Contents [ on > off]
Eliminate items you shouldn't have bought

Extreme NoSpend

Remember how I did NoSpend November last year? Well this year I decided to try it in December. There are a couple of reasons for this shift. First of all I had a vacation planned already for November so I didn't want to skimp on it since vacations for me are so rare. The other reason is that while last November was difficult (primarily because of football season) it wasn't as big a stretch to pull off. Christmas is a big spending time and I found that instead of really saving on holiday spending, it could have been differed. So is it really no spend? Tough call. So in that spirit I modified one rule from 09. No Christmas stockpiling.

 

No Change November sprung as a result of things being moved to December. I can now compare it to December as well as last November. I also get a chance to see if I am able to track spending when it is happening all the time. Lets see how it all goes! Also of note, I am changing how I list acquired and consumed. If I acquired a cookie and ate it all in the same day, it will only be listed in consumed. Acquired will only be present for things that make it to the end of the day. The exception to this is cashflow.

[click here to turn the rules off]

 

 

Welcome once again to visitors from Budgets Are Sexy! And thanks to J Monee to posting my story

 

0 days remaining

1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31

 


 

Unless otherwise indicated you can't spend any expected income.
- Salary
- Wages
- Rent owed
- Established court settlements
- Alimony

 

If you have any bills, you can pay them.
- Credit card purchases from previous months
- Medical prescriptions
- Mortgage/rent
- Utilities
- Cell phone

 

NO spending of already existing money in your possession
- Cash on hand
- Gift cards

The only exception to this is spare change

 

NO stockpiling
- You can't buy gas on the day before it starts unless you need it.
- No loading up on extra food. If you're low on milk that's ok, but you can't buy a dozen frozen dinners

 

If you have any thing owed to you, you can call it in
- Owed lunches/dinners
- Money
- Take someone to court
- Stuff that was borrowed

 

You can sell get money by getting rid of things in your home
- Selling on Craigslist/eBay
- Returning things to Home Depot/Lowes (easy to find for any home owner)
- Unused gift cards

 

You can spend money that is refunded to you in that month
- Credit card cash back checks/ gift cards
- Medical reimbursement

 

Anything that you sell or get refunded must be spent after you get the money back.

So if you submit a reimbursement for medical expenses, or sell something online, you can't spend money in anticipation of getting it. If you submit it and you don't get anything sent to you that month... tough noogies. If you find out someone owes you money, you have to wait until they hand it to you.

 

Gambling is allowed with any eligible money (but I don't recommend that)

 

You can consume anything that you already have
- Food
- Toiletries
- Fuel (if you are a big commuter, consider this to be a utility)

 

You can barter
- Make dinner for someone with your own food, get someone to take you out for dinner
- Help someone out with a chore, get food or something else (not money) in return
- Sell anything you receive by doing chores for others
- Sell anything that was borrowed and then returned to you
- Sell anything for profit that you buy that month with eligible money

 

In the end you can potentially.
- Reduce excess crap in your pantry
- Eliminate items you shouldn't have bought
- Get evened out on things that people owe you
- Get in better shape from walking instead of driving
- Hang out with friends more
- Lose weight by eating more frugally (saving and eating leftovers)
- Eat healthier by cooking your own food
- Best of all, next month you'll have a lower credit card bill

 


[ click here to turn the rules off ]

 

Send any questions to sox@vt.edu | Take a look at a previous or the next day

Check out the other spending pages too!

Cash: $0

Day 2: Home Depot


Whew.. I was very tired today. I had a meeting at Bolo's and with no money I sipped on some water and tried not to think of a nice warm chai. On the way to the office I cut through squires and I found an unopened bottle of water. So I stuck that in my pocket and went on my way. I know that bottle of water isn't that exciting but it was a nice pickup nonetheless. I eat yogurt for breakfast almost every day so don't be surprised if you see that in the consumed section without me commenting on it. I buy it for a week at a time so I don't consider the remainder of that stockpiling. Lunch was good since I decided to go home and cook up the last bratwurst, 'watch' Buffy on Netflix, and rest my eyes. Liza joined me and gave me a bit of extra heat. In the evening I made dinner for Patrick, Sara and Dacia. Stirfry was made from all sorts of hidden frozen foods. Most weren't too freezer burned. Carrots, broccoli and chicken plus my usual spicy honey garlic blend. Afterward I took Dacia out to Michael's and returned something to Home Depot. Unfortunately I didn't have a receipt so I had to settle for store credit. That's ok though I am sure I will find a good use for it later. I'll keep it unlisted as part of my funds though. A hulu show with Anna before bed was all I needed to put me to sleep.

Inventory

Acquired: $11.24@Home Depot, Hokie water, 3 owed dinners
Consumed: yogurt, bratwurst, chicken, shrimp, carrots

Daily cash values:

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031