Weekly Spend Challenge W/C 9th December 2012

[EverTheOptimist]

Hello everyone. Welcome to the Weekly Spend Challenge. This challenge is open to anybody, no matter what financial place they are in.

On this thread please post an amount of money you wish to stay below within the week (Sunday to end of working day on Friday). This can be pennies or thousands it depends on the individual. Then next Saturday report back and pledge for the following week. The challenge runs from Sunday to Friday so we don't include Saturdays but feel free to change the rules to suit you and include Saturdays or start on a different day.

Feel free to update this thread with daily spends if that keeps you on track. We colour code the results as below:

Green - within budget
Red - overbudget
Purple - zero spend
Orange - made money over the week

This is a little bit of fun but for many it highlights the fact that maybe that magazine/chocolate bar isn't needed. Hopefully your spending habits can be changed forever.

Moozie was the founder of this challenge and here is a quote taken from her:

Originally Posted by Moozie:
"Good afternoon lovely DFWs Now for anyone looking in, please feel free to join - the more the merrier! Basically, decide on the amount you want to spend up to from Sunday until the end of the working day on Friday then pledge it here and off we go! The challenge is about incidental spending and not for stuff that should be budgeted elsewhere such as bills, groceries, debt repayment etc but you decide what to include at the end - this is about changing your habits and improving your recording of your spends more than anything else. Have a great week everyone and keep it low!!! Moozie x"

Good Luck Everyone

W/C 2nd December 2012 Challengers / Pledges / Total Spent

EverTheOptimist - £135 / £151.60
Rising from the ashes - £100 / BUST
Abundant1972 - £25 / £20.61
Lottie1987 - £70 / £69.56
shezam - £100 / £124.87
mandz1 - £30 / £27.57
Casperthefriendlyghost - £10 / £9.94
chris81418 - £100 / £141.37
8hoovesarebetterthannone - £165
flyinggiraffe - £60 / RED
Munchin - £80

W/C 9th December 2012 Challengers / Pledges / Total Spent

EverTheOptimist - £215
Lottie1987 - £70
mandz1 - £30
Rising from the ashes - £65
Casperthefriendlyghost - £10shezam - £130
abundant1972 - £6.77
chris81418 - £255

[Casperthefriendlyghost]

Hi!

I was cutting it so fine this week but managed to spend £9.94. Phew!
Am going to pledge £10 again next week. It's getting tighter, going to have to be careful!

Cheers
Casper
xx

[EverTheOptimist]

Right for this week it's a big one....

£20 nails
£25 petrol (going to MK shopping so extra petrol required)
£100 hair (I know, will reduce this when babba here. )
£25 Xmas party (shouldn't need to spend this as not drinking)
£10 misc spends
£35 groceries and bunny veg

=£215

[rising from the ashes]

Going for a bust for last week! Updated thread http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...7&postcount=40 BUT I did manage to add £7.50 to the Bus Fund

So ... this week - well, may end up with the same problem as will be at the hospital all day tomorrow . I usually give myself £5 to cover this (coffee when I arrive - def needed and some lunch) but went over on Friday and ended up in a bit of a mess so think I'll add this to my Misc spends this week and have a slightly bigger budget for everything.

Fuel: £0/£30 Carried forward from last week
Groceries: £0/£20 Really don't need a lot & need to try to reduce these as spends are huge compared to most people
Misc: £0/£15 Incl hospital money

Total: £0/£65

Good luck everyone

[Casperthefriendlyghost]

Originally Posted by rising from the ashes

Going for a bust for last week! Updated thread http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...7&postcount=40 BUT I did manage to add £7.50 to the Bus Fund

So ... this week - well, may end up with the same problem as will be at the hospital all day tomorrow . I usually give myself £5 to cover this (coffee when I arrive - def needed and some lunch) but went over on Friday and ended up in a bit of a mess so think I'll add this to my Misc spends this week and have a slightly bigger budget for everything.

Fuel: £0/£30 Carried forward from last week
Groceries: £0/£20 Really don't need a lot & need to try to reduce these as spends are huge compared to most people
Misc: £0/£15 Incl hospital money

Total: £0/£65

Good luck everyone

Good luck with the hospital appointment tomorrow. Hope it goes well and hope you have a better week next week.

Hugz
Casper
xx

[Lottie1987]

Morning everyone!

Rising: Hope next week is a better week for you xxx

Yesterday was a NSD (mainly due to the fact I was confined to bed for the weekend with this flu, had to miss my friend's little girl getting baptised as I felt so naff)

Full £70 left for rest of the week.

Have a good day everyone xxx

[shezam]

I'd like to pledge £130 this week. Out both nights for tea & drinks this weekend.
Spends so far

Sunday 10th - £10 on groceries.

[abundant1972]

Hi All,

Sorry am a day late pledging...

For W/C 09/12/12 am pledging (random amount I know)...

£6.77!!!

This is what's left of my December budget (grocery allowance as part of December Debt Destruction)... Food cupboards pretty full so should be good to see this amount get me through...

[chris81418]

Good morning everyone!

Thanks for this week's thread ETO!

I've worked out my budget and I'd like to pledge a huge £255 this week please!

Have a good week everyone and good luck staying within budget!

[rising from the ashes]

So .... hospital visit over - phew! Another one again next week unfortunately but it's better than being kept in!

Spent £3.90 in the hospital - treated myself to a coffee & flapjack and also one of those wee puzzle books to pass the 3 hours while having my treatment! Came away with 2 x 50p's in the change so have added these to the total & put in the bus fund pot!

Originally Posted by rising from the ashes

Fuel: £25.50/£30 Carried forward from last week
Groceries: £0/£20 Really don't need a lot & need to try to reduce these as spends are huge compared to most people
Misc: £4.90/£15 Incl hospital money

Total: £30.40/£65

[shezam]

Sunday 9th - £10 on groceries.
Monday 10th - £2.10 on chocolate

[Lottie1987]

Morning everyone!

Rising: Glad to hear you got on OK at the hospital xx

Spends for yesterday:
£10.23 (choc oranges (buy 1 get 2 free), body scrub, magazine and cans of lucozade for OH's work box)

Spends so far £10.23/£70.00 (£59.77 to last rest of the week)

Enjoy your day everyone xxx

[rising from the ashes]

Originally Posted by Lottie1987

Rising: Glad to hear you got on OK at the hospital xx

Thanks ... hope you're feeling better now?

[Lottie1987]

Morning everyone!

Rising: Was hoping to feel better but woke up yesterday sounding worse than I have all week. Am at work still but don't feel right

Spends for yesterday: £3.09 (milk and magazine), £9.95 (ww bars and draw ticket (did win £5.00 though so was cheaper than it should have been)

Totals so far: £23.27/£70.00 (£46.73 to last rest of the week)

Have a good day everyone xxx

[rising from the ashes]

Ohhh Lottie that's not so good ... hope you're better soon xx

Well, popped to the C00P for a few bits as felt if I went near a bigger SM, I'd buy more stuff than I need!

Hard to justify the fuel cost of going just for a few bits ... of course offset by the C00P costing slightly more - can't win sometimes

Originally Posted by rising from the ashes

Fuel: £25.50/£30 Carried forward from last week
Groceries: £16.95/£20
Misc: £8.90/£15

Total: 51.35/£65

Misc spends - still struggling on how to record these today's spend was £2 on a errr a couple of mags but I got a £2 in the change - which has been added to the spend amount as it's gone in the pot! (but it's not really a spend IYSWIM)

Added to the other 90p that went in the other day, my Misc spends are really only £6 ..... mmmmm *sigh* - nothing's easy!

[Lottie1987]

Morning everyone!

Day off today so I would like to say I'm staying at home.... BUT I have to go do some Xmas shopping. I have got some bonus bond vouchers from work so that will make it a little less spendy

Spends for yesterday:
£5.70 (train to work), 60p (newspaper), £.3.95 (apples and bananas)

Totals so far: £33.52/£70.00 (£36.48 left)

Have a good day everyone xxx

[EverTheOptimist]

Originally Posted by EverTheOptimist

Right for this week it's a big one....

£20 nails - spent £35
£25 petrol (going to MK shopping so extra petrol required) spent £25
£100 hair (I know, will reduce this when babba here. ) spent £92.50
£25 Xmas party (shouldn't need to spend this as not drinking)
£10 misc spends - spent £4.95
£35 groceries and bunny veg - spent £11

=£215

Have edited my post to show spends, i overspent on nails as i needed a new set. But spent less on hair, and hopefully will spend less on night out so will still come in green for the week.

So spends so far this week

£168.45 / £215

[Lottie1987]

Morning everyone!

Managed to get everything I need present wise yesterday. The only things left are vouchers which I will do online . Majority of spends yesterday came out of another fund so not counted in weekly spend but did manage to use some of the weeklies on a couple of things.

Spends for yesterday:
£8.50 (train) £59.00 (clothing presents for OH, jeans, slippers and underwear for me (Xmas budget)), £34.00 (bluray's and CD for OH used bundle deal (5 for 30 and 3 for 20 plus used £25.00 worth of Bonus Bond vouchers to knock it down more (Xmas budget)), £26.50 (bottle of port for FIL (xmas budget)), £10.00 (cd for SIL), £4.99 (penguin bowling game for SIL), £4.50 (mini xmas tree for my counter at work ), £34.50 (skirt for me was originally £69.00 so a bit of a bargain (xmas budget) ), £2.69 (mince beef), 33p (washing up liquid)

Total for the day: £181.99 (£154.00 out of xmas budget so £31.01 actual spends)

Total so far: £64.53/£70.00 (£5.47 to last rest of the week)

Have a good day everyone xxx

[rising from the ashes]

Declaring for the week as haven't spent any more!

Not going out today (horrid out!) and hopefully going to DMs tomorrow so won't need anything then!

Originally Posted by rising from the ashes

Fuel: £25.50/£30
Groceries: £16.95/£20
Misc: £8.90/£15

Total: 51.35/£65

Yay! Green on all budgets!

Have also stuck the LO Misc £1 coins into the Bus Fund - so that's another £5 added

Next week .... mmmmm yet another hospital appt but I purposely haven't read one of the mags I got the other day (it was one of these 3 pack for less money deals) - so aiming to take that to save money .... also have my puzzle book that I got when I was there the other day so it will be a coffee but unlikely to get lunch with this one (an I do get fed at my other appts!)

Will have a think and post later!

[abundant1972]

Hi Everyone!!!

Made it through this week - so GREEN for me.

£6.39/£6.77

Next week am aiming for a zero spend week (from my grocery budget).

Pledge for w/c 16/12/12 = £0.00.