Paper and pen? Iām writing out everything I expect to do in October, like go to the cafe once a week, 5 grocery trips, and then I am gonna estimate how much each of those things normally costs.
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Iām so down for Budgetober!
I feel like my discretionary spending has been creeping up lately so Iām hoping to try a low-spend type challenge for October and give a boost to my savings for a house someday.
Best thing about Halloween season = pumpkin patches!
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I am in! I got back on the YNAB train in August and September has been a such an annoying budget month. My books/games/hobbies spending has been really high this month and as usual my snack spending is out of control, but it seems I under or over budgeted for everything and have just been constantly moving money from one category to another. So Iām going to do a generalized low spend month, with ZERO snack spending (at least in the snack category, some snack items will probably be added to the grocery list and thatās fine - groceries are an entirely different thing).
Iām not usually a big Halloween person, but Iām living in a townhouse now, with my very own front door, so I am hopeful that Iāll get some trick or treaters. Iāve bought candy already and everything. Also, have been sortof feeling the pull towards witchy things lately, so excited to explore that whole world a little bit.
Categories Iām tracking | Budgeted amount
Snacks | $0.00
Books/Music/Games | $25.00
Hobbies | $10.00
Giving/Mutual Aid | $200.00 - This goal here is to spend this all out, sometimes the month gets away from me and I only end up making my recurring donations
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Welcome back, I feel like we havenāt seen you around here in forever? Or Iām just lost in the weeds and journals are hiding from me
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Nope Iāve been gone most of the year. Now I have so many journals to catch up on!
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Thereās a couple apps in this list that are NOT spreadsheet based:
Here is a mini-zine I made a bunch of years on budgeting:
Hereās the week expense tracker and also give out to people in my budgeting class.
From my book, here are some of my non-spreadsheet recommendations:
- Cash envelope method (put into different envelopes, can be used for discretionary or not)
- Separate Accounts for discretionary vs core expenses
- Tiny little budget wrapped around your card
- Debt/Savings chains, similar to what you made in kindergarten to count down to holiday break
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Hello Everyone!
Iām new here & excited about the idea of joining the Budgetober challenge but nervous Iāll fail. Iām also going on vacation this coming month & that usually siphons a lot of cash.
Iāve never had a budget consistently and would like to change that.
My favorite thing about the Halloween season is hard to choose but probably the full moon on a cold fall night. Creepy & beautiful 
Thanks for reading.
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Welcome! Weāre all here for support. You donāt have to try a budget for all your money, maybe picking an area makes it easier?
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Thank you!!!
I forgot to say my favorite thing about Halloween. I think itās adults getting into costumes, having kid-like fun for a change.
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Iām thinking about our grocery spend, and that Iām not happy with our level of spending on fresh produce and meat - it is probably too low. Iāve been relying a lot on making vegetable fritters and bowls with a base of sweet potato home fries, and that doesnāt make me all that happy. So if a budget where Iām trying to increase/adjust my spend to match my goals is ok for this challenge, Iāll do that.
My favourite thing about halloween is seeing the kids just out of toddlerhood who are so pleased by their costumes.
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I donāt think I said my favorite thing about Halloween. Thatās because itās all of it. I refuse to choose.
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Iām a huge fan of fall in general and my favorite thing is taking walks and stepping on crunchy leaves and acorns.
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OK Iām in and Iām gonna go extreme in October. Iām going to check my budgets for each prior month and see what my lowest amount for each category was, add them all up and that will be my total budget for the month. Itāll be Scary but I need to get extreme so I can throw as much money into savings for the next 6 months as possible.
OK I just added it all up. Budget is $1,400 for the month of October! Yikes thatās low, like $700 lower than my lowest month but letās see if I can do it.
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Okay, so. I have just run the numbers to see what weāve been averaging for variable expenses this year. Longwinded discussion of goals below. Meanwhile, behold our highest categories:
| Grocery | Fuel | Shopping | Puppy | Eating out | Home/ hardware | Auto | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly 2021 | $328.87 | $228.85 | $106.90 | $218.81 | $58.67 | $134.48 | $95.28 |
Long explanation and discussion of each category under cuts:
Grocery (not just food) - keep below $300
āGroceryā is everything we buy at Walmart plus any specific other grocery stores (rare) and liquor stores. So, people, dog, cat food, wine and beer at Walmart but also a new microwave, some jeans, all toiletries, a new baby gate for the puppies, some hardware. Iām not splitting it further because itās hard, but Iāll try to stay at $300 for this one in October.
Fuel - don't go above average
Fuel is gasoline for his truck and diesel for my truck and the tractor, plus a little fuel for the chainsaw. I donāt really think we can lower it much, but will try to keep it at that level. Heās been driving in to work since the first of the year so I donāt think itāll increase much, if any. Bright side: he makes more than it costs to get him there!
Shopping - who knows, but will be higher
Shopping is mostly Amazon with some thrift stores thrown in. Itās a crapshoot in October because itāll have most of the holiday gifts. Definitely will be higher than average.
Puppy - we spend whatever they need
As I said in my first post, āpuppyā is what it is and we wonāt be trying to get it down. That category includes veterinarian, adoption fees, doggy daycare on our vacation, and stuff we bought at pet-specific stores. It does not include their food, which is in the āgroceryā category. Since the adoption fees were the highest single item, it may be down without trying.
Eating out - track this to see
Eating out is higher than Iād thought. May just track this one and see. Thereās a monthly meeting that usually involves a meal (outdoors) that we donāt want to miss now that itās relatively Covid-safe; weāll likely miss it during the winter months as theyāll go back into a small indoor space.
Home/hardware - track, may go down since lumber is down.
Home/hardware is basically everything from building supply or hardware stores. Reflects that heās still building a greenhouse, but lumber prices are down so it may improve.
Auto - we'll spend what it takes to keep 2 running, or this will shoot way, way up if we buy a used vehicle
Auto is parts, oil (if not bought from Walmart, in which case motor oil is groceries), new tires on his truck, etc. Not likely to go down as our vehicles were built in 1997 and 2004. He needs brake pads now, in fact, and hopefully thatās all it needs right now. But this is much better than car payments or paying someone else to fix things. If we find a decent deal, we will buy a third operational vehicle and this will be shot all to hell but we wonāt be stranded if something happens. Heās starting to need to work on his truck every couple weeks - if someone rear-ends my Jeep (knock on wood) we buy something fast and without waiting for a deal. āStrandedā here is significant - no rental, no taxi, no rideshare, no bus or subway, and itās miles to anywhere to get food (no delivery either, not even USPS). If we get truly stranded, we get a friend to take us to a car rental place 50 miles away and use that rental to buy something in a hurry.
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Iām tracking through YNAB and have a fixed amount until January when I will receive another fixed amount (Financial Aid). Therefore every dollar is allocated at this point in time.
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My very specific goal for October is absolutely no ādining outā expenses whatsoever. My other goals are to simply not overspend in all areas as I donāt have a steady income stream.
edit:
Iām hoping to reign in my eating out spending, and also to balance my budget weekly rather than once every 20 days 
My favorite thing about Halloween is how stoked my friends get over it. I love the fall, thatās my jam, but Halloweenās never really been my thing. People get stinking cute over it, though.
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Iām probably just here for moral support honestly 
I havenāt decided if Iāll participate at all, but Iām rooting you all on! 
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Same. Iām too lazy to budget or track, but I can be a cheerleader.
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Me three, I canāt meaningfully restrict my budget when there are still a lot of things I need to replace at the new house. But I do covet that cute sticker!
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I want a stickerrrr but I will be paying for many wedding things very soon so I donāt think this is my year (or month, anyway).
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You donāt have to make wedding part of your budget! Or you can set budget for wedding things! Itās a budget challenge, not a frugal challenge!
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