Money Saving Mindset- Group Journal

Budgeting
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I cannot tell you why our spending is so high whenever I’m like “ok we will pay attention”. It tends to be on stuff that is made of a million little decisions, like the groceries. Because it is a million little decisions, I don’t know which decisions are the expensive ones. I think it’s because life changes and I think “oh great now we don’t need X” but I forget that the lifechange means we now buy Y (e.g. Ponder going back to the office because I’m feeling more capable, I cook and bake more but then he buys lunch).

I feel like my problem might be other people.

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Spending this week

Spending this week went well! We had some big purchases but they were planned. Spent:

$5.60 on a pineapple mango smoothie
$37.50 on washable face masks
$275.30 on clothes for husband’s office return
$35.78 on a rain jacket

This coming week shouldn’t be too bad spending-wise. I may need to buy some face serum and I think I found a cheaper option if so, but maybe I can push it one more week! Our food spending will be much higher than the last few weeks because I need to buy meat, so that’ll probably be the majority of the cost.

Very happy overall! Writing here has definitely curbed spending, both of our credit card balances are wayyyyy lower than they were this time last month. My goal is to save $1,000 a month post tax (we also save pre-tax), so fingers crossed I can do that!

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Yes. This. Exactly.

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If anyone (@LadyDuck @Meowkins) would like me to look at their shopping lists and/or meal plans and make small suggestions to save money I’d be happy to! No worries if not, either, just offering. I’ve done lots and lots of meal plans for other people and I really enjoy it!

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I am really struggling with grocery spending right now. I think because it’s one of the few places we go to (now with Delta), I buy fancy things to feel better about whatever the hell is happening in the world right now. I’m also still struggling with a lack of appetite for a lot of foods (I still eat as much as normal but I find a lot of things so blech that I don’t eat them). I’ve kind of written off August since it’s the best month to get produce here, but I really hope to do some sort of spending challenge for groceries in September.

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MEEEE TOOOO. OMG. So much this.
Plus I’m wondering if I should be stockpiling again if everything goes to further shit…

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New FFM and I know there are fans here :slight_smile:
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Yaaassss

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I love her!

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She is delightful! Thanks for sharing her video!

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Are there other things you’re no longer using that you could sell on FB Marketplace, Craigslist or Poshmark to boost your income a little bit to cover the additional costs? Over the past year I have sold some nice but little-used shoes, some sports equipment, an extra keyboard, a small coffee table and stool, etc. I think the fancy purse you mention could totally be saleable. For clothes I have found Ebay is a bigger market & more likely to sell, Poshmark can be more erratic in volume but very easy app and certain brands go really quickly.

I started replying before catching up with the rest of the thread – congrats on a happy month!

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Oooh. This. I did notice that when I buy groceries at Aldi, the weekly baseline shop is $60-80. When I buy groceries at Sprouts, it is $95-$120. No matter how much I scrutinize the cart or each purchase, that’s just how it is. I puzzled over why and I think every single item at Aldi is just a dollar cheaper. Eggs. Bananas. Peanut butter. Yogurt. It does help to have the option of a single decision (ie shop at Aldi this week), rather than scrutinizing every purchase.

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And some things at Sprouts are just REALLY expensive, like whole wheat pasta.

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I feel like I need to do a better job of planning and prioritizing not-strictly-need spending. I have not been controlling this and that is how I end up with a credit card bill that I can pay off with the next paycheck, but between that and putting aside half of my share of the rent, that’s the whole paycheck. So I can’t save anything this paycheck unless I don’t pay off my card, but I don’t want to carry a balance.

(Hm, not strictly true, Boyfriend and I will settle up food/cat expenses at the end of the month so I can most likely save the majority of whatever he needs to pay me.)

There definitely is still some mentality of “the world sucks so I should at least have good coffee and tea rather than less-good stuff from the grocery store,” to use one example.

There are things that I feel like I SHOULD buy in case of covid, like home test kits and a pulse ox.

There are things I want to replace, like, both our cheap frying pans are disintegrating. And, since I want to change phone plans, that’s a good time to affordably replace my phone, which is starting to circle the drain though it still technically works. But is more than 6 years old and no longer supported by Apple, nor will it take any more iOS updates.

There are things that are completely frivolous, like, I’d like to replace one of my favorite shirts that has faded so much I can’t tell what the design is any more.

There are things that (hopefully) will reduce future spending, like, I keep seeing ads for a laundry additive that will actually get the pit stank out of my T-shirts (having already tried repeated vinegar soaks, OxyClean anti-odor detergent soaks, baking soda, washing soda, borax…) so I don’t have to pitch all of them.

Oh, and, I’m a dumbass who forgot to set aside money for my upcoming hair appointment that’s a week from Saturday. Hm, Boyfriend’s payment will cover that.

Anyway, in conclusion, I need to prioritize and I am very very bad at it these days. I am hoping that I can just pay off my credit card, consider that a hard reset, and then actually PLAN spending that will occur during the next pay period.

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This one I don’t see as a want as much as a need. If your phone dies tomorrow it will become a need and it will negatively impact other areas of your life since you’ll be in a time crush to get a new phone ASAP.

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Yes, and if there is a problem and I need to take it in, that should happen before delta is much worse. I just keep waiting for a window when we might not need phones since it is in question whether Boyfriend’s phone can port over to the new carrier. He doesn’t want to replace his, it is maybe 2 years old. But, we just passed the last thing we have a mobile ticket for, and I can carry my card around for proof of vax when I need it.

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Found a new podcast and thought people here might like it! She’s really positive and the episodes are pretty short so it’s an easy listen.

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You’re not kidding about Sprouts. I shopped there ONCE. Holy crap is it expensive!!!

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But their produce is so good! Also their meat. A lot of the fresh things/bulk things are reasonable, I think, and all of the packaged things (besides, like, canned beans) are super pricy.

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So I know this is a bit odd but I have a personal policy where I don’t re-sell things I’ve purchased, I only donate them. The handbag I was talking about selling was a gift so I see that differently. Generally I feel like if I had the money to buy the item then I have the money to give it away. I used to get so much stuff for free on the curb or in thrift stores and I know how desperate people are for lightly used stuff so I guess it’s a little pay-it-forward thing I do. :slight_smile:

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