spend less money

My mom just retired so she’s going to be able to help me do some yard sales this year, which should bring in a few hundred dollars, yeah we have that much stuff to get rid of. As long as I put it in the paper I have no doubt we’ll make that much money, and instead of spending it like I always do I plan on putting it in my savings account. I really need to get back on track with saving, I plan on saving $10-$25 from each paycheck, as long as I get consistent hours again, and then whatever I make from the internet and yard sales and things like that, I plan on taking that and putting it in my savings.

organize expenses

it started because I literally had NO money, but then I got a check for something and I put it in the bank and still haven’t spent a cent. I’m just sort of pretending that I don’t have that money so I’m still spending (or not spending) like I am the most broke person in the world. It’s not a lot of money at all so I’m saving it for a rainy day until I get some cash from my new job:-) However, I desperately want to take myself out to happy hour at my favorite haunt. Soon enough I will!

went out at 11pm to fulfill a french fry craving
appx $9 wasted at McDonald’s
gotta stop eating out

government wants us to spend money, but I don’t really feel like doing so.

This month I’ve done very well – I have limited my spending quite a bit. I put myself on a spending limit for my collectible decks. Finally I stuck to it this month. Also, I try and think before I buy – do I really need this? Am I going to use it enough to be worth the money I spend on it?

I’ve been so so so so good these days, haven’t really bought anything for myself “just because” in awhile. This means a lot of money has gone directly to my savings account over the months and has just been sitting there, and it also means that it wasn’t TOO big of a deal that a small chunk of it went to an interesting purchase I made today.

I bought myself a Kindle 2!

No, I certainly do not need this, but I WANT IT. As you may have heard, I love the books. Some people who love photography buy themselves expensive cameras. So, I am buying myself a goddamned Kindle 2 and I don’t want to hear a word about how silly it is!

Very excited for its arrival (on Friday!)

This seems so much easier when you’re working. I was working full time for a while (my contract has since come to an end), and I found that I didn’t have the time to spend my money, since I would get home exhausted. Even weekends I just wanted to sleep. So it kinda just accumulated in my bank account.

I have found that if I’m idle, or if you’re a student, you have time to spend your time doing meaningless things, resulting in you spending your money.

Sooooo, I have to get myself another full time job, and have no time for anything. That way, I WILL spend less money!

We are trying not to buy stuff we don’t need. Clip a few more coupons. Eat at home a few more days a week. Making things from scratch sometimes, instead of buying it pre-made, pre-washed, pre-cooked. Buy on sale, or don’t buy anything at all. We spend a lot of money on things we don’t need. Still. So, it’s time to take a hard look at everything we spend money on, and decide what we need, and really don’t need.

...the idea of a cash allowance. I was reading about this somewhere on here, and I think it could potentially be an excellent plan for me. Going to let myself have $100 in cash a month for spending and see how that goes. For this month, I will give myself $60 (on Friday) since we’re a week or so in already.

I will only use my debit/credit cards for bills and necessities…NEEDS. Anything falling into the WANTS category will be paid for in cash only. If I feel like I must go out to lunch…cash only. If I feel like I must buy a book or clothing item or something that I don’t actually need at this very moment…cash only. We’ll see how this goes.