-Dana

Here are the final results:

Income – $201.43 ($108.43 real dollars/ $93.00 tax benefit) 

Expenses – $239.01

Net Loss – $37.58

We went to Mellow Mushroom on the 30^th evening to break the fast and went a little crazy with our eating and spent a total of $37.00. (Hey, it had been 21 days and we were craving wings and pizza the whole time.)  If we could have had some more self control that night, we would have came within $0.58 of our goal. 

Nevertheless, we were able to plow an additional $956.33 (847.90 plus 108.43) into our car savings fund (personal savings, Phase 2, Step 3) at the end of the month. 

Some final thoughts on the spending fast:

1. We will do this again.  If anyone is interested, we will post some official rules in preparation for next January, and hope that other individuals and families would join in.  More to come on that.
2. It is possible to hold back spending for a month without going insane.  We even had fun with it. 
3. $1000 in savings in a month is very possible for those who are serious about doing so.

Moving Forward

February could be ugly if we are not careful.  There are a lot of expenses we held back in January, so we will need to be careful not to go overboard in February.  The good news is that it’s the shortest month of the year. Those of you who stick to a monthly budget know what I am talking about when I say the 30^th and 31^st days of the month are usually tight.  The January fast will not prove to be very effective if we go over budget by $800.00 this month. 

Here was our fridge and pantry pre and post fast.  I am so happy that it is currently restocked with breads and meats.  

So far, none of these questions have been as challenging as we thought.  I know this because Dana mentioned that we should do this more often (I wish I had a recorder because she proposed that we do this once a quarter, 4 times a year).  I gave her, in my best Moe Syzlak from the Simpsons voice, “Whaaaat?!”   Dana, we need you blog about this.  We’re calling for you.  Dana! Dana! Dana!

"Whaaaat?!"

There are some minor challenges that we are facing.  Here are a couple of mine and how I am dealing with it.

Haircut- I have been doing well getting my haircut when I needed one instead of way after the fact.  I know this because my hair stylist doesn’t question me when I ask for a 2 guard on the sides (“You know, Bryan, a 2 guard is really short.  Are you sure you want me to use it?  It will look much different than it does now.”)   I was supposed to get a haircut 2 weeks ago.  Now, I am looking at another two weeks unless I find a free haircut somewhere.   I am really starting to get shaggy. 

• Dana is good at a lot of things, but giving a haircut is not one of them.   After a botched haircut attempt while we were living in Germany, it is an unspoken rule that this is not an option. 

Dry Cleaning – I really want to get my shirts dry cleaned, but I must wait.  Instead, I am doing a couple of things that will keep me distracted until February. 

1. I am wearing sweaters on cold days.  I realized that I may be wearing them too much when I tell people at the office how I am saving money by wearing sweaters and they simply say, “We’ve noticed.” 
2. I have increased my golf shirt usage on not as cold days.  Just by wearing a golf shirt one additional day per week is saving 20% in dry cleaning. 
3. Believing that I will iron.  I have had 5 shirts sitting on a chair downstairs handpicked to be ironed out by me.  Those shirts haven’t moved all month. 

So, if you see a guy walking down the street with wrinkled clothing, ratty hair, and smells like sweaty Polo Sport deodorant, don’t jump to conclusions and think that he is homeless.  He could be on a monthly spending fast.

Expenses since we last wrote:

$18.00 Dinner on Friday night.  What can you get at a restaurant on a Daniel Fast?  Water and salad. 

Nevertheless, our friends really wanted to go to Golden Corral and we couldn’t convince them otherwise.  When we walked in and confirmed that it was an all you can eat buffet, I asked our friends why they took us to fasting hell.   We stuck to fruits and veggies, and the temptation was not enough to get lured in…this time.

$10.00 Basketball Game, Flagler College, St. Augustine.  I dropped Dana and Dylan off at the gym and walked in a couple of minutes later.  I was asked at the ticket gate if I was a student.  My reply, “Should I be?” tipped them off and I ended up paying the ‘adult’ price of $5.00.  Dana was upset that she wasn’t asked when she came in.  1 point for me.

That night, we walked around Historic Downtown St. Augustine.  It’s always nice to visit down there, but everything, from chocolate and pretzels to pizza, and just about everything else, smelled great.  We had to get out of there. 

$8.45 Groceries – Our grocery bill this week was $8.45.  This was by far a record.  We just needed to fill in some cracks after last week’s trip to the flea market. 

Total expenses for the week: $36.45.  Total expenses for the month:  $172.88. 

We tallied up the new total for our Goodwill donation: $620.00.  Dana’s clothes bulked up that number.  Our approximate tax rate: 15%.  Total benefit: $93.00.  We better take pictures and thoroughly document our charitable giving this year. 

The Ebay auctions have expired and all money has been collected.  We actually did pretty well.  Who would have thought that selling my sports card collection would go so well? One of my cards sold for $49.00.  Yes, for a stupid piece of cardboard that I held on to for 23 years.  We sold $146.73 worth of stuff and came out to a net profit (after ebay/paypal/USPS received their cut) of $108.43.

Right now, January 21, 2010, we are ahead by $28.55

Income   $201.43

Expenses   $172.88

We still have a long 10 days to go, (and more groceries to buy) but for now, we are feeling pretty good about where we are.

Our average monthly expenses for 2009 were $1452.00 above and beyond our monthly bills.  Some categories we stayed under and some other, not so much (newborns are expensive.)    Here is how our 2009 turned out and what our 2010 budget looks like. 

Therefore, if we only pay gas money this month ($220.00), our savings equals $1120.00 ($1340-$220) based on this year’s budget, or, $1232.00 ($1452-$220) saved based on last year’s actual spending.   Even if we lose by $100-$200 this month, we are still close to $1000.00. 

Either way, I hope this sheds some light into how the numbers come out for us.

1. A spending fast slows us down a little bit, which is always good after a hectic holiday season.  Buying ‘things’ will not make us happy.  Spending time together makes us happy.    This helps to keep things in perspective and encourages us to find ways to have a good time without spending money. 
2. We will save a projected additional $1200.00 in January doing this fast.  Even if we give in and spend $200.00 in January, it’s an additional $1000.00 saved.  The first simple step in the JAM Program is to save $1000.00 as soon as possible.   Red level intensity means doing whatever it takes to get the $1000.00 ASAP, and we are proving that this can be done (and you can actually have fun with it.)
3. Click here for my 3 main motivators for following the JAM Program. 

Total damage from Winn Dixie: $51.95.  Ouch.  This better take care of our food needs for the rest of the month. 

 We had officially run out food to eat for a meal on Saturday and had to pay for our last real meals.  On Thursday, we had macaroni and cheese along with Uncle Ben’s rice, for dinner.  We bought a pizza from Winn Dixie for $5.99 for lunch (a part of our $51.95 bill.)   What’s worse is that I went back to Publix to buy sushi and more tofu for Saturday night’s dinner for $9.84. 

Without making any more rules or amendments, Dana and I are in the hole now for the month and need to find a way to make a comeback.   I have added some books and basketball cards on ebay and hope to add some income at the end of the week. 

As of Jan 10,

Income: $30.00

Expenses:  $146.43

Profit/(Loss) – ($116.43)

 The produce section is in the center of the entire flea market, so you have to walk through the entire place to get there.  The son, Ray (it’s called Ray’s Produce) is what looks like a 60 year old man with gray hair, but still looks fairly agile from the constant labor on the farm.  What struck me as odd is that there are like 4 generations ahead of him helping out.  Our favorite cashier, Carol, was referred to as ‘Ma’ by Ray.  So, Carol, who is so spunky and always makes our day brighter, must be 80.  What’s more is that she asked a question to her ‘Ma’ while ringing us up, who was sitting in the corner.  How old is her Mom?  And to boot, there appeared to be someone who looked older than Carol’s Mom in the same booth!   Either Ray is a very old 20-something that looks like he’s 60, or there is a 125 year old lady in Palatka, Florida, that no one knows about. 

Though the flea market is good for cheap produce, it doesn’t appear to be very good for anything technological.   For instance, an old 19 inch TV for $100.  Are you kidding me?  Or, a Super Nintendo going for $55.00?  (I actually found a picture of this on the flea market web site) I really wanted to see if they had Sonic the Hedgehog or NBA JAM for Sega Genesis, but it was too cold.  It is like travelling back to 1990 there.  

Total damage at Ray’s Produce:  a record, $57.90.  On the positive end, we have enough fruits and veggies to last the entire 3 weeks.   We have the Debbie Meyer green bags, that will keep it all fresh for a long period of time, except bananas, which only last a few days.   On the other hand, we are now behind on our spending fast.  We will give you an update on that in a couple of days on how this is going.  Stay tuned.

We found stuff, but frankly, figured we wouldn’t make enough money to make it worth out time posting it on ebay.  Instead, we’ve installed a new rule.

1. Whatever you donate to Goodwill/Salvation Army, you get to count the tax write off as money to spend for the month.   We are in the 15% tax bracket and so far, have donated $200.00 worth of stuff.  Money to spend: $30.00 ($200.00 X 15%) 

On January 3, I was out getting gas for Dana when I got a text asking me to go to the grocery store.  It said:   Avocado, lemon juice, sour cream, and butter.  I gave in because

1. I really wanted dinner that night and Mac and Cheese later that afternoon.  
2. I didn’t want to start an argument, and
3.  I had extra cash in my pocket from last month. 

Reason #3 leads us to rule number 2 of the spending fast. 

2. Whatever leftover cash that is in your pocket from the previous month can be used without counting towards the fast. 

Therefore, I spent $4.05 on groceries, but the amount is off the books due to rule #2.

We did have one little hiccup in the first week.  Dana went to Walgreen’s and bought $26.74 worth of ‘essentials.’  That was the answer when I asked her after finding the receipt. 

I looked at the receipt and didn’t say much.  After all, Dana’s a good shopper.  I noticed that she bought 2 containers of dish soap for $1.00 each and picked up some photos that she got on sale for only $3.00.  That $5.00 is not what I had the problem with.   It was the other $21.00.  The remaining $21.00 involved two items: 2 pkgs. of makeup remover and a package of skin moisturizer.

Any other month and I would not object.  However, I had been making some sacrifices this past week. 

Take for example, I ran out of deodorant this week and had been using my Polo Sport deodorant (that came with the box of cologne.)  Just so you know, Polo Sport is a great cologne, but their deodorant stinks, both literally and figuratively.   I take that back:  it smells great for a couple of hours.  After that, I start to smell like Polo Sweat.  I sit at a desk all day, but it’s, evidently, exerting enough for the deodorant to completely wear off by the end of the work day.   I have to reapply in the evening just for Dana to be in the same room with me.   

I was going to run to the dollar store this weekend to buy some real deodorant, but was suffering for the cause all week. 

Last night, as I was applying my nightly deodorant (yes, for a third time in the day) Dana asked me why I didn’t just go and buy some deodorant.  This led to the ensuing exchange of words:

Bryan: Because I am trying to adhere to the rules of the fast.  (For those of you that know me, I did actually say ‘adhere,’ an intelligent word by my standards.) 

Dana: Well, you can still buy some deodorant and you can use my Secret in the meantime. 

Bryan (in a raised voice): I would have bought some, but you broke the budget at Walgreens.  So, while I have Polo B.O. all day, you sit on a mountain of makeup remover and swim in a tub of moisturizer. 

Dana (defensively): I need that moisturizer.  It’s the driest month of the year. 

(Pause)

Dana:  At least you smell good for a couple hours during the day. 

Despite the Walgreen’s incident, we are doing well with the spending fast so far.  We haven’t eaten out during this very busy work week and have eaten the groceries that we have at the house.  For lunch, we have been doing PB and J’s as our main course.   During the 21 day fast starting on Sunday, those sandwiches are going to really sound delicious.   

Here is the score at the end of one week for those keeping track at home:

Total extra income month to date:  $30.00

Total expenses month to date:  $26.74    (remember the $4.05 is off the books)

Profit (Loss)                                    $3.26

We don’t have anything on ebay or craigslist, so I feel that we are a little behind if we need to buy something. We will need to purge our house this weekend and hopefully finds some things of value.

Tomorrow starts the fast. It should be interesting.