Lately I've been a bit on a buying overload. I'm finally at the point where I make enough money to cover my expenses without having to dip into student loan money, but I'm having to dig myself out of debt I created after I got a new card with 0% apr for a year and charged up thinking "Oh well, I'm not paying interest." I'm also trying to pay off my car loan by August. Because of this, I decided I really need to re-evaluate my spending habits. So I am going to try to go 6 months of buying no items that aren't essential for school or whatever. I have way too much stuff, and I don't want any more. I am still going to allow myself to get Starbucks a couple times a month, and go out with friends every once in awhile, but I am going to try my hardest not to accumulate any more "stuff." Just figured I'd share.

Good luck! Sounds like a good plan.

If it helps defray the "need" for Starbucks, I just remind myself how many calories are in most of them. LOL That's incentive to me!

Good plan! Keep us updated on how it's going.

Congratulations. More stuff means bigger house, which leads to bigger mortgage/rent and bigger headaches.

It's like my toolbox dilemma, lol. I need a couple new tools for some project, but my toolbox becomes full. So I buy a larger toolbox. The larger toolbox looks a bit empty, so I buy more tools. The new one eventually fills up....so....

This has been going on now for almost 30 years.

Well they are getting rid of my favorite drink soon, cause it's seasonal so I won't have to worry about being tempted to go there too much.


But I will keep you guys updated. I know I'm going to run into some pitfalls along the way, but hopefully I can avoid them.

it's a sickness that I share... it started 12 years ago when I bought my first home. haha

Do you want a stop spending partner? I really really need to curb the spending...

For sure! I also need a weight loss buddy if someone else does too.

Wonder if I could recruit my husband for that one....

How big is your toolbox NOW?

SOP for our house...unless beer is non-essential.

Which one?

I win everytime that question is asked.

Well, if you keep replacing the last one with a bigger one (as indicated by the blue)...I'd say the current.

Is a doggie door considered non-essential?!

no.

OK good because my puppy just peed in front of the back door again... as soon as I saw him walking over there I got up to open the door and he started go-ing. I swear Im about to lock the brat up in his kennel... he did that yesterday too...

OMG I just realized i have a bottle of 1999 Vintage Dom Perignon that I could sell... DH got it as a gift at work and I'm not a fan of Dom. Wonder if I could sell it on Craigslist? Never heard of people selling champagne online tho...

Sell? Pass it to the left.....

BREAK IT OPEN!!!! It's New Years!!

Hmmm... maybe I will keep that for the New Year. From what I found online I could only get like $100 for it. Can you believe my SIL wanted to waste it on mimosas on Christmas?! I sent DH to the store to get Korbel. Dom in a mimosa?! lol CRAZY!

Weight lose partner? When do we start?

I need to start like...yesterday.

can I join in on the essential only and weight loss teams
doing pretty good with weight loss, not spending is harder for me

I'd like to join on the essential only for 6 months please.
How do we keep each other motivated?
Do we ask when we're not sure if we should buy or not..
Do we keep a tally?

as far as what is "essential", that is pretty much going to be up to you to decide. Obviously food is going to be on the list, gas for the car, health and beauty stuff (toothpastes, deoderants, toilet paper, etc). Then you have cleaning supplies. Beyond that you have to decide if it is really essential. Clothing is something that can fall into a gray area. If your underwear has so many holes in it that it looks like moths took a vacation in your underwear drawer, then you probably could call a panty purchase essential at that point. The cute boots that you want and are marked down at Nordstrom, probably not essential.

I'm a magazine junkie. So for me, I don't let myself buy any mags when I am at the grocery store.

Purchases in 2009 so far:

1/1- $4.00 at Albertson's: Groceries- paid with cash
1/1- $4.00 for Video on Demand- billed
1/2- $3.00 ATM fees
1/2- $17.15 at QuikTrip: Gas- paid with cash
1/2- $94.00 at Walmart: Groceries- paid with cash
1/2- $58.00 at Walmart: Pull-Ups- paid with check

I haven't bought a thing yet this year. My pumpkin spice frappuccino from starbucks is seasonal, so tomorrow I usually would go to Starbucks for one since it's a Sunday, but I think I'll save five bucks.

I went through some of my stuff and realized that I have about 60 pairs of panties that I bought over the past year on sale and have never worn. That's about 100 bucks wasted. But on the bright side I won't have to buy undies for a few years.

Reminds me of a George Carlin routine. A house is just a place to keep your stuff. Look out the window of an airplane and what you see is individual piles of stuff with covers on them.

ROFL... purchases for 2009 so far

Pellets
Taco Bell
Starbucks

Uhm yea... but I swear the taco bell and starbucks were totally essential!!!

<-- check out my cool new button... yea baby

OK I'm not taking this vow of poverty, but here's a couple suggestions. New clothes might be essential, but they could come from Goodwill instead of Nordstrom, right? Reading magazines might be essential but you could stop off at the library and do it. Good coffee *IS* essential, but you can buy a 12-oz package of it at the grocery store for the price of one of those ridiculous Starbucks concoctions.

Seems to me that instead of trying to make "essential" a binary do-or-do-without decision and living like a monk, you need to think deeply about what "essential" means for the stuff you use.

Necessity is only half of the equation. Something which meets a need can still be excessive, and may not be bought at the right price or in the right quantity.

Coffee, if not a necessity, is certainly a productivity enhancer worth far more than its cost. A coffee drinker can avoid Starbucks, be it in store or home brewed. As far as the utility of coffee is concerned, generic will do just fine, and habitual coffee drinkers would be well advised to purchase multiple cans in a bulk package at a warehouse club.

The same applies for clothing. Clothing is a necessity, and depending on one's job, a certain style may also be a necessity. If you buy clothing frequently at retail, you are paying too much. Make friends with deep clearances and online sellers, and you will significantly cut your clothing expenses without sacrificing utility. Having a detailed budget will help in regards to something like clothing, where it is easy to spend more than you need. By budgeting beforehand, you can make calculated decisions regarding excellent price opportunities without being induced to buy too much by the discounts. If you can meet your needs with less than what your budget allows, then lower your allocation towards clothing to avoid the temptation of overspending.

Food is another excellent opportunity to save money. Buy generic staple items in bulk from a warehouse club. For other items, carefully monitor sales and online coupon offerings to get the right deal.

Put the cash, checks, and debit cards away. If you aren't earning at least 1% on all purchases, and more on specific purchases, then either (a) get the right card, or ( work on fixing your credit to get the right card. The way you pay can accumulate significant savings over the course of a year. The right combination of cash back rewards cards can easily yield above 2% cash back on an aggregate annual basis.

I don't think the extreme vow of extended poverty is a wise course, either. Maybe for a month or two to sort of "shock" yourself into it and get it going, but at some point if you don't allow yourself some enjoyment in life discouragement sets in and the chance for ultimate failure increases.

That's why I'm only doing it for six months. The real goal here is to stop spending enough to get myself out of debt, and to start really examining what I purchase. I used to be really good at being frugal but I have kind of fallen off the wagon now that I have some credit cards and it's so easy to spend more than I need. I have established a budget now so I will again take more consideration with things before I buy them. I honestly think I could go for a whole year, 'cause I'm not one who is really that worried about having the latest things, but I don't want to overdo it.

ummmm...you guys...

The entire point is that it is a short term exercise to see how little money you can get by with spending.


No one wants to take a Monk-ish vow of poverty for the rest of their lives...

That is one of my goals for at least a few months as well.

Stocked up on the weekend on warm clothes to get DD through the rest of winter (I already had bought her this summers clothes on clearance last fall).

My non-essential spending has been through the roof since my divorce. I have not accumulated any additional "debt" - but I honestly feel I am not saving enough, especially since I no longer have a second income to rely on.

Last month I had already bumped up my Roth contributions to $175 a month (I know, not huge), and I have recently reinstated my automatic savings into the various ING accounts.

Must. Stop. Going. To. Target.

I haven't gone to Target at all this year...... yet


Most of the stuff I find at Target is cheaper than buying it at the grocery store - like deodorant etc.


My problem is eating out. ALL.THE.TIME... So, I am trying to cook at home and not eat any fast food (which goes along with the weight loss).


I have added up eating out and DAMN - almost 500 a month and sometimes more..


So, that is my goal for 6 months - not to eat out.

That's a big part of our problem too eating out..
I would like to reduce that as well.
Maybe even only eating out on Saturdays..
If it was just me a sandwich, bowl of soup or cereal would be fine..