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Lose weight by eating more frugally

The Plan

Every so often I realize that I've been spending too much. As a result I take a month (although the first time was 40 days) and 'fast' on spending. It's not easy, but it's quite helpful in many ways. Each time I've done this I have actually made between 50 and 200 dollars. Combine that with the money I didn't spend, and the fact that I reformed my spending, it can have a big impact financially.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 


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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: $124.63 (+$0.64)

Day 22: Hidden from sight


I am going to do a brief commentary on how I hate change... Change is such a pain in the butt. I always kinda lose change, and then find it. I feel like I need one of those little change dispensers like Alex P. Keaton or the girls at Sonic. Anyhow... I found a 63 cents discrepancy.

In searching for breakfast I once again noted that I was out of cereal, I started a list of what to get at the store and then though I really should do better at eating what I have. I have plenty of things in the pantry. Loads of food actually. But it's just hard to see what's in there because of the way it's constructed.

As you can tell here the doors are huge sliding doors, one for each side. The most you can ever see of what's back there is half, with the middle almost always hidden. Looking in there from an angle I can see lots of sauce mixes(which I just bought more of), pasta (which I just bought more of), soup (which I just bought more of), raspberry jelly (which I just bought more of) things like that. I really need to make better use of what I have in there. At least I am doing well with the fridge.

In light of that I decided I would just eat graham crackers for breakfast since there's not much difference between that and cereal. For your viewing enjoyment, here's a couple of videos so you can see just how strangely I eat a graham cracker I developed the technique while watching He-Man* when I was little. It was a good way not to make lots of crumbs and became much easier once my mouth grew.

For lunch I had a the rest of the veggie tray and some peanutbutter on crackers. Later in the afternoon Melissa came by and we caught up on some tv shows that we watch together. She took me to a dessert auction at her church afterward. It was a lot of fun to hear people bidding hundreds of dollars for cakes and pies. Maked me wonder what the street value of my pies would be . Of course I saved my money and didn't bid though she bought me a piece of pie (buck each pre auction). Dinner was hot and sour soup mix with ramen and eggs. A nice use of some things I found in the pantry.



* Anna asked if there was some connection to graham crackers and He-Man. The answer, yes, I used to eat graham crackers while I watched He-Man.

Inventory

Acquired: $.63, pumpkin pie
Consumed: Graham crackers, veggies, peanutbutter and crackers, pumpkin pie, soup

Daily cash values:

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