No Spend/Stick to the budget?

[ssm]

Well, we have begun a new year....Do we want to get that no spend/stick to the budget/accomplish xyz thing again?  

I know for us, we are hardcore hitting debt this year.  the accountability and someone to share the little victories with would be nice.  

What say ya'll??

[numbbears]

I'll do it! We really need to cut spending. And it'll help me stop eating so much fast food.

[bennieangel]

We're trying to get back on track this year too - so I'd play!

[blinkme182]

I'm in.

lots of big life changes in the family coming up. SERIOUSLY need to be money focused this right now!

[pearlofwisdom]

I'm always in.

[lucilleaustero]

I am not familiar with what you guys did last year, but we are really working on getting serious with our budget.

[danisgossipgirl]

I'm in. We're managing 3 in daycare and putting our extra cash into the work that needs to be done so we can sell our house and move to a bigger place. In the past few months, between pregnancy/newborn exhaustion and the holidays, we've blown through our food/restaurant budget by hundreds of dollars. Shit like that needs to get under control yesterday.

[iforgotmylogin]

We started Monday, it already sucks because I instantly want to go out every day/night. We're on course to hit our target in 6-10 months and by then hopefully will have curbed some of our bad spending habits.

[ssm]

So, how do we want to do this? Set individual goals and update as we reach them, or set group goals/focus?

Seems like eating out/food budgets seem to be a sore spot for all of us....

[pearlofwisdom]

Jan 30, 2015 11:06:10 GMT -5 ssm said:

So, how do we want to do this? Set individual goals and update as we reach them, or set group goals/focus?

Seems like eating out/food budgets seem to be a sore spot for all of us....

A friend of mine did a spending diet. She only had $200 in cash to spend for 2 weeks. She wasn't allowed to swipe her card. All bills paid of course.

[ssm]

Jan 30, 2015 11:12:30 GMT -5 pearlofwisdom said:

Jan 30, 2015 11:06:10 GMT -5 ssm said:

So, how do we want to do this? Set individual goals and update as we reach them, or set group goals/focus?

Seems like eating out/food budgets seem to be a sore spot for all of us....

A friend of mine did a spending diet. She only had $200 in cash to spend for 2 weeks. She wasn't allowed to swipe her card. All bills paid of course.



------------------


I like this idea, but how would that work out for those of us with detailed budgets?  I have everything budgeted out...Like, x for groceries, x for clothes, x for diapers/baby stuff, x for gas....And every penny is accounted for.  So, no money is "allowed" to be spent that is beyond that.  

[pearlofwisdom]

Jan 30, 2015 11:22:22 GMT -5 ssm said:

Jan 30, 2015 11:12:30 GMT -5 pearlofwisdom said:

A friend of mine did a spending diet. She only had $200 in cash to spend for 2 weeks. She wasn't allowed to swipe her card. All bills paid of course.



------------------


I like this idea, but how would that work out for those of us with detailed budgets?  I have everything budgeted out...Like, x for groceries, x for clothes, x for diapers/baby stuff, x for gas....And every penny is accounted for.  So, no money is "allowed" to be spent that is beyond that.  

I guess if you're usually a fun money or swipe for anything person this format helps. She said she would end up getting Starbucks and lunch out everyday but with the set $200 she had to be smart about purchases.

[ssm]

Jan 30, 2015 11:26:52 GMT -5 pearlofwisdom said:

Jan 30, 2015 11:22:22 GMT -5 ssm said:

I guess if you're usually a fun money or swipe for anything person this format helps. She said she would end up getting Starbucks and lunch out everyday but with the set $200 she had to be smart about purchases.




-----

That makes sense....And if that is what the majority wants, then that works!  I know it is wayyyyyyyy too easy to swipe and pretend the money grows on the trees.  

[danisgossipgirl]

I have a personal goal already. We're trying cash for food/groceries for the month of Feb, no swiping. Having to pay cash for stuff like dunkin donuts makes a big difference for us. We adjusted the food budget to be reflective of what we spent the past few months, so I'm hoping that with careful meal planning I can bank half of it at the end of the month. It's a lofty goal.

[kimandhuck]

I'm in. DH and I are currently in a Dave Ramsey class and holy shit it has been eye-opening. Like, last week, we had to take our monthly bring home and "assign" every dollar to a category (i.e. power, water, groceries, entertainment, etc.) We finished with all our bills, groceries, daycare, and the emergency fund we're building and were like "We have $x amount left over, where they hell has this been every month?!"

We're also doing the cash envelopes for groceries, medications, etc. I'm actually excited cause now I can spend money and DH not be able to say anything.

[ssm]

Jan 30, 2015 13:13:48 GMT -5 kimandhuck said:

I'm in. DH and I are currently in a Dave Ramsey class and holy shit it has been eye-opening. Like, last week, we had to take our monthly bring home and "assign" every dollar to a category (i.e. power, water, groceries, entertainment, etc.) We finished with all our bills, groceries, daycare, and the emergency fund we're building and were like "We have $x amount left over, where they hell has this been every month?!"

We're also doing the cash envelopes for groceries, medications, etc. I'm actually excited cause now I can spend money and DH not be able to say anything.

This is what we started doing.  and it really is an eye opener!  

[ssm]

Burped for mobile and pm users...

[oldwheeze]

I am trying to get all of our accounts into mint.com, pay off half of a family debt, and collect enough CC points to take a trip next Christmas for free. We pay off the CC every month. It would be a big bonus if I got organized enough to start couponing.