I am 46 years old. I am 40k in debt at least. I have spent so much money on material items due to unhappiness. And now I am paying the price. It’s time to change. I’m doing a no buy 2024
Something small I do once a week is round off my bank account. The last 3 numbers go into a savings pot and once that's at $100, it goes towards an extra debt payment. I started that is September and just did my first $100 debt payment this week! Very exited it's working! Once we aren't struggling as much, I plan on upping that to the last 4 digits to get more debt paid off faster!
My money saving tricks are Turn off lights if you aren't using it Make food/drinks at home Everything has multiple purpose Cook simple meals and large batches to freeze
New habit......NO online purchases. I have been on a no buy/low buy for the past year. On this journey to pay off debt. 2023 was mostly successful, but upon review, I found that my only fails were online purchases. So, that's done!
I NEVER buy online. If that is the only way to get it, I do without. There are a couple of products I really want to try, but they are not in stores so I just do without!
Retired and simplified everything! We do auto pay for all bills. Only bank at the end of the month. Transfer all the money for monthly bills to checking. Next add deposit to checkbook and enter all bills according to the date they will come out. This makes reconsiling a breeze at the end of month. We also take out our monthly cash for groceries, gas, allow ourself to eat out twice a month, any repairs, oil changes etc. Any thing left at the end of the month is added to our vacation account. We grocery shop once a week if we need anything. Keep freezer and pantries stocked. We mostly shop 🙏🙏sales and replacing things we have used. All errands are ran on grocery day. We have 3 nights per month that I sing so that is free entertainment and socializing. (We eat at home before we go) We tithe and donate monthly. No debt and simplified life has created a peaceful life. 🙏💰
I am retired and absolutely love grocery delivery. I never thought in the beginning that I would like ordering my food online but it is definitely been a game changer. Gives me more time to do what I want to do . I need to get in the habit of going over my budget daily. I usually do it weekly on Fridays but I think I will try doing it daily. Wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas
YES!! It keeps me from making unnecessary purchases. I had no self control 😂. Now I plan my menu. I actually load my online cart the night before payday. Now I’m saving for a month ahead fund so I can do everything early. I don’t like later in the day grocery pickups.
I've been cutting my groceries bill in half by picking up free items that way I can buy more meats during the month at aldi's . I buy 4-1 lb. Packs of organic gr.beef, 2 -3pks. Chicken tenders,1-2 pks. Porkloin,2 3pks. Bacon and pork sausages or 1 pm. Chicken thighs bone in for making bone broth. 2lbs carrots 1 - 3lb bag onions 20 lbs potatoes 1 head each cabbage,broccoli,cauliflower. I prep all veggies up for California blend and freeze ,tricolored peppers onions for stir fry and Philly steaks and polish sausages. And make up pickled mixed veggies too have on hand.
I make my annual budget, and break it into monthly amounts. I figure out which areas I use cash for, then break those into weekly amounts of cash to take out. I keep a 3 ring binder with dividers denoting those cash areas. I record all expenditures and keep running balances. This helped me make better choices and meet many goals. As a young, single parent of 3 kids, and little money, it was even more important to see and control my funds. I have actually done this for the last 35 years, and am now comfortably retired.
Omg I’m almost done with January as a no spend year. Im taking one day at a time. So far I’ve saved a minimum of $2000. It’s al going to savings and I can send aside an extra $800 to mortgage. I’m excited to continue this journey.
I liked your subscribers idea of a spend day versus no spend days. I pay all my household bills (i.e...mortgage, utitues, auto insurance) on the 3rd of each month which I have done for years now. I recently started working again part-time and that money is what I call my cushion money for things that are not regular monthly household bills. I became widowed at 59 in 2022.. I am hoping to retire at 62 in March of 2025. At present I have to be extremely cautious with what money I do have so I live on a very Bare Bones budget.
I am an early riser so I usually catch you as it premieres but I see a later start today and I know I’ll be out doing errands and will catch up later. As we are retired time is a different universe for us…or another dimension 🤣🤣🤣 all errands and missions are done early morning…the day flies by…then I’ll be awake at 4am scrolling all the topics that catch my interests. Yours are always top of my list. ❤️🎄 Merry Christmas to all. 🎄
I absolutely love grocery pickup! I found myself buying things I didn't need! Our fee is free if we spend $35 or more. This way I get only what I need and I am retired and hate shopping.
I do the same thing with groceries kind of: I do grocery shopping every 10th, 20th and 30th of the month. (Except February of course). Just three times a month. It works for me.
I love the spend day instead of the no spend.My mind thinks of it as a treat that I save 6 days for. This is my favorite video from you. I hope everyone follows these tips. I look at my budget and bills and accounts daily and once a week pay my credit card in full. I Grocery shop only on Wednesday (the day the sales start here). I love to grocery shop and feel deprived if I do grocery pick up. Except for mortgage we are debt free.
An idea came to my mind about six weeks ago. We use cash only to purchase anything. When we get home I take the change and put it aside and don't touch it. The next time we shop we take more cash (we are on a budget and implement low spending) to spend and repeat the process. I just counted the "set aside" money and was shocked to see we had $110 in such a short time. Wow. Even with a lower income household, we can actually save. Oh, cutting out junk food from the grocery really does help save money!
I shop on one day a week, and, recently, I am working on shopping only two times a month. I started this last month and found that I keep my food bill down. Thanks for sharing. New habit!
Have started living more frugally and find your videos encouraging and upbeat - which is a such a blessing to the soul. May you and yours be blessed in all ways!❤
Grocery pick up has been a game changer for me because 1) I don't have a lot of free time 2) I'm terrible about impulse purchases when I'm physically in the store so ordering what I need a head of time eliminates the temptation for me
I think the Spend Day is a good idea. I don’t know about yall, but when I’m spending a lot of money frequently (like with Christmas shopping or running errands), I get “spent-out” and just don’t want to spend any more. So if I did all my spending in one day it would probably be less than what I’d spend when I do shopping spread out over many days.
My young co workers think it is weird I am not familiar with the taco bell or macdonalds menu. There is a reason they are broke. Besides marriage & kids of course.
You make my Friday Kate! You bring a breath of fresh air to this grumpy old Brit. Have a wonderful Christmas with Kaden and your family (and the cats, of course). I got well and truly on top of finances in 2023, daily check on accounts and saving all I can. The idea of the book club choice could help push me on to do things I know I need to do and actually sort and sell some stuff I know I don't need. There are certain spending habits that I have become aware of and want to get behind me. Does anyone else spend more on things that are unnecessary but seem perfectly reasonable in times of stress? I went through this, always carefully focused and yet unnecessary spending when my father was dying, and then again during COVID. I am fortunate to not have any debt, but now need to optimise what resources and possessions I have as I approach retirement.
@@susanf4857 my dad died in 2013, so it is a while. I just have the challenge of dealing with the almost full set of a certain craft magazine to tackle. Maybe scan what I am interested in keeping, then sell the rest.
Looking forward to seeing you Kate..you are like a ray of sunshine...always happy..always positive..and always there to help us in our journey to becoming more frugal. Thankyou so much for all the time and effort you put in..I really appreciate it. I wish you and your beautiful son a Happy, healthy, safe and blessed Christmas💖🎄💖🎄💖🎄💖🎄love Trish from Downunder Australia XX
This sounds like a good idea, but I have a question. What if a friend invites you to have lunch on a day other than Friday. Do you ask the friend to change the day of your lunch to Friday or just forego eating with the friend? I don't really eat out very often with a friend, but when i do, I really don't want to be limited to just a Friday. Thanks. Diane
@jimmiepatrum Good question! I just go, or if my girls want to go shopping or Hubby wants to go to breakfast etc.. Relationships come before money in my book. 99 percent of the time the rule works great!
@@BackroadMoney Wonderful way to look at your Friday spending! I love your attitude. I think I could make your plan work. Thanks for responding to me. Diane
I’m looking forward to no spend January. I did it last year and it worked great. I do a couple of little things that help me save. When I buy something and pay cash, the change I get back I drop in my purse. About every 2 weeks I empty the change out and put in a jar and when the jar is full I take it to the bank and put it in savings. It’s surprising how much you accumulate. The other thing I do is take an envelope and list numbers 1 thru 52 on the front of it. Put money in the envelope on payday, circling the number you are adding when the whole list is circled, you have a nice pile of money for whatever. If you can start this in January, it can pay for Christmas at the end of the year or insurance or whatever is an extra large expense
Thank you! Breaking the no spend down to weekly or designated days will help me ease into doing it month to month. I am going to do the 12 week year challenge and incorporate a 100 envelope challenge for the first time. Super motivated ✨
Omg Kate I was just going to recommend that book! I'm reading it and wrote a plan for money in January. We just read it for work, I'm a social worker and we set goals for clients and I'm applying it in my own life for health and money. I won't spoil it and I will wait for the review but it applies with what we're doing here in the community totally!
Not new new but new going back to an old habit that worked amazing. Taking out in cash my monthly grocery budget ...putting it into weekly jars and whatever is leftover goes towards my growing emergency fund and afterwards into saving
This video is pure gold, Kate! We have been using many of these strategies to save. We are blessed that my job is “extra” income (income we don’t rely on) so I have been putting it toward our financial goals each week. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly goals are accomplished when putting money toward them each week. Our goals for the upcoming year is paying off our house….all my income (minus business expenses, of course) is going toward that goal plus additional from our monthly budget. Very excited to see how it goes for the year.
Love the idea of paying weekly. I sometimes buy something and I’m like, it’s only $30, but I do not need it. And putting it towards debt, is so much better!! Thank you 😊
Grocery pick up has changed my life also I’m 62 years old. I don’t have the strength I used to I’m a woman alone and I love to order my items online and then just back up and they throw them in the back of my SUV because I don’t spend more money than I should because I don’t see things walking around the store I just click online and it’s a free service from my local grocery. I love it.
Regarding the grocery shopping, I am retired but my husband still works and it is just the two of us. We do Walmart delivery every couple of weeks and it saves us both time and $ as we don’t go to the store and buy things we don’t need, get exposed to every germ and crowds out there and it is just super convenient Well worth the $99/year Hello from Myrtle Beach.
I am going back to using cash for groceries, so anything I save I use for savings challenges, on top of what I set set aside to pay off debt and build up my savings account. I know having nothing saved just leads to more debt, trying to break a cycle😅.
(Abby typing) I listened to this as an audiobook for free on youtube in one day. It is worth discussing and helping each other come up with goals and tactics. One could pick an area of one's life per season even.
I like the idea of a 'no spend day' and could see how if you are successful at that, expanding it to 2, and then maybe more days a week until you are at a comfortable point for you. And I LOVE grocery pick up! I spend less (cause impulse shopping!), it makes me think about what I am making for dinner that week, and can use that time doing other things, like you said. We have also been working on paying down debt weekly, but my husband is paid weekly, so that schedule works for us, anyway.
I enjoyed this video because it reassures me that Im doing things right. I have a spend day and sit down daily with my hot chocolate and go over my budget. Im retired but I have my chores scheduled so I shop once a week and I pay $50 a week to pay down my dentist bill debt. Thank you so much for sharing your strategies that work 😊
I run all my errands once a week. Only other times i spend money is 2-3 times a month going to lunch or movie with friends. So no more than 7 spending days a month. Being retired with a lot of free activities helps
No spemd days do 2 things: 1) Provide an awareness as to when, where, and how you spend. This is all the more so if money seems to dribble out of that hole in your pocket ot bleed out of your account. 2) Without doing panic stockups, no spend days begin to get you doing more purposeful, planned buying. This is espeically true if you do a seriois no-spend as in no dollars spent even if it is for milk, eggs, or bread. Most of us may be uncomfortable with no milk, eggs, or bread for 24 hours but there are alternatives of one type or another. Some of us may not be aware how often we are hitting the vending machine, coffe bar, or snack basket at work and could be mighty u comfortsbke until we csn get home. These little bits of uncomfortableness can lead to beneficial planning and whatni csll immediate mode prepping.
I finally tried grocery pick up around Thanksgiving and was amazed at how simple it was. Even the fresh fruits and vegetables were in excellent shape!! The best part of doing this is that there is no longer any impulse buying...and that saves not only my money, but my health!!
I helped my mother set up grocery pickup. She LOVES it now. She’s a retired nurse with bad knees so it helps a lot! She eats a mostly raw diet so I helped her set up an account for her weekly produce. It’s at another bank so it automatically goes into that account. That way she won’t run out of food or money at the end of the month.
New Habits!! All of these are great tips. I would like to wean my family off paper towels. They are expensive even buying in bulk in Costco and that money adds up!
I know what you mean, maybe buy some cheap bar towels or the ones they have in the automotive department at Dollar general, you'll have to wash them but would be cheaper in the long run.
After 16years of paying a mortgage and 10 of trying to get rid of that property I have recently sold my condo to my brother. The listing cost me a debt of 20k (as the market never fully recovered here in Spain so I owed more money that it is worth today). My parents lent me that amount so no interest at all. My budget says I can save 1k a month to pay towards that debt. In 20months (hopefully 18) I will be debt free, as my car is paid and the apartment I live in is also paid for in full. I am so excited that I had to tell you!!!
Excellent. Don't go to the Supermarket. Check what is in Freezer/pantry. When all used up then do a meal plan so there is no extra foods that are not used. A meal plan is my goal for 2024 so there are no extra foods around, better for your waistline and your purse.
I’d check if other grocery stores in your area charge the $2 fee for grocery pickup. In my area (Midwest), I have at least 4 grocery chains that don’t charge a fee if you spend $30-$35 on groceries. The $2 is worth it, but you may be able to avoid that fee. If I don’t spend that amount, I get charged $4.95.
No spend on fast food for January! Spent New Year's cooking and so delicious and healthier! Then be No Spend in Feb until I realize it's been an entire year!!
I'm with you on the no spend. I got carried away for Christmas this year. I had to get new pants for myself. I lost 45lbs since April and my pants were falling down (not a pretty sight) after buying my pants I just kept buying. A huge mistake. Probably take me until March to catch up.
You deserved those pants! It’s hard work losing weight! I got carried away spending too but I needed some of the things I bought. I needed a shed, some insulation for my mobile home, and new skirting. NOW, I wanted the new rug I bought because it keeps my living room warmer plus it was on sale $100 off!
Hi Kate! We try and do Money-Free Monday after the weekends when my husband is home and we splurge a little. We also often do meat-free Mondays. Happy New Year to you and Kaden!🎉🎉🎉
I run paying bills and buying groceries the same day as I get my check and sometimes only one day extra too check out the goodwill,habitat for humanity,and my favorite resale shop. So that my tank of gas last 2-1/2 months. And yes I do buy only glass food savers,cotton washcloths or vacuum saver containers for grains and flours. Or canning jars.
I just found you and subscribed!!! I love these ideas and I’m looking forward to being a part of “The 12 Week Year” book club. We are going to implement so many of your ideas this upcoming year and I’m excited to report later. The #1 will be to pay our Discover Card every Friday and be a part of the no spend January. Hopefully it will continue through February. Thank you!!!
Good morning Katie I do have my emergency fund in savings but I also started a cash savings im so proud I just hit another 500.00 in cash 😊 took a while since my paycheck is smaller due to health insurance increased and I have life insurance im still in debt but not in credit card debt all 0 balance on my cards happy holidays to you and your son
After getting a pantry and freezer stocked with what we like to eat, we now are trying to buy only on sale grocery items. We are limiting it to $100 a week. Leftover money can be put into other expenses envelopes.
I love my no spend year. I cut my groceries to 100 per mon/h and i will try to spend less.in the next two years i need to move to a senior apt or a smaller home . I am decluttering like mad' a,d o×n way to much. I want to maximize my workload making a game out of it is mygoal. Wonderful vlog ty ❤kate m
I pay toward our debt, when we have it, bi-weekly when we get paid. We used to have our house payment set up that way as well but when we refinanced, that was not option anymore. We still pay extra, it’s just once/mo now. Car payment is biweekly and if we use the credit card, I pay it off in 2 payments in one month so we have $0 balance
I'm treating this as if I was trying to stop smoking. No spending today. It's been more than two weeks now and it feels great. I still spend monthly on necessities: gas, insurance, food, phone, internet. I also spend down debt as much and as often as I can. But NOTHING extra! I have decided that I will spend a little something on self-improvement. But only on something I have been thinking long and hard about. Maybe once a month. I do have quite a bit of debt, at least compared to my meager income, so of course that is now a priority. As it is, I'm retired and I get paid monthly. So I buy groceries monthly, always from a grocery list, maybe picking up a little something more later in the month, but only a little.
I have those no spend Sundays but mine is not a day of rest. It’s a cleanIng, meal prepping for the work week day. I don’t have time to always cook during the week.
We did a number of spending life style changes in June '22. One of those was a commitment to doing most of our shopping (in stores, no buying), spending, and no spend activities on the way home from mandatory trips away from home. Also if we venture away from home while not on a mandatory trip, to stack as many stops as possible while we are out. The initial goal was to save on vehicle gas 'cause it was pretty high here then. Coupled with other spending life style changes of which some are ever more and some which have been intended to be shorter lived, we have saved quite a few dollars but I believe we've saved time too. - This said, we are retired so our mandatory trips do not include work 5 times a week, kid transportation, etc... so we are able to plan things more on our own time table. This said, in our 2020 pantry building efforts we came across a good price on some shampoo amd cream rinse so bought a bunch. Then as we were adjusting to staying at home more that shampoo was at an essential business and visiting essential businesses every couple of days became enticing. Unbeknownst to the other, each of us stopped to top off our supply as the last was being sold. We had a couple of year supply which we havent been paying attention to. Well despite thinking we were all done being on the roads and in the parking lots with Christmas shoppers this past Tuesday, we are headed out early this morning to buy shampoo; oddly enough we still have a few bottles of cream rinse. If we weren't getting together and staying home we'ld tough it out with a little water in the shower and more of the bed head look until the 26th.
We celebrated Christmas '22 in January '23 which made it down scaled although we ended up with a cut Christmas tree complete with dropping needles 'cause a very, very nice full and trimmed tree was ontained for free on something like December 23rd. After years of declarations related to celebrating more down scaled and purposeful we did more so this year. In the kitchen while putting together breakfast, we concluded that stockings were in order for next year but with not too much cr@p and at not too much cost. We areed to put together an extra stocking's worth of stuff just in case; guaranteed there will be minimum problem donating the stuff. We agreed that if items didnt fit in people's lives, they could be divested of at will. And then we got to discussing little do-dads that were quick and easy to make using "stuff" most of us had lanquishing among our assorted possessions. (Clutter? Unused craft supplies? Good stuff?; a little of all of the above). - And how does this fit low and no spend, budgeting out time as well as dollars, and all the rest? My plan is to definitely do no more than low spend and scatter these crafting sessions across the year.
I would rather organise a no spend limit in relation to other tasks. For example, I do not spend when I sleep, but I can when I wake up. Not spending could also be while eating for example but I can after eating. From this basic argument it might be viable to organise spending based on duration of activities and activities related to other acitivies price point. I do stay in and not spend for a month at a time, then also for weeks at a time or days at a time, but I would opt for something like a nurtient like I do not eat 2 hours before sleep, and how is money the same. If I earn more I can increase my base cost of activiites, but it might not get more complex but more quality. Thank you for these thoughts.
Hi Kate! I'm a new subscriber from Canada 🇨🇦 I hadn't heard of most of these strategies before but will definitely be implementing them. Thank you for sharing your time and insights. I look forward to learning more from you!
New Habits! Yesterday we had an unplanned trip to the Now $1.25 Stote and Walmart. While at the Now $1.25 Store, i also picked up what will be for me a second, particular silicone jar spatula. Now i will have one for scraping plates before washing and a seperate one for jars et al: at $1.25+tax im sure ill recoup the cost because ill be more guaranteed to use them. We also picked up a kids dosing syringe for almost $4 at Walmart to try adding water to shampoo, cream rinse, and other containers with a secure cap and tiny squeeze hole. I would have preferred a bigger syringe and hope the darned thing works at $4. Getting a savings from this investment purchase will eventually save money over trying to get water into these bottles from spikot or falling shower water. But what it will alleviate are the wistful feelings as i send bottles off to recycle thst i know have 1 to 3 more uses sitting at the bottom of the bottle. On and off for many years now, we pay the upcoming month's bills with money in the account at the end of the previois month. Some call this paying ahead, i call it making sure we're paying on time. Further, when and if possible i work to be able to pay the full upcoming month's bills at the end of the previous month or in that first week even if they arent due until the end of the month; its less work, effort, and calemdsr minitoring this way. One way weve changed our spending life style the past 18 months or so is to pay the bills by the end ifmthe first week, put effort into low and no spend during the month, then spend with what's left over at the end of the month; we been pretty tight so finding purposeful things to spend money on hasnt been particularly difficult. Currently, we are having more left over but also some up coming larger ticket items we all but need. So im trying a purposeful and conservative, end of the month spending spree followed by removing the left overs from the account(s) for the proverbial cookie jar. Got one account reduced with some added padding above the buffers as we get used to this new system; it replentishes first. Am leaving the other account flush for spending until it is closer to replentishment. What this will do is make the accounts visually more in line with the actual monthly income, psychologically help in low spend and living within our monthly income, and clearly set aside out of sight out of mind money towards our financial goals and bigger ticket items.
Great strategies, Kate! Some I didn't even think of 🙂 I am looking forward to No Spend January (hoping it goes better for me than last year) and I love that book club is coming back!!
New Habits! Working hard here on trying to hit some financial and health goals. So far doing pretty well in both areas. Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year Kate, Kaden, and KSquad
I am 46 years old. I am 40k in debt at least. I have spent so much money on material items due to unhappiness. And now I am paying the price. It’s time to change. I’m doing a no buy 2024
Something small I do once a week is round off my bank account. The last 3 numbers go into a savings pot and once that's at $100, it goes towards an extra debt payment. I started that is September and just did my first $100 debt payment this week! Very exited it's working! Once we aren't struggling as much, I plan on upping that to the last 4 digits to get more debt paid off faster!
That's such a great idea!! I'm going to try that!
I do the same, i put it to savings every week and at the end of the year it ads up
Love this Rachel!
Great idea
I am definitely going to try this! Tyvm for this idea!!!
I used to find paying the bills a chore, but now I look forward to it as I have my financial house totally organized. It’s liberating!
Same!
See, budgeting can be fun. Well done
Agreed! I feel like such a nerd but when my payslip comes through a couple of days before payday I finalise my budget for the next month.
My money saving tricks are
Turn off lights if you aren't using it
Make food/drinks at home
Everything has multiple purpose
Cook simple meals and large batches to freeze
New habit......NO online purchases.
I have been on a no buy/low buy for the past year. On this journey to pay off debt. 2023 was mostly successful, but upon review, I found that my only fails were online purchases. So, that's done!
Thank you for sharing with us Cathy! So glad you're here!
I NEVER buy online. If that is the only way to get it, I do without. There are a couple of products I really want to try, but they are not in stores so I just do without!
Retired and simplified everything! We do auto pay for all bills. Only bank at the end of the month. Transfer all the money for monthly bills to checking. Next add deposit to checkbook and enter all bills according to the date they will come out. This makes reconsiling a breeze at the end of month. We also take out our monthly cash for groceries, gas, allow ourself to eat out twice a month, any repairs, oil changes etc. Any thing left at the end of the month is added to our vacation account. We grocery shop once a week if we need anything. Keep freezer and pantries stocked. We mostly shop 🙏🙏sales and replacing things we have used. All errands are ran on grocery day. We have 3 nights per month that I sing so that is free entertainment and socializing. (We eat at home before we go) We tithe and donate monthly. No debt and simplified life has created a peaceful life. 🙏💰
uselly Saturday is my spend day . Mealplan and shopping , Rest of the week the wallet is locked .
Way to go Caroline! Love this.
I am retired and absolutely love grocery delivery. I never thought in the beginning that I would like ordering my food online but it is definitely been a game changer. Gives me more time to do what I want to do . I need to get in the habit of going over my budget daily. I usually do it weekly on Fridays but I think I will try doing it daily. Wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas
YASS!!!
YES!! It keeps me from making unnecessary purchases. I had no self control 😂. Now I plan my menu. I actually load my online cart the night before payday. Now I’m saving for a month ahead fund so I can do everything early. I don’t like later in the day grocery pickups.
I've been cutting my groceries bill in half by picking up free items that way I can buy more meats during the month at aldi's . I buy 4-1 lb. Packs of organic gr.beef, 2 -3pks. Chicken tenders,1-2 pks. Porkloin,2 3pks. Bacon and pork sausages or 1 pm. Chicken thighs bone in for making bone broth. 2lbs carrots 1 - 3lb bag onions 20 lbs potatoes 1 head each cabbage,broccoli,cauliflower. I prep all veggies up for California blend and freeze ,tricolored peppers onions for stir fry and Philly steaks and polish sausages. And make up pickled mixed veggies too have on hand.
I make my annual budget, and break it into monthly amounts. I figure out which areas I use cash for, then break those into weekly amounts of cash to take out. I keep a 3 ring binder with dividers denoting those cash areas. I record all expenditures and keep running balances. This helped me make better choices and meet many goals. As a young, single parent of 3 kids, and little money, it was even more important to see and control my funds. I have actually done this for the last 35 years, and am now comfortably retired.
Omg I’m almost done with January as a no spend year. Im taking one day at a time. So far I’ve saved a minimum of $2000. It’s al going to savings and I can send aside an extra $800 to mortgage. I’m excited to continue this journey.
I liked your subscribers idea of a spend day versus no spend days. I pay all my household bills (i.e...mortgage, utitues, auto insurance) on the 3rd of each month which I have done for years now. I recently started working again part-time and that money is what I call my cushion money for things that are not regular monthly household bills. I became widowed at 59 in 2022.. I am hoping to retire at 62 in March of 2025. At present I have to be extremely cautious with what money I do have so I live on a very Bare Bones budget.
Cushion money is priceless! So proud of you🙏❤️
I am an early riser so I usually catch you as it premieres but I see a later start today and I know I’ll be out doing errands and will catch up later. As we are retired time is a different universe for us…or another dimension 🤣🤣🤣 all errands and missions are done early morning…the day flies by…then I’ll be awake at 4am scrolling all the topics that catch my interests. Yours are always top of my list. ❤️🎄 Merry Christmas to all. 🎄
Merry Christmas! 😊
I absolutely love grocery pickup! I found myself buying things I didn't need! Our fee is free if we spend $35 or more. This way I get only what I need and I am retired and hate shopping.
This is something I want to try in the new year😊
Walmart pickup @robintaylor1084?? Such a life saver🎉 save money, time and sanity to avoid the aisles. Love they load it right in your trunk 😊
Same!! My husband picks up at Kroger, I have a year subscription for $50 at Walmart ( home delivery)
Well worth the money!
Stop &Shop pick up fee is $3.95 $30 minimum and delivery is $6.95 to $9.95 depending on size of order.
@@somethingaboutsamantha we have Walmart and Ingles. Ingles is only 2 blocks away from me but Walmart is 40 miles roundtrip.
I do the same thing with groceries kind of: I do grocery shopping every 10th, 20th and 30th of the month. (Except February of course). Just three times a month. It works for me.
I love the spend day instead of the no spend.My mind thinks of it as a treat that I save 6 days for. This is my favorite video from you. I hope everyone follows these tips. I look at my budget and bills and accounts daily and once a week pay my credit card in full. I Grocery shop only on Wednesday (the day the sales start here). I love to grocery shop and feel deprived if I do grocery pick up. Except for mortgage we are debt free.
An idea came to my mind about six weeks ago. We use cash only to purchase anything. When we get home I take the change and put it aside and don't touch it. The next time we shop we take more cash (we are on a budget and implement low spending) to spend and repeat the process. I just counted the "set aside" money and was shocked to see we had $110 in such a short time. Wow. Even with a lower income household, we can actually save. Oh, cutting out junk food from the grocery really does help save money!
YASSS!
I shop on one day a week, and, recently, I am working on shopping only two times a month. I started this last month and found that I keep my food bill down. Thanks for sharing. New habit!
We do a big grocery shop once/mo and then one fill in trip at some point in the month. Love it that way
Have started living more frugally and find your videos encouraging and upbeat - which is a such a blessing to the soul. May you and yours be blessed in all ways!❤
Thank you so much!
Grocery pick up has been a game changer for me because 1) I don't have a lot of free time 2) I'm terrible about impulse purchases when I'm physically in the store so ordering what I need a head of time eliminates the temptation for me
I think the Spend Day is a good idea. I don’t know about yall, but when I’m spending a lot of money frequently (like with Christmas shopping or running errands), I get “spent-out” and just don’t want to spend any more. So if I did all my spending in one day it would probably be less than what I’d spend when I do shopping spread out over many days.
My young co workers think it is weird I am not familiar with the taco bell or macdonalds menu. There is a reason they are broke. Besides marriage & kids of course.
You make my Friday Kate! You bring a breath of fresh air to this grumpy old Brit. Have a wonderful Christmas with Kaden and your family (and the cats, of course).
I got well and truly on top of finances in 2023, daily check on accounts and saving all I can. The idea of the book club choice could help push me on to do things I know I need to do and actually sort and sell some stuff I know I don't need. There are certain spending habits that I have become aware of and want to get behind me. Does anyone else spend more on things that are unnecessary but seem perfectly reasonable in times of stress? I went through this, always carefully focused and yet unnecessary spending when my father was dying, and then again during COVID. I am fortunate to not have any debt, but now need to optimise what resources and possessions I have as I approach retirement.
Yes to spending during stress 😬 It's a bad habit I need to kick! I'm planning on a low spend Jan and Feb. So sorry about your dad ☹️ 🙏❤️
@@susanf4857 my dad died in 2013, so it is a while. I just have the challenge of dealing with the almost full set of a certain craft magazine to tackle. Maybe scan what I am interested in keeping, then sell the rest.
Same happened when my father was dying Gretel, I became QVCs biggest customer! It just took me away from the sorrow and his pain. A terrible time.
Thank you so so much!
The paying of debt weekly has helped me tremendously. It also helps me not spend that money on stupid things.
Looking forward to seeing you Kate..you are like a ray of sunshine...always happy..always positive..and always there to help us in our journey to becoming more frugal. Thankyou so much for all the time and effort you put in..I really appreciate it. I wish you and your beautiful son a Happy, healthy, safe and blessed Christmas💖🎄💖🎄💖🎄💖🎄love Trish from Downunder Australia XX
Thank you so so much Trish!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
I do a one day spend, I only spend money on Fridays, it's amazing
This sounds like a good idea, but I have a question. What if a friend invites you to have lunch on a day other than Friday. Do you ask the friend to change the day of your lunch to Friday or just forego eating with the friend? I don't really eat out very often with a friend, but when i do, I really don't want to be limited to just a Friday. Thanks. Diane
@jimmiepatrum Good question! I just go, or if my girls want to go shopping or Hubby wants to go to breakfast etc.. Relationships come before money in my book. 99 percent of the time the rule works great!
@@BackroadMoney Wonderful way to look at your Friday spending! I love your attitude. I think I could make your plan work. Thanks for responding to me. Diane
I’m looking forward to no spend January. I did it last year and it worked great. I do a couple of little things that help me save. When I buy something and pay cash, the change I get back I drop in my purse. About every 2 weeks I empty the change out and put in a jar and when the jar is full I take it to the bank and put it in savings. It’s surprising how much you accumulate. The other thing I do is take an envelope and list numbers 1 thru 52 on the front of it. Put money in the envelope on payday, circling the number you are adding when the whole list is circled, you have a nice pile of money for whatever. If you can start this in January, it can pay for Christmas at the end of the year or insurance or whatever is an extra large expense
Hi Sandy! YAY! Can't wait!
I'm gonna do this method in January 2024. I'm excited to finally do it.
Thank you! Breaking the no spend down to weekly or designated days will help me ease into doing it month to month. I am going to do the 12 week year challenge and incorporate a 100 envelope challenge for the first time. Super motivated ✨
Omg Kate I was just going to recommend that book! I'm reading it and wrote a plan for money in January. We just read it for work, I'm a social worker and we set goals for clients and I'm applying it in my own life for health and money. I won't spoil it and I will wait for the review but it applies with what we're doing here in the community totally!
This is SO EXCITING! YASSS!!
Not new new but new going back to an old habit that worked amazing. Taking out in cash my monthly grocery budget ...putting it into weekly jars and whatever is leftover goes towards my growing emergency fund and afterwards into saving
This video is pure gold, Kate! We have been using many of these strategies to save. We are blessed that my job is “extra” income (income we don’t rely on) so I have been putting it toward our financial goals each week. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly goals are accomplished when putting money toward them each week.
Our goals for the upcoming year is paying off our house….all my income (minus business expenses, of course) is going toward that goal plus additional from our monthly budget. Very excited to see how it goes for the year.
Thank you so much Tammie!
Love the idea of paying weekly. I sometimes buy something and I’m like, it’s only $30, but I do not need it. And putting it towards debt, is so much better!! Thank you 😊
Grocery pick up has changed my life also I’m 62 years old. I don’t have the strength I used to I’m a woman alone and I love to order my items online and then just back up and they throw them in the back of my SUV because I don’t spend more money than I should because I don’t see things walking around the store I just click online and it’s a free service from my local grocery. I love it.
😍😍
Regarding the grocery shopping, I am retired but my husband still works and it is just the two of us.
We do Walmart delivery every couple of weeks and it saves us both time and $ as we don’t go to the store and buy things we don’t need, get exposed to every germ and crowds out there and it is just super convenient
Well worth the $99/year
Hello from Myrtle Beach.
I am going back to using cash for groceries, so anything I save I use for savings challenges, on top of what I set set aside to pay off debt and build up my savings account. I know having nothing saved just leads to more debt, trying to break a cycle😅.
(Abby typing) I listened to this as an audiobook for free on youtube in one day. It is worth discussing and helping each other come up with goals and tactics. One could pick an area of one's life per season even.
Hi Abby! YAY! I can't wait!
I like the idea of a 'no spend day' and could see how if you are successful at that, expanding it to 2, and then maybe more days a week until you are at a comfortable point for you. And I LOVE grocery pick up! I spend less (cause impulse shopping!), it makes me think about what I am making for dinner that week, and can use that time doing other things, like you said. We have also been working on paying down debt weekly, but my husband is paid weekly, so that schedule works for us, anyway.
I enjoyed this video because it reassures me that Im doing things right. I have a spend day and sit down daily with my hot chocolate and go over my budget. Im retired but I have my chores scheduled so I shop once a week and I pay $50 a week to pay down my dentist bill debt. Thank you so much for sharing your strategies that work 😊
I run all my errands once a week. Only other times i spend money is 2-3 times a month going to lunch or movie with friends. So no more than 7 spending days a month. Being retired with a lot of free activities helps
Got up and turned off light I had forgotten! Saved a little on a utility!
Merry Christmas 🎄 this video was great. Our 2024 expenses will look so different w/ intentional thinking
No spemd days do 2 things: 1) Provide an awareness as to when, where, and how you spend. This is all the more so if money seems to dribble out of that hole in your pocket ot bleed out of your account. 2) Without doing panic stockups, no spend days begin to get you doing more purposeful, planned buying. This is espeically true if you do a seriois no-spend as in no dollars spent even if it is for milk, eggs, or bread. Most of us may be uncomfortable with no milk, eggs, or bread for 24 hours but there are alternatives of one type or another. Some of us may not be aware how often we are hitting the vending machine, coffe bar, or snack basket at work and could be mighty u comfortsbke until we csn get home. These little bits of uncomfortableness can lead to beneficial planning and whatni csll immediate mode prepping.
I finally tried grocery pick up around Thanksgiving and was amazed at how simple it was. Even the fresh fruits and vegetables were in excellent shape!! The best part of doing this is that there is no longer any impulse buying...and that saves not only my money, but my health!!
I helped my mother set up grocery pickup. She LOVES it now. She’s a retired nurse with bad knees so it helps a lot! She eats a mostly raw diet so I helped her set up an account for her weekly produce. It’s at another bank so it automatically goes into that account. That way she won’t run out of food or money at the end of the month.
New Habits!! All of these are great tips. I would like to wean my family off paper towels. They are expensive even buying in bulk in Costco and that money adds up!
I know what you mean, maybe buy some cheap bar towels or the ones they have in the automotive department at Dollar general, you'll have to wash them but would be cheaper in the long run.
After 16years of paying a mortgage and 10 of trying to get rid of that property I have recently sold my condo to my brother. The listing cost me a debt of 20k (as the market never fully recovered here in Spain so I owed more money that it is worth today). My parents lent me that amount so no interest at all. My budget says I can save 1k a month to pay towards that debt. In 20months (hopefully 18) I will be debt free, as my car is paid and the apartment I live in is also paid for in full. I am so excited that I had to tell you!!!
Excellent. Don't go to the Supermarket. Check what is in Freezer/pantry. When all used up then do a meal plan so there is no extra foods that are not used. A meal plan is my goal for 2024 so there are no extra foods around, better for your waistline and your purse.
Only go grocery shopping once a month. Buy a few things I run out of in between. Normally not much.
I’d check if other grocery stores in your area charge the $2 fee for grocery pickup. In my area (Midwest), I have at least 4 grocery chains that don’t charge a fee if you spend $30-$35 on groceries. The $2 is worth it, but you may be able to avoid that fee. If I don’t spend that amount, I get charged $4.95.
This week was no spend.... everything done for the holidays 😊
No spend on fast food for January! Spent New Year's cooking and so delicious and healthier! Then be No Spend in Feb until I realize it's been an entire year!!
I am an early riser I prefer to do a monthly shop in person then weekly fresh food
I'm with you on the no spend. I got carried away for Christmas this year. I had to get new pants for myself. I lost 45lbs since April and my pants were falling down (not a pretty sight) after buying my pants I just kept buying. A huge mistake. Probably take me until March to catch up.
What an accomplishment!
You deserved those pants! It’s hard work losing weight! I got carried away spending too but I needed some of the things I bought. I needed a shed, some insulation for my mobile home, and new skirting. NOW, I wanted the new rug I bought because it keeps my living room warmer plus it was on sale $100 off!
Hi Kate! We try and do Money-Free Monday after the weekends when my husband is home and we splurge a little. We also often do meat-free Mondays.
Happy New Year to you and Kaden!🎉🎉🎉
Love this! And HAPPY NEW YEAR!
4:29 I do exactly the same: review my accounts every single morning while drinking my coffee and adjust my biweekly budget accordingly.
I’ve always only went to the store once a week. But hallelujah when they started the pick up!! Lol
I run paying bills and buying groceries the same day as I get my check and sometimes only one day extra too check out the goodwill,habitat for humanity,and my favorite resale shop. So that my tank of gas last 2-1/2 months. And yes I do buy only glass food savers,cotton washcloths or vacuum saver containers for grains and flours. Or canning jars.
New habits! Paying off my credit cards. Don't want to rely on them anymore.
This is awesome!
I just found you and subscribed!!! I love these ideas and I’m looking forward to being a part of “The 12 Week Year” book club. We are going to implement so many of your ideas this upcoming year and I’m excited to report later. The #1 will be to pay our Discover Card every Friday and be a part of the no spend January. Hopefully it will continue through February. Thank you!!!
KIM! I'm so glad you are here and will be joining us! Let's do this!
I love the buffalo plaid shirt, it is my favorite pattern!
Thank you! One of my favs too!
Kate! What about Google meet (or something like it) to do the book club?? So we can show our plans...?
I'm going to get my emergency fund to 7k I'm at a little over 4k now.
Way to go Connie! This is AWESOME!
I am trying to concentrate...but I love the grinch hand picture behind you
On weekday I only spend for transport and essential grocery shopping mostly for veggies for the week and Sundays I don't spend anything or go out.
Thanks so much for watching and sharing with us! So glad you're here.
Good morning Katie I do have my emergency fund in savings but I also started a cash savings im so proud I just hit another 500.00 in cash 😊 took a while since my paycheck is smaller due to health insurance increased and I have life insurance im still in debt but not in credit card debt all 0 balance on my cards happy holidays to you and your son
After getting a pantry and freezer stocked with what we like to eat, we now are trying to buy only on sale grocery items. We are limiting it to $100 a week. Leftover money can be put into other expenses envelopes.
I do no spend Feb and no spend November. I take my lunch tp work everyday. So no spend while I'm at work ❤😊
NEW HABIT! i'm doing a no-buy: of candles, books & shoes
I am new to your channel. I just subscribed! Thanks for your tips and positive attitude!
Welcome Sharron! I'm so glad you are here!
@KateKaden I shared your video to my neice who is also a single mom!
(I am not a single mom) hubby and I are empty nesters.
Looking forward to this❤️
Can't wait!
I love my no spend year. I cut my groceries to 100 per mon/h and i will try to spend less.in the next two years i need to move to a senior apt or a smaller home . I am decluttering like mad' a,d o×n way to much. I want to maximize my workload making a game out of it is mygoal. Wonderful vlog ty ❤kate m
Yeeesss....this one is going to be a good one to listen to.
Can't wait to see you Friday!
In the UK the book in in the free section of Audible if you have membership
Tuesday could be a great spend day for seniors...some stores offer deals for seniors...like Ross
Thank you for all these fine tips to save and clear debt. Merry Christmas to you, Kaden and the cats.
Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year.
Yup! Walmart pickup on Saturday, Amazon on Friday. Makes record keeping so much easier.
I pay toward our debt, when we have it, bi-weekly when we get paid. We used to have our house payment set up that way as well but when we refinanced, that was not option anymore. We still pay extra, it’s just once/mo now.
Car payment is biweekly and if we use the credit card, I pay it off in 2 payments in one month so we have $0 balance
These are such great tips. I'm reinspired! Thank you!
YASS!!!!!!! This makes me excited!!!!
I'm treating this as if I was trying to stop smoking.
No spending today. It's been more than two weeks now and it feels great.
I still spend monthly on necessities: gas, insurance, food, phone, internet. I also spend down debt as much and as often as I can. But NOTHING extra!
I have decided that I will spend a little something on self-improvement. But only on something I have been thinking long and hard about. Maybe once a month.
I do have quite a bit of debt, at least compared to my meager income, so of course that is now a priority.
As it is, I'm retired and I get paid monthly. So I buy groceries monthly, always from a grocery list, maybe picking up a little something more later in the month, but only a little.
Thank you so much for sharing with us🙏❤️
I have those no spend Sundays but mine is not a day of rest. It’s a cleanIng, meal prepping for the work week day. I don’t have time to always cook during the week.
Will look up The Twelve Week Year to see if helpful and entertaining for me!
I never thought of breaking it down to weekly
Good plans, I'll give it a try! Thank you! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
MERRY CHRISTMAS KATHY!
We did a number of spending life style changes in June '22. One of those was a commitment to doing most of our shopping (in stores, no buying), spending, and no spend activities on the way home from mandatory trips away from home. Also if we venture away from home while not on a mandatory trip, to stack as many stops as possible while we are out. The initial goal was to save on vehicle gas 'cause it was pretty high here then. Coupled with other spending life style changes of which some are ever more and some which have been intended to be shorter lived, we have saved quite a few dollars but I believe we've saved time too. - This said, we are retired so our mandatory trips do not include work 5 times a week, kid transportation, etc... so we are able to plan things more on our own time table.
This said, in our 2020 pantry building efforts we came across a good price on some shampoo amd cream rinse so bought a bunch. Then as we were adjusting to staying at home more that shampoo was at an essential business and visiting essential businesses every couple of days became enticing. Unbeknownst to the other, each of us stopped to top off our supply as the last was being sold. We had a couple of year supply which we havent been paying attention to. Well despite thinking we were all done being on the roads and in the parking lots with Christmas shoppers this past Tuesday, we are headed out early this morning to buy shampoo; oddly enough we still have a few bottles of cream rinse. If we weren't getting together and staying home we'ld tough it out with a little water in the shower and more of the bed head look until the 26th.
😍
Grocery shopping is rhe only ok send for me!
We celebrated Christmas '22 in January '23 which made it down scaled although we ended up with a cut Christmas tree complete with dropping needles 'cause a very, very nice full and trimmed tree was ontained for free on something like December 23rd. After years of declarations related to celebrating more down scaled and purposeful we did more so this year. In the kitchen while putting together breakfast, we concluded that stockings were in order for next year but with not too much cr@p and at not too much cost.
We areed to put together an extra stocking's worth of stuff just in case; guaranteed there will be minimum problem donating the stuff. We agreed that if items didnt fit in people's lives, they could be divested of at will. And then we got to discussing little do-dads that were quick and easy to make using "stuff" most of us had lanquishing among our assorted possessions. (Clutter? Unused craft supplies? Good stuff?; a little of all of the above). - And how does this fit low and no spend, budgeting out time as well as dollars, and all the rest? My plan is to definitely do no more than low spend and scatter these crafting sessions across the year.
I would rather organise a no spend limit in relation to other tasks. For example, I do not spend when I sleep, but I can when I wake up. Not spending could also be while eating for example but I can after eating. From this basic argument it might be viable to organise spending based on duration of activities and activities related to other acitivies price point. I do stay in and not spend for a month at a time, then also for weeks at a time or days at a time, but I would opt for something like a nurtient like I do not eat 2 hours before sleep, and how is money the same. If I earn more I can increase my base cost of activiites, but it might not get more complex but more quality. Thank you for these thoughts.
New Habit! Shop once a week on food and donate some of my food to food banks on shops
Love your videos!! Merry Christmas 🎄!!
Hi Kate! I'm a new subscriber from Canada 🇨🇦 I hadn't heard of most of these strategies before but will definitely be implementing them. Thank you for sharing your time and insights. I look forward to learning more from you!
I'm so glad you're here! Welcome!!!!
New Habits!
Yesterday we had an unplanned trip to the Now $1.25 Stote and Walmart. While at the Now $1.25 Store, i also picked up what will be for me a second, particular silicone jar spatula. Now i will have one for scraping plates before washing and a seperate one for jars et al: at $1.25+tax im sure ill recoup the cost because ill be more guaranteed to use them. We also picked up a kids dosing syringe for almost $4 at Walmart to try adding water to shampoo, cream rinse, and other containers with a secure cap and tiny squeeze hole. I would have preferred a bigger syringe and hope the darned thing works at $4. Getting a savings from this investment purchase will eventually save money over trying to get water into these bottles from spikot or falling shower water. But what it will alleviate are the wistful feelings as i send bottles off to recycle thst i know have 1 to 3 more uses sitting at the bottom of the bottle.
On and off for many years now, we pay the upcoming month's bills with money in the account at the end of the previois month. Some call this paying ahead, i call it making sure we're paying on time. Further, when and if possible i work to be able to pay the full upcoming month's bills at the end of the previous month or in that first week even if they arent due until the end of the month; its less work, effort, and calemdsr minitoring this way. One way weve changed our spending life style the past 18 months or so is to pay the bills by the end ifmthe first week, put effort into low and no spend during the month, then spend with what's left over at the end of the month; we been pretty tight so finding purposeful things to spend money on hasnt been particularly difficult. Currently, we are having more left over but also some up coming larger ticket items we all but need. So im trying a purposeful and conservative, end of the month spending spree followed by removing the left overs from the account(s) for the proverbial cookie jar. Got one account reduced with some added padding above the buffers as we get used to this new system; it replentishes first. Am leaving the other account flush for spending until it is closer to replentishment. What this will do is make the accounts visually more in line with the actual monthly income, psychologically help in low spend and living within our monthly income, and clearly set aside out of sight out of mind money towards our financial goals and bigger ticket items.
I bought a money tracking journal so that I can see on paper where my money is actually going or not going!!!
I really like grocery shopping and thankfully so because I use a lot of digital coupons and rebate apps
New habits! Love these tips….thank you!
I absolutely love the grocery pickup!
Great strategies, Kate! Some I didn't even think of 🙂
I am looking forward to No Spend January (hoping it goes better for me than last year) and I love that book club is coming back!!
YASS LYLA! So excited!
I enjoy your channel because you don't "shame" people like some other TH-camrs do. Also, I have that exact same necklace!
Thank you so so much Susan!!! Oooh, love "our" necklace:)
Got a copy online at my library. I am on chapter seven. I'll be ready for you this time.😂
-Robin
YASSS ROBIN!!!!
Thank you Kate
Love your videos and your shirt 😊
New Habits! Working hard here on trying to hit some financial and health goals. So far doing pretty well in both areas. Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year Kate, Kaden, and KSquad
Mary thank you so much! Merry Christmas and happy new year and thank you for the card!
I only go to Trader Joe's every 3 weeks. In between once a week, any fruits or veggies at H.E.B.
Kate i used to dread and i mean dread looking at my account...you said you do it daily....and now so do i ! Im no longer scared 😊 thank you x
Julie!!! This makes me so happy! 😁 ❤️🥰