armed with $200 cash, a log, and a mission to get thru the month

**FrugalGuru** · 01-07-2010, 09:45 PM

Take the $200 to the Casino and bet red/black on roulette.

If you win - take the $400 and bet red black again.

If you win - take the $800 and have an AWESOME month.

lol - just kidding. I think of doing that sometimes though.

**Maine Girl** · 01-08-2010, 09:11 AM

SS I am going to monitor how long $102.00 (left over travel cash and xmas money) I bought a book of stamps and three bags of xmas 75% off candy I spent $13.00. I have $89.00 left

**sabrelvssammy** · 01-08-2010, 11:23 AM

Originally Posted by FrugalGuru

Take the $200 to the Casino and bet red/black on roulette.

If you win - take the $400 and bet red black again.

If you win - take the $800 and have an AWESOME month.

lol - just kidding. I think of doing that sometimes though.

AND ...if i 'lose'...i tell dh that this was YOUR idea....lol...
of course you know if i win...it was all me......

**sabrelvssammy** · 01-08-2010, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by Maine Girl

SS I am going to monitor how long $102.00 (left over travel cash and xmas money) I bought a book of stamps and three bags of xmas 75% off candy I spent $13.00. I have $89.00 left

good...welcome to the thread...let's play....

i think the best way to do it to make sure you make a log...and record everything down in blk/white...

mine is very simple...date/retailer/items bought/amt spent/balance
that's it... all across a piece of lined notebook paper....

good luck...you can do this......

**sabrelvssammy** · 02-01-2010, 02:21 PM

so the month of january is behind us and i am under-budget by $51.26... i will carry this amount over into february and not take another $200 until i have completely exhausted every penny of january's budget.... (maybe by the years end i will be in the black)....

looking over my log i am not unhappy with any of the purchases that i have made (ok-maybe a few of the snack food items that were supposed to be in dh's lunchpail and somehow got into my belly instead..but at least i can continue to have fond memories of them coz now they are on my BUTT)....

anyway, that being said....the january budget went solely for food items with the exception of 2 small bottles of cologne & razor blades for dh...(that set me back about $35)....i am still deep in the throes of using up all the hba's stockpiled in my bathroom cabinets...i am good for quite some time there...(oh - i did pick up 2 tubes of crest toothpaste for $1 each the other day)....

the majority of food items were either sale stockpile items that could not be passed up or fresh fruit/veggies... snacks for dh's lunch...or an item that needed to be replenished to round out a recipe..& of course bread, milk & eggs.... i did not buy any meats or other big items as we are continuing to eat down the freezer....

february looks to be about the same on the purchasing...we will continue to eat the contents of the freezer (and i still have loads of meats & omc's).... i will probably only be purchasing fresh fruits/veggies & super deal stockpile items....i will not have to buy milk or eggs now that i have a free resource for those items...weehee....(and all i have to do is pass out the x-tras...definately worth my time).....and i have 3 loaves of bread frozen in the freezer....

so off we go into month 2.....

**bridge** · 02-01-2010, 02:38 PM

Way to go!! you amaze me sometimes!!

**sabrelvssammy** · 02-01-2010, 02:49 PM

Originally Posted by bridge

Way to go!! you amaze me sometimes!!

thanks! you're just trying to butter me up so i will go to garage sales with you this summer.....

**sabrelvssammy** · 02-11-2010, 09:11 AM

still plugging along on this challenge...i am now in feb's $200... (but only by about $14)....still mainly just buying up loss leaders and super deals i can't pass up...and fresh fruits/veggies as needed...and there are those items that i only have to buy every few months or so that need to be replenished (mayo, p.butter, etc).....and i stocked up on 20 boxes of cereal for $20...weehee...

i switched my payment methods to a debit card instead of cash because ING offered me a checking acct w/interest that operates only on debit cards (no checks can be written on this account by the individual...you can however contact ING and they will generate a check for you if you were to require one for something)...anyway...if i signed up for the acct (no min balance either) and if i made 3 purchases in a 30 day period they would deposit $50 into my account.. so OF COURSE i signed up...and then yesterday i made my 3 purchases....(just a hint...IF you sign on for this, buried in the deep fine print is the 'rule' that the purchases have to be 'signature based' to qualify...this means you need to run this card as a credit instead of a debit those times so that you can 'sign' for them...) i'm glad i am so darn skeptical and found that.....debit purchases don't count...

just had my feb 'budget' of $200 deposited and now i will use my debit card to make my purchases... we will see how this goes coz i want to keep the mentality of 'cash' and not get complacent... so i have taken a piece of paper and wrapped it around the card with the purchases made and the current balance available so that everytime i reach for it i will have a constant reminder of what i have spent and what is left... works like cash in my purse for me....and i can always get 'cash back' on a transaction if i need or want some cash....

so onward i go into the month.....

**alotofgooddeals** · 02-11-2010, 10:04 AM

i am thinking i would love to try this challenge in March....but not sure that $200 would be enough for 4 and sometimes 5 people...
Is $200 all u spent that month on what type of items? Is this everything besides your bills? cat and dog food, people food, medicines, prescriptions, etc? Just trying to figure this out as i would love to join this challenge...

Thanks!

**Maine Girl** · 02-11-2010, 12:30 PM

In January i have $102.00 cash and i did so well i had $14.00 left over so the first week of Feb i cashed a check for $100.00 and i have $26.00 left. Now this money is my play money for the month. In Feb my boss and i went to a show and lunch so that was $22.00 which is a special occasion and happens about once a year. This weekend i spent $33.00 at cvs for snacks, stamps, 3 cases of soda then Saturday night i spent $21.00 at bingo and paid cash for groceries yesterday $14.00. Hope to do better in march.

**alotofgooddeals** · 02-11-2010, 01:08 PM

and use that to buy everything....from toiletries, groceries cat and dog food to entertainment and see what happens...this would be for a family of 4 most days with an occasional day being 5... Oldest is 20 and does not stay at home most days.... but there is an occasional day he will...

I really have gotten this shopping the sales down pretty well... Like today.. I am going to get 10 packages of cheese 10 bottles of apple juice and 10 cans of tuna because it is on sale for $1 each item.. I know $30 sounds like alot for all of this however i found that shopping this way.. i never run out of anything and have been doing great with stockpiling...

**sabrelvssammy** · 02-11-2010, 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by alotofgooddeals

i am thinking i would love to try this challenge in March....but not sure that $200 would be enough for 4 and sometimes 5 people...
Is $200 all u spent that month on what type of items? Is this everything besides your bills? cat and dog food, people food, medicines, prescriptions, etc? Just trying to figure this out as i would love to join this challenge...

Thanks!

well first off we are only 2 people & 2 cats....

$200 covers all people food, pet food/litter, hba's, pretty much
anything that is not a 'fixed, re-occurring' expense is what is falling under this catagory

i don't include gas cause dh's co pays for his & my co pays for mine...and with everything within 5 mins this way or that we go through very little gas in a month's time...

you have to understand how i shop though..it's completely 'bizarre' or so i have been told...

we are the type of people that don't require much... we are not really 'into' anything that costs much money....we don't eat out but rarely (and dh usually pays with his allowance and we would not be happy in a fancy-spancy restaurant at all)...firing up the grill on the back patio is the best kind of 'going-out' to us...dh golfs but has a yearly membership at the local country club that he can golf til he's blue in the face and doesn't have to pay..so he golfs practically every nice day possible (after work) and then comes home and plops in his chair and watches cable...(in the winter it's bowling league for him)....we don't do movie theaters..(in fact the last movie we saw in a theater was 'titanic' with leonardo)....my beading that i sell at a local boutique, well i have enough supplies to last me for the next 10 yrs...(ok-back from my less frugal days...i hoarded...lol)..i belong to a hiking club for entertainment ($5 yr membership)...i get more joy out of cutting the grass and trimming the bushes than shopping at the mall...living in a small town does have some advantages (don't ever tell dh i said that..haha)... we are all here doing our own thing and noone really cares what you are driving, wearing, or what your cell phone can do, our shopping choices and eatout out choices are next to nothing...(we have a wendy's, grandy's and dairy queen)...when you don't like any of them it's extremely helpful too....if you are in the mood to buy something (other than groceries) we have a CVS & a dollar general....

we do have other choices in the next town about 15 mins away so it's not like we are on the end of the earth or anything... we just don't want to drive the 15 mins...(which is the complete opposite life i was living 15 yrs ago driving 45 mins one way to downtown Indpls every day for work)....my how times have changed....

so other than for eating and bathing we don't purchase much from the stores...we get a couple season's worth out of clothes (well dh does...i get a couple of centuries out of mine..lol) we always change the minute we get home (dh dresses down, i dress up (from the mangy clothes i have strictly for 'dirty work')... we are both pretty healthy people so we don't have but the rare prescription (if it's $5 i'll pay for it..if it's more...it's dh's..nice of me-huh>)...bandaids & aspirin fall under the hba category with shampoo so i pay for that....
dh also pays for our hair appt's.... (mine is about $60 every 6-8 wks)...his is about $2....(guys..i swear...must be nice)... but i call this a re-occurring expense cause you know we gotta do it....

so all in all we aren't buying all that much...now for the 'bizarre shopping habits of mine'....

i will not pay full price for hardly anything... most of the items i buy are from a reduced/clearanced rack whether it is food, hba's, clothes, whatever... we base what we use on the price of the item...which works out fine coz neither of us are 'foodies' (i am a vegan and dh is just plain weird..lol...) dh prefers simple, down-home style food over exotics...the less 'fussy' it is the more he likes it... so we eat tons of veggies and cheaper simple ingredients...neither of us eat many things that have been 'processed' so we save a ton of money in that regard... give him a plain chicken breast, a baked pot & some steamed broc and he's content...give me rice & beans every day of the year and i am happy too... we are not big snack cake eaters... no pies, cakes here...dh does like brownies & chips-ahoys but that is about the extent of his sweettooth....he likes little candy...(that's MY weakness) and i am learning to combat that..!

we are not brand-loyal to very much either (except dh's golfclubs & balls).... we take what we can get for the best price and make use of it...(however, even i will admit that there is some pretty nasty stuff out there that i will go without before i touch...i don't care if the price is FREE)...my cats however are brand-loyal to friskies canned cat food (shredded or meaty bits only) and will not take anything else so when it comes up on sale i by 50+ cans at a time and hoard that...they accept whatever dryfood i put out (well 1 does) and i only use scoopable litter from wal-mart..(special kitty)...i can fill 2 litter boxes for 4 mo's with just 1 box of 'special kitty scoopable (so i am brand-loyal to this) and keeping the boxes scooped out daily and refreshing w/baking soda is enough to keep them fresh and non-smelling....and i have been lucky as the 'boys' are also healthy so no vet bills...(and since they are both strictly indoor cats we do not vaccinate)...i have had 3 vets in my life admit that it is really not necessary if you are not exposing them to anything...and i don't.... (i will not touch them if i have been exposed to strays or anyone else's animals til i dis-infect....) i know, another weird & strange OCD of mine...

i love dollar stores...i buy the bulk of non-food items there (well some food stuff too but i can usually do better at the grocery).....so that stretches the budget pretty far....

dh and i don't get into all the 'gift-giving occasions' that retailers have decided that we need to...our gifts to each other are usually in the form of a vacation (so we get 3 for 1...your gift, my gift, vacation time)....and of course on vacation we don't do pricey tourist resorts..we prefer to mix with the locals and do what they are doing, eat what they are eating...(makes for not only a cheaper vaca but a more memorable one at that)....i only have to step outside my front door to see all the same types of people i would meet in a 'tourist area'....

so there you have it... how i can live on $200 (which i do intend to try to decrease as time goes by) january actually had a $51.26 surplus...it will be interesting to see what feb brings... (and all my seeds are bought for the garden already so that will help the bottom line come the summertime budget...) i already told dh we are going to be researching all the veggie recipes we can and eating a ton from the garden everyday.... we are also not planting any annuals and filling the pots with garden produce....there will be veggies EVERYWHERE.... weehee.....(and if i get really really industrious i may learn to can...i already freeze alot now).....

ok..i'm done ....(whew....she say's)....haha....

**sabrelvssammy** · 05-04-2010, 07:36 PM

update: how it's going...

well we are now into May and here's how the $200 monthly budget has played out up to this point:

spending:
jan- $159.23
feb- $176.47
mar- $ 52.73
apr- $ 61.96

so i think i am doing pretty darn good at this...even dh was surprised by mar/apr budgets...(of course he had to have HIS pat on the back by saying "it's a good thing i have gotten pretty frugal myself and not asked for much"....) bless his little heart....

food stockpile is alot lower than normal but we kinda like it this way...we have been using up just about everything we can and i am only replenishing with items that i know we really enjoy eating... we have both cut way back on the snack chips and candy so that helps the overall budget...i am pretty much making the nights meals out of what i am finding in the reduced carts or loss leaders that i find.....

i still have enough hba's to last probably the next 2 years or more...

i will have to break down in the next month and replenish dry bagged cat food & litter so that takes another $20 bite out of the budget..but at least i only have to do that every few months...and the next canned cat food sale will hit me for another $20 when i buy 50+ cans...

onward i go into May...

**Dancing Lotus** · 05-04-2010, 08:06 PM

Wow you really have done a great job.
I need to try something like this myself. Although I'm not sure about 200 maybe 300.

**mauimagic** · 05-04-2010, 08:09 PM

Mahalo SVS - I was hoping that you would be catching us up to date with this particular journey!! You are doing fantastically well!! It's also really nice to hear your voice again!!