favorite "no spend" trick.

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Grannysewstoys
Posts: 4156
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2015 9:37 pm

Re: favorite "no spend" trick.

Post by Grannysewstoys »

On the first of the month I subtract all my bills from my Social Security deposit. Then subtract the most I will spend on food and household for the month.

This month I know I had one medical copay, and will have one surgical center copay. So they have to be subtracted too.

I no longer drive, so I have to make an effort to spend money. I do buy one of my OTC meds on line. I need no clothing at this time. My climate means just one wardrobe + a jacket or sweater.

I go grocery shopping once a week at the supermarket.

I do my best to only bring in consumable items into my apartment.

Penny
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: favorite "no spend" trick.

Post by alliesmama4 »

I have a budget and no credit cards so there is no chance of spending.I do try to save in other areas to accumulate extra money for things that are unexpected.
Janet Alliesmama
clemencia2us
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Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 9:21 am

Re: favorite "no spend" trick.

Post by clemencia2us »

rinty wrote: Tue Jun 04, 2019 2:27 pm LOL Jodi, interesting approach.

Mine is much more dull..................Have A JOB.

So many British "frugal" bloggers get on my very last nerve because they seem to sit on their butts/go to car boot sales/charity shops and eat poorly prepared food. ANYTHING rather than actually WORK and brign some cash into the home.

Serious with a job, you are busy, you have a friendship group ( ideally ! ) a social life, stimulating conversation, your brain is busy ( good for your mental health ) You aren't a burden.

I can cheerfully No Spend for every day I work. When I'm at home , that can be a different story.
Good advice Rinty - so yesterday i applied for a job! :D Not sure if i will get it and it isn't until the start of the new school year, but i want a new car and i don't want to have to cut back on what i do now.....
littlemiss63
Posts: 2516
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2015 10:11 pm
Location: Middle Tennessee

Re: favorite "no spend" trick.

Post by littlemiss63 »

On a serious note, if I need something or just want something I buy it, if it's in the budget. I plan my purchases and I'm not an impulse buyer so that helps my cause. I have lived on a budget all my life and don't know if I would feel comfortable without one. I will never forget in my younger years that our budget was so simple and it remains that way in my older years. Write down what your income is, write down your expenses, if the expenses are more than your income, you have to make adjustments or have an account somewhere that you can draw from. You are in good shape if you have more money at the end of the month than you do at the beginning.

In order to use a credit card, you must be disciplined. I earn a cash rebate on everything that I spend and I do not carry a monthly balance. I have a spreadsheet and each category has a budget amount that I can spend that month. As I charge groceries, gas, a co-payment for a doctor's visit or new pair of earrings, I subtract the amount from the budgeted amount daily, it only takes a few minutes. It's a challenge to me to stay under budget and most months I am. I actually save more of my income now that I did when I was working, because my expenses are so much less. It cuts down on the money going through the cracks without me knowing exactly where it went.

I don't deprive myself, but I don't waste. I keep my house comfortable for myself in heating and cooling, but I watch my utility bill like a hawk. I wouldn't think of walking out of a room without turning off the light if it's not in use, if the weather is cool my a/c thermostat gets lowered and windows are opened.

Saving on food has been one of my biggest improvements on not spending. If I plan a menu and cook accordingly I find I'm under my food budget every month. Food whether I eat in or at a restaurant comes out of my food budget. I don't even have to spend a day or two bulk cooking for the month, I just cook extra each meal and freeze it into a meal. Label, put in certain bins in my freezer and put it on next months menu plan for a certain day. I am buying very few processed foods, sticking mainly to fresh vegetables, fruits and homemade desserts. I can't have the sodium and this works for me.

I am on a clothes and shoe fast this year. I haven't bought anything new since last year and I'm trying to go a year without a new purchase. I have so many clothes and shoes that are just hanging in my closets and I realized I will never wear them out before I die. If I saw something I just couldn't do without, it would have to be on sale for me to purchase. I have always bought my clothes out of season when they were on sale.

The amount that I'm under budget each month is transferred from my checking account into my emergency fund. I've heard so many of my friends say, "I can't live on my social security". I'm blessed, I can. I don't have to, but that is my goal every month. I have no debt and that is the way I hope to keep it.
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MackerelCat
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Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2015 9:44 pm

Re: favorite "no spend" trick.

Post by MackerelCat »

Jodi, you made me laugh in great unladylike snorts. :-D Rinty, you made me cheer! What a kindred spirit you are! I aim to not have my job "cost" me anything, so I pack my meals, coffee and cold drinks from home, and shop secondhand for clothes. I have a really cute work wardrobe that cost pennies on the dollar from thrift shops. It actually gives me a severe twinge to think of spending $15 a day on lunch from a cafe while working.

We are having a very tight week financially, having gotten clobbered with medical expenses lately, so my lunches have come from the pantry and odds and ends in the freezer. They aren't beautiful, but they are tasty and nutritious.

The severe twinge thing reminds me: There is an old van, covered with peeling college stickers, that parks in the church parking lot. It seemed to never move and I was concerned that someone might be living in it, so one day when I was there late, I happened to see a man in business clothes approaching the beat-up vehicle. I asked him if it went home at night, and he said it did. He had his hands full with two sackfuls of burgers and fries and a carrier of soft drinks.

So he's paying $10 a day to park, plus around $30 for a fast food supper. From the looks of the inside of the van, he does that and lunch out a lot, as it is littered with fast food wrappers and bags. I stood there and imagined how nice of a car he could afford if he cleaned up his act and stopped buying take out. He could at least afford to park in the nice shady garage around the corner.
Mackie
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LWolfT
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Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 10:46 am

Re: favorite "no spend" trick.

Post by LWolfT »

Well, I'd like to say that staying home is a good way not to spend ... but I have a credit card ... and there's Amazon and other internet retailers ...

Actually, I don't buy a lot of "stuff"" for me. Most of my online shopping is necessary stuff, like furnace filters or cat food or printer ink. (Or stuff I can order for pickup at a regular store.) We are coming up on replacements for some things, so I'll be on the lookout for good prices for those.
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