.74), cigs(18.00, and yes, I know this is really, really bad).  Since it was a balmy 61 degrees out and the gas station wasn't busy, I figured I'd go ahead and stop and fill up my tank ($25.10). I hadn't put gas in my car since my drive home from Ohio on Christmas, and I still had a third of a tank left! (I work from home most days, and when I do go to the office it's ~5 miles round trip.)  I shouldn't need anything else this week, so hopefully I'm done spending until at least Saturday.  Although, I am considering buying a used, 6th generation Kindle Paperwhite for $48; my 2nd gen Kindle died last week.  I can read on my phone, but my eyes really prefer a larger screen and no backlight.

Feb 1-7: 118.41

Feb 8-14: 93.16

Total thru Feb 10: 211.57 (goal <=$800)

[moneysquirrel]

jenpen -- Welcome to our group.  I have been here since the old MSN boards so if you have any questions just ask.

Update: 

Monthly Paid
Lawn Service
Car Payment
Electric
Gas
Mobile 

Monthly Outstanding-- Still waiting for bill/service
*Telephone -- Landline, Internet
*Pest Control

Possible:
Insurance Premium-- will do next week
Airplane Tickets -- waiting for the next sale
Fundraiser Donation-- later this month
Mini Retreat Payment -- waiting for info as to amount needed.

I have been staying on track this month.  Currently at 11 NS and 3 CS days. 

Today would have been a NS but I needed to get an item to finish up a project I was doing in one of the classes I am taking.  The item is going to be part of DSS birthday gift so would have been needed later if not now.  It will be the last step needed to mark it complete. So I figured that once I have the material I can get with my instructor one day soon to finish it up.  The best thing is that this item is the only thing I have had to purchase for this project. I have been working on it during my class time since September.  

All of you seem to be doing well this month.  I think just coming here to report helps us to evaluate our choices as we go about our day to day routines.  

Take care all and have a good Valentine day!

[laterbloomer]

So I spent $17 on ISO's Valentine's Day gift.

[jenpen]

Thanks for the welcome, moneysquirrel

My Kindle magically came back to life (and I started reading a real, paper book) so don't need to replace that any time soon. But my tablet has also been dying.  I don't really need it, but I enjoy it, so I decided to spend $100 of my xmas money and up to $50 of my $800 budget.  Yesterday I found an open-box deal and ended up spending $40 from the budget.  Got groceries and wine today ($74) and spent ~$11 on Amazon for dry cat food and a cleaner for my humidifer. Also ~$6 in automated, monthly charges went through to my AmEx for public radio and online newspaper subscription. I expect to spend another $30 this week on the inspection required to renew my car tags and a few misc items.

Feb 1-7: 118.41
Feb 8-14: 94.16

Feb 15-21: 127.93

Total thru Feb 16: 340.50 (goal <=$800)

Have a great week, everybody!

[Iggy aka IG]

Spent a few days at a ranch resort last week for my birthday.  In the past I would have flown somewhere, rented a car, etc.  I put the deposit down in December.  Last month, the resort announced a 20% off special, which I made sure I qualified for ahead of time.  I also brought snacks, water, and adult beverages to save even more money.  I ate lunch before I hit the road.  ETA:  I cancelled the facial I scheduled, saving $200 including tip.

Total cost of the trip, including fuel, two meals at the lodge restaurant, the champagne I brought, etc. was approximately $889.17.  This will be my only foreseeable vacation away this year.

Total non-essential MTD spending $915.20.

[shanendoah]

Update: February 7/9 NSD, 1 spend

I would be at 8 NSD, but on Sunday night PopTart told me when her school play is, so yesterday I booked my flight to go over and see that. I mostly used miles, so it's less than $30 with the insurance. I have learned that for travel to that area this time of year (the play is in a month), I need to get the insurance because a lot of events end up getting canceled/rescheduled due to weather conditions.
I go on vacation next week (just to visit my father), and expect there will be quite a bit of eating out, so I need to figure out where my last two NSD are coming from this week. (Today I've already been to Starbucks, and tomorrow the dogs have a dental appointment.)

[jenpen]

Belated Happy Birthday, Iggy aka IG! That sounds like money well spent

[Iggy aka IG]

Thank you, jenpen!

[nikiz628]

Happy Belated Birthday Iggy aka IG!! 

[Iggy aka IG]

Thank you, nikiz628!!

[shanendoah]

Emotionally, I need today to be a No Spend Day. Between the $3,600 on the car two weeks ago, $1,000 for C's cousin last week (and we'll likely be giving more), and $1,200 yesterday for the dogs' dental visit, I feel like we are hemorrhaging money. Add to that, C was sick and missed almost a full week of work, so his most recent paycheck was about $150 less than I budget at (I don't budget at the full amount).
We have the money in savings. None of this is going to break us or really throw off our plan. But it's just all at once.
And so today, I really need to spend no money. Not even at Starbucks.

[Iggy aka IG]

Hugs, shanendoah. 

[laterbloomer]

$20 on 3 t shirts, $37 non essential spending in my modified Feb.

[Iggy aka IG]

Sigh.

So, I went out with a few friends last night, and I thought at least one would buy me a for my BD.  Nope, we were focused on the friend of a friend visiting from out of state.  So, not only did I pay for my own ticket (DH was working) I somehow offered was volunteered into paying for the appetizer trio basket.  And I bought DH a calzone to go (he's welcome).  Total w/ tax and tip $75.53.  $19.50 for a bowl of pasta w/ 4 shrimp.... Grumble....  This reminds me of how expensive it is to go out, especially when one orders cocktails, and of how cheap I am becoming in my old age, LOL.  And, yeah, yeah, I've tried justifying the night out by telling myself it was a birthday treat to myself, etc.

Total MTD non-essential spending $990.73.

[Blonde Granny]

Feb 21, 2020 12:07:01 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

Sigh.

So, I went out with a few friends last night, and I thought at least one would buy me a for my BD.  Nope, we were focused on the friend of a friend visiting from out of state.  So, not only did I pay for my own ticket (DH was working) I somehow offered was volunteered into paying for the appetizer trio basket.  And I bought DH a calzone to go (he's welcome).  Total w/ tax and tip $75.53.  $19.50 for a bowl of pasta w/ 4 shrimp.... Grumble....  This reminds me of how expensive it is to go out, especially when one orders cocktails, and of how cheap I am becoming in my old age, LOL.  And, yeah, yeah, I've tried justifying the night out by telling myself it was a birthday treat to myself, etc.

Total MTD non-essential spending $990.73.

Ouch!!!

[nikiz628]

So February spending for us has essentially gone of the rails...so much so it's about impossible for me to track. We got our tax return so we've been picking up the random things we usually buy with it: jeans for anyone who has grown out, random household items that are broke/lost/need updated, gifts for upcoming bdays, etc. I am proud of us for limiting the going out to eat with the money urge we usually have. We've only gone out on our regular Tuesday outings with friends, though I have purchased more coffees from our favorite local spot than I normally do. I think being back on WW has helped curb the urge to hit the drive thru/order out. Mindful eating and staying on plan means having to actually MAKE A MINDFUL MEAL PLAN. Groceries have been a bit over budget the last couple trips, but I figure we are still coming out on top by not going out to eat on top of maxing the grocery budget. We will be reigning it in March and doing a frugal month again. 

[Blonde Granny]

All my regular monthly bills have been paid and a couple remaining are budgeted for in YNAB.

Im not feeling terrific today, and was thinking of asking my neighbor to stop at Smoothie King and bring me a healthy smoothie.  Instead I looked in the freezer and fridge and discovered I already had everything to make my own.  Probably not as good, but free is always better anyway.  I believe I will hit the end of the month once again in the black.

[laterbloomer]

I hope this turns out

[laterbloomer]

Sorry it's so big, I couldn't find the code to shrink it.

[moneysquirrel]

I was doing really well this month. Still am in a way.  Today was the first day that my purchases included several items that were not needs.  They will be used by are not immediate needs.  Needed to replace a blade for my stain glass class and while at hobby lobby picked up a few items that were on sale.  Also got the vitamins I was out of at CVS and picked up a small GC while I was there.  The dollar tree visit included a few organizer items needed for the craft room and snacks as well.  

The rest of the month have been on track.  Still have a few bills waiting to be paid but have not received the amounts due as of yet.

All of you are doing well.  Staying the course and keeping the goal in focus is the way to go.

[Iggy aka IG]

Feb 21, 2020 13:09:47 GMT -5 Blonde Granny said:

Feb 21, 2020 12:07:01 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

Sigh.

So, I went out with a few friends last night, and I thought at least one would buy me a for my BD.  Nope, we were focused on the friend of a friend visiting from out of state.  So, not only did I pay for my own ticket (DH was working) I somehow offered was volunteered into paying for the appetizer trio basket.  And I bought DH a calzone to go (he's welcome).  Total w/ tax and tip $75.53.  $19.50 for a bowl of pasta w/ 4 shrimp.... Grumble....  This reminds me of how expensive it is to go out, especially when one orders cocktails, and of how cheap I am becoming in my old age, LOL.  And, yeah, yeah, I've tried justifying the night out by telling myself it was a birthday treat to myself, etc.

Total MTD non-essential spending $990.73.

Ouch!!!

Right?  #firstworldproblems