I dropped out for a couple of months but this is awesome! I hope there will be a December one 
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I sat down to do Money Stuff - and, holy crap, I actually HAVE money at the end of this month to put into various savings buckets.
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Look what arrived today! The stickers for folks that complete No-Stress November! So make sure you put in your final week’s checkin!
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Final check-in: all categories the same except food ends up at $400.35 (got a little excited for Thanksgiving…). Still work to do, but I’ll eventually get there 
also those stickers are freaking adorable
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Final check-in: Tracking is still up to date. Finances are in order, HUZZAH.
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Final check in - I submitted one benefits claim to make sure I’m doing it right before I spend a bunch of time with all the backlog. I’m going to count that as a win.
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- We haven’t spent anything else on groceries and won’t today, so I guess that’s it for the month? We came in about $130, so about half of our normal budget. This was mostly because we’ve been eating some cheap slow cooker meals that we bought ingredients for, and my husband’s grandpa passed away and we had thanksgiving so we haven’t been eating at home much this week.
- No more spending with friends, so this came in about $20. We stopped at a fast food place last night ($16.11) but that was on the way to where the funeral will be so I feel like it shouldn’t be included in this category. Not sure where it should be though since our budget doesn’t really a place for funeral related expenses. I guess miscellaneous?
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Final Report
I want to post this now – note we’ll be getting pizza tonight, so eating out has a $30 estimate in there.
Grand total:
$75.07 on gas
$657.59 on groceries
$353.50 on eating out
I have learned a lot about the way our spending has drifted between budgetober and NSN. We spent roughly 2-2.5 times what the budget says we do on the categories of food and gas.
In December we are going to work to reduce those. A month of not eating out at all in an attempt to reset that habit. Religious use of the electric vehicle. And an actual meal plan that will guide our grocery trips and reduce waste.
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Grocery:
Goal: $160
Remaining after Week 3: $29.39
Spent $25.11
Remaining: $4.28
This felt about average - not easy, but not hard, exactly. I got kind of crabby about having to limit my holiday food purchases at Trader Joe’s - when at my store they sell out very quickly and don’t come back so you have to stock up - so that I could buy, y’know, regular staple healthy food.
Eating out:
Goal: $100
Remaining after Week 3: $27.42
Didn’t eat out this week.
This felt pretty easy to hold to. Not drinking in restaurants really helps.
Misc. spending:
Goal: $200
Remaining after Week 3: $27.10
This week I spent $13.27 on half price yoga pants and $12.12 on gift wrap and tape.
Remaining: $1.71.
This category remains VERY VERY hard for me to control.
Cats:
No goal, tracking only
Spent $41.86, had run out of litter and dry food and Nature’s Miracle.
Total: $252.33
This is obscene. Though, about half of this cost was their Revolution, which chewy.com saw fit to hike the price on this time.
I’m honestly not sure how to do better on the cat expenses.
They’re doing very well on their food so I don’t want to change them to something cheaper.
The Revolution is what it is - chewy had the best price but now it’s pretty much the same everywhere that I’ve looked including at my vet. (If someone knows a hack for getting it cheaply, please share.)
We rarely buy toys or anything that is not a need.
I signed up for manufacturer’s coupons via email for the brand they eat so every couple months I get a coupon that gets me essentially a couple free cans.
I could do a better job of shopping around for the best price, but the reality is, with no car in the winter, sometimes I am just going to get it delivered because I don’t want to haul heavy shit home in the freezing cold and snow and ice. (I had to haul the kitty litter home in the cart on foot because we were totally out and their boxes were gross. It was torrentially downpouring with shin-deep puddles at every intersection. Not fun.)
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I assume Revolution is for flea prevention? My cat is indoor only and my vet has said there is no need for it. What do others here do?
ETA: How long will the Revolution last? Is this a purchase you only make a couple of times a year?
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Final update: This week, I spent no money on clothes. I did end up spending money on food that was not expected. I also spent money on drinks, but that was part of a night out that was planned over a month ago. I still did not go to the gym.
Things I will consider after this month:
In December, I will continue to not spend money on clothes. I may buy 1-2 pairs of long leggings, as the only pair I have are fleece-lined, which are great for outside but too hot inside.
I need to have some “stress meals/comfort food” on standby, like frozen pizza or boxed mac and cheese. Or just mac and cheese ingredients for homemade.
I will continue bringing my lunch to work.
I need to re-evaluate my gym membership and figure out the steps for cancellation if I can’t get into a gym routine by the end of the year.
See you all in the December challenge!
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We don’t do flea prevention. He’s indoor plus 8th floor balcony. He got vaccines a year late this year, we’ll do better next year maybe or not.
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Frozen meals and grocery store salads have been essential for me when I do a no eating out challenge. And I was delighted watching a YouTuber recently who clearly does the same thing.
Would we ideally all cook everything from scratch? Obviously. Is it happening in my life? Hell no. I also sometimes make a list of meals that take 5 minutes or less and make sure I have the ingredients when I’m expecting a busy week. This week I have a container of grocery store rose sauce for that niche
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Final update:
- Grocery spending at $190. I am super duper thrilled that this is below $200, even though I set a budget of $300. Meal planning around things I need to use up in the freezer has helped A LOT. And been tastier than I anticipated. I would like to average less than $250 per month next year. Using the bingo card, I’ll count the number of months spending is below $250.
- Still using YNAB regularly. Still using Toodledo but I’ve not been as proactive about listing tasks I need to do in it. Need to improve here.
- Not tracking food, though GI has been happier for about a week now? Despite eating both peanuts and the soaked & dehydrated cashews. Quietly hoping I’m not jinxing myself here.
- Rollovers have been completed.
Thanks for hosting this challenge!
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Here are things that make SUCH a difference for me when I need lazy foods because spoons but also no eating out:
- Refried beans + tortillas (immediate burrito)
- Frozen bananas and peanut butter and mylk = quick protein smoothie
- Saltines + Peanut butter = snack
- Popcorn for truly lazy times
- Macaroni and pre-made garlic sauce, which means I can have a functional looking meal in 10ish minutes
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Yes, prevention against fleas, ticks, heartworm, ear mites… something else too? My vet says the heartworm is the big thing to worry about here. I didn’t even know cats could get them. My vet knows I am not buying it from her, she authorizes the prescription to get it online, so I don’t think she is trying to scam me or anything.
It is monthly and I buy it in 6 packs which lasts 3 months as I have 2 cats. They are indoor only and still got a nasty case of fleas last fall. Apparently they can live in your garden? 
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So, is the Revolution about $40 per month for both cats together? But it hurts the budget in the months that you do buy it? In my head, I would feel like I spent $80 ish less on your cats than you are counting, since it will last 3 months. So, like $170 or so, which is still a lot, but not obscene as you put it. I also do not do YNAB or anything that would yell at me for how I do things, lol.
I put money into a separate savings account each time I get paid. It is for those irregularly timed yet continuing bills that in the past I never managed to plan for/was somehow surprised by when the bill came. House and car insurance, property taxes, quarterly water bills, the things that come every 3, 6, or 12 months. There is usually enough in there to cover small repair bills like a plumber or appliance repair too. I would put the cost of the Revolution in that account as well if my cat did use it, only to have the money accounted for and available when I needed it. Somehow it doesn’t hurt quite as much to pay those larger bills when I do things this way, I don’t make a high income, so I guess for me it is peace of mind that I don’t have “uh oh” moments now when things come due.
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@TrisPrior I just found this article as I was curious about whether I should get meds for my kitties. Thought you might find it helpful. Since you live in a cold environment, it seems like you could just do the meds June-August?
Thank you for sharing this! I live in a year-round area so I can’t reduce any meds but I’m glad I haven’t been wasting my money all these years. "…outside temperatures must remain above 57 degrees F, day and night, for a minimum of 8 days. " LOLZ it hit 80 today. In frikin November. Yeah we’re definitely in year round heart worm territory.
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FINAL UPDATE:
I have a near pathological aversion to phones / phone calls. Vanguard not called, Roth conversion not initiated. Can go on December list. I also ignored the impact of Thanksgiving holiday on support access and my availability.
So my question is how to pick which fund source to convert.
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