So far... so... ok

Here is the status: $900 in the account! Well, after tomorrow there will be.

I have been such a good girl. Really haven't been going out as much for food, watching what I spend. I have done a few things for myself though. I got my hair cut and colored. My grays were just out of control and my hair was scraggly. I also purchased an area rug for the living room as the carpet was scraggly.

I have come to the realization that $10k is probably a long shot. But, I am going to see how close I can get.

Half way through April!

It is just over half way through April, month 1. So far not so good. I have managed to put $600 into my savings account so far, but that is going to be mostly going towards my property taxes. I have done a much better job at not eating out and not buying stuff that I don't need.

I have not been successful in pinching pennies and making sure that I have my coupon binder with me at all times. I have been able to get my grandmother to save me the coupons that she doesn't want.

My downfall is cooking good food. I am really into trying new foods, especially Indian. I have been buying different ingredients that I need to do the dish. I spent $30 on spices and flours today at the spice store. But, that amount is far less than I would have spent on the same spices at the grocery store. I got a whole bag of spices for $2 where a small bottle at the grocery store would have cost $6. Amazing! I have found me a new ingredient hot spot!

Update on the no TV thing: apparently we have more than just local channels. So, we are able to still watch our favorite shows and we are not paying an arm and a leg for channels we don't need or want.

I decided to not get the Honda replacement part for my side view mirror. I could not justify spending $26 on the mirror part and then another $95 on the install. AutoZone had a stick on mirror for $7. Problem solved. Mirrored plastic works pretty well. I can see when I am driving!

No more dish TV!

Today is the last day of fun TV. No more Food Network, TLC, Discovery or History channel. But that is OK. We signed up for Netflix. Of course this "required" me to purchase a Playstation 3 to play the Blu-Ray discs. It was a birthday present for my loving boyfriend who is going to be putting up with my budget for the next year. Good thing is that he loves the Netflix instant streaming concept. All of his favorite old school movies are available for instant viewing!

Dish style TV savings = about $60 a month
Land line phone required by Dish style TV service = about $15 a month
Netflix cost with Blu-Ray upgrade = $11 a month

Sooooo... net savings of about $64 a month!

Yes, I do realize that the Playstation 3 was a bit of an excessive purchase. I tried the plain Blu-Ray route, but my boyfriend was determined to go return it and use the money for the PS3 no matter what I said to try to convince him otherwise. So, a PS3 is what we now have.

On the plus side, the lack of TV options will prompt us to actually do more around the house, exercise, etc. I am excited. I am sure we will have some cravings for Discovery or History channel, but we will get through it!

Let the challenges begin!

Murphy's law, correct? You know what I am talking about. If something is going to go wrong, it will go wrong at the most inopportune time. Here is what has gone against my plan in the past week so far:

• My dog needed a new set of bowls or accessories to slow his eating. He has been eating so fast that he chokes on his food and it affects him all day. Cost = $34
• The driver's side view mirror on my vehicle fell off while I was driving down the highway on my way home from work last night. Not the whole thing, just the glass. I never knew how much a driver actually depends on that little mirror until I didn't have one anymore! Cost for a new mirror from Honda = $27 (self installed - hopefully I won't break it). If I want Honda to install it they charge a full hour of labor = $95. I went to AutoZone and got a stick on piece of mirror for $7. If that looks horrible I will spend the $27 on the Honda mirror and keep my fingers crossed that my boyfriend can install it with out breaking it.
• Gas costs are rising! I have spent $40 since April 1 in gasoline! Ahhh!

I must stay on track but it has been less than a week and I am already having issues keeping to my budget!

First Full Week is under way!

My official start date for the $10k budget started on April 1. It was a short 3 days and I really didn't spend much money at all. We had a variety of food in the fridge and freezer already so we didn't go grocery shopping last week. I did do a few lunches out last week, but it was well under my food budget limit.

I did go to get a few things at the grocery store. My shopping trip was just to go out to get some bread sticks or something for our inexpensive dinner - soup, salad, and bread sticks. My basket included 1 whole pineapple, 5 apple pears (yummy new adventure), and 4 tubes of Pillsbury bread products. I did my shopping at Stop & Shop on this day and I did save some cash. They had some of the Pillsbury products on sale for 2/$4. I purchased 4 tubes because I had coupons! Save $1 when you buy 2 tubes. The whole pineapple was also on sale for $2.99. Pineapple is a staple for us. So we always have one on the counter ready for chopping. The apple pears were on sale for $1 each. So, I got out of there for $13.99!

This week is going to be the true test of how I work this budget. I still have a vet bill to pay off - one of the cats had massive oral surgery in the fall and I did a 12 month no interest plan through CareCredit. I actually looked at the bill today and noticed that they charge a $2 a month service fee, but no interest. I had been paying more than the minimum because I can, but now that I know I will be paying an extra $24 over the 12 months when I really don't need to I will just pay it off this month.

I think I have decided that I will use my Discover card to make purchases and just pay off the purchases on a daily basis. Especially if the purchases are made at locations that are participating in the monthly 5% cash back program. Currently it is home improvement stores, department stores, and clothing stores. If you have a Discover account you should go to your personalized website and sign up for the free 5% cash back!

I am a little behind on getting my spreadsheet set up to track my successes and opportunities. This is my goal for the week. I have been keeping my receipts and will make sure to track every penny I spend!