4 Stages you'll encounter during a "No Spend" challenge.

You get damn proud of yourself, that's what! haha... That is, until, you take a break from it and go on a splurging trip ;) Fortunately, that never happened to me, but if i have any more of the days like the one I had yesterday, it becomes a scary possibility.

Today's post is about the roller coaster your mind goes on during these sexy No Spend challenges.

Or, shall i say, what happened to ME when I did this for a good 40 days over Lent. I was reminded of this internal battle as i was commenting away on No More Spending's post on giving it a shot for 6 months! I would LOVE to say i could do that, but I know myself way too much to give that a shot these days.

As I was writing my novel of a comment, it reminded me of all the stages i had gone through when giving this a shot. Everyone's brains are different of course, but if you've never tried it, it's safe to say you'll probably go through something similar:

1. Ah i can do this, no problem at all! Looking back, what was i smoking?! The "i can do this" part was right, but the "no problem at all" part? HAH. I mean, in a way you HAVE to think this though or you wouldn't even start on such a crazy adventure, but i know not to kid myself the next go around ;)
2. WOW, I spend a loooooooooooot of money. Yup, that's where the "a-ha!" moment hits you. I always thought i was a savvy spender, and for the most part i am, but when it came to picking up a cple things here and there, that $hit adds up!
3. I just bought something? Even when you have your eyes open at all times, sometimes you don't realize you're spending money!!! I messed up 1 time during my stint, and I didn't even know it until hours later. Know what it was? iTunes! I'm so used to previewing all the new music out there, and w/out even *thinking* twice just clicking away and buying songs here and there. They're only $0.99 a piece, but that still counts against you my friend.
4. This is EASY peazy - I can go on forever! I hit this part after about 3 weeks. Once your mind set gets on track, it's like you don't even have to think about it anymore. You get good at knowing what IS, and what ISN'T a necessity, and usually you've knocked away all those iTunes and Amazon habits. Once you hit this point, "not spending" becomes routine, and you can usually last longer than your original goal - if you're up for it.

That's not so bad, right? There's a lot of factors that play a part in this of course, such as your age, circle of friends, already formed spending habits, etc, but the "cycle" is pretty much the same.

If you've never given it a shot, I challenge you to do so! Start out with just a week, and work yourself up to longer if you get something out of it. And if you need some motivation, just take a look at some of your favorite blogs out there - most of them have given it a shot at one point or another. Hell, Saving 4 Later does a good 150+ "No Spend Days" a year!

And if you're already golden, then I salute you good sir (or madam). And be sure to tell me all of your sexy secrets so that I may knock off a cple years of work ;)

• Digg this! • Stumble it! • Send to PF Buzz • Save to Del.icio.us • Subscribe to feed

Can today be a "Zero spend day" ?

I've flirted with the idea a couple times in the past, but i've never actually declared one myself. And i'm quite sure i've accomplished many of them in past w/out knowing it, but today I make it official. So Mrs. Chicky, i accept your mini-challenge and declare today my first "Zero Spend Day".

Do you hear that Mr. Frugal? Are you back in action? I sure hope so, cuz it's time to wake up and pay attention...we've got a long day ahead of us! To make this complete, here is a list of things i will NOT spend $ on today:

• Coffee
• Bananas
• Lunch (thank goodness for PB&J)
• iTunes
• Woot.com
• Safeway
• Beers & Cheers
• wedding items
• bills
• lottery tickets
  

There is only 1 thing i may do, and that is put a $1 bill in my cup for the "dollar a day" challenge that's still going on. Not that i'm actually spending it on anything, as it's just being placed somewhere else, but i needed to clarify in case i get audited by the PFG (personal finance group). haha...

Okay, I think that pretty much covers it. The only thing i can see going wrong here is if i get caught off guard from some amazing offer, and just totally forget the operation at hand. Oooohhh, speaking of which, i can fix that too. Give me one sec....

okay back! I JUST wrote "No Spend Day" on my hand in permanent marker ;) this way, if that hand makes it's way down into my pocket to get my c/c, or cash, i'll see those words from the get go. Me so smart.

Alrighty, off we go to hopefully conquer another money challenge! I'll be sure to post my results tomorrow, or throughout the day if something terribly exciting happens (don't hold your breath).

Thanks again Chicky for your prompting :), and see you all on the blog-side.

• Digg this! • Stumble it! • Send to PF Buzz • Save to Del.icio.us • Subscribe to feed

I Pronounce Today "Random Day"

1) I saved $8.50 yesterday at California Tortilla! you know those stamps you always get at fast food places like subway and all? well, i rounded up all mine from the past year and a half from eating at C.T. and it turns out i had just enough for a scrumptious FREE chicken quesadilla. i guess it DOES indeed pay to collect those little guys.

2) F! I just realized i spent .99¢ on an itunes song this weekend :( although it WAS related to this blog (it was "For The Love of Money from The O'Jays, & The Apprentice.), i still broke my Lent Challenge. F. F. F. i was on a crazy roll...oh well, at least i didn't do it intentionally.

3) I re-posted 4 jackets on Craigslist again, since they failed to find a new home a few months back. I'm pretty sure i have a track-jacket addiction, and i've been trying to unload the ones i never wear anymore. This includes these 4 out of the 15+ I have. I'd give eBay a shot, but i find i lose way more there when it comes to clothes. plus one of my jackets is pretty puffy and would require some interesting fenagling to mail it. Either way, the more i sell, the more my Fun Fund pumps up (evil laughs).

4) My credit card bill came in, and for the 2nd time in a row i've gone under my $800 budget! Last month i was around $130 under, and this time i'm under $250. i believe it's the inertia that's moving me along now. i might have to drop my budget down to $700 if i can keep this up to better acount for everything. if only the wedding wasn't coming up... (re: money that is. i do want to marry ;) )

5) Check it: www.trueofficeconfessions.com. Hilaaaaarious! Maybe you could even waste some time on it when you're bored? Thanks Give Me Back My Five Bucks for posting about it, it has made my last 24 hours very pleasant :)

6) It's taken me a good 3 hours to post this. it just so "happens" that i'm at work, and every freakin' time i log in to write, something work related comes up and distracts me. This is actually the fourth time i've tried to push this bad boy out. i mean, what do they expect....for me to work? pshhh.

• Digg this! • Stumble it! • Send to PF Buzz • Save to Del.icio.us • Subscribe to feed

It's Friday and my stomach is full :)

I've been getting slammed here at work the past cple hours, so figured what better break than giving my friends a shout out?! By the way, have you heard the joke about the jump rope? Ahhh, just skip it...

Seriously though, get this. So remember i was trying to not spend any $ during work hours? Well, that lasted 3 days. BUT, the funny part is that as soon as i gave up, i had no problem w/ it! Check it:

DAY 1: i snuck off to a bar during the day to have a drink and relax for 20 mins...i had forgotten.
DAY 2: i ran out of bread for my PB&J's and went out to Chipotle w/out even a thought.
DAY 3: i was craving the new chili bowl @ California Tortilla. *this is the point when i realized i had to give up.

Then, get this:
DAY 4 (yesterday): ate 2 mighty fine PB&J's. $0.00 spent.
DAY 5 (today): boss-man took us out to eat (@ a fancy place too!) and again $0.00 spent.

I'm not sure if it's just the way the stars are aligning or what, but i gotta say i'm pretty happy w/out the challenge. Don't get me wrong, it's GREAT if you can do it, but i've been perfectly fine the last 2 months bringing lunch 2-3 times a week. I think i'm just all "challenged" out lately.

Krystal at work, aka "give me my five dollars back" will be posting another challenge in April, so perhaps i'll give it my all on that one? Either way, for all of you who's doing swimmingly on this work challenge though, keep on keeping on!

• Digg this! • Stumble it! • Send to PF Buzz • Save to Del.icio.us • Subscribe to feed

Are my challenges challenging enough?

I thought today would be a good day to check in w/ all the challenges i'm working on, and note my progress (or lack of). Here's everything i currently have going on:

A dollar a day A- : As i empty my trusty cup, i count $10.10! This may be surprising in two ways. The first, and most obvious, is that little 10 cents at the end. How can there be 10 cents in it if the name of the game is "dollar a day". Well, i found a dime at Starbucks this morning :) Normally I just ignore coins on the floor (unless it's a quarter), but then i figured why not drop it in my dollar cup? So it is now officially the cup of savings at work. The second going here, is that I initially wanted, and tried, to save exactly 1 dollar a day. This ended up becoming an issue of logistics due to days off and the weekends. It's very hard to put in $3 in one day as it starts getting rather annoying, and that's IF you even remember to do so as it usually falls on a Monday. That, and it's not that smart, per se, to lave a cup full of cash on your desk so that others may peek into it. Hiding this cup now also helped hide it from my memory. At any rate, my plan is now to put in a Mr. Washington only on work days. No need to be hardcore about it, right? So, calculating from the day i started (minus the weekends, the holiday, and the day off) I SHOULD have a total of $11.00 in there. I'm not that much off :)

No buying random crap (for Lent) B+ : This is hard to rate, as i never stipulated anything about using my "fun money" stash at thrift stores! I'll post about it soon, but it's basically a stash I have at home of cash earned from selling things on eBay/Craigslist, etc. I allow my myself to buy anything I want from it as it is extra $ created just for that. So, I did indeed by a cple items for our guest room from a thrift store using that $, but it never really added any expenditure to my budget. On the other hand it does fall under purchases "not needed", ya follow me? I guess if i'm going by the title of the challenge, however, "No buying random crap", then I have to count it as a failed instance. One time ain't bad considering it's already been 22 days!

No buying lunch/drinks/snacks @ work F+ : Ha ha... just kidding. This hasn't even started yet (I'm a sneaky one)! I actually start March 1st, and go for an entire month. I started getting in shape, however, by bringing in peanut butter & jelly sandwiches 2-3 times a week, and so far so easy. It's like elementary, middle, and high school all over again!

• Digg this! • Stumble it! • Send to PF Buzz • Save to Del.icio.us • Subscribe to feed

Pray tell, is this possible?

I've been scouring all sorts of personal finance blogs lately as i'm fairly new to the game here, and i just came across a lunch challenge posted by the mastermind behind krystalatwork.blogspot.com (i take it her name is krystal?) aka "Give Me Back My Five Bucks. I love that name, clever right? At any rate, if you peruse this sexy little article you will notice that a good 28, TWENTY-FREAKIN'-EIGHT PF'ers are currently giving this a shot!

Man that seems like bonkers. Wait what? what's that you say...I'm listed on there too? Why yes, look at that i sure am. Well what's a newbie to do but to follow the crowd and gain some pointers right? Right.

So, i pose the question: Is it possible not to spend a dime on lunch, snacks, tea, or coffee during a normal 9-5 workday for an entire month? I can gather that it's at least fathomable due to the amount of responders alone on her posting, but can i myself, J. Money, do this? The simple answer is i haven't a clue. I've never tried, and i never thought i would to be perfectly frank.

Like others, however, i thrive on personal challenges and am willing to give it a shot....just not starting now :) I will be starting March 1st and going throughMarch 31st. (out of all the months to pick right? the one with 31 days in it!). I already have a hardcore challenge i'm working on for Lent, and i honestly don't think i can do both challenges at the same time w/out preparing a little first. What's the point on starting something you know you won't be able to finish right?

So, i will stare down this "no spending during work" nonsense, and report back w/ status checks in the near future. I can't promise they will be all that exciting, but there's the off chance i'll get cranky and rant a little....in which case you'll probably enjoy it a bit more ;) I'm sexcited!

----
I challenge you to give it a shot as well! If you're all in, go ahead and add your name to her list or simply holler (comment) on this good blog and make your intentions known.

• Digg this! • Stumble it! • Send to PF Buzz • Save to Del.icio.us • Subscribe to feed

Not shopping is HARRRRD.

MAN, this is a lot harder than i originally expected! It's been easy at work so far, but i realize i am so used to going shopping over the weekends as a form of entertainment :) But hey, one more week into the challenge and i'm still getting A's. You should be proud of me as all day Saturday, Sunday, and esp. yesterday w/ the holiday, i came super close to just hopping in the car and checking out my fav. stores.

It's like when you were a teenager and you LOVED going to the mall to meet friends and all. I am still that way today, except that the mall, although v. fun, has been substituted w/ scattered stores across town.

Usually this would include a nice little route covering 3 thrift stores, and 2 discount stores (like TJ Maxx). I never go overboard by any means, but dropping $50-$100 a weekend on stuff (some would call it "junk") would be no problemo. Not to mention i'd enjoy the 3-4 hours of entertainment value.

It's that feeling of being out and about I suppose, except I pay for it while shopping. You know what i ended up doing instead this weekend? I took a nice walk around our lake, watched a cple movies from Comcast On Demand, my newest addiction!, worked on this bloggy blog, and then escorted my lovely fiancée around town to run some errands. Bare in mind, one errand was at DSW and i saw a freakin' awesome to the max pair of shoes that normally cost $100+, was on sale for $79.99, and THEN on another sale at 40% off! That was a pretty hard one to let go, but i did it. Proud of me?

Here's to challenges & frugalness!

• Digg this! • Stumble it! • Send to PF Buzz • Save to Del.icio.us • Subscribe to feed

Happy day after Valentine's day

With our wedding coming up in May, my fiancée and I decided to go a different route this year when it came to purchasing gifts. We challenged ourselves by setting a limit of only $20.00!

I mean, we know how much we love each other, and we just had both of our birthdays & Christmas not too long ago so it's not like we need more gifts ya know? Plus this forced us to be wayyyy more creative and really think about what the other would appreciate, not to mention help save a little more in the Wedding fund.

We also plan to cook a nice dinner together on Saturday (while we're both relaxed and caught up on deprived sleep), so that we can enjoy "togetherness" in the spirit of Saint Valentine. So, what did we get each other might ask? Well okay, it's exciting! I hope you can take it!

Yours truly got one kick a$$ LP! Timbaland to be exact, and it's a double album set too. I collect old records and have a player, but i really didn't realize that artists these days still go that route. I'm guessing they're for DJ's to scratch up and stuff in clubs and what not. Either way, I was elated and it was probably one of the most thoughtful gifts I have gotten from a young lady before :) Oh, I also got a little box of candies which is always cool.

After perusing a few stores, I ended up getting her this plushy/furry cream colored stuffed animal dog. I think it had some sort of heart around it's neck too that read "Sweet". I know it's not the most original gift, but you KNOW girls love stuffed things! haha.... it looked like she was pretty happy snuggling up to it last night, so hopefully i did good.

Hopefully your V-day went well too!

• Digg this! • Stumble it! • Send to PF Buzz • Save to Del.icio.us • Subscribe to feed

A dollar a day baby!

I'm sure it's been done a bazillion times, but what a SUPER easy way to save. I actually found it on a fellow PF blog on Dollar a Day. It really doesn't take much and anyone can do it starting the minute this is read. In fact, if you'd like we can do it while you read along with me. Ready? Okay, here we go.

Step 1 - Reach into your pocket and take out a wrinkly ol' George Washington. If you don't have one, dig around for some change (it's at least something) or pull out a $5-er. In the last case, take a 3 min time-out and ask someone around your office to help you break it...or better yet, just ask for one. It's only a dollar right?
Step 2 - Now, look around your desk, or the streets if you're reading this on your Palm, and find some sort of container with enough room to place said dollar into it.
Step 3 - Lastly, place your friendly dollar into it and you're all set!

Bada bing, bada bang! You'll have $365 by this time next year (or roughly $269 if you do it just at work). If you're feeling even more gutsy, deposit it into a high-yielding savings account at the end of each month, or year, and watch it grow. The hardest part is really just remembering to do it each day, and not touching it. I advise keeping the container close by your desk to remind you of it each day, believe me it works.

I started this yesterday (2-12-08), and so far i have....wanna guess? A whole $2.oo! Your turn, good luck!

• Digg this! • Stumble it! • Send to PF Buzz • Save to Del.icio.us • Subscribe to feed