Judicious June Controlled/No Spend Thread

[MittenKitten]

Hello Everyone. Here is this month's Controlled/No Spend Thread as promised. Please post your goals for the month if you would like me to include them in the bi-Monthly update.
For the new people there are no real set rules here, you set your own. The basic goal most if not all of us have are to keep track of the days we don't spend and hopefully by that work on saving money. Some are looking to put it into savings others to pay down debt.
For some they only count the day as a no spend day if they spend nothing at all. Others will count it if they keep their total under $5. Some count all spending others only count a certain part of their budget. For example I personally take $400 out of the the bank in cash for everything that is not related to vehicle expenses (like gas, oil changes, insurance etc) or the house (mortgage, utilities, HOA) If I spend out of the $400 I count it as a spend day (although if it is less then $5 I usually count it as a no spend day.) You set your own rules. Any questions feel free to ask.
You can post your no spend days daily or whenever you want, just put it in bold at the top with the first number being the number you want me to record. If you are doing daily then:
Today (or yesterday) $0 Spend day
More then one day at a time:
4/31 days $0 Spend Which translates into 4 out of 31 days in December have been no spend so far. Some use the bigger number as their goal number so do 4/15 No spend Days which means they have a goal of 15 no spend days this month.

CSD: Controlled Spend Day
BFF: Best Friend Forever
DH/DS/DD/DSS: Dear Husband, Dear Son Dear Daughter, fiance, boy friend, Dear Step-Son
DIL, MIL, BIL, SIL: Daughter in law, Mother In Law, Brother in Law, Sister In Law
NKCW: No Killing Co-Worker Day (could also be no kill DH NKDH etc)
MOAN: Moving our a$$ Now aka exercising
NS or NSD: No Spend or No Spend Day
NEO: No eating out
HTH: Hope This Helps
KWIM: Know What I mean
FWIW: For What It's Worth
IMHO or IMO: In my Humble Opinion or In My Opinion
Getting Nitzed is referring to when you have a long post and MSN cuts you off so its in two posts instead one.
Having a Startsmart Day is referring to when you have 20+ things on your must get done in a day and you accomplish them.
Sharing the Simple Lifestyle aka Toasty;
Single Mom-KY aka Smokey;
MittenKitten aka MK;
Pt_In_NY aka Pointy;
Red2Black aka R2B2.
The Boy is Sheila in Cali's son.
the boy or Mowgli is Nsinglet's son
Blue is Red_Wagon's DH

For a while I was doing a Question of the Week. One week my question was "How has this thread changed your habits? What tangible benefits have you seen by being a member? I know we occassionally get someone on here that just doesn't get the concept of no spend is so much more then no spending 10 days to blow everything on day 11."

Honeylioness had a wonderful answer I think really defines WHAT we are about:

"I will admit that during my first two months of lurking, I wondered just how in the WORLD someone could not spend any money at ALL for 25 days? Did they just pay all their bills one day a month, and that same day do the food shopping for the month? Like many new to the concept I saw it as horribly, and restrictively, black or white – an opinion first based merely on the name of the thread.

But once I came to understand that it was not so totalitarian and was more about finding a way that worked for you to track your spending and any “leaks” in the wallet, it has felt more like a tool and less like a punishment. I wish I could say that I have paid off five extra years from the mortgage, or now have an EF of six months take home – but alas that would not be true.

What I do have however is a better awareness of where my “leaks” are, what are my hot buttons that make me want to spend on things I really don’t need or really cannot afford right now. And an awareness of the fact when I AM spending money. I think that awareness is key to learning a new behavior or paradigm. Just like lumberlady, some of us have had to look hard in the mirror and acknowledge that we had a problem. Until people can do that, be it an addiction to alcohol or drugs or credit cards ….. they will never really GET it."

Thanks Honeylioness!

[shanendoah]

Looking forward to June being much less crazy, and hope to be on a good plan by the end of the month.
DH has finals this week (calc final tonight, physics on Thurs) and then should be out of school until July, when he'll do Calc III in 5 weeks.
Also this month, he should get his last UE check the week of June 20. His b-day is June 27. We usually go out to dinner for that.
While DH won't have class this month, he is applying for a tutoring job at the school (to work with high school students who think college "isn't right for them") so I'm going to assume in my goals that he's still making the 100 mile round trip commute a couple times a week.

To go with that, I'm looking for 14 No Spend Days, though only 10 of them will be strictly No Spend. I'm allowing 4 Gas Only days (1/week) that can be counted as NSDs as long as gas is the only thing we spend money on that day. Because we run B99, and there are limited places it can be purchased, we often need to purchase gas when we are near a station (there's one on his route to school), regardless of how much is in the tank, because we won't be near a station again before we run low.
I'm looking for 12 CS days- roughly every Friday, Saturday, Sunday, which is when we run errands.
And again, I'm allowing for 4 unplanned spends a month- 1/week.

So, June goals look like this: 14 NS + 12 CS = 26.
I am nervous that for the first time, my NS goal is greater than my CS goal. But then I remind myself that's because I'm defining Gas Only as an NS.

[reeneejune]

I've said this before, but I really want to stick to it this time. I just want to track this month... I won't worry about a goal just yet, so long as I manage to track!

Since I'm not going to be able to make it to the Black Hills Meet-up, I'm going to go on a mini-vacation to Pendleton, OR to visit my jail-bird brother. It's a really historic old town and it's got a wild-west flavor to it. There are two stops I'm going to make it a priority to see: the Pendleton Woolen Mill and the underground tour. The underground tour looks pretty interesting... back in the late 1800's they dug underground service tunnels under much of the city so that workers and laundry could move around between the brothels, saloons, and gambling halls. Later, when prohibition hit, the saloons and gaming halls went underground... literally. Anyway, I'll probably drive over on Tuesday, stay Wednesday and Thursday and come back Thursday or Friday. The rest of my vacation time I'll just putter around the apartment and get some sewing done.

[pointy]

In for another month - goals are:
23 NS and 28 No QVC

[spruby]

I'm in:

20 CS Days
10 NS Days
10 MOAN
10 NEO

[DVM gone riding]

I want to join the fun this time. I am going to try for 12 NS days

[moneysquirrel]

I am in again. I will aim for 15 NS/CS days.
dvm07 -- Welcome. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Some of us have been here for a while. Also, this process may seem easy but it takes a while to get into the hang of the NS/CS mindset. The major goal is to focus on what you are spending, what your weak spot is, and the emotions behind the impulse spend. You will notice that we tend to chat about everything because we believe that everything is related to our finances.

[mizbear]

I'm in. Almost every penny is accounted for this month between bills, meds, allotted expenses... I may have 30 NS- especially if we keep running DGM back ad forth to the ER!!!
I know I will have 1 CS- I have to buy some stuff from the store.
My goal this month is generally to not spend anything I don't have allotted and try not to go screaming off into the sunset.

[muttleynfelix]

I'm sort of in for June. We are buying our plants this weekend for our flower garden ($100 - yes I got my plant list with in my budget, go me). Then the last weekend of the month we are going to my parent's house and then spend one night without DS at a B&B about an hour and a half away from my parent's house. I'm excited. The rest of the month we need to stick to the budget and not continue to spend money like we did in may ... of course all the extra money we spent in May and April was landscaping stuff and is making a huge difference around our house, but stilll, we need to stay on budget.

[sheilaincali]

Count me in again. We didn't do too bad last month. I need to go over my budget numbers and see how we did with groceries and eating out. I only remember 2 meals out- which is pretty darn good for us.

Muttley: We had the same problem! Plants for the garden, stain for the deck, plants around the beds, new mulch, etc. It seems like as soon as we get one thing done we find 3 more things that can be fixed, freshened up, replaced etc. Only projects left are to stain the deck (already have the stain), paint the risers and under-deck "Skirting" (already have the paint) and build 4 benches for the fire-pit area. Priced it out this weekend and it should be around $75 when it's all said and done for the benches.

Our biggest expense is waiting to see what they decide with DH's truck. We priced out replacement vehicles and realized we got a REALLY good deal on the truck he has now. So depending on what they give us and what we have to pay for a new truck it may be a tight month. DH isn't picky but because he has to drive alot for work we want something that will stand up to the MN winters and be able to store his equipment (think truck or suv). Under 100,000 miles is preferred too.

[shanendoah]

Welcome dvm! Ladies, we now have an expert for when we talk about our doggies and kitties! She's also one of our captains over on the WIRR- West board.
dvm: Just so you know, we all set our own rules for what an NS or CS day is, so you might want to write down your parameters. For example, for the purposes of this board, my bills (mortgage, power, cell phone, etc) don't exist. They're all on scheduled auto pay, so I don't pay any attention to them here. NS for me is spending nothing, not even $0.85 at the vending machine because the vending machine's are my weakness. For others, an NS is a day when they spend less than $5.
And as moneysquirrel said, it really can take some time to get the hang of this. I know that it took me months before I ever reached my goal, and sometimes I still don't. (Like last month.) I couldn't believe how often we were swinging by the store for just one thing, or that we spread our shopping trips out over so many days of the week.
But we are thrilled to have you. And if you have any questions, ask.

[973beachbum]

Hi all! I wanted to try this but really don't know what I am doing so it should be fun. ;D

My rules are tracking all "cash"type spending for the month from me. Most of the big bills are the same every month and on auto bill pay so I don't think of them when I think of spending/saving. So I am going to track all groceries, gas for car, do dads for the kids or anything that I would buy at Walmart or Acme or CVS or where ever. I am also trying to stick to a preset allowance of $100 a week. As this is new I am not sure I even can including gas but I am going to try.

My goal is not to go over my $100 a week but I don't really care if that is spending every day or only once a week.

Hope that works for this. ;D

[sheilaincali]

welcome DVM and 973beachbum. It can be a little confusing the first month or so getting used to everyone having their own rules. Jump right in and enjoy the ride- it's a wonderful group of ladies we have here.
My rules- I don't count regular monthly bills (mortgage, insurance, gas, elec. etc), groceries, car gas, or hair night. For groceries I track our spending separately to make sure we don't go over budget. Car gas is all over the place- DH drives a lot for work but is reimbursed for it after the fact. Some weeks he has to get fuel every other day and some weeks it's once a week. Pain to budget for.
Hair Night- my family all gets together (mom, dad, sister, BIL, nieces, nephews, us) once a month and has a stylist come in and cut all of our hair (and color mine and perm my moms). Its the same $ amount every month so I treat it like a regular bill.

Otherwise everything else is fair game- eating out, trips to Target, movie tickets, etc and counts as a spend day.

[muttleynfelix]

Sheila - Yeah our landscaping plan went from 1 load of dirt for our flower beds and enough mulch for our flower bed. To 2 loads of dirt, do our flower bed, have a veggie garden this year, buy the lumber to build the raised bed gardens, raising our AC unit 8 inches, and use the rest of the dirt to raise the area around the house to hopefully help with the water in the crawl space. It hasn't been that much extra money, all things considering. DH has just been working his rear off. He has the AC unit raised and that area will drain so much better now. Now he is on to the future deck area and raising the ground there. This should help with the water we get in our crawl space. Plus with the mulch and the flower beds, the house is already looking so much better. I can't wait to get our flowers on Saturday.

Welcome DVM and beachbum. I actually don't track my spend days. I do track to make sure I stay on budget. It just gives me the accountibility I need since we live on a tight budget.

My goals for this month - stay on budget for groceries, eat out twice a week or less, lose 5 more pounds (I lost 2.5 in May only 13.5 more to go).

[startsmart]

sheila- have you looked into former company trucks for DH's replacement truck? I know some companies shed cars when their workforce is smaller and while the miles might be higher they usually have good maintenance

3cats- I saw your note to GLDN on the May thread, it looks like she's in the hospital! I'm sure there's no cookie baking in the immediate future and she'd be glad to refund your money.

My June Goals- I took $200 out of the bank yesterday so I'm hoping that will last me until the 15th. I'll need $100 for doctor appointments alone. But I have plenty of food (just need to stay out of the stores) and gas in the car and dog food and entertainment. I might go to a farm on Sunday to pick berries and that will come out of cash.

I'll be driving down for a car event in two weeks and spending $100 on a hotel room there and then driving about for the day. Other than that June will be pretty quiet around here. Maybe I'll get the bathroom finished and actually catch up on work!

Numbers wise:
20 NSD (bill paying, cash expenditures, and gas count as NSD)

[dakota4600]

I'm sort of in for June. I'll be around for the support from you ladies, but won't be tracking. I'm hoping July we can batten down the hatches and get back on board. I feel like the last few months have been out of control (doesn't help that all of our b-days our in April and May, plus Mother's Day, my mom & grandmas B-day). This month is our 5th anniversary, vacation and a weekend away with my parents, I don't see many NS days. I have a honey do list that is pretty long and since mini-D is in pre-school all summer DH can get those bigger projects done. I'm hoping he'll buy all the supplies before his class starts so that we can spend the money this month.

Good news is DH gets paid for June, July & August on the 15th. So our savings will get a little boost. We've decided to splurge for our 5th anniversary and get each other something that we've wanted for a while. He is getting a rolling toolbox and I'm getting a new emerald ring. I've had one since 96, but it was badly cracked and every jeweler I talked so said there was nothing they could do and about a month or so ago the emerald disappeared out of the setting. It was there when I put it on in the AM, but a couple hours later at work I noticed it was gone. I looked around for it, but never found any pieces. So I'm going to sell the setting from that ring and a few other gold pcs that I don't wear to help cover the cost of a new ring. DH thinks it should have something that signifies 5 on it, but I don't particularly. I'm planning on going to a jeweler and designing a nice everyday ring for my right hand. Maybe with 2 little diamonds for my boys (since they are April babies.)

I'm also not doing so well on the no pop. I had one today and I think that is the first one since Sunday.

3cats- It looks like she was released from the hospital today.

Muttley- Yeah about the gardens. I can't wait to get into a new house and put in gardens. I don't want to do it here since we will hopefully be selling next summer. The first couple years I was doing landscaping were pretty spendy, but now that it is mature I really only have to replant the containers on our porch each year and remulch every other year or so. I'd say $50-100 per year on the garden, that includes spring & fall planting for 4 huge pots. Right now we are trying to grow grass. We've got the area about 50% covered in new grass. I just reseeded the areas that were still bare on Friday, so it will be awhile before they sprout.

Shelia- Sorry about the truck. Glad DH wasn't hurt.

Welcome DVM & Beachbum.

[DVM gone riding]

Thanks shanandoah and moneysqurrel for the welcome. I have been trying to remember to join for a while but about 5 days in the pages are so long I get intimidated! I had already decided bills that are planned don't count, but I am going to count all un-planned things (so the $2 I spent for lunch today because I didn't plan ahead and bring it still counts) I am sure I will change my rules as I go along but it is nice to have some accountability.

[sheilaincali]

dvm- you can always jump in at anytime. We just like to visit a lot sometimes. We have had some lively debates and a good deal of us are fb friends in RL too. We even exchange Christmas cards and a bunch of us are meeting up for a group vacation at the end of the month ;D

[ses]

DVM and Beachbum--very big welcome. We can always use new blood. I don't know if any of us really knew what we were doing our first month out of the gate. Some of us have been together here for over three years but we can always use new friends. One thing that helps many get on board at the beginning is to use a little notebook and log every penny you spend. It helps you discover what your "leaks" and "triggers" are. DO NOT expect to "get it" this first month. If you are too rigid right off the bat you tend to set yourself up to blow things later on. It is kind of like dieting.

I have been making a big pot of pasta sauce--about 6 quarts worth. Well, not quite, I cook and simmer everything but the last 6 pints of tomato sauce. Then I freeze it into 6 pints of spaghetti sauce "base," and then as I thaw and cook a pint of base I add an additional pint of tomato sauce. This way I use less freezer space.
I also made a big batch of french toast that is soaking up the good stuff right now and I will bake it off later this evening. Then I can freeze it in individual servings and not have to make it from scratch when I want it. Thanks for the idea, Reenee. Tomorrow is a batch of enchilada sauce or a pot of chili.
I am doing this OAMC type cooking because I recently went through the pantry and cleaned out the freezer in preparation of my annual visit to Sam's club with a friend who has a card later this month. It was a little depressing to see how little I had ready to go after doing a pantry challenge last month. I'm planning to do my version of a big stock up when at Sam's Club. I am one of those strange people who believe a double dip recession has a good chance of happening and I want to prepare while I have the chance.
I am once again thankful for the things I learned during my month long "food stamp" challenge in February. Especially how wasteful I can be if I don't pay close attention. Since then I have cut my grocery expenditures by half.

Sorry to hear GLDN was in the hospital. Hope things are better now.

Other news!!!! I have a job interview next week for the position I applied for last April as a testing examiner. Starts at $14/hour. Not bad for a part-time position.

I need to get off the computer and mend the rips the kitties have put into my bed sheet. Their claws are sharp. Onyx is very patient and lets me give her an occasional "pawdicure", but Calleigh has not yet learned to slow down enough for me to try. She definitely lives life on her own terms.

[mizbear]

I'll start with HI!!
DGM s back in the hospital & DM is back on her chemo. SO- I am trying to get as much done as I can without anyone underfoot. My DB constantly complains about what isn't being done his way or as fast as he wants. I told him if he didn't like it- MOVE! (Don't tempt a Bear who has been sitting in the ER for 10 hours eating candy bars and drinking horrible coffee)
I also found out he has had my father (not a popular person with my mother's family) and his girlfriend (we won't go there) in the house when no one is there. I am holding those over his head right now. I don't want to cause stress- but he is breaking house rules. BIG ones.
Since DM is taking chemo this month, I will not have to put gas in my car- she can't drive. She puts gas in my car on her chemo months so I can drive her around.
Tomorrow I have to work at DGM/DMs. Friday is errands all day. Work more this weekend.

HUGS everyone- be careful in this heat and weather. Good luck with the jobs and school.
Someone send my love to GLDN- I am on FB, but if you want to reach me, PM me because I am on there as my RL name (I didn't know I could MizBear on FB until after I had been there and everyone I didn't want to find me had already found me...)
Seeing if I can get my demo to record again...

[reeneejune]

I'm counting today as a NS. I got a surprise in the mail today, a $25 check from my doctor's office because they charged me for something my insurance covered. I also took in the 2 huge bags and then some of pop cans and beer bottles, most of them courtesy of Mom who just didn't want to take them in herself. She also gave me $10 for the fabric I picked up to make Grandma a new skirt. All told I ended up with $43 I didn't have this morning. I did spend $6 to have lunch out with Mom, and $5 on two math textbooks from St. Vinnies. I'm eligible to start back to college next winter, and I figured that $5 in text books and some time on my part was a much better investment than $736 in classes that wouldn't count toward a degree. I also spent $8 doing laundry at the laundromat. So even with all of that, I ended the day with $24 more than when I woke up. I call that a win. ;D

[reeneejune]

BTW - has anyone heard from Sharing? I haven't seen her around here lately. Or I'm blind. One of the two.

[moneysquirrel]

Update: 1 CS day
I got a lot of things done today. Caught up on some items that I have been putting off. I stocked up on the AC filters -- should have enough until the beginning of next summer. Since we have been in the 90s for the last few weeks with months of the same predicted I know that will be a well used item. Also got a few of the routine annual medical exams done. Only the blood work left to do -- I have the 12 hour fast that is needed but will try to get done this week so I can knock it off the todo list.
ses -- glad you finally heard from them about the interview.
Beachbum -- glad you are joining our group. Welcome. Remember this is a marathon not a sprint. Take it one day at a time. Soon you will be hearing us while you shop.

[muttleynfelix]

So sad, the house next door to mine that has been vacant for almost a year actually has been forclosed upon. I'm kind of glad. I hope someone cool with a kid around Ben's age moves in. The place is going to need a ton of work after being unoccupied for so long.

[startsmart]

today will be a NSD! Woot, one down, lots to go

I was just thinking my last computer part would be delivered when the doorbell rang and now I have my new laptop (a macbook pro) hooked up to my external monitor. LOVE IT. It was also the impetus I needed to clean up my office and rearrange a bunch of stuff.

Wild weather today - it rained and hailed and there was a tornado the next town over that didn't touch down. Now it's blue skies and fluffy clouds. Ridiculous. But I'm not going out so no spending today.

I'm also going 2 days in a row on the Wii working out. I figure if I use it every day this summer then I'll buy the Wii fit board and maybe the zumba game. Until then I'm using Wii sport and fencing a lot. Bowling is also good for my arms.

Reenee- have you taken any CLEP tests? Would your college accept them? May be worth looking into, I did 4 or 5 when I was in college and the $70 test + $30 in fees for each test saved me between 3-6 credits and thousands of dollars in tuition and books. Plus time.

[ses]

Moneysquirrel--Thank you for mentioning the AC filters! I was feeling so self-satisfied about being so well stocked up on everything imaginable, and just realized I need to get a a bunch of AC filters. Maybe I should check out Sam's Club since I will be there next week.

I scheduled a hair cut before my interview. It was just the impetus I needed to get this shaggy mane cut.

[redwagon]

Going to try to do this this month. Shooting for 12 NS days. Starting over, basically, as I haven't tracked in months. But, yesterday was NS so there's one!

Yesterday two tornadoes touched down near my hometown. The first basically started on the border of my hometown and the next town over (about a mile from my parents' house), moved through that town, through my brother's town, down the Ct River (incredible footage of that on msnbc - biblical is the only word to describe it), and then into Springfield. Amazing only 4 people were killed. Then a second tornado a bit further east basically destroyed the town my mom teaches in. Needless to say, she has a Tornado Day today as her school is now an emergency shelter. I was pretty much shaking yesterday afternoon until I tracked down my family to make sure they were okay. My stepdad was driving and must have been just ahead of it, thank goodness, and my mom had left work just in time to avoid the other one. My brother spent his evening in his basement with his kitties in their crates, and for once they didn't complain. Animals know when stuff is going down, I swear. So very very very grateful my friends and family are okay, although my friends' mom's house was pretty much wiped off the map, but her mom wasn't home. A lot of close calls I'm hearing about, a lot of "it was coming right toward us and then just turned". I want to go home and hug everyone lol. So hard to watch all that happening from afar.

[muttleynfelix]

Red - Glad your family is ok.

[redwagon]

Muttley - we've been spending on landscaping this year too (and last year) as we try to get our "curb appeal" up. The house itself looks adorable, but the lawn left much to be desired. This year we got a bunch of brightly colored pots, which then needed to be filled with plants, to put in front. The four feet in front of the house is a cement slab (I think there were plans to make a porch there) and rather than jackhammering it out, we put the pots and flowers and a bench and it looks quite lovely. But was probably about $250 to do. A lot of the plants will get permanently planted in the back in the fall. Amazing how pricey a hydrangea is!

We have another big expenditure: we are getting new back and front doors, both storm doors and solid doors. The front one doesn't really close anymore, and I am pretty sure if someone pushed hard enoguh it'd come off its hinges. And the back one the metal is rusting off or falling off both inside and outside and I fear it's toxic for kitties. Duct tape has ceased to work (we'd been doing that since moving in). We picked lower-end doors, but are having them professionally installed (last thing blue needs is another failed project) so we're looking at around $1k, I think. Getting the estimate by Saturday. But that's what the House Fund is for. Hoping to sell the robot and pump from the pool to make some of it back. Fun times...

[singlemomky]

Red - Glad you were able to get in touch w/all your family & friends.

Doors - I just purchased a new interior back door and new storm doors for both the front and the back. The front interior door was replaced by the seller before I moved in, so it is only 3 years old. In hindsight I wished I had paid closer enough attention to ask for the back interior door to be replaced as well. We have a family friend who is a retired carpentar who will install them but I spent about $900 on the three doors. Luckily Lowe's was having 18 months 0% so I'll be able to hold my money in my savings until closer to the 0% expiring.

Today is the last day of school for Lil' Smokey - so I'm sure today will be a spend as I will most likely take him to dinner to celebrate that he is now a 2nd grader.