No-Spend February - Finance thread

Weekly check-in!

Nine days complete and still on track, except obviously the vehicle stuff I mentioned above. Other than that, neither my wife nor I have failed yet on stuff such as retail therapy or buying coffees or any of that nonsense.

I will say that some random expenses do tend to pop up that you can't avoid. For instance, today is my mother-in-law's birthday. Obviously, we can't tell her "Sorry, we are in a no-spend month, so F you!"

Also got one of my tax checks in, which all went directly into the high-yield savings account.

Anyway...onward!

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Like a rug cleaning bill from hell cause your dog got viciously ill and painted it with his ass? Yup.

This whole no spend month has got me itching to buy another flashlight. Do I have more than I already need? Yes. Do I still want another? Absolutely.

might end up breaking. i got a coupon that’s gonna expire

😅

Checking in at just a tad under half way, what with this being a leap year.

So far, so good, with just a few unintended spending events that fell outside the 4 walls I already listed earlier in the thread. Unexpected gifts for a birthday or things of that nature. Most of our problem spending areas have been locked down tight, and my wife has been a champ so far! We have added a few things to the list for March, such as a new snow brush/scraper for the car, some shoes for my daughter etc. We will go over the list on March 1st to decide what is really a must.

Onward!

March 4th birthday gifts are a big expense everyone should plan for 🥳

i broke the other night. damn coupons

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"This is that human freedom, which all boast that they possess, and which consists solely in the fact, that men are conscious of their own desire, but are ignorant of the causes whereby that desire has been determined." -Baruch Spinoza

I love a good coupon. Back when papers were a thing, I always carved out part of a Sunday for the hunt.

it was a coupon for ebay of all places. that was applicable to me. those are so rare. usually it’s something like save 25% off luxury watches or something else equally stupid.

ebay is a shadow of its former self. i refuse to sell on there now, and that was a pretty steady source of income for a couple years there back in college. i’d love to start selling again, but the fees and the expectations of people are insane

I’m sure there’s a scale you can reach, where selling “smalls” is viable.

After I blew through my toy box collection, it didn’t seem like anything under $150 was worth the trouble. Too many hands in that pie.

Really need new shoes. When is March?

I was resisting buying new running shoes which I wear everyday, but after I put on an older pair that I hadn't wore for a long time I realized just how broken down and flat the arch supports and sides of my running shoes were. I'm looking online today for some.

I could never buy my walking sneakers online. Once a year I go to the next town over & try on shoes. I buy two pairs every year & each pair lasts 6 months. I also buy the inserts. What I am most looking for is shock absorption.

Expensive, but good place with helpful staff.

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I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.

I don't know of any stores around here were the staff will help you. I wear size 11.5 D in New Balances shoes so it's easy to buy online for me. I keep my shoes at least 5 years.

But then you don’t walk for 2 hours a day like I do.

As someone who used to walk 10-15 miles every work shift, nothing will make a person meaner than a shitty pair of shoes

That's really good for your health.

Wow that's some serious walking what kind of job did you do that required you to walk 10-15 miles every work shift?

I worked tech services and housekeeping at a hotel/conference center: 330 guest rooms across 7 floors, and 63,000 sq ft of meeting space.

Easily the most toxic workplace I have ever worked.

I wouldn't doubt that I once seen an undercover news report about just how dirty upscale hotel rooms could be....The rooms looked spotless but when the investigator used an ultraviolet light they found lots of bodily fluids, everywhere including the ceiling! and the phone and the remote control...yikes.

Seems like that would be two separate jobs. No wonder it was toxic.

My internist attributes my perfect health (just had annual physical) to the fact I walk so much every day. He tells me this every year.