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

[jodi]

Update: preparations for the challenge
In anticipation of starting date of tomorrow -
1. Filled up gas tank (would have done this anyway as it was empty - so no special preparation there)
2. Went shopping - but NOT a stockpile trip. I spent $34, mainly on milk and things we had run completely out of (vinegar for pickling, sugar and flour for baking, meat for dinner tonight and tomorrow) with a few splurges (cheese), but nothing out of the ordinary.
3. Last night I paid a real estate bill for my key and the car payment. Cell phone was already paid for the month. Other than throwing a little more money at the cc, I can't foresee any bills that will come due in a week.
4. Made my lunch already for tomorrow so I won't be running out of the door without it.
5. Stopped at an ATM to deposit a check and purposefully did not take any cash out, even though I have none. If it's not there, I can't spend it.
Ok, I'm ready to start!

[Bookie]

Day One - Today was easy, but I probably wouldn't have been spending anyway.

Something someone wrote about planning struck a chord with me, so I spent the morning making an inventory of my kitchen cabinets and the fridge. I've begun compiling daily menus to insure a varied diet and make the best use of what's available.

I tend to pick up odd ingredients for recipes I think I want to try -- but never do. That's good for the Challenge because it means I'm going to be motivated to experiment a bit.

Plus, a neighbor showed up on my doorstep. Her garden is heavy with produce, and she brought zucchini, squash, and tomatoes from her suplus bounty. This is too easy.

[Broken Arrow]

Okokok... I'll do it right this time.

Was real hot today though, and I was really tempted to get a soda or something. I better leave what little cash I have at home....

Oh crap. I just realized that I have to get my tags renewed soon. This is going to be an "interesting" week.

[PrincessPerky]

It is amazing how often we 'can' spend money..and next time you do the drain with baking soad, follow up with boiling water..and get a kid to watch, the giggles as the bubbles come up is well worth the effort!

[Ima saver]

Is everybody just starting whenever they want to? I thought it started Monday!? I am going to start Monday, cause my payday is Monday. I guess one of my rules will have to be, we can still eat out, but I am going to try and cut down on that.

[Bookie]

Ima, I think some of us took Boe up on the challenge to start on Wednesday to make it more interesting. (No time to pre-stock)

Since it's just a fun exercise, do it however you like and report back. I'm going to post a daily status report. I think it will get really interesting as we get further into the Challenge and begin to encounter obstacles.

[getforfree]

Update:
Wednesday, 3rd day of the challenge:

--Spent $4.19 for milk
--Didn't buy anything else
--Now I have only $13.81 in my milk budget for the next 11 days

What we used from my stockpile:
--lentiles,
--beans,
--some ground turkey from the freezer, pasta, ramen nuddles.
But I still have lots left.

Still have some fresh veg and fruits in the refregerator, some sour cream, eggs and 1 and 1/4 gall of milk

[jaksilee]

Ok sorry I haven't updated! I did go do my grocery shopping as planed last night. I did not stockpile anything (except for a porkloin that was too cheap to pass up) I spent under the $40 I had alowed myself, so I have $5 left of grocery money. I did relize that I am out of Allergy meds and almost out of conditioner and birth control pills. I think I will wait on buying all 3 (I don't need the BC because I am not in a relationship at the moment and don't plan to be in the next 2 wks) till after the challenge is done.

Like Broken Arrow, I had to go this moring and get new Il license plates and tags...but I had already saved the money for them so I am including them with my regular bills. I spose I could do the same with the bc cause that is a regular "bill" in my budget.

I did not run next door and get my normal arizona tea yesterday so I have saved $1.08.

So so far:
7/26 no tea $1.08
7/27 no bc $24.00
7/27 no tea $1.08
Total saved so far $ 26.16

[Gruntina]

Ima, I thought it started on Monday too! I guess we will have a small group starting on Monday.

[boefixepa]

Okay as an update....

I did not turn on the AC and that was hard it was at or near 100 and last night was a workout night, but hey a little more sweat a few more calories burned...let's say I saved $2.00 on that.

I forgot my lunch yesterday(stupid me!), and did not go out cheepest lunch...$2.12 at Taco Bell. I bummed an apple off of a co-worker and tuffed it out until I made it home.

Total savings for yesterday....$4.14

[Thrifty Ray]

I would join in on all this fun...but out of town company will keep me from being successful this time....however, this is such a good idea---maybe we could do it once every...month everyother month...quarterly???

[boefixepa]

You read my mind Ray!! I see lots of fun and inventive way to get around spending money coming down the pipe!!

A big part of my motivation to jump on board was I DID have company from thursday to tuesday and so the AC was on the whole time and I went out more....aaggrrr...and I went clothes shopping with them....HELP! It was sooo much easier to pass on clothes when I was FAT and felt I looked FAT in everything! No so now and soooo much easier to spend! But I got a new little black dress (among other things)......and it looks good!!

[Kris10Leigh]

I love the idea of doing this a few times a month! Now THAT would be a challenge! Little things really do pop up and it's hard to say "no"! Lunch out with a friend, haircuts, little black dresses. Life happens!

I am looking forward to grocery shopping tomorrow. My budget dictates $100 for my family of 4 to get me through the week, and I'm hoping to spend less than that because whatever is left over goes into a "dining out" pot. (I'm just starting this new budget idea.) I know I can do it...I just usually forget something and DH makes a grocery run mid-week. We also love to have friends over at the last minute, which means a grocery run for unplanned guests. So I am not stocking up, but staying within my budget.

Even better for us is that DH should be getting some significant overtime money with this paycheck and we can send all of it plus some to the CC's. Perhaps two weeks of no spending is a good idea to get us through the entire pay period.

Onward challengers!

[tgavin71]

Update time. First all of what are "tags"? I successfully made it through one day without spending money on 'wants'. Am especially proud as I took my son and his friend to the supermarket as they wanted to buy themselves a treat after doing so well in a major exam in the morning. We would have spent about 15 mins in the lolly aisle while they tried to decide what they wanted to spend their hard earned pocket money. I didn't cave at all. Of course the fact that I didn't bring any money helped a lot as well. My son offered to buy me something but I said no.
This morning I passed up an opportunity to buy my favourite potato chips at less than half price. Now I am off to buy my son's birthday present.
Good luck everyone

So my balance is now $1.

[Bookie]

Day Two: This was another day of easy sledding. The only temptation was an invite to have lunch with a friend I ran into around noon. Virtuously, I declined, thus saving a hypothetical $10 to $12 based on previous occasions.

I picked up my check from the office and cashed it at our bank across the street. Only two days work, but I use it for walking-around money, groceries, and gas. I guess it's all gravy during the Challenge.

Frankly, this won't get challenging until after the weekend. No grocery run on Monday will be a first for me, but I've counted my eggs (which won't last long enough to hatch) and I'm not concerned.

Not sure how to compute savings during this thing. Maybe use my last couple of week's spending log to calculate economies. What are the rest of you going to do?

[Broken Arrow]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

Is everybody just starting whenever they want to? I thought it started Monday!? I am going to start Monday, cause my payday is Monday. I guess one of my rules will have to be, we can still eat out, but I am going to try and cut down on that.

Er... well, I think a couple of people brought up that if you're prepared in advance, it takes away from the challenge. So, someone else piped up that we should just go for it!

I'm like, "Wha? Now? Well... OK!"

So, I'm sorta going now. But I guess one could say that it's more of a "test run" for me? Since things keep popping up. I know I know, that's part of the challenge, but sheesh, my anal retentiveness says, "No, we no wait! We fix it now!"

Anyways, seriously though, even for those of us who have started early, we can sort of come back and do an offical start-off together. How's that? I think women prefer to work together; support and all that, and I am dandy with that arrangement as well.

So, just consider mine a small pre-trial run 'til Monday.

[Broken Arrow]

Originally Posted by Kris10Leigh

I love the idea of doing this a few times a month!

Woah, that's madness! And here I was planning to celebrate by going on a shopping binge at the Gap after this!

...


I'm kidding... I don't really shop... at the Gap. I oh nevermind, I'm just going to keep my mouth shut before I lose any more macho male points.

Today... should have been easier than it really is for me. The usual temptations did pop up, but nothing out of the ordinary. However, I did feel really tempted, and I think the reason why isn't because of WHAT was tempting me. I think it was simply the idea that I am restricted by the challenge, and the fact that I am restricted just made me more tempted to buy anything in general.

Very interesting....

[jodi]

Day 1 report
(I know, a lot of people are starting Monday, but my paydays are Thursdays, every two weeks - so I want to get by on as little as possible until payday next week, hence starting today).
No money spent.
I am going to keep track of money I would have normally spent, but didn't.
Today I drove by several garage sales on my way to and from work. Even though my car jerked violently in the direction of the sales, I kept my hands planted firmly on the wheel and managed to steer in the other directon. Estimated savings: $1
I also briefly contemplated stopping at a fast foods restaurant for a snack or ice cream cone, but declined. I probably would not have stopped even if I weren't on the challenge...but maybe I would have. Estimated savings: $1

Things I did differently today: I brought snacks to work along with my lunch to ward off the afternoon munchies (hence, avoiding fast food). I drank water for dinner instead of milk to cut down on milk consumption. DH and I popped a frozen pizza in the oven for dinner at 5:30, as I got home late - on some late nights, we occasionally order a pizza out. I also got a free salad from the garden tonight and used some forgotten veggies from the fridge.

Savings so far: $2

[Gruntina]

I don't officially start till Monday. This was because my whole kitchen is empty of food since we had to take time away to have the house bug bombed.

At a Mexican restaurant, the cashier asked me for my id because my card has "Please See my ID" written on the back instead of my signature. I don’t like the idea of my signature being around for other's to try to replicate it. Anyways, the cashier was surprised and told me he thought it was a great idea. He recently lost all of his money in his account when he went to Mexico for a couple of weeks. When he came back to the US, his account was wiped out.

This got me thinking about the challenge. Okay this is an extreme example... but what if something was to happen to me and I had to go a week without the ability to spend anything. I am thinking more of losing an ATM card rather than the money in my account. (Actually losing my ATM card has happened before)I would not be prepared at home and probably resort to a credit card. Seems like key thing to do is to be prepared rather than rely on credit cards and learn to make do with what you got at home. Homework for me is now to plan a strategy to keep my home supply balanced. I have to admit seems not easy to do when you’re single unless that is just me!

[getforfree]

Update:

End of day #4.

Didn't spent any money today.
Only half of gall milk left. it won't be enough for whole day tomorow, so I probably will stop and buy some after work at about 10 pm. I didn't drink any milk today, only dh and kids did. I have 13.81 left in my milk budget.