$12 @ Groupon- Petals for the People gift certificate for one week of flowers
$30 @ Paolo’s- dinner with friends
$21.45 @ Circa- dinner with a woman who was married at my “dream” reception space (I paid for her meal + I did not get alcohol)
$3.90 @ Sweet Cupcakes in Cambridge- two mini cupcakes
Total – $67.35
This total is a bit higher than I expected, since I spent Fourth of July weekend in Boston. The Fiancé bought a few meals for us, but I also made a summertime feast of hot dogs on Sunday and Monday. I also felt like the total would be less since I brought lunch everyday of the four day work week last week.
The Groupon purchase was my first. It’s a flower arranging how-to thingamabob. You get the flowers and a video to watch online. I’m filing that under wedding prep since I might want to DIY a few of the floral arrangements.
I am currently $726.90 in debt to myself. (I borrowed money out of my long-term savings accounts to pay for a few things.) My rent is going up next month. Metro raised fares this week and will do so again in August. There is nothing like getting engaged and budgeting for a wedding to make you realize your spending has gotten out of control.
A few calculations with my current pay and the above factors concluded that my Discover Card Threshold is now about $100 more than I can actually afford each month.
Bring on the Spending Moratorium!
Just like last year, there will be rules:
1. I will not buy any clothing, shoes, or accessories.
2. I will not buy lunches out. I will buy groceries and pack my lunch.
3. This moratorium does not include the following purchases:
- Washington Kastle’s game in July
- The Melting Pot for Alicia’s birthday
- Katie McKatie’s birthday gift
- The Fiancé’s birthday gift
- Nationals baseball game
- A few ice cream adventures during lunch time ($10 total)
I already have McKatie’s gift (it just needs wrapped and shipped), and I know what the Fiancé will be receiving for his big day. We’ve already had the discussion that this year’s birthdays and holidays will be scaled back in preparation for our wedding.
My goal is to save $700. This night actually be impossible, but I am up for the challenge. Look forward to weekly updates!
The final break down for my spending from July 1 to September 1:
Entertainment- $31
Eating out during lunch- $56.54
Misc. shopping- $57.50
Clothes- $196.28 (jeans, 2 dresses & F21 top)
Gifts- $20.90
Bills- $60 (ZipCar & Glamour)
*This total does not include expenses I was reimbursed for or dinners out and groceries. Or anything I paid for with cash, which was mainly happy hours.
It doesn’t seem like much of a MORATORIUM, in the strictest sense. But I did accomplish a few goals these past two months:
1. I previously loaned myself $300 from my savings to pay off May/June expenditures. I paid that $300 back during the Moratorium.
2. I put $200 into savings. My original goal was $400, so I fell halfway short.
3. I sold a few items that were taking space netting some cash. Since I still do not have a bank in D.C. with an accessible ATM, cash is a coveted commodity.
I walked away from this experiment with a new personal shopping strategy: if I LOVE it, buy it.
$50 @ ZipCar- annual fee
$11.55 @ Teaism- lunch with my lady friends (this was a date, so therefore I HAD to buy lunch)
$11.03 @ Forever 21- shirt
$24.75 @ Barneys Co-op- A.P.C. MADRAS dress (in violet)
$10.00 @ Glamour- magazine subscription renewal
Full disclosure: I also bought Bradley a couple of dress shirts and a belt. He was having a fashion crisis, and shopping for guy clothes is so.much.more.fun. I ENJOYED spending that money.
I also considered the Moratorium lifted as I thought about packing to visit the Boyfriend this weekend. Fall arrived on Monday morning to this part of the Eastern seaboard, so the A.P.C. Gatsby-esque dress I bought for 40% off the sale price will NOT be coming with me to Boston for my vacation.
I originally planned to pair the F21 loose button down with shorts, a look I’ve seen sported about town. But like I said, FALL IS HERE! Way to ruin the packing for my SUMMER vacation. Here’s the updated look (replace the black shoes with white sandals for day):
I found W. Hodding Cater’s series entitled Extreme Frugality on the Gourmet website via Joslyn’s Raising Foodies blog.
Carter evaluated the economic situation for his family of 6 and realized that they were living beyond their means. His writings chronicle the different ways they are living, after paying bills each month, on only $550.
Anyone willing to cook roadkill for dinner in the year 2009 is on a COMPLETELY different frugality level.
The thing that angered me most about the broken hairdryer of ’09 was not having to replace it, but having to dispose of it.
For the last year, I’ve been careful when making purchases. I want to invest my money in things that won’t be seeing a landfill for a long time. If you take this attitude when shopping, you will be on your own Spending Moratorium without even realizing it!
While helping the Boyfriend move earlier this month, I definitely was a control freak about what went into the trash bag as opposed to the donation bag. He even took some time out of his busy study schedule to repair his vacuum instead of throwing it in the trash. He was successful!
As for the hair dryer, Lord Google led me to this post which had a link to this tutorial on repairing it yourself. I tried, but I couldn’t get the second screw that held the case together out. Now I need to discreetly dispose of the deceased appliance without my roommate’s knowledge. I enjoy avoiding confrontation as much as I enjoy saving the environment.
$10.50 @ movie theater- ticket to see The Time Traveler’s Wife
$10.75 @ movie theater- small popcorn, small Coke
$5.50 @ Potbelly- dlunch (dinner + lunch)
$15.74 @ Bed, Bath, and Beyond- new hair dryer*
And ANOTHER week of no dinners out!
*My hair dryer died a sudden death this week, after last being used by my roommate. Gr. It’s like living in a dorm room up in here.
I also purchase two new pairs of shoes this weekend. It was the first time I’ve been to the mall since starting my moratorium. The following cost $6 (cash from the sale of the Boyfriend’s desk) after I used an American Express gift card I’ve been hoarding since Christmas:
Disposed Income- I fell off the wagon, hard
$6 @ Bella Figura– letterpress sample sale
$22.50 @ Laws of General Economy Blog– a pair of black Joes Jeans
$138.00 @ Gilt Groupe- Catherine Malandrino Yellow Pintucked Dress with Ruffle Sleeve
I did not buy lunch OR dinner out at all this week. That’s what going to the grocery store does to a girl. Plus I made $15 by selling the Boyfriend’s IKEA desk that was in my closet.
Now an explanation:
1. Samples that are normally $5 were on sale for $1 with proceeds benefiting American Forests.
2. They were my size and already hemmed. I also have been looking for black jeans for the fall.
3. The big one.
I fell in love with this dress last time it was on Gilt, but it sold out. It was honestly the only thing I’ve seen on Gilt that made me sad when I didn’t have it in my closet. The feeling only intensified when I saw it featured on this blog, with someone else lusting after it as well. My love had not died for the yellow ruffles in the perfect shape for my body.
When it popped back up on Gilt last week, I bought it. In a size larger than my normal dress size. It’s a little big in the ruffles area, but only needs literally pinched at the shoulder seam. I might just take care of that myself instead of paying a professional.
I felt major guilt for breaking the spending moratorium. MAJOR. As in I-got-a-headache-and-had-to-go-to-bed-early-because-the-stress-weighed-on-me-so.
The truth is, I have events to wear this dress. As we approach the one year anniversary of that time the Boyfriend and my mother and my sister should have told me to “go buy a nice dress, you know! wink wink“, I feel like this purchase was a good investment.
For the future, you know! wink wink
To the right is my Sanyo Katana phone, purchased in September 2006.
I’m not replacing it until the day it stops working.
This is a decision I came to about a year ago, when the phone was two years old and eligible for an upgrade. I got the idea to see how long I could use this phone before needing to buy another. A personal challenge, if you will.
Almost a year into my challenge, I’m not alone. Anil Dash has started Last Year’s Model. Here is the idea, stolen from the website:
We love cool gadgets as much as anybody else. We just want to be thoughtful about the stuff we’ve bought. Even the most cutting-edge, tech-savvy geeks in the world are choosing to hang on to their phones or their iPods that still work just fine.
Sometimes I get jealous of my friends with Blackberrys and their CONSTANT BBMing. My phone? Doesn’t have ANY data capabilities except text messaging. And I am surviving just fine.
And don’t even get me started on the iPhone, which I can’t afford the monthly service plan (and continue to live my miserly lifestyle). I pay my parents a lump sum every couple of months to cover my part of the family plan cell phone bill. My secret goal is to keep this arrangement and phone until I get married. Then, I can make the switch to a plan with my husband.
Also, if you do upgrade your phone, please recycle it! If you can’t do that at your cell phone provider’s store, I suggest Cell Phones for Soldiers. I’ve donated many phones to them over the years.
Disposed income-
$8.35 @ Corner Bakery- sandwich that ended up being two meals
$5.50 @ Potbelly- lunch
$11.42 @ Walgreens in CT- cleaning supplies for the Boyfriend’s apartment*
$8.03 @ Walgreens in CT- cleaning supplies and drinks*
$6.96 @ Union Station- water and a magazine for the train ride to CT
$4.40 @ Potbelly- lunch
*The Boyfriend inadvertently paid me back for these items by letting me have two giant bags filled with coins that he didn’t want to lug to Boston. I was able to cash in (for no fee) at the Chase Bank in New Haven (my bank, without a branch in D.C.) the amount I rolled (they don’t take loose coins) before my train left, $16.50.
