It is the final installment of my experiment where I limit my extraneous spending to $100 dollars in February. Admittedly, this was a lot harder than I wanted it to be. I skipped movies and dinner with friends on several occasions. I left a lot of really cute clothing items at the store, some I have already forgotten about, and some I am most likely going to purchase tomorrow. I skipped out on the Symphony and the Ballet because it wasn’t in my budget. For the record, the Symphony and the Ballet have always been in my budget, I hated sitting at home those nights. I hated sitting at home most nights. (Except for that week when I was completely incapacitated with a stomach bug and sinus infection…being sick really keeps your extraneous spending down, by the way). I’m not a party girl, but I love going to cultural events, especially ones where I can get dressed up and wear fancy shoes. It took an inordinate amount of will power to keep this little bet with myself and not cheat for symphony tickets.
I did a bit of apartment rearranging to take the edge off. My books (all 800 of them, yes that is a real number, I counted) are now organized by author and category instead of by color, and I’ve done a lot of spring cleaning. Do I see the value of this little financial experiment? Yes, I do. Will I be doing it again for March? No, I will not. Will I be bringing more lunches from home and spending less in general? I am going to try, I checked my bank balance today and was surprised at how all my little money-saving moments added up over a month. I can see the value of giving myself a more modest budget to throw around each month. Coincidentally, I also see a tremendous value in the Symphony and the Ballet and going to a professionally produced play every month or so. So, I’ll be doing that in March (and I can. not. WAIT!)
As always, here is the tally of what I actually spent last week, and the “wants” I cut out due to budget constraints. On some of my “savings” I have averaged out what I would usually spend to give myself an idea of how much I actually saved.
February 22-28, 2011
Budget: $53.6 ($25.00 + 28.60 leftover from Week 3)
TOTAL SAVINGS FOR FEBRUARY: $345.89
Spent: $32.86 (Leftover budget for February: $20.74*)
2/25 – Ticket to see The Persian Quarter, a play at SLAC (Student discounted tickets! Holla! $15.00)
2/26 – Savers Thrift Store (blazer) $5.00
2/26 – Deseret Industries (frame) $5.00
2/28 – Lunch $7.86
Saved: $36.50
2/24 – Lunch ($7)
2/25 – Lunch ($7)
Dr. Pepper budget ($10.50) This amounts to one 21 oz. bottle per day, which was what I was drinking in January.
Parking at the University ($12) By leaving 5 minutes earlier I can park for free and walk 2 blocks to class, as opposed to walk 100 yards to class for $6 per night. I can walk 2 blocks to save $12.14
What was not on the list:
Rent + Utilities (electricity, cable/internet, cell phone)
Doctor co-pay / perscription / other over-the-counter medications
Auto insurance/gasoline
Groceries
*Yes, I had a few dollars leftover from this little experiment. I found a student discount to the play I wanted to see, and was able to get in for $15 dollars instead of $38 dollars. I also spent an entire week on my couch with some nasty sinus infection. The moral of this experiment is that to save your discretionary dollars one must be ill 25% of the time. This eliminates going out to dinner, or lunch, or to movies, or other social events that cost money, even if they only cost a few dollars.
Previous Tightwad Tuesday posts.
Week three of my experiment where I limit my extraneous spending to $100 dollars in February. Below is the tally of what I actually spent, and the “wants” I cut out due to budget constraints. On some of my “savings” I have averaged out what I would usually spend to give myself an idea of how much I actually saved.
It was a long weekend, which I spent curled up on my couch alternating between feeling miserable (cold, flu, allergies) and studying, which, coincidentally, was also miserable. It’s amazing what a stomach bug can do for my wallet. It is not, however, a money-saving tip I’d recommend. Stupid bug.
February 15-21, 2011
Budget: $38.13 ($25.00 + 13.13 from Week 2)
Spent:$9.53
2/15 - How To Train Your Dragon DVD ($9.53)
Saved:$106.99
2/15 – Lunch ($7)
2/16 – Lunch ($7)
2/17 – Lunch ($7)
Dr. Pepper budget ($10.50) This amounts to one 21 oz. bottle per day, which was what I was drinking in January.
Parking at the University ($12) By leaving 5 minutes earlier I can park for free and walk 2 blocks to class, as opposed to walk 100 yards to class for $6 per night. I can walk 2 blocks to save $12.
Cookie Dough ($14) A co-worker brought in a brochure for her kid’s school, they are selling tubs of frozen cookie dough as a fund raiser. I drooled over the chocolate peanut-butter cup and the chocolate-chocolate tubs, but declined to order anything.
Shoes ($39.99) Yes, another pair. They were adorable too. Sniff.
Tights ($20.00) Urban Outfitters has the most delicious tights that last forever and ever, and at 2 for $20 they seem like a bargain! But not so much when my weekly budget is $25. Even so, I picked out two pair, and even went so far as to put them on hold. I left the store knowing I would not go back to pick them up. The one pair was a gray lace that I’ve been hunting for months. I just hope they will still be there when this little experiment is over.
What was not on the list:
Rent + Utilities (electricity, cable/internet, cell phone)
Oil Change / gasoline
Groceries
Previous Tightwad Tuesday posts.
Whelp, it’s week two of my experiment where I limit my extraneous spending to $100 dollars in February. Below is the tally of what I actually spent, and the “wants” I cut out due to budget constraints. On some of my “savings” I have averaged out what I would usually spend to give myself an idea of how much I actually saved. This week is a little interesting because I actually spent a long weekend in Phoenix for the Booksale. I wanted to keep myself to my budget, well, within reason. I was staying with family, so luckily I didn’t have to eat out every meal, which cut down on expenses. I included everything but my book purchases and a saved-for trip to H&M. We don’t have H&M in Salt Lake, and I’ve been putting a little something away every month since last February to spend, both on books and H&M goodness. These are not included here. When I started this experiment I made it very clear that I would not be including these two items. I have been saving for and planning this trip for twelve months. The money has been sitting in a savings account, collecting a bit of meager interest. I stayed under budget on my travels and have a bit of cash already accruing interest for next year. With that small caveat, here we go:
February 8-14, 2011
Budget: $42.43 ($25.00 + $17.43 from Week 1)
Spent: $29.30 (leftover budget $13.13)
2/8 – Savers Thrift Store $8.33 (Blazer, belt, vase)
2/9 – Starbucks $2.43
2/10 – Airport (Breakfast) $3.17
2/11 – In-n-Out Burger $5.84
2/12 – Hot Chocolate $1.50
2/12 – Airport (Water) $1.89
2/14 – Lunch (Subway) $6.14
Saved: $96.90
2/7 – Lunch ($7)
2/8 – Lunch ($7)
2/9 – Lunch ($7)
Dr. Pepper budget ($10.50) This amounts to one 21 oz. bottle per day, which was what I was drinking in January. (Except for one soda while I was in Phoenix, I haven’t had Dr. Pepper since January…and I still am craving it constantly. Stupid addictive substances!)
Parking at the University ($12) By leaving 5 minutes earlier I can park for free and walk 2 blocks to class, as opposed to walk 100 yards to class for $6 per night. I can walk 2 blocks to save $12.
Shoes ($53.40) Carlos by Carlos Santana had a sale where their normally $89 dollar shoes were priced at only $26.70. THAT IS 70% OFF!!! I could have EASILY picked up two pairs, and probably three without too much inner angst. Sadly, I let this one pass me by (sob!).
What was not on the list:
Rent + Utilities (electricity, cable/internet, cell phone)
Auto payment / gasoline
Student loan payment
Groceries
The Booksale
Here we are, week one of my little financial experiment. I vowed to limit my extraneous spending to $100 dollars in February. Below is the tally of what I actually spent, and the “wants” I cut out due to budget constraints. On some of my “savings” I have averaged out what I would usually spend to give myself an idea of how much I actually saved. I have had to be extra careful with my budgeting because I have two cultural events coming up that I insist on attending, and those tickets aren’t cheap. (Well, they aren’t cheap when your total weekly budget is only $25, any other month I wouldn’t think twice about it.)
February 1-7, 2011
Budget: $25.00
Spent: $7.57
2/3 – Lunch $1.89 (Soup at Subway)
2/5 – Craft supplies $5.68
Leftover funds: $17.43**
Saved: $105.50
2/1 – Lunch ($7)
2/2 – Lunch ($7)
2/4 – Lunch ($7)
2/7 – Lunch ($7)
Dr. Pepper budget ($10.50) This amounts to one 21 oz. bottle per day, which was what I was drinking the week before. I haven’t had any soda in 9 days.
Parking at the University ($12) If I leave 5 minutes earlier I can park in the free lot 2 blocks away, I don’t need to park 100 yards from my building, I can walk 2 blocks to save $12. Thus, this is a “want” not a “need.”
Office Organizers ($55)* Under normal circumstances, I would have purchased these adorable office accessories without thinking twice about it.
What was not on the list:
Rent + Utilities (electricity, cable/internet, cell phone)
Auto insurance / gasoline
Groceries – no candy or other unnecessary goodies were rolled into my grocery bill. It was strictly necessities.
Two parties with no cover charge and a whole lot of social interaction (yay parties!).
Two social engagements where I was treated to an evening including dinner and entertainment.
**Ok, so let’s talk about this “leftover funds” thing. Yes, I managed to go a whole week without spending more than $10. But it was hard. Really really hard. I have co-workers who I usually eat out with everyday, and while it’s usually something inexpensive, it has been a big change for me to bring a lunch every day. It has also been harder than I thought it would be to save the “couple of dollars here, couple of dollars there” monies by eliminating those minor expenses.
I’ll be honest, if it wasn’t for some entertainment I would have died this week. I lucked out, a good friend invited me to go to a concert with him, I watched a movie with a group of friends, went to a Chinese New Year’s party, and went on a really great almost-blind date. If I had to generate that kind of entertainment on my own for a total of $15 I would have failed my little experiment…or ended up watching old episodes of How I Met Your Mother on my DVR. (Note: a night with a frozen pizza and the DVR is perfectly acceptable for me…about once a month. But I just can’t spend night after night, week after week, plopped in front of the tube. I get cranky.)
I know after my initial announcement of this little project, many of you expressed sentiments that $100 per month was a lot of money and you haven’t spent that in a month in who knows how long. And that is great, really, I envy your savings account. But for me…well, that hasn’t been my lifestyle for a really, really long time. I go out to dinner with friends, I go to movies or plays with friends. I buy a pair of shoes or a book for a little mid-week pick-me-up. This semester, and it’s requisite homework will keep me home-bound (or library-bound) more than at any other time in the last five years. I am constantly planning my next vacation. I don’t have to answer to anyone about my finances, I have a pretty good chunk of disposable income with no real limits as to what I should or shouldn’t do with it.
The other day I read about this seemingly impossible idea (and I’m all about impossible right now, apparently) and decided that I was going to give it a shot. The lovely NPW posted about a friend of hers who decided to not spend more than $100 dollars on “wants” for a month. Needs, such as rent and insurance and groceries are okay. But wants, like going out to lunch or a mini shopping spree, or delicious-but-expensive drinks are “wants” and the budget is limited to $100 for the month. This sounds crazy, right? (Right?) Only $25 a week for non-essentials? I’ve had such a limited budget before, but I was making approximately $750 a month and that was all there was after rent and utilities and Ramen noodles. But to limit consumption to $100 a month in my current lifestyle of shoes and cultural events and organic licorice? Is it possible? Damn straight it is (crossing fingers as I type this, which makes for tricky typing, by the way).
February and I have a little pact. I will not spend more than $100 dollars this month on anything “extra.” I have the cash in my wallet and have removed my debit card to limit any spontaneous lunch-time trips to Barnes & Noble, or Starbucks, or Anthropologie (where I am a seasoned window shopper, not so much a “plunk down money” shopper). I know this will be hard, but I also think it will help me save a few pennies and eat a little healthier. I’m kind of excited! (I can’t guarantee that I won’t go on a shopping spree at the end of the month to celebrate my frugal-ness, cuz that’s just how I roll.)
That being said, I have one stipulation for this to work. The Booksale, which takes places in 2 weeks, does not count. The plane ticket has been paid for since October, I have a pot of book money I’ve been adding to since last February and spending money I’ve been collecting for several months. I have been saving and budgeting for this book-buying extravaganza for an entire year, there is no way I will give it up now. I can guarantee that none of the expenses from the weekend will be coming out of my checking account, or put on my credit card. So it won’t *technically* be part of this $100 challenge, right? Whatever, I make the rules around these parts and that’s my final declaration on the matter. (Sidenote of Awesome: I AM GOING TO PHOENIX IN TWO WEEKS!! TO GO TO THE BOOKSALE!! It will be epic, ya’ll.)
I have big intentions to keep a weekly tally of what I actually spend my money on, and what I have to leave at the store/in my bank account. I’m hoping to get a Tightwad Tuesday’s mini-series going for the next 4 weeks to detail my progress (more finger crossing).
So, what do you say? Are you in? Do you think I’m crazy? Do you think you could feasibly do such a thing? Do you think I’ll cop out by President’s Day and drown my failure in a boatload of new shoes?
