Doing well on the food front…going into week 2 of stuffed peppers for at least one meal a day, but I’ve got enough odds and ends in the freezer to use up that I’m okay with that. The peppers themseves came from a neighbor whose plants did not get pounded by the same hailstorm that destroyed mine (saved by a lower roof overhang) and I paid her back with a set of rice puddings for her family so that worked well. However, doing less well on the entertainment front since I picked up tickets for Miss Saigon next week, and full payment for ski passes will be charged at the end of this month (since, yeah, apparently it’s September). Not regretting it on either front, one is a show I’d like to see and I’ll be reimbursed by friends for all of the tickets except my own, and I ski more than enough to make a pass worth it, but it does mean I won’t be saving quite as much as I was hoping.
Ski passes are so worth it. I miss living close enough to be able to ski often. Nothing better for me to combat winter sads than some time on the slopes!
So far so good here, minus the phone replacement. Food costs are in line, zero restaurant food this month so far actually! I’ll have some outings costs this week and next weekend but those are allowed. I would really like some throw pillows for my new couch but I’m holding strong.
You know what helps with not spending money? Your only credit card number getting compromised when you do all of your spending via said credit card. On the bright side it’s getting taken care of and we are not going to be billed for the $520 of random charges. On the not great side, idk how I didn’t notice them since they started happening a month ago.
It’s… decent over here. Wrist braces didn’t work, so they got returned. However, current bra stock has been outgrown, so a few new sleep/nursing bras are on their way. $60 there. Also, the last two days involved a lot of travel, so we’ve eaten out three times. Kept it to grocery store hot bar food 2 of the 3 meals, and just got one potion to split for the other. So looking at like $45 total there I think? Given the constraints of pregnancy and the schedule, I don’t think there’s much we could have done to mitigate those meals, so I’m not upset about the spending. Need to figure out next weekend though. 3 days out of town at a cabin for a friends wedding in a resort town. Unsure what food options will be, and want to maximize health and finances!
Went grocery shopping today and forgot about my unnecessary purchases rule oops. Bought a cake mix and the new almond milk frappacino. Sadly took one bite of cake and tossed it. It was way too sweet, lesson learned.
But I’ve gone to the grocery store twice before and remembered the challenge, so not too terrible.
Lowered Bobbin’s crib today and discovered an outlet is precisely level with the mattress now. Before we went and bought outlet covers for it I remembered to ask on buy nothing and as luck would have it, a neighbor is giving me some tomorrow!
Back from the snow and into the no spend zone.
We have been planning vegetable beds since we moved in and we might end up doing those this month. They are an inevitable spend because that was half the point of buying a house, so if we do that it gets a pass (please?).
Otherwise I plan to keep things very tight. We almost certainly will go backwards in our net worth this month. Skiing in Australia is expensive.
I have a growing list of things I want. Most of those things I have wanted for months if not years, I’m just finally putting them all in the one place.
As we’re a third of the way through the month, my discretionary spending so far:
1: patreon of $11, less than previous month’s of $40!
2: seeds, pre-planned purchase of cucumbers and 2 flowers $12
3: nothing. found my elastic instead of buying more. Homemade lunches and snacks.
4: nothing.
5: romance novel.
6: barefoot investor book.
7: coffees & scones at farmer’s market.
8: burgers for dinner, because Ponder and my family cut down 2 trees and everyone was pooped.
9: Add-ons for OMD book
10: none.
It feels like it LOOKS like a lot written down but doesn’t FEEL like much… But I’m supposed to spend nothing! I attribute a lot of my spending due to being unwell, so I’ll buy books because I want something new and light to read or to make myself feel better and keep myself entertained. I’m not great at waiting for library books when I’m unwell. I also mostly bought just 1 thing each day as a task came up on my to-do list (e.g. get spring vegetables seeds sown).
My love affair with ALDI continues to blossom as my grocery budget stays super low this month. I’ve done lots of freezer cooking and regular cooking, and so far no other spending! I have some household spending coming up (toilet paper, etc.) but that’s it! Bank account is looking good 
I’m also making a list of things I want to buy when this is over. Here’s it so far:
- Fabric for my Halloween costume
- Costume for Nubbin if I can’t find a free one
- Sippy cup
- Plaid flannel for a dress
I went so far as to start a new list for this stuff in our joint list app and H was very confused when he saw it 
It’s helpful though that way things can simmer before I buy them and I can make sure I actually need them
Ooh a joint list is a great idea! What app is it?
We use an app called OurGroceries
My attempts to secure free styrofoam boxes to make a worm farm are proving fruitless.
A fruit shop nearby sells their old ones for $2 each. I want to get it done this weekend so might stump up the $4. I think we will need to buy some other materials too.
My local Facebook paged pulled through with free boxes 
But then we went to a nursery and bought coffee and food $14 and then Bunnings and spent $60 because…
We got worms, some bokashi spray to help the cat litter compost (still not sure exactly how to manage it with regards to toxoplasmosis risk, probably a discussion for a different thread/day) and other little things because that’s what happens in a hardware store.
Another weekend, another dining out required. Sigh. At a friends wedding weekend. Lodging etc provided, and food theoretically was to be provided, but apparently that doesn’t extend to breakfast for early risers. (We had even brought our own coffee gear- glad we did). I’m utterly unable to skip morning food, so off to a cafe we went. At least it was delicious, but it was definitely not cheap. ($38 with tip for the two of us for breakfast).
Still, trying to remember that if they had chosen a more traditional wedding, we would both be in it ($$ clothing, etc), it likely would have been back home for them ($$ flights and lodging and rental car) and so on. A few meals that support a cool local cafe in a small town is minimal by comparison.
Bought pizza today and was another disappointing unnecessary purchase 
it was too small for two people so don’t even get the joy of not preparing a meal.
Husband and I agree that we just shouldn’t bother and stick with homemade instead of the ready made foods since we have back luck with it being worthwhile.
Trying to salvage the weekend costs and food health. Stopped at a store as we were doing other stuff. Got sandwich makings, so lunch is covered and we’ll do them for breakfast tomorrow too. $18 for two meals and we’ll have leftover bread, way cheaper than if we had kept hitting restaurants!
…flip side; stopped for coffee while running errands.
I’m really enjoying noting down my purchases this month. I thought I’d hate it but it’s helping me think through WHY I bought something… Like the $70 I just spent on 5 kids clothing patterns. I am currently housebound, I have fabric to use up, the kid needs summer clothes and I can use these to make clothes for my friends kids as presents.
The biggest factor in my decisions has consistently and clearly been “what’s the impact of this item on my mental health?”