I agree with that. Those phone calls that save you money you didnāt spend anyway are always the most frustrating.
5 Likes
Ok, did not find time for any spreadsheeting this week, but I did go see a fiduciary financial planner (work paid!) and confirmed my general sense of retirement timelines and likely Roth rollover this year. Plus found out I can roll my 403b and 457k into Roth versions of same w without having to convert to IRAs. So thatās worth having done.
I must crunch number this coming week, though. Thereās just so much work getting in the way, and when Iām not working itās either because Iām exhausted or itās the one day a week of fun stuff Iām insisting on these days. Clearly Iām going to need to lower the effort level at work.
6 Likes
Week 3 update, and Iām home again so trying to pull together all the actuals that include last weekās vacation.
Groceries $191/$200āEnded up spending ~$60 on vacation that went into this category since the grocery store also had the souvenir I wanted (was more like a local market) and then we wandered past a very interesting spice shop where I picked up some mixes, but todayās shop to refill fresh stuff in fridge should take me to the end of the month.
Eating out $88/$100āAdded one fancy dinner while on vacation and a restaurant visit as a thank you for the person who played airport shuttle, expecting one more goodbye happy hour, but knowing the people involved it wonāt be at one of the more expensive places.
Hobbies $111/$100āSlightly over since I forgot to factor in an extra tip, but there shouldnāt be any more spending here for the rest of the month.
Travel $0/$200āStill no flights purchased, but this is probably where Iām going to end up recasting because just poking around flights it looks like theyāre at almost 2x last yearās prices. Expect to purchase midweek since thatās usually when thereās a little bit of a dip, but even with vouchers and points Iām guessing Iāll break $300.
6 Likes
Week 3! No grocery shopping. Used a gift card for chipotle one day and spent $0.59 after.
Looking forward to this next week. We might not need groceries again. This past week I got 6 free large pizzas and a huge salad from work that has filled us for quite a few meals. We also pulled a couple of things from the freezer.
I did some baking this weekend and used ingredients we have had forever: chocolate protein powder, coconut milk, crystallized honey, peanut butter powder, etc. we made sour dough bread, chocolate protein bites, and protein brownies.
13 Likes
Week three check-in:
Spending has stopped.
No spreadsheet. I created an account with Pennywise during last weekās livestream, then promptly forgot about it, because ADHD.
That said, I asked the good people of the forum here about something I was thinking of spending 70 quid on, (for the hedgehogs, inevitably), and the advice was to keep going with making my own. So I am.
Thereās a lot more left in my account at this point in the month than in recent months, and Iām no longer going on Amazon or Ebay daily (or more often). All wins. Just not I guessā¦ formal? Or does that not particularly matter? A win is a win, right? Hm.
9 Likes
A win is a WIN! Esp. with the doom/gloom that comes with PTSD, celebrating the positives to move the needle away from the doom/gloom is great.
7 Likes
Week 3 Check-in!
| Category | Goal | Week 1 Total | Week 2 Total | Week 3 Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleaning Lady | $0 | $0 | $0 | $150 |
| Rec Center | $50 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Charitable Giving | $100 | $24 | $24 | $76 |
| Life Insurance | $80 | $87 | $87 | $87 |
| Subscriptions | $80 | $0 | $7 | $23 |
| Student Loan | $535 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Mortgage | $2,653 | $2,653 | $2,653 | $2,653 |
| Electric / Gas | $175 | $0 | $123 | $123 |
| Internet | $55 | $0 | $0 | $8 |
| Preschool | $1,000 | $0 | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Costco ann fee | $120 | $130 | $130 | $130 |
| Home Improvement | $0 | $28 | $28 | $128 |
| Enrichment | $150 | $15 | $91 | $91 |
| Medical | $300 | $45 | $100 | $157 |
| Gifts/Holidays | $0 | $0 | $39 | $74 |
| Christmas Spending | $0 | $0 | $159 | $159 |
| Cell Phone | $60 | $36 | $36 | $36 |
| Service and Parts | $200 | $0 | $0 | |
| DH Fun Money | $25 | $52 | $52 | $52 |
| E Fun Money | $25 | $4 | -$41 | -$41 |
| Coffee Shops | $50 | $25 | $25 | $25 |
| Household Items | $50 | $0 | $90 | $156 |
| Date Night | $100 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Clothing | $50 | $0 | $35 | $107 |
| Books | $30 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Toiletries | $30 | $0 | $0 | $18 |
| Hair/Massage | $50 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Baby Sitter | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Kid Supplies | $100 | $0 | $29 | $29 |
| Uber | $50 | $0 | $7 | $7 |
| Gas | $75 | $0 | $42 | $42 |
| Groceries | $800 | $14 | $134 | $295 |
| Dining Out | $250 | $60 | $109 | $192 |
| Total Spending | $7,243 | $3,173 | $4,959 | $5,627 |
This goes against the spirit of ābudgetoberā but we just found out that starting in November we are going to have much higher than normal expenses. So, there are a few things I was planning to wait until November to buy that I am going to buy now while we have the cashflow to cover it, even if it means going over budget in October. Itās nothing crazy, but just a few small things. It seems like we are going to come in really under budget in groceries this month, so that will help offset a bit. Iām still going to stay firm and not recast my goal.
9 Likes
Oooh, one win from this week though - D1 needed winter boots and warm pajamas. When I left to go to Target I told DH that I would see what they had there, and then decide whether to just buy new or to make the trip to once upon a child to buy them second hand. I estimated $15-$20 per pair of boots (snow boots + 1 pair of fashion boots) and probably $8 per pair of pajamas from Once Upon a Child. Itās just so far away from our house and adds another stop. DH said from his perspective if boots were $25 or less at Target to just buy the new ones there, especially since 2nd hand shoes havenāt been surviving to be passed down to D2 lately. So then we end up buying 2 pairs of 2nd hand shoes since we donāt have the hand me downs available.
Well, new snow boots at Target were $39.99!! And the fashion boots were all $24.99 or $29.99. Girls pajamas were $18 per pair. I decided it was worth it to make the drive to the 2nd hand store. It really paid off because the boots were only $10 per pair, and I got her 2 pairs of boots and 2 pairs of pajamas for $31 total.
12 Likes
thank you!! looks simple and delicious.
3 Likes
Thank you!!
1 Like
I have tons of tofu in the fridgeābut running out of ideas for how to cook it. I should definitely try fried rice soon!
3 Likes
Week 3 update:
Not much to report spending wise, but I did start getting more serious about job applications. Itās been a really rough market, but Iām trying to stay optimistic and open minded to any job I can get so I can keep the bills paid instead of trying to find the ārightā job.
Iāve been listening to more budgeting/debt payoff podcasts to help me prepare for when I can start tackling my debt. Itās the first time Iāve had debt, and itās pretty scary to me but Iām also working on accepting it. My biggest goal is to give myself compassion and remember that debt isnāt a moral failing. Iām just in a rough spot, everything is expensive, and sometimes this happens! Thatās ok.
If anything, getting into debt has taught me a lot about money and has made me confront it more. I donāt know if Iād be here in this forum if it wasnāt for the debt! So, thank you debt lol. I hope by this time next year money isnāt as anxiety-inducing as it is to current me :ā)
12 Likes
For anyone who qualifies in the US, brads deals has the best list of senior discounts.
3 Likes
Update 3:
Income: about $1750 between paychecks and tips (after tax) since last update. Granular tracking going strong in my spreadsheet.
Credit card: once transfers clear I should be at $189.76. Challenge will be keeping that from creeping up over the last 10 days of the month.
Indulgences: $16.50 for a t-shirt but otherwise did v good with this category this week.
Fitness: $35.99 for a supplement that I have on autoship
Kind of a boring week budget wise. Will likely be a challenge to hold on through the rest of the month as I donāt really have additional expected income but also no expected large expenses. Dog has to go to the vet this week unexpectedly but dog stuff comes from a joint savings bucket and this issue may be covered by his insurance ultimately.
6 Likes
3rd check-in:
The good news is that the $5k worth of plumbing seems to have worked, so FOR NOW we are done with that.
Grocery goal: for the month I am at $255.14. I guess my week of rice and beans and cooking from already-bought ingredientsā¦ worked? who would have thought?
Under $4000 goal: I am also on track for this, but I think my number last week was wrong. Turns out I was reading a sum of my bank account that included escrow disbursements of our mortgage?! So I donāt know what my total spend was last week. Anyway, if Iām reading everything correctly now, for the month I have spent $2999.46 outside of plumbing costs. I believe I have some bills to pay still but this is encouraging.
8 Likes
Week 3:
I have done a terrible job this week with actual money. However, I feel like Iāve kept my spending in-line with my original ābuy/donāt buyā decision list, aside from the tattooā¦
-
Kid spending - necessary things:
a. Second-hand snow boots
b. Snow pants
c. One long sleeved shirt/kid
d. Two pairs of pants for our 5.5 year old, who hates her pants being the wrong length and has grown an inch in 6 months.
e. New shoes for the 8 year old
f. Socks for both kids
g. A bike helmet -
Kid spending - unnecessary things:
a. Two books
b. A dress -
My personal spending - necessary things:
a. New jeans, since Iāve ripped my only two slim-cut pairs of pants in the last month -
My personal spending - unnecessary things:
a. A āmatchingā tattoo with my sister. They donāt actually match, but we got them in mirrored places and at the same event
-
House things - necessary items that COULD have been delayed, but were annoying
a. New bidet for our main floor bathroom - my 5 year old asks me to wipe her butt now that the bidet is broken, and Iām so done with it.
b. New USB charging cables to replace fraying ones
c. New USB charging bricks
The kids used their own money to buy one thing each - a $10 football for the 8 year old, and a Grim Reaper scythe from the Halloween section for the 5.5 year old. I asked her like 10 times if she was sure, and the answer was always āyesā, so I let her get it.
6 Likes
week 3 check in:
did the big Costco run, which lasts me about 2.5 months so that blew my grocery budget. but now I probably donāt need to go until January!
food spending is at:
661/600. recast will be $725, but I have a $150 gift card, so hopefully I wonāt need the full amount. I have a cash buffer in my budget, so Iāll pull the difference from there.
hobby spending is staying strong at 195/200. unless there is a craft emergency (lol) I will be fine here and donāt need to recast.
7 Likes
Week 3:
No spending from my fun money this week. Iām eyeing a couple pieces from a clothing company I love (they just released a collab with an influencer I like a lot), and if I decide to go for it Iāll want to do it this month since I have a birthday discount, so Iāll have to check the budget before I do that!
6 Likes
Gotta share that brand yo!!
2 Likes
I bought something on my cc for Christmas from Amazon.ca on Thursday. It arrived today. I checked my cc account online with mobile banking, and the charge isnāt even showing as pending. Should I be concerned?
Other than that, we went window shopping at a high end grocery store today, and I didnāt spend a penny of my personal money. Big score! Iām a foodie.
4 Likes