pvp Low/No Spend September (and half of October) (:

[Heidi]

Transparency: $90 on groceries a day early since I was out of some basic things (I didn't buy groceries last week), +20 delivery and tip (worth it).

[Darciana]

18 hours ago, Heidi said:

You cannot drop all this wonderfulness and not drop at least the name, but preferably a link, to said planner. 

❤️

 

My apologies!

As requested: The first planner I ever stuck to

I have the moon cycles one now and it's all beaten up. I purchased the cottage-y orange one because it's so so pretty. My current inserts have a few pages in the back for notes, to-do lists, crystals, about me, etc. I don't really mess with those sections. I haven't had one that has the spot for Tarot so not sure if that's an add-on or it's new this year. Also haven't seen the daily moon phases but that may be in the sections I don't really bother with much. Either way, I love it. Every month there's a quote and I haven't read one yet that doesn't spark a little joy or thought that really makes my heart happy. There's spots for sabbats to write out rituals (mine is usually centered around baking) and then daily sections. It's nothing particularly special, but it was an investment to me. A snowball of sorts - I paid for it, therefore I feel accomplished in actually using it. Using it helps my mental health. Mental health is good and therefore should stick around as long as I can manage. And this is why, for the 3rd year, it's purchased, despite the steep price. Mental health is worth the price (plus, therapy is far more expensive to upkeep year round so really, I can't be mad at myself, right? Especially as I can't get off work for regular therapy and it seems nobody does early or late sessions around here...ugh)

and: The planner inserts for the planner binder I already own this is for the A6 binder I have which, unfortunately, doesn't fit the A5 inserts from the planner above. But, all is well as I like to keep a separate work planner anyway and this saves me money as well as reduces a bit of waste ?

[Heidi]

The planner is lovely! Anything you use and anything that focuses or ground you is a win, and it sounds like this does both, as well as nurturing your Path. 

 

Not being able to take time off for therapy is one of those hidden insults, and BOO on the system!

 

Sending love.

?

[Sovalis]

Hi Friends!

 

Just a note that I needed an outing and so went to the fancy grocery store in town and spent $100 on groceries that will keep me well fed for a while. I bought a beef roast that I made into Beef and Barley soup for dinners, and tried some cottage cheese for breakfast which I have never had before. It was good. I did not buy either of the fancy mustards, the diet pops, the charcuterie, or the borscht. I do think I need some beets, though, if I can find some somewhere. 

[Darciana]

I had a win: I spent under $150 for groceries for this week. I think this had more to do with my planning (and tonight's dinner request which I had everything for already) than the Man being gone for 2 dinners (he should be home by dinnertime on Thursday, *knocks on wood* )

[Sovalis]

My grocery spending will be going back up because Dave is home on Sunday. I also ordered stevia for my coffee and splurged on a bag of sugar free pumpkin spice baking chips from a company I really like. They were $11 for the bag (!!!) but I eat them ~20 chips at a time as a treat, so a bag lasts a long time. I hope they're good!

[Heidi]

4 hours ago, Sovalis said:

My grocery spending will be going back up because Dave is home on Sunday. I also ordered stevia for my coffee and splurged on a bag of sugar free pumpkin spice baking chips from a company I really like. They were $11 for the bag (!!!) but I eat them ~20 chips at a time as a treat, so a bag lasts a long time. I hope they're good!

Welcome back DAVE!!!!

❤️

 

[Heidi]

22 hours ago, Sovalis said:

Hi Friends!

 

Just a note that I needed an outing and so went to the fancy grocery store in town and spent $100 on groceries that will keep me well fed for a while. I bought a beef roast that I made into Beef and Barley soup for dinners, and tried some cottage cheese for breakfast which I have never had before. It was good. I did not buy either of the fancy mustards, the diet pops, the charcuterie, or the borscht. I do think I need some beets, though, if I can find some somewhere. 

Beets are a wonder. I hope you find some!

Good for you for getting good food! I also struggle with not buying fancy mustard. What is it about mustard? Anyway, I love it, and am impressed by your self control.  

 

6 hours ago, Darciana said:

I had a win: I spent under $150 for groceries for this week. I think this had more to do with my planning (and tonight's dinner request which I had everything for already) than the Man being gone for 2 dinners (he should be home by dinnertime on Thursday, *knocks on wood* )

Nicely done on groceries!

 

Seems like we're all talking about food expenses this week. 
I spent $44 on weekend-visit groceries and a few supplies for Vivian.

My last farm vegetables payment for the year posted this week. I'll not be getting eggs next year; Ijust don't use as many as I once did, and even though I was excited that the farmers offered a half-dozen option this year (instead of a whole dozen each week), I am still somehow swimming in eggs. 

 

Also finally broke down and purchased a printer which also means paper and a couple other attendant supplies. Total $184.

Academia and presentations are expensive.

[Snarkyfishguts]

I bought some fall clothes this week and a suitcase for my trip. I also made some unnecessary purchases that must be returned tomorrow so my goal this week is to buy nothing and get back to only buying what I need when I need it, not just in case I need it. But I have everything I need right now, including fresh produce so there is no reason to buy more things this week. 
 

[deftona]

Hi all! The wonderful @Snarkyfishguts has pointed me in this direction as I have introduced some strict spending measures this challenge as I adapt to being single person household for the first time in my life! I have no idea in real terms how much I am going to have to tighten my belt because this is all new to me so for now I am just trying to reduce my spending as much as possible and use what I already have for as long as I can. 

[Darciana]

On 9/25/2023 at 4:41 PM, deftona said:

Hi all! The wonderful @Snarkyfishguts has pointed me in this direction as I have introduced some strict spending measures this challenge as I adapt to being single person household for the first time in my life! I have no idea in real terms how much I am going to have to tighten my belt because this is all new to me so for now I am just trying to reduce my spending as much as possible and use what I already have for as long as I can. 

Welcome to our little corner. I hope that this learning process is as pain free as possible.

We are here to support you!

[Snarkyfishguts]

I just set a limit for shopping sites and apps on my phone, and am returning everything I bought this week because I am apparently replacing stress-eating with buying socks on Amazon.

 

 

 

[Darciana]

1 hour ago, Snarkyfishguts said:

I just set a limit for shopping sites and apps on my phone, and am returning everything I bought this week because I am apparently replacing stress-eating with buying socks on Amazon.

 

This sounds suspiciously like something I'd do.

In fact, I noticed, while putting away my laundry yesterday, I'm in need of more socks. And workout clothes.

[Heidi]

It's a good week for Amazon apparently -- I finally broke down and bought a printer (which also means paper and replacement toner) and also it's that time of year when I buy my daughter some October - December preholiday tradition stuff, and I went a little heavy handed with all the new options that I found for this. 

 

Also, stress buying is real and here I am to admit that I did it and I'm in no way returning anything. I did it on purpose and I'm 100% okay with it.

[Snarkyfishguts]

2 hours ago, Darciana said:

This sounds suspiciously like something I'd do.

In fact, I noticed, while putting away my laundry yesterday, I'm in need of more socks. And workout clothes.

Its not like you just need one kind of sock. There are athletic socks, compression socks, dressy socks, warm socks, no show socks… oh and work out clothes are seasonal. Fer sure. 

36 minutes ago, Heidi said:

It's a good week for Amazon apparently -- I finally broke down and bought a printer (which also means paper and replacement toner) and also it's that time of year when I buy my daughter some October - December preholiday tradition stuff, and I went a little heavy handed with all the new options that I found for this. 

 

Also, stress buying is real and here I am to admit that I did it and I'm in no way returning anything. I did it on purpose and I'm 100% okay with it.

Ooooooh what kind of printer?

 

i am here for enabling the buying for one’s daughter. Buying presents is the whole reason i like saving lol

[Darciana]

For accountability: I only spent $102 and change for groceries for the week for my house. I did spend $55 and change on groceries for a get-together we had this weekend with friends since we split the bill (only fair).

I spent $15 and change on lunch yesterday and $14 and change on breakfast Saturday.

 

I'm well under budget grocery/food wise. I have extra leftover from this paycheck that will help cover this coming weekend without digging into the upcoming paycheck's budget (get paid Thursday so I'll have to take a note of what I have as a budgetary surplus and ensure I stay within that).

 

I'm thinking of getting my helix piercing this weekend (unsure cost). Also going to Oktoberfest to purchase a pin for my hat, enjoy a beer, and German dinner Friday (unsure that cost, either). Saturday is an All Hallow's Market in a town about an hour-ish away that I'm going to go to (fuel and hopefully no big spending because I'm determined to be mindful). Next Monday is my birthday and hopefully the Man will be home (he's scheduled to land at 11am so I don't see why he wouldn't) and we're going out to eat for my birthday because I want tiramisu! If he's home, I know he won't let me pay but I'm mentally accounting for it just to have an emergency buffer.

[Sovalis]

Hi Friends! 

 

I got my first, monthly paycheque from the cafe yesterday. It was ~$80 short of what I made in a month at the shop, so this is doable as long as I keep getting similar hours. Getting paid once a month sketches me out a bit as it made end of month quite lean with Dave needing additional funds for his travel, but I made it work. 

 

Today we spent $277 in groceries, including toilet paper, laundry detergent, and garbage bags. Plus the ingredients for lasagna which is never cheap. Thanksgiving is this weekend, plus I'm flying to BC for a wedding. Eek. Some expenses expected. 

 

Hope you're all doing okay with your goals! 

[Darciana]

More accountability:

 

I spent $110 on halloween. But these items are re-wearable later on and good quality so I'm not terribly upset by it. Especially as I have said for at least 3 years I'm going to be Belle for halloween (Beauty and the Beast) and I've now ordered everything needed for the town blue outfit.

 

In addition, which isn't mentioned in my personal challenge, the Google Pixel 8 pre-orders became available after the official launch this morning. I went ahead and ordered the Pixel 8 Pro as it actually will lower my phone bill in the long run with monthly payments (from $28 to $22). The bill the end of this month will be outrageous as the Man also upgraded his phone so we will have 2 activation fees involved plus the "due today" fees of $181 that only allowed me the option to add to my bill from my pre-order. Oh well.

 

In addition, they had a deal of 50% off the Pixel Buds and Pixel Buds Pro if pre-ordering a Pixel 8. My current Airpods are dying slowly but surely and I'm going to need a new pair of earbuds soon - I was looking at the AirPod Pros and the Pixel Bud Pros as both have noise cancelling (useful as the Man and I share an office and it gets hard to hear when both talking on calls - he has Airpod Pros while I have no noise cancelling). Well, I went ahead and spent only 50% of what I otherwise would because I pre-ordered the phone.

 

Yes, it's a lot of money to drop all at once. No I'm not proud that I did that. However, I'm going to need new earbuds, preferably with noise cancelling, probably in the next 3-4 weeks anyway. I'm going to be spending the money since they are used 99% of the time for work-related calls, not personal stuff. Might as well suck it up now and take advantage of the 50% off deal. Only bonus is that I can deal with this money issue later this month (around the 20th). Fortunately I should be able to split payment and see if the Man will help if it's too outrageous as that paycheck will also cover mortgage and the other Big Bills. We haven't recently calculated the split bills costs with all these changes that have happened. We're due for that soon I think. If the bill comes out soon enough, I might be able to split the bill between the two paychecks as well, saving Future Me a little more heartache.

[Snarkyfishguts]

4 hours ago, Darciana said:

Well, I went ahead and spent only 50% of what I otherwise would because I pre-ordered the phone.

I dropped money on AirPods and it was worth it.  I love the noise cancellation for flights and noisy places and the transparency setting is awesome when I am walking because I actually hear more than with my ears alone.  I got mine on sale too.

[Darciana]

13 hours ago, Snarkyfishguts said:

I dropped money on AirPods and it was worth it.  I love the noise cancellation for flights and noisy places and the transparency setting is awesome when I am walking because I actually hear more than with my ears alone.  I got mine on sale too.

That's really good to hear. Apparently this Pixel Buds recognize when I'm talking/having a conversation and mute my music if I'm listening to it. That's really cool to me and something I'm curious about with the Man talking on  calls across the room hahah I didn't think about flights, but that will be good with any work travel I do, as well. Win!

I'm glad they had this deal. I almost bought the Buds a couple weeks ago because I couldn't get my Airpods to connect (I'm a Google Pixel user but got the Man's airpod hand-me-downs when he upgraded and made it work because I'm cheap like that). I got them to work finally and told myself I'd try to get new airpods or buds for Christmas for myself. Well, Christmas came early and I'm glad for it since I'm worried right now these airpods won't last until next week when my new phone and buds ship! Plus, I'm not one to turn down a discount when I know I'm going to be needing something!

[Snarkyfishguts]

39 minutes ago, Darciana said:

Apparently this Pixel Buds recognize when I'm talking/having a conversation and mute my music if I'm listening to it.

Whoa, that is awesome. 

[Darciana]

15 minutes ago, Snarkyfishguts said:

Whoa, that is awesome. 

Apparently Apple has this feature now, too. I hadn't heard of it until yesterday when I was researching the Buds before purchasing. I didn't read this entire article, but I skimmed the first few paragraphs - it has some cool info I wasn't aware of that I thought I might share.

 

https://www.engadget.com/pixel-buds-pro-update-adds-conversation-detection-and-several-other-new-features-143008298.html

[Heidi]

On 9/29/2023 at 3:45 PM, Snarkyfishguts said:

Ooooooh what kind of printer?

 

i am here for enabling the buying for one’s daughter. Buying presents is the whole reason i like saving lol

I’m a die-hard Brother printer fan, so I got another one.

I love buying things for my daughter! The whole reason I want a debt-free landscape and a savings account is so that I can say YES to her as often as possible.  

 

On 10/4/2023 at 3:10 PM, Darciana said:

Yes, it's a lot of money to drop all at once. No I'm not proud that I did that.

No need for shame! Technology needs are a real thing, in personal life as well as in work life, and I support taking advantage of deals whenever possible on long-term purchases that make your life better.

 

On 10/3/2023 at 11:29 PM, Sovalis said:

Thanksgiving is this weekend, plus I'm flying to BC for a wedding. Eek. Some expenses expected. 

OOO, this sounds exciting! (And yes, I’m here to testify about travel expenses!)

 

Transparency for the NY trip so far: Well, I’m not going to put actual numbers on paper about the hotel expense. Six nights in NY isn’t cheap, and I went into it knowing the cost in advance. In addition to that was the Amtrak to NY, and the food on the train. I went with a business class seat upgrade (highly recommended), and food on the train was about $38. Not bad, and definitely better than airport food prices (and better quality, too.) A taxi from the Amtrak station to the hotel was $75, because I still had no clue about how to navigate public transit yet. Monday night’s delivered meal was $40, and then there was the $58 trip to the pharmacy on Tuesday evening, and then $60 for dinner and foodstuffs for the fridge. Travel in town is so much cheaper than I expected: $2.90 for the bus or the train, and I’ve been loving the sense of freedom and empowerment that this has created. Bonus: once you hit 12 payments (from the same payment source) with the MTA in a week (starting on a Monday), the rest of your rides that week are free. So the max I’ll spend on public transit is about $35, even with going into the city several times in addition to going to the college every day for the conference. Last night I went out with the conference organizer and some of the philosophers. My share of pizza night was $40. 

 

I took my first trip into Manhattan today and went to the NYPL, including $14 for lunch (Brie, cress, and apple on pumpernickel and a hot tea) and then also a significant expense at the book shop that went on one of the cards I’ve been paying down. This was an expected expense, and one of the reasons that I’ve been so aggressive with the cards. I’m glad I can say YES to me, too, and this is all about the ritual, something @Sovalis and I talked about — I’m glad I’m honoring my pilgrimage as such. This is a significant life event for my soul. All told, I was prepared to drop more than the actual tally, so I’m not upset at all, and it helps me navigate the recent amazon expenses and the upcoming $0 paycheck for missing work for a whole week. This is good; all will be well.

 

 

[Sovalis]

Hi Friends!

 

Just got home from the wedding and wanted to gush about the Bride, Dana, covering my costs while I was there. I paid for my plane ticket, but she and Cam covered everything else, which was so deeply appreciated. I tried to be a cheap date, which was good I think. So I have the $50 I cashed in of my tip money from work that I took for the wedding to put towards something else. Might throw it against my credit card as I bought boots before I left...

[Darciana]

8 hours ago, Sovalis said:

Hi Friends!

 

Just got home from the wedding and wanted to gush about the Bride, Dana, covering my costs while I was there. I paid for my plane ticket, but she and Cam covered everything else, which was so deeply appreciated. I tried to be a cheap date, which was good I think. So I have the $50 I cashed in of my tip money from work that I took for the wedding to put towards something else. Might throw it against my credit card as I bought boots before I left...

That's super duper sweet! I'm glad you were able to go and  enjoy yourself