digital downloads are sneaky! I always get sucked in by patterns.
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Ok week 2 further update. New computer up and running and will do everything but make sounds or talk to my headset. Good enough for now.
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Second check in:
- No eating out - success!
- Eat up freezer and pantry - not much additional progress this week.
- $600 grocer spend - hahahaha recasting this to $1000. There was a good sale this weekā¦sigh
- No gardening spend aside from 3 projects - success!
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Week 2 check in:
Groceries $294.50 (shifted out some spending on beer for husband into discretionary instead so this looks a bit better 
)
Discretionary: $324.70 (includes some food/drinks out, ikea purchases, some op shop purchases, although I got some kid xmas gifts so maybe this can be recategorised. Also missing a couple possibly as credit card app wont load for me currently, will follow up)
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It may not be relevant or a good fit for you, but as I often live on soup with similar āis this sufficient calories?ā conflicts, adding cream or butter or both solved that for me with relative laziness (best when acids are present; lime-coconut is always wonderful.) I also throw some types of starch in early to dissolve partway, like potatoes, thickening the broth - their crumbled/ reduced size makes room for more other veg.
Of course, when you have time & energy to make them, cookies are obviously more fun. I just know I can count on myself to make soup, whereas making cookies is more of an occasion.
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It looks like Iāll be under $1150 so I went ahead with the funds to indie art as they had a sale anyway. Half of one Costco food court pizza (under $6) plus $17 to the above with processing fees has the forecast at $1101 ($890 actually spent) before any final grocery runs or additions to the donation pile. Weāre low on milk so there will probably be one more this month.
This doesnāt include prorated ongoing expenses like car registration, but itās still nice to see with almost no diligence itās possible to have such a āgoodā month. The heat is finally breaking, too, so electricity should be a little lower than last month, the last meaningfully variable bill.
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Oh cookies are definitely an occasion, these ones, as good as they are, are an effort to make. 
But adding cream or butter especially is a great idea! Thanks! Some soups I add rice in, but I canāt put too much because then it is too thick. Adding a piece of buttered toast helps too, but I have to think about it.
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Week 2 Check In
I failed again! I never installed the app on my phone. I did not make any impulse purchases this week though, so thatās a win.
Here we go week 3, letās try again.
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Week 2 Check in:
I am not hating the Google budget template Iām using, but itās definitely not my favorite. It probably doesnāt help that Iām not putting a ton of effort into the categories.
Happy with my overall spending so far this month. Food has been lower than I thought. Only 1 meal out so far was lazy takeout versus on purpose meal with friends. I guess that old adage is true about how tracking leads to lowering.
Some of āmyā spending is stuff I need to request back from xHusband, his gym membership and the Halloween candy I went ahead and bought.
Income is wobbly thanks to being out of PTO and having to take leave without pay. But! I scored a ton of free stuff off someone who is moving and they gave me the ok to sell whatever I donāt end up needing. So far that has gotten me $175 plus saved future me money on curtain rods and fans that I will need in my new place.
Big expenses on the horizon: need to get new contact lenses (~$250), lawyer, new apartment fees/deposits.
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Good for you to not give up! You got this @possum ! Way to go on keeping impulse purchases in check. I wasnāt so lucky. 
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āweek 2ā check-in:
TJs: $212.80
Fancy coffee: $20
Total: $707.67/850
I have a fancy coffee problem. Also the above does not count food bought solely for the babyās first birthday party yesterday (but does include food we intended for the babyās party and completely overbought, because apparently when I try to feed 30 people I actually feed 60).
Hoping I donāt actually need to go shopping this upcoming weekend.
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Third timeās the charm!
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Week 3: Had a rough weekend: Took my senior dog to the ER on Friday night, shes ok but that was $400. Also had an incident with a dog I was watching so had to find alternative lodging and iām losing that income. Still on track to hit my savings goal, iāll make it work!
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Week 3: Running total of $3571. Biggest expense this week was a series of recurring donations that come out to $250; if this shutdown goes on another month Iāll probably cancel those.
Discretionary spending: $43/50 total, went out for coffee with a couple of people this week.
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The notebooks came today! Theyāre great! I divided them up by family and repackaged them. I have four extras in case extra company comes for Christmas anywhere.
Just need to wrap them now. Iāll head to the thrift stores to see if they have any leftover wrapping paper from past years. I finally ran us out of ours last year. I havenāt bought any in years. Iāve been using homemade bags.
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I will be busy with family this weekend so doing my check in a little early. Weāre just tootling along. The biggest purchase this week was a new bike helmet for the cuckoo. Her infant helmet fits in theory, but not over her pigtails and balaclava. I went fancy and the new helmet was, with tax, ninety-three dollars. I assume they are like car seats where they are all pretty much the same amount of safe but the fancier ones are easier to use correctly! And thatās important!
| Planned | 10/5 | 10/11 | 10/19 | 10/25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home maintenance and repairs | 2300 | 0 | 0 | 921.58 | 921.58 |
| Household items | 550 | 30.59 | 583.89 | 679.76 | 708.99 |
| Mortgage | 2098.1 | 2098.1 | 2098.1 | 2098.1 | 2089.1 |
| Groceries | 1600 | 293.92 | 560.75 | 898.98 | 1019.35 |
| Restaurants | 250 | 30.59 | 49.67 | 136.97 | 175.52 |
| Baby stuff | 250 | 54.28 | 108.02 | 108.02 | 201.02 |
| Boy stuff | 200 | 27 | 47 | 60 | 107.16 |
| Union dues/professional costs | 28 | 0 | 28 | 28 | 28 |
| Subscriptions | 100 | 3 | 13.78 | 25.76 | 34.5 |
| Misc. bills | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Utilities | 400 | 0 | 102.76 | 175.96 | 175.95 |
| Health | 200 | 0 | 91.5 | 168.26 | 168.26 |
| Gifts and holiday | 275 | 55 | 161.05 | 291.05 | 308.49 |
| Shopping | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cat | 137.33 | 0 | 136.74 | 136.74 | 136.74 |
| Donations | 275.15 | 5.15 | 5.15 | 25.15 | 25.15 |
| Travel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Entertainment | 100 | 0 | 37.24 | 37.24 | 37.24 |
| Car payment | 452.05 | 0 | 0 | 452.05 | 452.05 |
| Auto maintenance | 20 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Taxes and insurance | 165.5 | 165.5 | 165.5 | 165.5 | 165.5 |
| Gas | 30 | 0 | 25.89 | 25.89 | 25.89 |
| Parking, etc. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.95 |
| His clothes | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| His misc. spending | 100 | 0 | 10.1 | 21 | 21 |
| My clothes | 100 | -12.95 | -6.5 | -6.5 | -6.5 |
| My misc. spending | 100 | 0 | 70.37 | 89.37 | 94.87 |
| 9931.13 | 2750.18 | 4292.01 | 6541.88 | 6896.81 |
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Ok, so the above. I have just under $150 for the rest of the month.
PLANS:
- Buy a less fancy coffee for next week as a little budget reset, because Iām going through coffee like a fiend and if I get fancy beans 4-5 times a month then thatās like an eighth of my total grocery budget and thatās a little unbalanced
- Chicken tortilla soup ā we have everything in pantry except chicken breasts, so thatās all we need for this (and Chickadee will probably like this soup) ā make a giant batch so that we can also feed our friends on Monday and not use it all up
- Shrimp and pea panang curry ā we have everything we need in pantry
- Soda bread ā have the buttermilk already
- Investigate fridge for odds-n-ends meals
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I am choosing to be responsible and carpool to a wedding a few hours away instead of splurging on a hotel for the night. Will probably kick in $10-20 for gas money.
I need to update my numbers, but based on the credit card bills I just paid, I am well in check.
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Week 3-4: I hit my savings goal today! So happy I was able to pull this off even with the vet emergency this month.
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Week 3 
I figured Iāll just stick to Friday check ins since the month ends on a Friday.
Last ugent care bill came in and it was tiny! Hooray, insurance works sometimes! For that and other reasons, itās time to recast.
Gas 
102/$147
Recasting this down since Iāve got a nearly full tank atm and will likely only do two bigger driving days before the end of the month. I might have to fill up one more time.
Groceries 
$229/$300
No change, Iāve got room for one more shop. Iāll be getting a few extra things for my friend whoās cat sitting for us at the beginning of November, but I think if Iām smart, my half of the groceries can easily be $71 or under.
Eating out 
$302/$350
I recast this up. I couldnāt stop thinking about pizza for days, so I let myself order one delivered last night. It was a splurge, but totally worth it. My stretch goal is to only eat out this Sunday when I have a little weekend adventure planned with a friend, but it is Halloween week so Iām not going to say no if someone wants to hang out later in the week.
Fun/gifts 
$98/$217
I recast this up, but really the goal is to only spend $19 max and roll the extra $100 into November. Every chunk I save buys me a little more time to job hunt and a few less hours I have to substitute teach! And I know Iām going to need to thrift shop for interview clothes next month since a lot of my business-y pieces are very worn out or ill fitting.
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