No Spend Days Update

The first full week of the "Reduce A Bill Challenge" is over and we are 11 days in. I'm happy to say that I have 3 No Spend Days down and 7 more to go. I had three meals out that I paid for, but all of them cam in at less than $15 each including tip. With $10 going to my emergency fund for every No Spend Day, that's $30 to deposit.

To check out how others are doing on the Reduce A Bill Challenge, Working For Financial Freedom has set up a page dedicated to the challenge. Want to challenge yourself? There is still time to make the commitment.

November - A New Start On No Spend Days

Its the 5th of the month and I already have 2 No Spend Days under my belt. I'm working on starting out this month strong since I fall short by a hair last month. In case you haven't heard, I'm participating in the "Reduce A Bill Challenge" over at Working For Financial Freedom. There is still time to make the commitment. Just stop by the blog and sign up. Don't forget to post updates. If you need extra support, I recommend checking the comments and seeing what other participants are doing. Heather at Not Keeping Up With The Jonses and I are working on the same goal and its exciting to compare progress and cheer each other on.

And the New Goals for November Are...

First, I've recommitted to the Reduce A Bill Challenge at Working for Financial Freedom. Last month I committed to 10 No Spend Days. I admit that I got close, but I didn't quite make it. This month, I'm sticking with the 10 No Spend Days, but I'm upping the anti by limiting days I dine out to no more than 3 a week that I pay for.
Next, I am going to add another $100 to the emergency fund.
After that, I am working on the first of three credit cards. If I really buckle down, it would be an early Christmas for me if I paid that off. Its set for payoff in December.
Finally, I am going to send off another $50 to my Roth IRA.

Another No Spend Day!

Not only did I successfully complete another no spend day, I also snowflaked $5.50 by taking back pop cans from work.

Halfway to the Goal

Today was another No Spend Day. The goal is to complete 10 No Spend Days by the end of the month. As an added bonus, my emergency fund gets $10 per No Spend Day. I'm halfway there with only 9 more days to go. Luckily, I still have a half of a tank of gas and will be done house sitting as of tomorrow night.

Four No Spend Days

We are half way through October and I have 4 No Spend Days down and 6 more to go. Tomorrow will be another No Spend Day because I will be at a seminar for work.

Another No Spend Day!

We are halfway through the month and I've only had three real No Spend Days. Today was a challenge because a co-worker asked me to go out after work for sushi. I almost broke down, when we realized at the last minute the restaurant is closed on Monday. Now there's a sign!

Unofficial No Spend Day

The day started out right. Lunch was paid for courtesy of a company anniversary and I had cans of Coke for the day. The day went well until the gas light came on. I wasn't expecting to get stuck in traffic. My No Spend day turned into a $10 spend day. I'm trying again for tomorrow. Set backs happen.

YEAH! ~ My first No Spend Day!

Thanks to the inspirations of Being Frugal, Working For Financial Freedom, and Not Keeping Up With the Joneses I am officially on my way on the Reduce a Bill Challenge. This was my first official No Spend Day.

It all started with Being Frugal writing a post about her efforts to lower the monthly grocery bill. Mom of 3 at Working For Financial Freedom was inspired to reduce one of her own bills by going an month line drying clothing saving money on her electricity bill. Heather at Not Keeping Up With The Joneses came up with the idea of having 10 No Spend Days for the month of October. Talk about the power of the blogging community... I decided to join Heather in the quest for 10 No Spend Days. While getting off to a rocky start because of bad planning, I can now record my first day. Tomorrow will be another and if I'm to meet my goal, I'm going to need to step it up a bit.

The benefit of this exercise? No, its not Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough Ice Cream. It will be an additional $10 towards the emergency fund per day. That's what I would have spent for lunch, which is my downfall when it comes to sticking to my budget.

Are you ready for the Reduce a Bill Challenge?

Wow - What a Weekend!

I have been very bad about posting this weekend because I hit the ground running on Friday and am finally able to sit down and reflect. Friday after a stressful workday, I took a friend out for her birthday to see Body Worlds III and incredible combination of anatomy education and art. Not a cheap day, but an incredible experience.

Saturday, was almost a successful No Spend day. I started it out working on a huge philanthropic project where I, along with 1,800 other volunteers were distributed among 11 different sites around the city. My particular project had 100 volunteers that repainted all of the halls of an elementary school. It was incredible to see so many people come together to improve a school that hasn't had a fresh coat of paint for the last 10 years. Bonus - Outback Steakhouse provided the free lunch at the celebration afterwards. Later that evening, I attended a fundraising dinner for another organization. The ticket was paid for by my company and included dinner, drinks, and entertainment. I almost had a perfect No Spend day, but had an incredible opportunity to purchase a couple bottles of wine that will be Christmas presents.

Sunday, is another almost No Spend Day. I spent money to pick up supplies for a friend's birthday party. I was given the money to purchase most of it. I did spend an extra $8.00 + $3.00 for cat litter. The party was a success!

This weekend taught me some valuable lessons... Don't put off purchasing kitty litter if you are planning a no spend day. It only leads to unnecessary cleaning to deal with odors. Don't over schedule. It only leads to unnecessary spending. Don't take a checkbook to a fundraising event unless you have already planned on spending money. And finally, falling asleep on the couch from exhaustion leads to a sore neck.

To make up for unsuccessful No Spend days I will make Monday and Tuesday true No Spend days. I'd go for Wednesday too, but I will need gas.

The "Reduce A Bill" Challenge

Thanks to the inspiration of Working For Financial Freedom and Being Frugal, I am joining their challenge for October. Originally inspired by Being Frugal's ability to lower her grocery bill through determined coupon use and organization, Working For Financial Freedom has created the "Reduce A Bill" Challenge. The idea is to focus on one bill or budget area to lower. Working For Financial Freedom is going to line dry her laundry for the month of October.

While reading through some of the comments, I found a response from Heather who is going to do 10 No Spend days for the month. These are days where you spend absolutely no money. This sounds right up my alley since I find that there is always a dollar here or there that ends up getting spent. Even on my best day I tend to forget about paying for parking somewhere.

If you're interested in participating, check out either site and record your goal in the comment section. Don't forget to think about what you are going to use that money you have saved for. Personally, I'm working on that $1,000 emergency fund.