no money for a week...voluntarily???

[Ima saver]

I guess anybody that had a no spend week has saved some money this past week. I think I will add it to my challenge money! One million dollars, here I come!

[Bookie]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

I guess anybody that had a no spend week has saved some money this past week. I think I will add it to my challenge money! One million dollars, here I come!

Yes, I think that's probably the case. I still have a day left in my Challenge, but I've been working on my figures, and I may as well post them.

Be back in a minute.

[Bookie]

Day 13: Well, it's winding down, isn't it? One day left. I've been thinking about how much I've enjoyed the past two weeks. It's really been something of an education.

I've also been preoccupied with deciding exactly how I want to go about computing my savings as a direct result of the Challenge. Logically, I saved what I didn't spend, but I don't think I'd feel right about claiming the Mercedes 500SEL I frugally refrained from snapping up over the weekend.

I suppose it would be more realistic to only count the things I normally would have bought in in the course of the Challenge and did not. Yes, but looking around at my past purchases, it's hard for me to claim honestly that there's much of anything I might not "normally" buy. My track record hasn't been good. (The woven Turkish mousepad with tassel fringe illustrates my point.)

So maybe I need to keep this very simple. I live my life, day-to-day, on a cash basis. I draw my weekly allowance on Monday, and that sees me through. What I have in my pocket at the end of the Challenge is what I saved, simply because it's what I didn't spend.

On Monday, 7/24, I had $11.40 remaining from the previous week. I collected my cash, went to the grocery and bought gas. I signed onto the Challenge on Tuesday, a day I spent no money, but I counted Wednesday as my official start. So here's my tally:

Mon. 7/24 - $11.40 - Cash on hand
Mon. 7/24 - $50.00 - Cash added
Mon. 7/24 - $12.79 - Groceries
Mon. 7/24 - $14.50 - Gasoline
Sun. 7/30 - $34.11 - Cash on hand
Mon. 7/31 - $50.00 - Cash added
Frid. 8/04 - $11.03 - Insurance rebate check cashed & added
Sun. 8/06 - $95.14 - Cash on hand

Today I picked up my weekly allowance, but that's earmarked for spending, so I exclude it from the total.

Challenge Savings Total - $95.14. I rounded it up to an even $100.00, and that is the amount that goes into my savings account.

[Dido]

Ah, I saw this and calculated my savings too, but in a different way. I have an Excel spreadsheet lisitng all my expenses by date and category. I calculated my expenses for each of the first 4 weeks of July and got an average weekly expenditure--although I omitted from that average my fixed spending on mortgage and utility bills. Then I got the average spending for the last week of July/beginning of August and I looked at the difference: 220!

If only I had $220 in liquid cash that I could transfer to savings, but I'm living too close to the margin this month to do that.

[Ima saver]

Well I usually have no money (or maybe $3) left over for my allowance on Monday morning. This week I had $50 left over for my challenge account which goes to savings.

[boefixepa]

It's two weeks into the month and I have no touched my grocery money! That right there tells me I did well! I transfered 80 into savings for my two weeks! Grocery, gas, entertainment and such.

[Bookie]

Originally Posted by boefixepa

It's two weeks into the month and I have no touched my grocery money! That right there tells me I did well! I transfered 80 into savings for my two weeks! Grocery, gas, entertainment and such.

You probably saved significantly by not using the A/C as well. That's going to kill me this month because of the non-stop heat.

Congratulations.

[Ima saver]

I admit, I did not even consider going without the a/c. It doesn't even cool down til late at night. My elec. bill will be high, so I am glad I saved money doing this.

[jodi]

This is great to see the tangible results of this challenge. I calculated mine by taking note of the times I normally would have bought something, but decided not to solely because of the challenge. I think it was a little over $40. That's an extra $40 to go toward debt

I really am looking forward to doing this again in a few weeks when the events of the summer settle down!

[Jewelsmom]

OK, I need a little clarity on the "rules" of these no spending days.

This past weekend was tax-free day on purchases (back to school items) so I blew the budget on my 3 teen daughters' school supplies and clothes (All necessary items, of course). I was good Saturday and Sunday, no purchases. I even refused to order take-out pizza.

Question: If I go shopping with my DH and he pays with HIS ccard for the groceries, am I guilty of spending ...? <grin>

A $20 copay at the Dr. for my daughter's medical exam, and unexpected xrays because she stubbed her toe at the park over the weekend...
Gee, this "no spending" is getting very expensive.

The middle daughter goes to the HS today to pay fees for school and pick up her schedule. Question: Does this type of expenditure count as "spending?" It's a bill, and not paying is not an option.

I like to think of "no spending" days as avoiding optional spending, e.g., talking myself out for that breakfast burrito this morning when I take my daughter to HS for her schedule.

Now that would be a "challenge." Here in the Southwest, there is nothing better than a double bacon, ham, cheese, and green chili breakfast burrito to jumpstart your day. Hmmm, now I'm hungry... watch out!

[Kris10Leigh]

Jewelsmom, we each make up our own rules for the challenge. Early in the thread you'll find some of our personal rules. For some it was as strict as no use of the A/C and for others was no optional spending like you are talking about. Unless it is a necessity, don't buy it.

I'm thinking about doing this again after payday and a run the grocery on Friday because this has been a "bad-spend" week for me!

[Bookie]

Day 14: So now it ends.

Today's the final day of my Challenge, two weeks without spending. I've been trying to reflect on the experience and see what useful insights I can glean. I have my daily spending records for the the year to date, and they speak volumes when compared with the past to weeks.

First point is that I really do use spending as a mood-altering drug, as a distraction, and as a device for procrastinating tasks I know I should put behind me.

Second point is that much of my discretionary spending is trivial and unnecessary -- books I could likely get from the library, CDs and DVDs I certainly don't need. Gadgets and such to solve "problems" I could address with what I have on hand, groceries I could manage without.

Third point is that I use spending to organize my time to a greater degree than I realized -- the Monday round of errands run, lunching out to meet friends and provide an event focus for a day, comparison shopping when the price/quality difference is meaningless except as an exercise.

Fourth point is just how important these little expenditures and outings are in the fabric of my life. The Sunday paper is a Great Big Deal for me, and I disproportionally miss it when it's not there. The regular contacts with familiar faces at the the grocery, the bank and my other stops are actually a social network. I value the brief exchanges, shared quips, and recognition, the mentioned fragments of their lives and experience. I appreciate eating out occasionally for the time shared with others.

And finally, I conclude that I'm actually content with much of my spending behavior. It serves my needs and provides good value at this point in my life. I could spend less, but at what cost to my sense of satisfaction?

Anyway, there you have it. Not sure any of that means anything to anyone else, but it's just where I am on the last day.

[boefixepa]

Well put Bookie, I can see some of those same things in my life. Interersting how we adapt to our society isn't it.

[LuxLiving]

Anyone want to do another of these challenges? It's been a while for me. I'd have to gear up for it.

Care to suggest an upcoming date to start?

[Marcymox]

yes! lets do another! start a new thread though for it everyone- this one is inspiring, but new challenge- new thread!

[tabbycat31]

I'd be interested