Spending Report - January 7 to 13, 2013

01/07/13 - No Spend!

01/08/13 - $13.00 (debit - raw sugar and tea) = $13.00

01/09/13 - No Spend!

01/10/13 - $7.90 (debit - sushi for lunch) + $17.85 (cash - TTC tokens) + $3.20 (plus tax) (debit - personal care) = $28.95

01/11/13 - $23.91 (debit - Five Guys burgers for dinner for me and T- yum!) + $3.38 (cash - gift bag for kid's birthday party) = $27.29

01/12/13 - No Spend!

01/13/13 - $7.33 (cash - lunch) + $5.57 (cash - frozen yogurt) + $1.85 (cash - bottle of water) + $19.20 (debit - gift for cousin) = $33.95

Total: $103.19

Crap! I was hoping my spending would come in under $100 this week, close but no cigar. Ate out too much last week, some bad planning on our part and stupid broccoli going bad too fast! I also didn't go to the gym at all last week, I wasn't feeling well, it may also had something to do with the eating badly too.

Back on the spending, diet, and exercise horses this week!

How did you do last week?

Quantity vs Quality

I've always been a quantity over quality kinda gal. I'm talking about stuff not men ;P

Whenever I went looking for clothes, shoes, etc I looked at the price vs the materials, make, and construction. And I bought the cheapest of x I could find. So, how did I get to be drowning in debt? By buying too much and not paying the credit card off every month.

I think this stems from coming from a family of limited means. In order to get by we bought the cheapest stuff and if it was on sale, even better. Sale was my most dangerous 4 letter word (and still is very dangerous, just to a lesser degree). Then the goal is to wear that out until its unrepairable. I took the first part of the lesson to heart, but not the second. If something was broken, I'd just buy a new one, again the cheapest I could find. Thus ending up with a lot of stuff. I'm not 100% sure why I didn't take the second part to heart like the first, maybe because I was embarrased to see my family (and myself) in shoes with tape, pants with mended knees, and shirts with holes/stains. And I could "afford" it, by that I mean, I had room on my credit card.
This is a vicious cycle, one I've almost broken out of. I still look for cheaper items, but usually its a higher quality item that I found at a discount store like Marshalls or Winners, or it was on sale. But, now I'm being more conscious as a consumer, shopping with a plan, distinguishing needs vs wants (do I really need this? Do I already have x number of this at home? Do I have any other clothes that will go with this item?), and looking at items more carefully (How does it look on? Does it suit/flatter me? Are the materials comfortable?) All of these things have allowed me to spend less over the years and get more enjoyment out of what I already own.

Of course, this is moot as I'm on a Shopping Ban but I've been thinking a lot lately about my shopping triggers. And the "need" to replace items because they fell apart or piled or lost a button, etc is part of my triggers. More on some of my other triggers in other posts.

How about you, what triggers you to spend? Are you a quantity or quality type of shopper?

TTFN,
Morgaine

Guest Post: 5 Ways to Resist Shopping Temptations

My first guest post! So exciting. Hope you guys like it. Let me know if you'd like to see more. Enjoy!

5 Ways to Resist Shopping Temptations

It is no secret that we are currently in a bit of an economic recession. This means that people are trying to save money in any way they can. An obvious first step to saving money would be to spend less money. For some of us who really enjoy shopping, however, this can be a very difficult lifestyle change. If you are making the decision to change your shopping habits and reduce them, then read further in this article. We will discuss 5 ways to resist shopping temptations.

1. Don't go shopping!

Sometimes resisting shopping temptation is as simple as not putting yourself in a position in which you can shop. Don't let yourself go to the mall, because what business do you have at the mall if it is not to shop? This will take away some of the desire to buy things that do not align with your money saving goals.

2. Make a budget.

Making a budget allows you to know how much money you have and how much of it you are allowed to spend on certain allocated items. For example, the first step to creating a budget is figuring out how much money you make monthly. Next you will need to map out all necessary expenses. These are things like food, transportation, and bills. You may also factor in, if you choose, an entertainment portion of your budget to spend on what you like. Make sure to account for putting some money into savings every month. Whatever is left over, or is in your entertainment budget is probably okay to go shopping with.

3. Only allow yourself to spend cash.

If you are going to allow yourself to do a little shopping, that is probably fine. It is important to make sure, however, that you stay within your spending limits. An easy way to do that is to only allow yourself to spend cash. Using credit cards and debit cards can make you lose track of the amount of money you're spending. Try using the envelope system. Write the category of spending on an envelope and fill it with the amount you are allowed to spend. For example, one envelope will have "Food" written on it. If you are allowed to spend $200 on food per month then you will put $200 of cash in your envelope each month. The same goes for a "Shopping" envelope. This will keep you from overspending.

4. Do away with online shopping.

Much like credit cards and debit cards, online shopping makes it easy for us to lose track of how much we are spending. Try to steer clear of doing this whenever possible. If you can not, take the amount you spend on online shopping out of your "Shopping" envelope and put it into savings.

5. Ask yourself, "Do I really need this?"

Most likely the things that we enjoy shopping for are things we have a surplus of and do not need. For example, many women enjoy shopping for shoes. It is likely that you do not need another pair of shoes and that you just want them. Try to limit yourself to making purchases that you need, even if you can afford them.



Author Pam Johnson is all about saving money anyway she can. She tried to subdue her shopping habits while also saving money on her schooling. She is a contributing writer for most affordable colleges for online masters degrees

Weekly Spending Dec 31/12 - January 6/13

12/31/12 - $6.00 (cash - lunch) (gym)
1/1/13 - $10.00 (cash - breakfast)
1/2/13 - $1.00 (cash - milk for tea at work)
1/3/13 - No Spend! (gym)
1/4/13 - No Spend!
1/5/13 - $7.73 (debit - breakfast) + $13.96 (debit - lunch)
1/6/13 - No Spend! (Wii Zumba)



Total $38.69 and all on food ... hmmm ....

Monday and Tuesday were days off and we tend not to have all meals planned on days off, same with weekends, so Saturday was also a spend day. I also met up with friends on Saturday morning so the $7.73 was very much worth it :)

I also did my 3 days of activity this week and made 2 necklaces, 1 pair of earrings, and 1 bracelet. I don't know if anyone's interested in seeing pictures of my work? I'm not sure if I'm going to post these ones to Etsy as I used plastic/acrylic beads in these pieces, but they sell well at a garage sale. I haven't posted anything else to sell yet, I felt quite lethargic on Sunday for some reason.

Anywhoo, on to this next week. How did you do on your spending last week?

TTFN,
Morgaine

3 Paycheque Month and RAISE!

So today is pay day and its the first of 3 this month. Which is awesome because I still have a bit of a balance on my MasterCard due to Christmas and misc things before my shopping ban started. I was able to put $500 towards that leaving me $300 after my savings go out (no rent or bills on this cheque!) This should also get me started towards my savings goals this month. My RSP will be increased by $1650 this month :)

I also got a 2.9% raise so I'm still waiting to do my budget for the year. Also, this paycheque was a bit smaller because I'm still on contract and I don't get paid for stat holidays (I get 4% instead). The 4% usually works out nicely but around this time, it can take a bit of a wallop on my paycheque. Thank goodness for the shopping ban! I should be able to get away with spending $300 or less for the next 2 weeks without any problems.

I've also been tracking my money starting this week and I hope to keep it up all year. I've been eating well and have gone to the gym 4 times since boxing day (Dec26th for non-Canadians) and I'm going tonight as well. I also started a new jewelry piece last night. So I'm definitely working towards those 2013 goals and resolutions. I know, I know its been less than a week, but I'm pretty sure that I've given up on most/all of my resolutions before now in the past. Taking it one day at a time.

I hope everyone's having a great 2013 so far! :)

TTFN,
Morgaine

To Sell in January

Ok, new year, time to get off my duff and get rid of some stuff! (and hopefully make some money while I'm at it).

To list in January:

1) Laptop
2) Wedding cake stand
3) Wedding cake knife/server set
4) Wedding cake topper (1 of the 3!)
5) Home-made banners
6) Left over supplies (mostly ribbon)

I also hope to take some books that I've either already read (and don't see reading again) or were given to me and aren't really to my tastes to a used bookstore to see if I can get some money for that as well. But, it may wait until the weather is nicer.

Then I will be making more jewellery (with supplies I already have) and list those on Etsy. I will also be planning a garage sale in June so I want to have jewellery and supplies ready to sell for that as well.

2013 Goals

Some Goals for 2013:

Financial:
1) Shopping Ban!!! No shopping for 2013 (For more, read this ... Shopping Ban 2013 )
2) Have $25,000 in RSP for downpayment of first home
3) Save $1,500 in EF to bring total to $2,500 (half way to first goal of $5,000)
4) Pay off ALL debt - have $0 in debt on January 1, 2014
5) Increase my Net Worth by at least $10,000 (seems reasonable since I increased my NW by $9,374.37 last year while saving for a wedding). NB: if I take out $25K for house downpayment, this goal will still be looked at as a pass.
6) Track my spending and re-start budgeting. And post those to this blog.

Lifestyle:
1) Lose weight - I don't want to put a number goal on this as it usually leads to frustration but I definitely want to fit into some of my smaller size pants as soon as possible.
2) Do something physical at least 4x per week. This could include going to the gym, going for a walk/bike ride, or playing Zumba/Just Dance on the Wii.
3) Eat better. No fast food and snacks.
4) Be more organized and procastinate less. This goes for home and work.
5) Read more books. I have a lot on my bookshelf and my e-reader. At least one book per month.
6) Make more things. I have a lot of jewellery supplies that I need to use up.
7) Sell/donate more. I need to get back to posting jewellery on Etsy and having a garage sale, or donating more junk to Goodwill when it no longer serves a purpose. Also, I have some books I want to try and sell.

Blogging:
1) Post my weekly spending and bi-weekly budgets.
2) Post at least one other post a week other than #1
3) Comment on other blogs and become more of the community
4) Use twitter more (@morgainemoney)
5) Post updates on my progress with the Shopping Ban and these goals.

Wow! That's a lot. I'm really trying to go all out this year but I think I can do it. I just have to stop being so lazy when I get home :)

What are some of your goals for 2013?

TTFN,
Morgaine