No shopping... (1 Viewer)

[Darson]

All things considered, I have a reasonable income, however over the last couple of years we have been living month to month. There is only one reason for this - shopping. After all the bills are paid every month (including double mortgage payments and groceries), I'm left with about half my monthly paycheck and it all goes to shopping and restaurants.

Then I read this: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/15/opinion/sunday/shopping-consumerism.html

I decided that something needs to be done. I'm not good at moderating myself, it's all or nothing for me. So I've decided "no shopping" for a month to see what happens.

I started on Feb 20th (end of last months credit card period) and it's HARD! All these lovely chippies coming to market and I can't buy them (I'm not counting the Matsui GB as these were committed way before). Not to mention no clothes and other toys.

But so far I'm staying strong. Amazon must be thinking I've died. I keep putting stuff in the cart but not clicking buy. The best part is that I convinced my wife to "no shop" with me too! I'm proud of her - she went to Target yesterday and didn't buy anything. I think I'm gonna make it to 20th March and there will be a nice fat lump of cash in my bank account to show for it.

One thing about "no shopping" is that I have learned that I mostly buy a lot of crap that I don't need - this is easy to cut out - but there are a few things that I do need and this is a bit harder to live without. I think next month we'll give ourselves a small sum of shopping money for the essentials.

 

[JWC]

I appreciate the honest self assessment. There are some many things that we can become addicted to in life. My wife and I love very simply, and have found great benefits from it. I hope that you are able to return to saving again soon!

John

 

[Davism72]

Good for you. As much as we all like to joke about it, I think there are some pretty dangerous habits encouraged on here. I'm sure nearly all of it is light-hearted, but some is definitely fueled by compulsion. For me, it's been an exercise in restraint.

 

[ruskba]

My wife and I established an allowance when we combined finances. We can do whatever we want with our allowance, and anything out of the shared accounts has to be approved by both. It’s very effective for me, as we have regular savings each month but I don’t even consider using it for things like chips or clothes or golf, because it’s not MY money, it’s OUR money and those things are just to satisfy MY wants.

 

[realcdn]

If you're not already using a budgeting app, I would strongly recommend it. When you record every single transaction and see what your spending really adds up to, it can be eye-opening! The next trick is to then trim where you can and set a monthly budget that meets your goals.... then abide by it!
That all said, since joining this forum my budget has been totally ruined!
Best of luck
-James

 

[DerberAlter]

If you're not already using a budgeting app, I would strongly recommend it. When you record every single transaction and see what your spending really adds up to, it can be eye-opening! The next trick is to then trim where you can and set a monthly budget that meets your goals.... then abide by it!
That all said, since joining this forum my budget has been totally ruined!
Best of luck
-James

it seems like all of our wallets are ruined. where is our money?

 

[mike32]

Looks like my ideas are catching on. I’ve been very tempted by the Jacks but I’m gonna keep fighting. Then again I always tell my wife and kids I’m going on a “savings spree”. It’s been a joke for years. I think I still have some of the dollars I made on a paper route in the 70’s.

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/2019-no-chips-for-me.36850/

 

[Shaggy]

In addition to your plans and the above comments, I encourage you to pay yourself like its just another bill. By this I mean, allocate some amount of money per month that goes into a 401k, IRA, money market account etc. Ideally set it up to be a direct deposit/withdrawal. Set it and forget it. It will feel like a bill... but that's okay... its your money. Use the money for investment opportunities, or when unexpected issues arise that might have previously been covered with credit cards.

 

[asian bino]

I don't understand shopping for clothing. Especially if you are married. Unless you are changing sizes because of fat-gain or loss.

I have worn out maybe 3 shirts in my adult life. Once a guy has 5-8 pairs of pants, shorts, t shirts, etc, who needs more? Are you clubbing? Who are you impressing? The percentage of my income spent on clothes per year is well under 1/2 %. Watches? Another thing I don't get.....you carry a phone, right? There are clocks on walls.....in your car, your microwave, OTHER peoples wrists.....and anyone with an IQ over room temp should be able to KNOW what time it is within 15 minutes.....


Darson if you need help, and feel there are others like you, Round up a few and I will start the Asian Bino School for the Retail Impaired......guaranteed to increase your Chip-Buying power by 100% in 90 days or your fracs back.

 

[Darson]

You are all a bunch of enablers and I hold you all responsible!

To be clear, I'm not insolvent and am not concerned that I'll get in trouble. This is more about that I do with the leftover/spare cash - I think part of my shopping problem is that I seem to be falling into a spending trap that goes like this:

1. Decide I want something (like poker chips)
2. Find a forum about it to learn more
3. Dip my toe in by buying some
4. Get carried away buying more
5. Get even more carried away buying to excess
6. Realize I'm in trouble, stop and pivot to another hobby

I have a house full of cigars, fountain pens, watches, pipes, woodworking tools, and now poker chips.

 

[Shaggy]

oh, well then carry on.

 

[One Eyed Dollar]

One thing that has helped me with Amazon purchases is using the wish list more. If it's something I just want and don't really need immediately, I'll throw it in a wish list instead of putting it in my cart. Sometimes I'll still buy it later, sometimes it just sits in the wish list indefinitely, and sometimes I decide I don't need it after all and delete it. Or when my birthday or Christmas rolls around I can look at my wish list and give people some gift ideas if they want to get me something.

 

[Poker Zombie]

I am a huge fan of self-budgeting. Like @ruskba , Mrs Zombie and I have an allowance - though we refer to is as our personal caches, ass it sounds more grown-up and less restrictive. Most chip purchases come out of my cache, though sometimes if Mrs Zombie likes them enough they come out of the "Entertainment" category of our budget (because hosting a poker game is entertainment). I also utilize @One Eyed Dollar 's Amazon "Wish List" process. It's amazing how often I want something that I soon forget about and i can scratch it off the list.

I have helped a handful of people that were in dire straights (three of them in bankruptcy, others on the verge) get back on their feet by introducing them to the budget. The process is stupid easy, not restrictive (I won't try to make you adapt to my spending patterns) and I'm willing to discuss it via PM or email if anyone wants confidential help. Unlike many budgeting programs (I'm looking at you Dave Ramsey - near literally, because I can see his house from where I'm sitting)) I do it for free.

 

[One Eyed Dollar]

I tried YNAB a couple times and couldn't stick with it. What do you guys use for budgeting?

 

[Poker Zombie]

I tried YNAB a couple times and couldn't stick with it. What do you guys use for budgeting?

Made mine up myself. I still use an old-fashioned pen and paper, because I have been using it since the late 1980's. I toy with the idea of taking it to Excel, but there is no pressing need, and you never need to boot up a piece of paper.

 

[Boother36]

I think I still have some of the dollars I made on a paper route in the 70’s.
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/2019-no-chips-for-me.36850/

Only some?? I would question that!!

 

[johnjohn]

Good choice.

"...for it is money they have and peace they lack."

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/284084-ray-people-will-come-ray-they-ll-come-to-iowa-for

 

[Davism72]

I tried YNAB a couple times and couldn't stick with it. What do you guys use for budgeting?

I've used YNAB for five years. Was obsessed with it at first. Sort of fell out of love around the three year mark, but kept using it anyway. Today it's not an exciting part of my life, but I think it's serving its purpose pretty well.

 

[realcdn]

I've used YNAB for five years. Was obsessed with it at first. Sort of fell out of love around the three year mark, but kept using it anyway. Today it's not an exciting part of my life, but I think it's serving its purpose pretty well.

I use YNAB as well. I'm an accountant so I actually enjoy this sort of stuff and have a daily habit of updating and reviewing...

 

[ruskba]

I use YNAB as well. I'm an accountant so I actually enjoy this sort of stuff and have a daily habit of updating and reviewing...

We are in the 30 day trial of YNAB. My wife uses it mostly, so would you all say it’s worth the yearly fee? We’re coming from Mint, which all we really did was categorize and not budget. What’s the best features in YNAB?

 

[realcdn]

We are in the 30 day trial of YNAB. My wife uses it mostly, so would you all say it’s worth the yearly fee? We’re coming from Mint, which all we really did was categorize and not budget. What’s the best features in YNAB?

I use the older version which is no longer offered and paid a one time fee, so can’t really speak to the best features of the new one, or if it’s worth it.

I do know the new version can auto import your bank and credit card transactions, and classify them. I wish my older version do that!

Overall I just like the simplicity of app and being able to access it on my desktop and phone. Also, the forward planning for more than just the current month.

 

[Darson]

These budgeting apps don’t work for degens like me - it requires that you categorize stuff and we have a great habit of stopping from one vendor and hiding our “shopping” in other places like pharmacy or grocery. My wife is an expert at this - she’ll go to Target to buy milk and come home with all kinds of stuff that then get categorized as groceries.

I’m gonna give each of us a couple hundred a month and leave it at that.