January 2011 Controlled/No Spend Thread

[startsmart]

Yesterday was a spend day but a fun one. Spent money at the consignment shop on a picture, three mirrors, giant coffee cup art piece, toys to give as gifts and a pair of earrings. Mom found some things too. The. Went to see the King's Speech which was really good, so deserving of all those nominations! Then to massages, dinner and home.

Today we're replacing my water heater and seeing grandpa.

[reeneejune]

I went out to see my brother this morning. (For those not familiar, my dear brother is in prison... it's a long story but he's a good guy who was in a bad situation) Sadly he's in the "segregated" unit which means that he spends all day alone in his cell and when we visit, we can only see him behind the glass and talk on the phone. It's bittersweet. The last time I visited he was in a normal unit so we were able to hug and sit face to face. He's trying so hard to stay out of the gangs and out of trouble, but he's just about incapable of keeping his head down and mouth shut. I almost didn't get to go out there to see him. The prison is 7 miles outside of town. I did my research ahead of time and got the phone number to the local cab company. What I failed to determine was a) their rates and b) whether they accept credit cards. It was $30 to be dropped off there and picked up after the visit and brought back into town. How did I almost not make it? I didn't bring any cash on this trip, I put everything on my credit card. When the dispatcher at the cab company told me that they don't accept credit, I nearly started crying on the phone. I told her that I had traveled over 400 miles to get out here to see my brother and that I don't have access to cash. I thanked her anyway and was about to hang up when she offered to take me out there anyway and let me send her the money after I get home. I am humbled by the generous spirit of people. I will definitely be including an excellent tip when I send her the cab fare.

Red - I would happily take the george forman off your hands, it's on my list of things to get for my apartment. Just let me know how much you want for it. As for the kitties, it's normal in any animal that has multiple births for there to be growth differences between siblings. Also remember that male cats tend to be larger than female cats in general. I'd keep an eye out just to make sure the boy isn't hogging the food. I think blue should write a nicely worded letter to his current employer thanking them for the oppertunity, but explaining that he has already accepted a position elsewhere and will start on such and such date. Be honest, and kind about it, and don't be afraid to express that he's sad to be leaving but excited to gain wider experience.

Start - Good minions are hard to find. I'm glad you found a good one.

[muttleynfelix]

Hey gals. I am pooped. We had DS's birthday party yesterday. It was a blast and turned out great! I have pics on facebook. The weather was awesome and DS got to play outside yesterday with the dogs. That was cool to see. Hope you guys had a great weekend. Happy no spending in Feb.

[moneysquirrel]

Update: 21 NS / 5CS = 26/15 (Goal 15NS/CS)

Today was a CS day as I picked up the few items needed at the grocery. Started trying to work on taxes but am still wailing on at least two papers that I need. Got a rough estimate down but can't get things over to the accountant until the papers are in anyway.

[moneysquirrel]

Tomorrow is my three year anniversary on this board. I just want to thank all of you for the good times and community that that we have here. Unlike several of you I only post on this thread so while my number of posts may be small and it will take me some time to reach whatever the next level is please realize that I truly appreciate the friendships that have been nurtured here. Tomorrow as I begin my fourth year on the NS thread I also know that there will be many more days of support, laughs, and idle chat as we attempt to reach as our major goal of controlling our spending.

Hugs to all!

[startsmart]

Dad just left for home after helping me fix the water heater. He was very against replacing it and I'd rather get it done now. Sigh. Oh well, we spent $10 on parts and now I have to watch it to make sure there's no leak that may get bigger. Of course since the idiots who lived here before screwed into the casing it's going to happen sooner or later.

Mom took Grandpa out to visit his sister. It's a weird family situation but she's in a care home in preparation for surgery and it's the only place where her bleeping husband isn't around making everyone miserable. Honestly, we planned this trip to avoid him, he's that bad.

Another little bit of shopping today, picked up some fabric for my new pillow project and some copper pans for 99 cents at Goodwill to make hard shell tortillas for soup. Mom might take some of the pans because now I have 5 and don't need 5.

Yesterday I got a set of three mirrors - they're so pretty! - for my bathroom, plus some other artwork for the kitchen. But since I've been ignoring emails since Friday I've got a ton to catch up on tonight.

Minions beware! Work is a-coming! BUT - I don't think I've mentioned it here, this is the business I'm creating (slowly) so I can take more time off. And other coaching client I supported emailed today saying she'd "give my left arm to work with a clone of you" and didn't know about this business venture I'm working on. So yay! I have clients waiting!

[cheerleadingmama7]

Well ladies I have fallen short of my goal....tomorrow will definately be a no spend day so I will end the month of January with a total of 16/20 NDS!

I am so bummed....I did however do a good job of recognizing where my spending was going and I feel confident that next month I will be able to reach my goal. I had a few unexected things happen this month but I was able to use my EF to pay for them.

I also need to get better at having my 2 grocery runs each month instead of running a few times a week....gotta get more on track!

[spruby]

FINAL FOR JANUARY

16/25 - NS (1/5)/CS(15/20) days
11/10 - NEO days
1/15 MOAN days

Since I know the tomorrow plan - I'm done for the month. MOANs were bad - not unsurprising given all the medical issues - but still need to work on. And CS was decent - many of the spend days were medical - not the cost of the doc - that is from the FSA and budgeted - but because they always ended up with some extra spending. And YEAH me - hit my NEO target plus one! This is a tough one for me. I'll have to think of what next month's targets will be.

[spruby]

Any ideas for February names? I tried to think of one and my coffee meter must be low - I got nothing.

[shanendoah]

How about Foundation or Foundational February as we're all here to establish good financial foundations

[mizbear]

reneejune- I am so glad you were able to see your brother.
I don't really know my results for January- other than I am seeing where I can save more on my controlled spends and making more MOANs- I have a lot of NS these days with my tuition. I would still like some suggestions for February but this is my beginning proect for February-
28 MOAN- at least 15 minutes
5 CS- I know I won't get all my shopping done in 2 days this month
20 NS
That leaves 3 open days. I don't have days I can spend without controlling it, but depending on the numbers, I may finish my stocking this month.

[startsmart]

How about "Frugal Fun February" and let's focus on 4 weeks of fun without spending a lot of money?

[munjoyhill]

Update Munjoyhill

10/15 No Spend Days
22/25 MOAN Days

The end of my first month tracking my No Spend days, definitely more difficult than I thought, but it's a good way to see where my money is going. The biggest challenge is still grabbing lunch, or stopping by the grocery store for unplanned things. I think what will help me is better planning when I do my weekly grocery shopping.

My MOAN days were better, I was closer to my goal of working out my full 25 days in January, I probably would have made it if I hadn't traveled to Rhode Island unexpectedly for four days.

Working on my goals for February, will post them tomorrow.

[sheilaincali]

EOM Update: 21/20 NS, 27/31 NEO, 13 lbs lost

Did pretty decent this month. Still need to up my NS days. But the only non-grocery, fuel stuff we purchased was a pair of running shoes for DH, two locks for when we go to the gym, and some blankets on super clearance for our puppy. No clothes, no books, no dvds, etc.

Doing decent on the MOANs. DH, DS and I have been going 3 days a week. The Boys go more often but I can't leave early every day.

Selling the extra clutter on eBay is still paying off. Up to $500 so far ($256 in closed auctions) and $242 in auctions that don't close for a few more days. All clutter we have been hauling around for years and not using. Still have more to list. So sad that we accumulate so much stuff. But I can say- nothing that we are selling was purchased after I joined WIR and these threads

[WholeLottaNothin]

Final Update for January: 11 NSD

Have been trying harder this month but always could use improvement. I just made a $200+ payment to a credit card whose minimum is $25. It felt good even though I have a long way to go.

Need to be better about not going out to lunch during the week. Its hard because its usually my only way out of the office and some days I really need a mental break. So that will be my goal for this coming month. NLO= NO LUNCH OUT.

[Deleted]

Final January Update: 18 NEO, 11 NSD and I lost track of Moaning

I did better this month than in the past, so that is good. I still have a lot of work to do to meet my goals.

I look forward to February! I will pay off another card and have a big portion of another card paid off!

[muttleynfelix]

Well, I'm in for Feb. Starting tomorrow I'm going to be unemployed 2 days a week. This week we are doing tomorrow and Wednesday because of the snow storm. After that, I need to have a "schedule".

ETA: On the plus side, I get to hang out with DS a couple days a week.

[sheilaincali]

Muttley: Sorry about the reduced hours at work. Nice to get to spend time with your little man but it still sucks.

[azmom]

10 NSD Yikes..I will not be reaching my goal since I just realized it is the last day in January. Wow, where did the time go? I have been so super busy. Today I will tally up all my spending for the month and look and the hard ugly truth with DH tonight. I am ashamed to same that I have been out week link this month. I have grabbed lunch a handful (or two) times this month
I am so happy to report that I am in the cleaning and de-cluttering spirit as well. I even managed to do 10 loads of laundry on Saturday!! Friday the older kids went with DH to his softball game and the baby and I stayed home. I cleaned out our bedroom and DS bedroom and separated all the laundry so it was ready to go on Saturday. Saturday morning DH took DD to her pitching clinic, he into work after. We had a nice family dinner followed by a few rounds of Foose Ball, all the while listening to all genres of music...it was awesome. Sunday we went to church then to the JR. High to play/practice baseball/softball. It confirmed for us yet again how much we needed to move back into town. We pulled in and ran into a friend of DD and her mom. We chatted for a few minutes and then we went to get set up on the ball field and a family rolls by on their bikes and it is my DS friend. They stopped for about 45 minutes and played and chatted with us (we have plenty of extra equipment) The mom and I have been exchanging play dates with our DS and met at the park on Friday by chance as well. We kind of have the same situation with our boys being in a house full of girls so it is so nice to have another boy for him to play with. We were cleaning up and taking the equipment to the car and one DS other friends pulled up with his dad and brother to play on the baseball field. We let DS play with them for a few minutes while we watched a game that was going on at the same time. It was just so great. I'm so not good at making new friends. It has been awesome just running into all of these families who share the same interest and of course the kids LOVE it. Before when we lived out in the middle of nowhere. We never ran into anyone we knew because we were always driving into town for all of our activities. We spend the majority of our time in the car and had no real time to establish relationships. Anyhow, DH and I agonized for over a year-most of which I shared on this board-trying to decide if/when/how we should move into town. It was a giant leap of faith and a true test of patience and listing for His timing and not ours. I am so incredibly thankful for taking the scariest leap of faith and moving!
Dakota: I hope you feel better soon
Renee: Love to hear that humanity still exist in this world. So happy you were able to see your brother.
SS: So happy for you. I love that YOU suggested a fun frugal February, mostly because you tend to leave the fun part of life out and I am so happy that all of your hard work is allowing you to reach a balance of both. So super proud of you!!
Muttleyn: I was looking at the pictures and thinking No Way he can be that big already!! He is a very handsome little boy and looks so happy!!
Angel: Hooray for work...I love your hair BTW
Sheila: I'm trying to get to your level of determination to get rid of our clutter (which is not really clutter per se, just really fancy stashes of junk!) We have several decorative bins and about 70% of our drawers and cabinets are filled with clutter but if you walked around our house you wouldn't see any clutter whatsoever-with the exception of DD room!! It's hard to keep the momentum when I am constantly cleaning up the same mess over and over-the joy of small children and a DH-ha ha
Okay well I better get to all that cleaning I complain about I also have to get in a run today. I have not put in a MOAN day since my marathon!! I have a race in 4 weeks My estimated part of the race goes like this: Friday at 11:30a run a moderate 6 miles again at Midnight run a hard 5.4 miles (meaning hills) and then again on Saturday at 10:00 a run an easy 4.2 miles....yea I better start training

[kcgal]

Well it's 10:00 in Kansas and an ice storm followed by a snow storm is expect to roll in soon. I went out earlier this morning, before the storm, to get milk. I didn't realize I was out or I would have got it yesterday. I got safely down my hill and watched people with no signs of intelligent life talking on their phone in heavy ice and fog. One cut me off and I didn't get to stay on the main roads. No accident because I knew HE wasn't paying attention. As I was going around the block, to get back on the main roads, I had to stop at a stop sign. I was at a complete stop. I was attempting to turn a corner and get back to the main roads but instead I ended up in a pile of snow. That was the good news if the snow hadn't stopped me I would have gone through someone's chain fence. So by now I am just wanting to go home, which I did. I got home just in time for the electricity to go off for about 20 minutes. I was having troubles figuring out what to do with no electricity. No computer, TV, radio, no cooking, no lights so clearly I couldn't clean the house with limited light. The only thing I could do is read a book by the light of the window. Just like the olden days YUCK. Might be a looong day at this rate. Wonder what will happen when the ice storm moves in. I am sure not looking forward to shoveling the possible 14 inches of snow moving in tomorrow.

[ilovedolphins]

I am going to do the No Spend in February. What do all the abbreviations stand for?

Azmom: I wish I could get determination to do more walking. I would love to take up running but my knees are not the best. I love to walk but live in Colorado so don't get to walk outside much in the winter time. Ok, not at all. Any tips on how to keep motivated? I wanted to get in shape for my daughter's wedding in June in the Virgin Islands but have been plagued with medical problems since September and still dealing with them. I was all set in September to hire a personal trainer and get down to business and then this all happened. I don't know if I joined the gym here and walked on the treadmill if that would help slim down some of the excess fat on my body or not.

[sheilaincali]

ilovedolphins: Lets see if I remember them all:

NS- No Spend
CS- Controlled Spend
NEO- No Eating Out
MOAN- Move our a$$es now (work out days)
DH- dear husband (or damn husband depending on the mood of the day)

That's the bulk of them.
Jump on in. I believe that the PTB (powers that be) will be starting a new thread for us for February soon. We get a little chatty sometimes. If you feel like you are missing out on a joke or having question just ask. Some of us have been posting together for 3 plus years so we revert to short hand without thinking. Welcome aboard

[dianartemis]

12/15 NSD, 16/15 NEO, 5/15 MOAN, 4/4 QUs

Didn't quite make all of my goals, but a lot better than the last few months. Also, I do have an excuse for the MOANs, but it's still disconcerting to not even see myself in double digits for that.

[muttleynfelix]

kcgal - Stay safe. Its not suppose to hit down here until midnight. I think I am going to hit the library on my lunch hour and grab some books. DH is going to get gas for the generator tonight when I get home (still only one car and he let me take it to work tonight). The fridge is full of leftovers from DS's party and its only 2 miles down to the truck stop and they have a massive generator. So, who knows maybe we won't get anything, but we are prepared.

azmom - I can't believe how big he is getting. He was so cute at his party. I need to video tape him dancing because it is the funniest thing. He started doing this like air guitar type thing. I'm trying to get DH to take DS to a Kindermusik class because DS just loves music and will stop whatever he does if a commercial with a song comes on or the prelude at church. He doesn't walk yet, but he can sure dance.

[redwagon]

The George has found a new home, thank you everyone for expressing interest and sorry I don't have three of them to send out!!

Blue - his company came to the conclusion that it'd be illegal to offer the position to him before posting it company-wide (couldn't they have figured this out BEFORE dangling it in front of him?), and so it's worked out for the best. He knows they finally came to appreciate his value, they know they tried to keep him, and they can part ways professionally on good terms. And then we're all going drinking Friday night (his last day) to celebrate/mourn, depending on your stance on his leaving. It's going to get messy. His coworkers are very persuasive haha.

kitties - Boomer used to hog the food and we'd have to watch to make sure Dax got her share of the wet food. She still doesn't eat as much of it as he does, but she does have dry food available that she nibbles on all day long. Thanks for your advice and reassurance, ladies!

We bought a new microwave (with a display that works! that might not burn snack size bags and thus aid my diet!) on sale Saturday night and began installing it yesterday. I say began because it is a smidge taller than the old one, so we need to figure out how to cut part of the tile off the wall, without damaging ALL the tile. We got a diamond-tipped blade for our circular saw (as suggested by various websites), but due to the age of the saw we can't get the current blade off. Will be consulting blue's uncle tonight for guidance and assistance. A simple project has turned into a major PITA, and basically ruined Blue's day yesterday, and thus mine. I feel bad that so many projects seem to have issues, and he feels like he's not handy. It's just that our house is a bizarre house with lots of little surprises that always pop up. We'll figure it out eventually...

Reenee - wow how nice of her. glad you made it out there!

I need to tally up my numbers... didn't do nearly enough working out, I know. And we slacked on the eating out thing towards the end of the month (like yesterday, because the kitchen was in disarray and I couldn't cook). But I stayed pretty well within budget. I went over on a few categories, but under on others, so I think that is success in my book! Thanks again to shanen for the spreadsheet!

Sheila - I keep meaning to post stuff on Ebay. We have a coffee table and an entertainment storage thingy from Ikea. And vertical blinds that were in the house when we moved in and I took down immediately (not a fan). They were pretty much brand new so I don't want to toss them. I just need to measure them and post them... Sigh. Effort. Lol. That's great you guys are selling stuff though!

azmom - I, too, am surprised it's Jan 31 already!

ilovedolphins - welcome!!

[3catslady]

I will post my numbers tonight because I am late for work

[ses]

Final Update 28/31 NSD 3/31 CSD

All three CSD were stupidly due to lack of planning! I WILL do much better this month.

I am setting a challenge for myself this month. Last week a friend and I were talking about the use (and abuse) of food stamps (or SNAP). The next day I was visiting with KCgal and the same topic came up. I live in the most poverty stricken county in my state. Much of that due to the high percentage of college students, I am sure. Frequently we see grocery carts of foods being paid for with food stamps and so much of it is expensive and not especially nutritious. I have searched and found the AVERAGE food stamp allotment per person in my state to be $112. Some will get more than this and some less. Since it is the average, I am going to live on that amount for my groceries this month. I realize many using food stamps don't have many of the advantages I do (a place to cook, a working freezer and fridge and most important, access to a good supermarket. Therefore, I am going to live within certain parameters, no couponing since this is not available to some neighborhoods, as much"real"food as possible vs packaged food and since I have to monitor my diet due to diabetes close attention to nutrition. Today I am going to create a balanced menu and grocery list so that as soon as the snow lets me go shopping I can. I will be posting my progress to keep myself accountable. And no I didn't plan to do this now since February is the shortest month.

My warmest thoughts to those of you having to deal with ice and snow issues. Stay safe!

[sheilaincali]

snow snow and yup, more snow. I am so ready for winter to be over it's not even funny.

[singlemomky]

Ses - I commend you on your personal challenge and I'm sure you will pass w/flying colors. Is that $112 a month?

[ses]

Smokey--Yes, that is $112 per month. This will be interesting. I am going to do this without using stockpiled stuff from the pantry, so no ultra cheap prices, just what is available at the store. Any hints are welcome. I should be finished with my menu plan shortly.