Spending Freeze Outcome

At the beginning of the month, I mentioned that I would be on a spending freeze for September. Let's see how I did, shall we? 

Date of Infraction: 9/7
Amount: $95.50
What It Was: 2 4-pack movie tickets
Where: Goldstar
What Had Happened Was... I've bought these tickets in the past, and they are good for any movie, any time, any day, at any AMC theater, and they never expire. And you don't need to have 4 people in one movie outing; they send you 4 (or in my case 8) separate tickets, so it doesn't matter how many people are in your party. I already know there are two movies coming out that Blue and I want to see, so that's 4 tickets right there. But since they never expire, I figured why not buy more? Because you're on a spending freeze Dani....duh.  Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time...

Date of Infraction: 9/8
Amount: $5
What It Was: Books!
Where: Shoprite (of all places)
What Had Happened Was... I went in for milk, and found a huge book sales. They had paperbacks for $1, hardcovers for $2, and so many books that have been on my TBR list. And one of my childhood favorites, Maniac Magee, which I knew I had to get. Obviously I could borrow most of these from my library, but it has ridiculous hours so I haven't been able to get there in months. I could buy them individually ooooor... fill a bag with as many as I could fit for $5. Boom.

Date of Infraction: 9/9 (3 days in a row! Stop!)
Amount: $172
What It Was: Stevie Nicks and The Pretenders tickets
Where: Ticketmaster
What Had Happened Was... Blue wants to go, which is rare. The last time she insisted on going to a concert it was her all-time favorite Bruce Springsteen, so I knew we were going if we got tickets. But on the day of the presale she was in meetings and couldn't get the tickets, so I did.

Grand Total: $272.50

And then... NOTHING! I mean, I had to re-up my supply of meds when I got sick, but I'm not counting that. There were a few DD days, but those were paid for using a gift card, so that also doesn't count. I was supposed to go apple picking/wine tasting, but I got sick, so I saved there for sure, and another night I was supposed to go to a happy hour, but friends cancelled. So while the total may be high, I still think I did pretty good considering that at least I didn't buy clothes or accessories. I've always said that if I'm going to spend, I'd rather spend on experiences, and while I spent a whopping $5 on books, I'd say I stuck to that pretty well this month! 

Do you prefer to spend on physical things or experiences? 

June Purchases

June Budget by lildesiqua featuring 3 wick candles

Bath & Body Works

3 Wick Candles: originally $22.50, on sale for $10 ea 

Foaming Sugar Scrub: originally $16.50, on sale for $8.25 

Malibu Smooth Body Scrub (no longer available): originally $16.50, on sale for $8.25 

Total: 56.50 - 20% off total purchase = $45.20

J Crew Factory Printed Boardwalk Pull-on Shorts: originally $54.50, on sale for $30, +50% off clearance items: $14.50

TJ Maxx 3-tired necklace: $25.00 

Home Depot Planter + Soil: $18.00

During my last budget check-in I stated that my clothing/beauty budget would be $250 quarterly/ $1,000 annual. I've gone over that quarterly budget, but since I didn't really buy anything other than shoes ($60) during the first quarter, I'm still below the $500 mark at the 6-month check-in. So I'm good! Woot! Also, I normally would never spend so much at BBW, but it's their semi-annual sale, and I've never seen those candles (my personal favorite) for such a low price before. AND they brought back my favorite scent, Bow Ties and Bourbon, so of course I needed 2 (one for me, one for Blue). And just a note, the BBW and J Crew Factory sales are still going on! :) 

Total Monthly Spending: $102.70

Total Quarter Spending: $322.20

Annual Budget Remaining: $617.80

Do you wait for sales or just buy when you need things?

Linking up with Franish for Budgeting Bloggers.

May Purchases

May Budget by lildesiqua featuring a jersey tank

H&M

Navy ankle pants: $30, on sale for $20

White/ beige / black /print/ palm (not pictured) tank tops: $13, on sale for $5/ea

Blue stripe swim cover-up: $10

Black/white stripe bikini top: $17

Teardrop necklace: $5

Blue polka dot button down shirt (below): $20

Total: $97- 20% off total purchase = $77.60

TJMaxx

Michael Kors sleeveless navy top with zippers: $20

Total Spending = $97.60 (but not really... read on!)

Obviously I need a different color comforter so you can actually see the stuff

On Mother's Day, my mom mentioned that she 1) saw a bunch of stuff that she put on hold at H&M on her lunch hour the day before and 2) wanted to "revamp" her image. I don't like shopping in general, but she insists it's a "bonding experience" and tries to drag me into stores almost every time I see her. Normally I resist all of her attempts, but how can you say no on Mother's Day? Plus, she had already put the stuff on hold, and she claimed it would be quick (it wasn't). Another perk of this particular shopping trip was that H&M has a deal whereby if you donate 3 items of clothing, you receive a coupon for 20% off your total purchase. Also shopping with my mom means she pays for everything, even though it was her day and I was supposed to be buying her gifts But she insists on buying and I don't like fighting in public, so I let her. I think I'm done buying things this season, except for a new blazer which I realized is necessary after my closet clean-out.

Speaking of the clean-out, I was finally able to send in my ThredUp bag, and earned $40.34! Woot woot! They accepted 71% of my Cleanout bag. I don't think I'll ever make that much from them again since I've gotten rid of most of my designer clothes/bags/shoes(from TJ Maxx and thrifting- ha!), but that was super cool! I also earned $62.37 from E-Bates in the last quarter by going through them to book my hotels for my last trip. I'm looking forward to getting that check this week. It really does pay to shop online! I've given up on Poshmark since I only made like $5 on it in the past year.

During my last budget check-in I stated that my annual clothing budget would be $250 quarterly/ $1,000 annual. I think I'm going to re-name this group as a clothing/beauty category since I've recently been spending more on beauty (which was non-existent before). So expect to see some beauty-related/cosmetic purchases included here in the future.

$780.50 - Annual remaining budget
$40.34 - ThredUp
62.37 - E-Bates
$883.21 - Maximum Budget available 

Do you budget? How do you categorize the non-essentials? 

Linking up with Franish for Budgeting Bloggers. 

April Purchases

Old Navy Rockstar Stay-White Skinny Jeans: $45 on sale for $30

Old Navy Open-Front Cardigan (sold out- similar) :$19 on sale for $10

Old Navy Split-Neck Boyfriend Tee: $15 on sale for $5

Old Navy Matte Sunglasses: $12.00 

Victoria's Secret "The Gorgeous" Halter Swim (in black): $44.50

Express Low Rise Barely Bootcut Jeans: $79.90 on sale for $40, paid with gift card $0

Sephora Future Gel Serum Concealer: $14

LUSH Sea Spray: $14, gift

LUSH Mask of Magnaminty: $14, gift

LUSH Rub, Rub, Rub Shower Scrub: free sample

Nine West Side Pump (purchased at TJ Maxx, similar here): $35

Converse Chuck Taylor All Star in gray (purchased at TJ Maxx, similar here): $35

Total Spending: $219.50

I hadn't really set up a clothing budget for the year since I don't really buy clothing all that often, but I think I'm going to start now that I've completed my closet overhaul. I've gotten rid of a lot of stuff that was ill-fitting and/or no longer in style, or at least not my personal style anymore (slutty club-wear from my early 20's? See ya). I'm setting a quarterly budget of $250. A lot of the purchases this month were for an upcoming vacation to Key West/Miami. The most expensive item was a bikini top from Victoria's Secret. I'm usually VERY thrifty and refuse to pay full price for anything, but this is an exception because it's totally worth it. I  usually buy one bathing suit per year, and I like the extra bit of "oomph" this gives my bee-stings. The other "pricey" item was the Express jeans. I used to love these jeans, but they have since redesigned them, and they don't fit like they used to, which is disappointing. But I also needed a pair of dark denim jeans and these happened to be on sale. As for the make-up, well, bloggers made me do it, and I don't regret them one bit!

What's one item or service you don't mind paying full-price for? 

Linking up with Franziska for Budgetting Bloggers! 

April Wallet Watch

Back in March, Steph created this April Wallet Watch linkup. I loved this idea because there were no "set" rules- you could make up your own. The main thing that I noticed during this month was how much I was spending and in what categories. It was a bit of an eye opener. 

I decided on 3 simple rules: track spending, no unnecessary/non-budgetted purchases, and stick to my budget. I'm glad I only had three rules- even sticking to those were hard at times! Here's the recap...

My Rules:

-track spending daily: (mostly) Success!

I did this. If I was using cash, I noted it in my phone on the same day (otherwise I know I would have forgotten). If I was using my card, I was able to just double check the statement. Except I hate checking my account. So a few days might have gone by without me checking.

Solution: I set an alarm on my phone to check my account every MWF.

- no unnecessary/non-budgeted purchases (gift cards not included): (mostly) Success!

The only thing I bought was a round trip train ticket because I couldn't find my transit pass, and a gift for my friend who had a baby. Oh, and I "bought" Gravity, so that will be added to my cable bill which I'll be paying for this month. Also, I did get my couch (finally), and it was $200 UNDER budget! #winning. I didn't use any gift cards, mainly because I usually am terrible and spend a little more than the gift cards are worth. I decided it was best if I just didn't walk into any stores, and delete all shopping related emails.

- stick to budget: Fail. 

I was under my grocery budget, which was set at $60. I guess buying some non-perishables at the Dollar Store really helped! And I paid all my bills, but that was it.

I failed the most miserably in the eating out/entertainment category. Week 1 was probably the worst for me. There were THREE unexpected (non-budgeted for) nights out, because two people who were unexpected came into town, and my work wife quit. Which meant eating/going out aka completely blowing my eating out/entertainment budget. Actually, the first outing only cost $20, because I was careful choosing what I got, didn't get any drinks, and got a free appetizer (thanks Yelp!).

But then my friend and her fiance came up for the weekend completely out of the blue, and I haven't seen them since last summer, so we went out. And my other friend quit, so we went out. One night I spent too much- the night my friend finally was able to go out because her bf was watching the baby. It was one of the very few times she was able to get a night out, and we took full advantage. (Which didn't end up well for her or my wallet, but that's another story.)

Overall, I think I did pretty well. I'm going to continue this through May and see if I can do a bit better. One thing that will help is that there are basically events every single weekend, so I know what I will be spending for them. Less free time = less frivolous spending in my case.

I've redone my budget, since I had to add a "Gift" category for May (hello, Mother's Day, a baptism, an engagement party, my Godson's graduation from Kindergarten, and 2 birthdays!). I think I need to be a little more realistic regarding my entertainment/eating out category. Or maybe separate the two. Plus, I need to save for an upcoming mini-vacation.

Do you budget? How did you do?

Spending Report: February and March 1-10

I mentioned that I would be doing spending reports the other day. My spending reports will only include miscellaneous expenses, not fixed expenses such as rent/transportation/etc.

Usually to track expenses, I just add it to a note in my phone called "Spending." As easy as this is, I still only remembered to do this a few times in February. Though I know it's old news, I'm going to put it here, along with my current spending. (Also, I just want it off of my phone so I can start fresh!) Unfortunately I already know where I have leaks, but maybe seeing it this will remind me to slow down a bit and reconsider before spending! So here goes:

FEBRUARY:
$40 - diner
$56 - cleaners
$87 - gifts
$20 - cloves
$34 - Girls Night Out #1
$45 - Girls Night Out #2
$60 - Superbowl (food and drinks)
$200 - Girls Weekend Getaway
---------------------------------------
$542

Good grief. I hadn't even done a budget in February. Now I can see why I seriously need it. BUT! A new month is upon us! Time to get it together!

MARCH 1 - 10
$20 - Night Out #1
$27 - Night Out #2
$10 - cloves
$7 - cab ride to the train station [I wasn't feeling well and it was raining/snowing]
$1 - books


UPDATE: I started writing this post on 3/6, at which point I realized I had already spend more than half of my bi-weekly allowance! Getting through until the 14th is going to be hard!

Spending Report: Nov. 4-10

Source: etsy.com via Crystal on Pinterest

I said I was going to re-assess and redo my budget, and track my spending. I was going to share my budget with you, buuuut I decided against it. Maybe I'll do that in the future. The only reason I'm tracking my spending here is because if I don't, then I probably won't do it- sad but true! Anyway, here's what I was buying last week:

Groceries (C and I split this bill): $30
Beer/wine: $27 (in my defense, we went out last Monday and a single beer was $10!)
Gift wine: $10
Sbarro's $8
Cloves: $10
Chinese take out: $13
Toys R Us (gifts): $70

Total: $168

Thoughts: Being that half of my total was spent on gifts, I don't feel too bad. Also, I'm quite proud of myself for not buying any Groupon/Living Social/etc deals this week- I'm a sucker for a great deal! Hooray!

May Review and June Budget

Bills (rent, cable, cell, loan repayments, etc) Budget: $1,605

Total: $1,650

Difference: -$45 

Grocery Budget: $200

Total: $134.00 

Difference: +$66

Eating out/Entertainment: $300

Total: $182.16

Difference: +$117.84

Shopping Budget: $100

Total:$115

Difference: -$15

Gifts Budget: $150

Total: $222.34

Difference: -$72.34 (forgot about my great Aunt's birthday, and my mom went WAY overboard on presents, and wanted me to put in half. Not cool.)

Medical Budget: $25

Total: $25

Difference: 0

Travel: $100

Actually Spent: $100

Difference: 0

JUNE BUDGET

• Rent:$857

• Transportation:$299

• Comcast (Internet+Cable): $238

• Phone: $100

• Loans: $165

• Credit Report: $17

• Netflix:$5

• Groceries: $200 

• Eating out/Entertainment: $150

• **Medical: $55

• **Travel: $50

• ** Shopping: $50

• ** Gifts: $100

• ** Misc: $50

All of the "**" are new categories. Well, new for me. For some reason I didn't include them in my previous budgets (see, I AM learning something by tracking and trying to budget, regardless of my success rate!). 

Some other changes:
Cut Entertainment/Eating Out in Half.

Cut Shopping in half. 

Cut travel in half. 

Cut Gifts by $50. 

I've decided to try to cut spending this month. We already have a lot of activities this month, between friends and Groupons to use. I went shopping pretty hard in May, and the only thing I really wanted this month was a VS bathing suit (ya know, for some extra "Ummpphh") but it's really not necessary. I want to throw all extra money into paying off student loans, or one in particular, so I need to cut back.

Spending Report: May 15-21

via

May 15: No Spend Day

May 16: No Spend Day

May 17: No Spend Day

May 18: No Spend Day

May 19: $7 Qdoba, $8 Stewart's, $10 cloves

May 20: $14 Groupon for Dinner for 2 in Midtown, $40 groceries, $6.60 Post Office, $10.68 Burlington Coat Factory (gifts), $6.26 CVS (gifts), $6.42 Home Depot (gifts), $10 cards, $50 donation

May 21: $30.85 2 Birthday presents, $4.50 beer

Grand Total: $197. 31

So, I may have forgotten about 3 people's birthdays this month! It lead to some extra spending, but hopefully not too much. Hence a bunch of little purchases here and there- I was putting together a gardening gift basket for my friend/old coworker. And then mailed it to her. But she got it today and was so surprised and really loved it! I love buying presents for people, especially when I think of/find something I know they'll love. But look- 4 "No Spend" Days! Sweet!

Spending Report: May 8-14

via

May 8: $6 cloves

May 9: $100 donation (getting reimbursed half)

May 10: $22 Living Social- one voucher for ice cream and one for dinner (getting reimbursed half), $40 Student Loan payment, $12 post office, $11 beer, $8 Mickey D's

May 11: $40 - Time Out NY Reggae Cruise Night tickets (being reimbursed half), $145 cell phone, $35 Phillies ticket [Also bought a Groupon for a haircut, but used Groupon Bucks from a previous return!]

May 12: $28 groceries, $35 CVS ($25 prescription- $10 other) +$15 BBW return

May 13: No Spend Day


May 14: $30 Mother's Day gift, $70 hotel from FL (March)

Grand Total: $486 (after reimbursements)

Hmm. Too many little purchases and Groupon/Living Social deals. Though I really do love the deals- we almost always use them (or get reimbursed if we don't). I guess I'll feel better about these purchases once I do use them. But also some bills in there, so not all Entertainment monies.  Will have to do better this week. Maybe there is something to those "No Spend Days"?

Spending Report: May 1-7

via

As I stated here, one of my goals is to have weekly spending reports, to more easily track my spending. Here is where we I am at:

May 1: $82 Poshmark (clothes), $4 Path, $15 living social flowers, $223 transportation, $857 rent, $2.25 burr

May 2: $16.41 cloves

May 3: No Spend Day!

May 4: $2.25 burr, $10 Taco Bell

May 5: $16.75 burr (Happy Cinco De Mayo!)

May 6: $36 groceries (lots of meat... not bad)

May 7: $5.16 Netflix, $19.53 Hallmark (cards), $17.12 Bath & Body Works (getting returned this weekend), $22.91 Old Navy (shoe sale. It was actually $42, but C gave me an extra $20 when I told him I shouldn't buy one of the 3 pairs because it was out of my budget. So he bought them for me!)

Grand Total: $1328.56

Overall, I don't think I did too bad. Yes, I may have spent my entire clothing allowance in one week, but it was all stuff I really wanted. For a long time (like, at least 6 months!). And some stuff for Mother's Day. I ain't mad at myself!

April 16-30 Spending Report / May Budget

I really have not wanted to do this. I know I overspent this month. But, I guess the only thing to do is learn from my mistakes. And try not to repeat them. At least I'm getting pretty good at tracking, right?? Ok ...deep breath... here we go...

Bills (rent, cable, cell, loan repayments, etc) Budget: $1,372

Actually Spent:  $0 {all bills paid in first 2 weeks}

Total: $1,382.04 (-$10)

Grocery Budget: $200

Actually Spent: $20

Total: $140.00 (+$80!)

Eating out/Entertainment: $300

Actually Spent: $199.46

Total: $303.03 (-$3.03)

Ok, maybe I'll keep this right at $300... eep. Just a breakdown, for myself.  Lots of eating out in the last 2 weeks...

$4.5 beer

$2.25 beer

$32 On the Bone Steakhouse

$16 Madison lunch 

$15? Sbarro lunch

$10 cloves

$29 Big Daddy's Diner

$2 Dunkin

$10 cloves

$1.50 Snapple

$7 Girl Scout cookies

$16.71 Burger King

$5 The Cuban

$6 movies 

$6.50 lunch
$36 bar

Shopping Budget: $0

Actually Spent:  $5 {ulta}

Total: -$25

Gifts Budget: $0

Actually Spent: $9 {cards}

Total:-$169

Medical Budget: $0

Actually Spent: $0

Total:  -$45 {spent in first 2 weeks}

Travel: $0

Actually Spent: $0 (hotel bill from 4/13 wedding didn't come in yet)

Total: -$238 (from Florida trip last month)

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

MAY Budget

• Rent:$857

• Transportation:$223 +$100 {next month I will have no extra money on my TransitCheck from work, so will have to pay the total transportation cost - $300- out of pocket. So I'm putting $100 aside for that this month}

• Comcast (Internet+Cable): $238

• Phone: $100

• Loans: $165

• Credit Report: $17

• Netflix:$5

• Groceries: $200 

• Eating out/Entertainment: $300

• **Medical: $25

• **Travel: $100 {I already know I owe C $70 for the hotel from last month that he put on his CC, so really this will only be $30 into the Travel fund}

• ** Shopping: $100

• ** Gifts: $150 {Mother's Day + several birthdays will make this a big gift giving month}

• ** Misc: $50
• Giving: $50 

All of the "**" are new categories. Well, new for me. For some reason I didn't include them in my previous budgets (see, I AM learning something by tracking and trying to budget, regardless of my success rate!). 


 I think this categorization will help me keep these more organized in my mind as well.  I think this covers just about everything. 


I think other costs such as sending mail and taking the PATH will go under "Misc."


I will try very hard to stay in budget, especially for gifts. I really like giving great gifts, sometimes regardless of cost. So this will be a definite challenge. 


That last bullet, Giving, is only for this month. My friend is doing a walk for Lupus, and I want to support her with a donation. Usually I give in other ways, like time, clothing, or food, but since I am not walking this year, I want to give a little.


I don't anticipate there being any "extra" money. If there is, I will put it towards either travel or savings. I think. 

Ok,... I think that's all for now. Wish me luck!