Post by minniemouse on Jan 14, 2020 12:55:30 GMT -5
I don’t think I officially joined the freeze thread before but we have been trying. And failing. Lots of “emergencies”. -Cracked my phone screen $92 repair (out of warranty but found a place that did an excellent job for a good price), dh cracked his phone screen, $200 fee for his protection plan to replace it. Annoying since neither of us have ever cracked a screen in 18 years of having cell phones! -one new tire to pass inspection $150 after rebate - year supply of contacts $400 (this was planned using flexible spending acct) - found out that I need $400 worth of dental work. Dh does too, so that’s $800 total. We can put it off a bit though, since we both had root canals on those specific teeth. - oh, and not an emergency but dd asked to take ice skating lessons since she is taking a break from soccer. $150 for a 10 week sessions plus $30 on skates bought on fb marketplace, barely used. Skating was not planned but she is really excited about it. Not a good start to 2020!!
Post by somersault72 on Jan 14, 2020 14:01:49 GMT -5
I mean, for us we're doing pretty good, but I would call this more of mild chill than a freeze. When I do eat out I eat as cheap as I can. I haven't bought too much non-food things, so that's good.
Well, the week was very good until Saturday. Besides registering for camp on Tuesday, no money was spent!
But then on Saturday we went to the movies for DD's birthday ($38). And walked around the mall with some of her birthday money. She spent it on herself but H and I found a HP co-op board game for 50% ($25) so we bought that. And then we booked our AirBnB for spring break...
That being said, we got back on the wagon yesterday and besides a quick grocery trip tomorrow, we should be good for the week. I have resisted all the HA, MB, Athleta and other super deals that are flooding my inbox.
Post by covergirl82 on Jan 21, 2020 10:36:40 GMT -5
I've also failed and need to restart at February. I got a new job (starting early Feb.) and the dress code is more casual than my current job, so I bought a new pair of jeans and a couple tops (all on sale, but I spent money I didn't intend to spend). DH and I also had an unexpected expense last week because we had to put our dog to sleep (she was a 13.5 year old German Shepherd). We also ate out a few extra times last week because we just didn't feel like cooking - DH and I were both pretty depressed about our dog (we'd had her since she was a puppy).
Still only the one Amazon purchase (my goal is to cut/eliminate Amazon purchases). Sometimes I wanted to buy something at target, but I’ve noticed it’s a lot cheaper at Amazon. Then I remind myself that that reduction in cost comes on the workers’ backs, and at the cost of Amazon’s questionable labor practices, and that has been helping.
I feel guilty for the gym shirts I just bought and I shouldn't. I used a big credit had from threadup from the clothes I donated/sold. They are new with tags on them so at least saved some money. All my current gym shirts are huge on me. Spent only $6 dollars.
We haven't gone to target all month which is a big deal. I also found a way to use points from a amex credit card towards amazon purchases. It's like $200 dollars worth of points. So at least I have a bank of credits I can use for amazon.
I've also failed and need to restart at February. I got a new job (starting early Feb.) and the dress code is more casual than my current job, so I bought a new pair of jeans and a couple tops (all on sale, but I spent money I didn't intend to spend). DH and I also had an unexpected expense last week because we had to put our dog to sleep (she was a 13.5 year old German Shepherd). We also ate out a few extra times last week because we just didn't feel like cooking - DH and I were both pretty depressed about our dog (we'd had her since she was a puppy).
It is amazing to me how little I have to check our money when I'm not spending it all, lol.
One more week down and it's been great. Paid out bills and then $10 at Target for Valentines plus some fruit for DD. That's it. No eating out. H was refunded for the ~$200 he spent while traveling for work. And I sold a bunch of stuff on local FB groups and made over $300.
Will go to Costco tomorrow or Monday but I have a gift certificate so hoping to keep it waaaay down. H needs protein powder and DD needs a new toothbrush (going reusable so it's more $$) so we'll see.
Also, going forward, I want to implement some sort of system for purchases.
For example, this year I am *really* trying to cut down/eliminate single plastic use. So there are some things I'd like to buy. Ex: mesh produce bags, reusable silicone lids for baking sheets, reusable gallon bags. Usually I just buy when I want but I think I want to list out what are "approved purchases" for each month and stick to those. Since technically they aren't NEEDS I hope this'll work.
Post by aprilsails on Jan 26, 2020 10:25:29 GMT -5
I’ve been doing really well, however I just hit a big problem.
I am a major winter sports enthusiast and we finally have enough snow and freezing weather to ski and skate. However, my feet went up another half size since DS’s pregnancy and my size 6 skates and ski boots are not going to cut it anymore (I am at best a 7, more like a 7.5). I squeezed into them for 4 years after DD but I got wicked blisters after 35 minutes of cross country skiing on Friday. Ugh.
I am not having any luck finding used replacement boots in my size with the right bindings but I’ve put out a post looking for on the local ski enthusiasts site. I’ll give it two more days and then I will probably buy them full price if no one replies ($125).
For skates I am terrified. I have $1500 boots from when I was 13 (they are 22 years old). They are so strong and I hate wearing skates that don’t feel as stiff and supportive. I’ve had my skates stretched before but I think I am too far gone lengthwise for that to work again. I think I could go with an instructors boot for $250 but I really don’t want to spend $400+ on sports stuff this year. I need new winter boots too (they are falling apart) but I’ve been muddling through.
I’ve been doing really well, however I just hit a big problem.
I am a major winter sports enthusiast and we finally have enough snow and freezing weather to ski and skate. However, my feet went up another half size since DS’s pregnancy and my size 6 skates and ski boots are not going to cut it anymore (I am at best a 7, more like a 7.5). I squeezed into them for 4 years after DD but I got wicked blisters after 35 minutes of cross country skiing on Friday. Ugh.
I am not having any luck finding used replacement boots in my size with the right bindings but I’ve put out a post looking for on the local ski enthusiasts site. I’ll give it two more days and then I will probably buy them full price if no one replies ($125).
For skates I am terrified. I have $1500 boots from when I was 13 (they are 22 years old). They are so strong and I hate wearing skates that don’t feel as stiff and supportive. I’ve had my skates stretched before but I think I am too far gone lengthwise for that to work again. I think I could go with an instructors boot for $250 but I really don’t want to spend $400+ on sports stuff this year. I need new winter boots too (they are falling apart) but I’ve been muddling through.
I can't speak to the skis, but I am sure that you can find cheaper skates. I did a quick search on the Jackson website and it looks like intermediate boots are in the $500 range. After 22 years you probably need new blades, but you might be able to find a pair slightly used. I know I bought a pair of blades Pattern 99s used at the rink for less than $200 and I used them for many years.
Post by mccallister84 on Jan 28, 2020 12:50:20 GMT -5
My take away from this month is that I need to adjust our grocery budget way up, especially if we are going to be eating out less. I guess this makes sense since I haven’t really adjusted it when I started budgeting when DD2 was five months old. And i stopped tracking well before she was a year.
I swear I’m at $50 before I even leave the produce section.
I’ve been doing really well, however I just hit a big problem.
I am a major winter sports enthusiast and we finally have enough snow and freezing weather to ski and skate. However, my feet went up another half size since DS’s pregnancy and my size 6 skates and ski boots are not going to cut it anymore (I am at best a 7, more like a 7.5). I squeezed into them for 4 years after DD but I got wicked blisters after 35 minutes of cross country skiing on Friday. Ugh.
I am not having any luck finding used replacement boots in my size with the right bindings but I’ve put out a post looking for on the local ski enthusiasts site. I’ll give it two more days and then I will probably buy them full price if no one replies ($125).
For skates I am terrified. I have $1500 boots from when I was 13 (they are 22 years old). They are so strong and I hate wearing skates that don’t feel as stiff and supportive. I’ve had my skates stretched before but I think I am too far gone lengthwise for that to work again. I think I could go with an instructors boot for $250 but I really don’t want to spend $400+ on sports stuff this year. I need new winter boots too (they are falling apart) but I’ve been muddling through.
I can't speak to the skis, but I am sure that you can find cheaper skates. I did a quick search on the Jackson website and it looks like intermediate boots are in the $500 range. After 22 years you probably need new blades, but you might be able to find a pair slightly used. I know I bought a pair of blades Pattern 99s used at the rink for less than $200 and I used them for many years.
I just bought a new pair of Jackson with blades for around $225 CDN. Had to go to three skate shops in my town to even find a pair in my size and width. It’s taken my entire morning.
$40 at Costco after our gift certificate. This got us a few expensive things (protein powder, reusable toothbrush for DD) and a whole bunch of fruit and veggies. We should be done with food spending for the month and we are well under budget.
I did spend $25 on Amazon for a new helmet for DD. Hers had a crack