To me no spend days do not count bills or gift cards!
They do count....
*gas
*groceries
*any thing bought at store
*coffee on way to work
*anything you spend cash on
*clothes, shoes, purses. LOL
*anything you buy online ( even with credit card!)
*ebay items you win
*fast food
*ordering movies from pay per view ( even though you dont pay for them up front)
*drinks
*car washes.
I guess I'm a little more generous with myself. Bills don't count against me, but I also exempt prescriptions and OTC meds -- if they are really needed that day. I also exempt gas. I have to have gas to get to work and back to make the money to pay the bills, so I do not consider it a discretionary item. Anything else, and it's not a no spend day.
I printed a small calendar for 2008 and I'm marking each day with a yellow highlighter that I spend nothing. I don't count bills. Bills are basically money already spent, and I keep a chart for when I'm going to pay them also.
For days with grocery or gas spending, I write a "G" in the box. I can't avoid gas & groceries, but how much I spend on them is a whole other challenge for me.... and another log! (Yes, I fessed up to being addicted to frugality on that 'other' thread :cracked.
ha! I love it, someone who is more nerdy than me. But, I just might steal your idea, lol. I'm with Amyboz, bills don't count, but everything else does.
I do not count bills, filling my prescriptions, gassing up the car, taking my pets to the vet, getting my pets meds, doctor co-pays, paying the kids tuition, and buying groceries. These are all things that we do not have a choice about in our house.
I count it as a spending day of I go shopping for clothes, grab an ice cream at Dairy Queen, get scrapbook stuff from Hobby Lobby, get the dog a new toy from PetCo, order something online, etc....
Some really great ideas on what to include and not include as no spend days :clap: .
I have to include groceries though to help stay accountable, for me anyhow as dh calls me up from work every night to see if I need anything from the grocery store lol. I usually can think of something.
I want to see if I can just pick up groceries once every week or two instead. Same with gas, I am hoping that I can gas up only once a week, maybe every Saturday or something and do my grocery shopping on the same day. Our grocery flyers come out every Saturday for the upcoming week so that will give me an idea on whether to pick up a paticular item on that given Saturday or wait until the following week.
I am on blood pressure pills but I am not including those as that is pretty much a fixed expense, same amount of $ every month.
It's interesting to read everyone's definitions of a nsd. I don't include bills as these all come out by direct debit so I don't physically have to deal with them. everything else is fair game.
DH does have to buy medication every month but we count this as a spend day as we're physically parting with cash. It also helps us to think of anything else we would need to buy so we can combine our errands IYKWIM. So DH tries to always pick up his medication on a Friday as we know we're going grocery shopping on that day - maybe it's "cheating" to squeeze in an extra nsd but it works for us!
I have a extremely detailed budget, so I consider anything spent outside the budget to be a "spend day". But I also include my spending money. Basically, anything I did not go into the day knowing that morning that I would be buying.
For Gas & Groceries, we buy once a week (gas- we buy gas cards when we buy groceries so it is a set amount every week) so if I run to the store after work for an extra gallon of milk, that counts but the Saturday trip to the grocery store for the entire budgeted amount doesn't - does that make sense?
I don't count my utility bills, insurance, meds, or gas for work. We try to combine our trips to work with any other running we need to do in town. But if we just go in to eat, shop, visit, then that gasoline used is a choice and counts as a spend day. I also do not count gas spent to go to church, nor do I count my tithe. We rarely have other bills at this stage of life, but once in a while there will be repair bills, and I don't count them as spend days.
Although we have to have food and clothes, for our purposes, I put these as spend days. Ditto for any type of entertainment. We try to be generous in helping the less fortunate by donating meals, etc. and I count that as a spend day.
The whole purpose of this for our family is that we become more aware of choice and non-choice. It's made me very cognizant of where I was spending without thinking. We choose to spend on the food, clothes, entertainment, giving, etc., and will continue to spend here. But we want to be wiser in our choices.
I enjoy the rest of your thoughts here and how you are arranging your lives around this question.
I think of it as anything that is not a necessary planned expenditure (can you tell I worked as an accountant
Anything that I plan into my monthly budget that is a necessity, does not count against my no spend days. Groceries, gas, bills, etc. do not count against that.
But coffee at a coffee shop, gum while I'm getting gas, lunch out, buying a paper, etc. I count those types of things against me.
Bills don't count into my spend days. I do count food, gas and frivilous items as spending. Gas I consider a necessity but I'm trying to break the habit of pulling out my bank card on any whim. So I consider any bank card purchases spending (i do all bills online).
I don't count gas (need for work), don't count bills but I do count groceries, coffee, and anything and everything else! I think I am going to print a calendar for tracking no-spend days too! Thanks for the great idea!
I don't count bills, copays for doctor visits or prescriptions but everything else counts!!
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Frugal Village Forums
1.8M posts
47.5K members
Since 2001
A forum community dedicated to the frugal lifestyle and the enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about simple and green living, cost effective tips, life hacks, debt reduction, recycling, gardening, other homesteading techniques, and more!