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2015 Pinch a Penny Until It Screams Challenge

26K views 171 replies 29 participants last post by  frugalwarrior2 
#1 ·
Okay, for those of you who want to get naked and raw in your budgeting, this challenge is for you.

Rules:


  1. List EVERYTHING you spent money on each day that you spent it.
  2. Examine that spend to determine if it was a want or a need.
  3. If it was a need, try to figure out a way to reduce the amount spent next time. Was it an electric bill and did you get a little lazy about turning off those lights when leaving a room? Was it a grocery item, but you could have saved a few more pennies by buying it in bulk or generic or house brand?
  4. If it was a want, suck it up and admit it. None of this, "Oh, but I only get this once a month and I had a coupon" business. Did you need it? No? Then admit it. Did you need it, but could have gotten it cheaper by buying another brand, a used item, etc, and opted not to do so. Then it's a want, buttercup.

Consider this the bootcamp fitness challenge for your wallet.

The challenge starts on January 1, 2015. Spend wisely, my friends.
 
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#3 ·
I'm joining. I'd like to track every penny and see if it was all in frivolity or an actual need. Of course, everyone needs and wants are different...and something I need someone else won't need. But I'll still join! :D Adding it to my signature now!
 
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#4 ·
I agree, QM, that everyone's needs, within a range, are different. This challenge is more about examining your own life, not judging others, but it is also about being brutally honest with yourself. I am not advocating that, if something is a want, you must remove it from your life, just that you understand that it *is* a want, rather than a need. For example, I am already anguishing over a delivery of fruit that I *just* signed up for on a monthly basis. It is not super expensive, and I get several pounds of organic fruit delivered to my house, which will make me more inclined to EAT fruit, as I never seem to get around to buying it. I think it falls between a want and a need, because food is a need, but I am obviously paying more for: delivery, organic. Initially, I thought, "Oh, this falls into a 'want' category." Now, I think it falls heavily TOWARD the want category, but maybe about 20% falls into the "need" category.

BTW, to everyone who posts, I don't have a problem with people working out/justifying their decisions on this thread, but I hope others will be respectful with the choice made by the OP. Happiness and comfort are also needs, in my book. :)
 
#5 ·
I want to join. But the thought of having to decided if something is a want or a need caused me to have classic stress dreams last night as I consider to join or not. I rarely consider anything a need and can talk myself out of anything. Still learning that it is okay to spend on wants.

But I would love to glean and share ideas on how to make those wants and needs cheaper to obtain.
 
#24 ·
. Still learning that it is okay to spend on wants.
In my late 60s, I am still learning that it is OK to spend - . At all.

Like many here, I grew up in an environment where money was in short supply. I have therefore always been careful with what I have. However, unbelievably, I inherited from my mother's second husband, on his passing, and there are investments that scare me with the size of the numbers they represent. You wouldn't believe how much there is "behind" me. I am not exaggerating.

Therefore, it just sits there, gently earning. Most of the time, I forget it (except when the annual statements arrive and I can't then ignore it.) It's all allocated, in my Will, to various charities.

Meanwhile, here I am, living off my retirement pension and already writing down every penny I spend, every day, and looking for ways to obtain both needs and wants more cheaply. Some days I fantasize about spending on something totally luxurious, using some of the backup investments: but since they just don't seem real to me, whereas the monthly pension income does, I carry on pinching pennies.

Is this sense? Or am I totally mad?
 
#6 ·
Even if you decide that the only "needs" in your life are food and shelter, you can also decide that it is okay to spend money on "wants," if the "wants" aren't frivolous. (And it is okay to spend money on frivolous wants sometimes, too!)
 
#7 ·
Well, DH went out an hour or so ago for a few things. When he gets back I'll post what he got. One was medicine for his cold.....to him it's a need. Thankfully, he used a Target gift card he had for a purchase we had returned a few days ago. So the medicine didn't cost him extra $ thanks to the gift card. I also told him to stop off at a nearby grocery store for laundry detergent. It's on sale plus it's the "cheap kind" already. We've never tried it before, so hopefully it's okay. Time will tell. It's $1.67 for 48 loads. I also told him NOT to buy me a coffee from the coffee shop on his way home. Don't need him to spend $1.70 or $1.80 on something that I can brew in our coffee maker.
 
#8 ·
For me, this challenge is about:
1. Tracking EVERY penny spent (I am going to try a modified version of Dave Ramsey's envelope system...one where I make the envelopes myself and keep track of what we spend)
2. Keeping myself accountable
3. Examining my family's spending habits and working to change them for the better week by week.
 
#9 ·
I'm not officially starting the challenge (for me) until January 1, but I have been thinking about it. In terms of what imagine said, it is true that almost everything can be placed in a "want" category. For example, every one of my animals would be a "want" category, as would almost any food except maybe rice and beans. That being said, I am going to at least start the challenge by giving myself a little break and categorizing anything that allows me to maintain a modestly comfortable lifestyle, and anything I wouldn't change unless circumstances changed to the point where I was living in my car, as a "need." Dog food, parrot food, goat/donkey food is a need. Dog treats, parrot treats, donkey/goat treats are a want (except for the treats I use to hide medicine in). Yarn, beads, etc. is generally going to be a "want" unless I use it make a present for someone, and then only if I don't already have something at hand that can be used for the same purpose. I host a Meet-Up every Sunday. All the entertaining costs for that will fall under "want." All *real* food will fall under need, but anything already processed/prepared will be a want (with the exception of Half and Half, which sort of falls in the middle). My gym membership is a need. Fancy gym clothes (vs. t-shirt and shorts) are a want, except for good running shoes, which are a need.

I would suggest, if you are jumping in to this challenge, that you form a skeletal structure, either here or in a notebood, of how you intend to classify wants and needs in your life, to help you decide beforehand, so you don't have to agonize over each thing you spend money on.
 
#10 ·
Shopping day
Need
Food, hygiene items, travel mug for hot liquid at work. This replaces the one that broke.( I paid for the mug with a gift card)

Wants
New Years treat foods chips pizza rolls sparkling juice soda, Christmas light on clearance hubby's request for the office, and a picture frame for a family picture ( paid for the frame with a gift card)
 
#11 ·
I'll give it a try but am poor about maintaining as it seems very involving.
Today
needs
-new furnace filter $42.
-overdue oil change on the van $24. w/ coupon
-2 new space heaters (replacing the old as I am doing zone heating)$8. ea. @ S.A.
-3 dog licenses $22.50
-tabs for the van $131.
-tabs for the car $80.
-Ordered online medical supplies for DH $52.
-State park passes $22./2 though license fees
-modem extender $5. @ Charity NIB (DH works at home)
-new grip gloves $5.99 for working w/ generator
-Zicam for medicine cabinet $2.99/3 for flu season (no shot-egg allergies)
-fill-up car $24. after points
-fill-up van $32. at speedway $1.98 gallon deal
-new replacement hairbrush set $5.99
-new vaccumn (w/ huge pet household) $139.

Want
today
-ginger bread cookies $1.79
-1/2 off NIP table runner in Christmas print $2.
-matching ribbon NIP .50
 
#12 ·
It could be, fw2, and if you want, you could streamline it to just listing the items, not the cost; to just listing the non-need items; etc. Customize it as fits your time/energy. :) I am going to try for the "full monty," just because I like the challenge of (hopefully) seeing where all my money is going and stemming the outgoing tide back a bit. I have a bad habit of just buying something because it is convenient, and I think I need it, only to find it in the box and unused months down the road. Part of my challenge to myself will be to look back on what I *thought* were needs to determine if they truly were.
 
#13 ·
In preparation for 2015, I cancelled my monthly fruit delivery and also stopped my subscription to Graze, a company that sends out single-serving snack packets of organic mixes. That will save me approximately $75/month, less what I will spend at the store to replace the items.
 
#14 ·
Yesterday (12/27)-- spent $10 for gas because I'm seeing patients this weekend. I also spent $2.71 at Target for wrapping paper on sale (probably more of a want), and spent $5.65 at the grocery store for sparkling cider and snack items for New Years Eve. (Definitely a want,lol.)
 
#15 ·
Great idea and one I need to be accountable for my spending - something I have decimated from for these past three years. For me this will be more of learning and not judging myself - I want to be aware and in control of my finances!
 
#16 ·
today
$94. at the groc.
need
Mane and tail shampoo and conditioner
bread
lunchmeat (4 kinds)
clearance mixed nuts-2,1 jumbo cashew (gifted for Dh's upcoming bday)
tampons for DD

Want
-another set of hair brushes 2/1 sale. I just bought one but will put these 2 sets away. $2.60 for a 2 hairbrush set by Goody got me.
-the fact that I got a pound of ea. lunchmeat. Ds is home but this is my lazy alternative to cooking.
-also I tend to stockpile things like shampoo.
-got a paper for $2. I will not read it. Dh will. I get it for the coupons I have been iffy about using lately.
-I forgot to use my bread coupon-again!!
-got a bag of walnuts for $2.50 instead of getting the loose at $1.99 for DD. She now says she doesnt like walnuts. I will give them to Dmom as a gift w/ the nutcracker I picked up.
 
#17 ·
Spent $5.68 on cat litter today and watched a movie on Amazon for $2.99.
 
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#18 ·
want
-decided Dh should take breakfast or eat it before therapy. He has been getting food out more and more so I shut it down today
-to be fair I didnt take DD to breakfast and saved $20. Made sausage and bagel w/ cheese at home.
-decided to leave the car heater off to and from picking up DD. Ran it while I waited for about 10 min. Going to grab a hat/gloves to keep in the car from the closet. Lap blankets too.
-unplugging stuff at night,turning off lights after everyone. Got the DTE bill down $34. a month and hope to keep it there even through rate hikes.
-Drastically cutting back on feeding dogs our food for entertainment
-reading this month and no more movie rentals off On Demand at $6.99.
Need
-spent $19. on a front door sweep. Our old door leaks. And the towel in front wasn't cutting it
-oil change on the car today w/ coupon $19.99. Asked Dh to get it while he was out after therapy to save gas
-3 dog licenses $22.50
-trip to Dmoms house to check on her and have late Christmas (she was in the hosp). $20. gas? (decided to eat before we go). And not stop along the way.
 
#19 · (Edited)
My day off and no money spent today. :) I actually took a headlight bulb back to AutoZone that we thought my car needed before Christmas (the bulb was just loose) and got $12 back on that. Then I went to the library and studied a couple of hours for my state boards exam.
 
#20 ·
I REALLY need this challenge...Thanks so much for starting it cause my frugal muscles have gotten pretty flabby lately.
Today was a no spend day although I really really really wanted Chinese food from the take out down the street...but NO both of my freezers are FULL of food so I resisted!!!
 
#21 ·
spend day - all Needs

Paid bills, bought medicine, and got vehicle repairs/maintenance. Well technically I will pay for the repairs on Friday when I have them do some more.

Being a one car family stinks when the vehicle won't start or gets a flat.
 
#22 ·
need
-waste basket for Dh's office. Dogs keep bringing long forgotten prizes in my living rm.
-9 12pks. of TP from Big Lots @ $5. They are going to 24pk. w/ much less feet for $9. so I grabbed the last unopened one. Now I a m set for the year.
-bag of vanilla caramel coffee for Dh's bday $5.50
-420' twine $2.
-nitrile gloves for chemical handling
-3 boxes tea
Want
-3 snap lock smaller boxes for candle storage (clear)
-Took whole family to Outback for steak $87. before Ds leaves back to Colorado Base
 
#23 ·
Mostly spent on needs today, but some wants-- $15-prescriptions, $1-dog treats (My dog thinks these are a need. ;) ); $1- greeting cards; $1- papertowels; $4-gas; $20-gift card for DS's upcoming birthday.
 
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#25 ·
Toffeekit-we don"t get forever. What about a once a year super indulgence. A trip or a few things I always wanted list filled.

Going to Sams club to get a few boxes of garbage bags at low prices.
Going to cook italian dressing marinated chicken and white rice.
I will eat the LO part of dinner from Outback for lunch today
Have asked DH to get a sweep for the back door now if possible
Probably get or make a pizza for New Years. and drink part of a 2L of pop.
 
#27 ·
braved Sams Club
Need
Sams $167.
6 boxes of garbage bags-stocked in for the year
5 books of stamps (do mostly computer bill pay for routine bills)stocked in for the year
bananas
vitamins-$3 off now stocked in for the year
6 dish clothes-new from S.A.
picked up 2 prescription $20.

want
found a nice sweater in red for $7.99 but it was itchy so I left it (close one)
rented The Maze for $4.99 (Dh gets mad because I wont pay the extra $1. for HD . lol)
Forgot to send back a package that had damaged merchandise $30.
Tempted to get Thai food hmmm??
-found a new in wrap Taste of Home binder cookbook $4.99 crazy cookbook horder here
 
#28 ·
Spent $10.53 last night on New Year's Eve pizza and cheese sticks from Little Caesar's. Little Caesar's and sparkling grape juice...I'm telling you, we are wild people. ;)
 
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