Ha, good idea!
I didn’t really want to be paying $15 either… the intro rate was just a few bucks a month, then they jacked it after a year (I subscribed at the start of the pandemic) and now it’s jacked even more. I like other local news sources better; the Trib got bought out and a lot of the columnists I like took the “early retirement” buyouts and the reporting is just meh now.
YES, I love this.
Ah, good point, I will remember that it’s unlikely the person on the other end really cares. They are just following the rules and trying to keep their jobs.
“I’m moving” could lead to them them trying to sell you on whatever the paper is where you are moving to. So many of these big media companies own stuff all over the place.
I think that less is more. “No” is a complete sentence to anything they tried to offer you to keep on with them. Your reasons for canceling are your business!
Monday: Groceries. We typically spend around $130 but this week we had a lot of the things we needed, and aren’t making meat, so we spent $79 instead. Also did a Target run for dish soap and the like, and spent $30 there. I had $5 off $20 coupon that I remembered to use, too! These expenses are split with fiancé.
Tuesday: $50 for my cell phone, $57 for my share of my sister’s shower gift (both payments sent to mom!)
Wednesday: Going to a concert. Might buy a beer or two, so budgeting $15
Thursday: Poetry club. My potluck contribution is pumpkin spice rice krispies (ingredients included in groceries) and a bottle of wine I already have. Might need to take a lyft home, which I hope doesn’t cost more than $20. Depends if a friend who lives near me drives.
Friday: Pizza night, staying in and doing laundry. No spend day
Saturday: I want to go to Kohls to look at bras. Might also go to the Container Store to price out ELFA shelving components you can’t buy online 
There is an ELFA sale right now. This could end up being a high spend day if I find bras I like. Shooting for under $150 for 2.
I did it! I cancelled. The customer service person was so clearly reading from a script that I did not feel bad about it at all. And I only had to say no twice!
Good for you!
Nice!
Today I impulse spent $70 on plants. Oh well?
Going to try and hold off on impulse buys for the rest of the week.
Weds: partner picks up groceries, and free ceramics supplies from a nice craigslist person. $$ tbd based on what’s in stock.
Thurs: Therapy. I should submit another round of reimbursements, huh. Zoom language class in the evening (already paid for).
Fri: I drive metamor to her class, otherwise no plans. Do we need more gas?
Sat: probably going out and spending $ on farm stand apple cider?
I can relate. This is a frequent area of unplanned spending for me. I 
Husband made too much pasta(herbs and olive oil) for our dinner tonight so now I’m planning to make a soup tomorrow I can throw the leftover pasta into. This will be better than leaving the sad Tupperware container in the fridge until we discover it weeks from now and throw it out.
I’m am proud of myself that we haven’t succumbed to takeout yet this month and then I remember it’s only the 5th. Oh well. Baby steps.
I tried baking my own sourdough bread and found it was much too much work for not a good enough return. Might do it in the future for a gathering, but not worth it for everyday eating.
I haven’t done takeout this week! V proud of myself. I remember years ago it took me months to go a week without takeout
I purchased a new backpack for far more money than was strictly necessary but it was on sale and…I really wanted it. I have very specific and apparently difficult to fulfill handbag needs and this hits all of them. Also bought a belt for DH for work, and a new set of shoelaces since his broke. I ordered him 3 sweaters also but they haven’t arrived yet. It’s a lot of spending on his clothes this year because he had to get rid of nearly everything we bought the year before because he’s gained so much muscle! Anyway that’s why I feel it counts for necessary spending; he literally doesn’t even own one sweater right now.
No update on future car spending yet as we’re still waiting for the insurance man to get back to us but I’m going to take over that task tomorrow. DH has been sending emails but I’ll call, long hold times do not dissuade me at all, I’ll just put it on speaker and do some cleaning or something. Also my bag was rejected by Re Bag, probably because of the wear and tear on it. I’m going to look into other ways to sell it because I’d really like for it to pay for the backpack.
I don’t need a beautiful barrister bookshelf but damn do I want one 
I am paying $30/month for a virtual gym membership, this gets me unlimited live classes. (This was originally an in person membership in the Before, and I REALLY liked my gym, but… yeah. Doesn’t feel safe, it’s really small, don’t want to exercise in a KN95.)
Membership was paused, I started getting charged again in September. I tried a class this week - and it was fine EXCEPT the videos are streamed through an app that does not work on Chromebook. So I downloaded it onto my work mac (naughty naughty! 
) and it worked fine through about half the class but then the video kept freezing.
I should note that we are a two-person-WFH household and all day every day we both are doing high bandwidth tasks and our Internet can handle it. But it cannot handle this app for some reason?
Anyway, I’m going to try this a couple more times in case it was just a fluke, but if this continues then I’m going to cancel the membership. Which would suck because the online fitness I was doing last fall/winter isn’t going on any more due to instructors’ injuries, and I really do need actual live classes to stick with working out, on-demand video or Youtube or whatever does not work for me.
New expense category starting October 19 - daycare is $64/day = over 500/month 
This weekend I am going to mindfully spend on new underwear, because I am not so destitute that I cannot toss too-holey or period-stained underwear or panties that pinch or have itchy lace. Yes, we all need period underwear but no one needs THAT much of it.
Plus MeUndies finally dropped their Halloween patterns. 
Lol oops, I misread “dropped their Halloween patterns” as “dropped their Halloween panties”
I mean, they ARE Halloween panties… 
i am making 10k more but it will not affect my lifestyle, only my future security, and i am feeling overwhelmed by the idea that i’ll be trapped forever in a lifestyle that doesnt allow me to learn and grow