DH decided he would take sandwiches for lunch the rest of the week, so I went to Ingles to get him some ham. My favorite low carb ice cream was almost half off and I had a coupon for the only food my dog has ever like, beneful.
so I saved almost $4 at the store, plus $1 for walking at least 30 minutes yesterday. Another $5 for my challenge money.
prev total. $5837.00
today 5.00
new total $5842.00

I got my electric bill yesterday and was very happy to see that it was still under $100. I budget $160 a month for it, but because there was an extra payday last month (5 fridays) I had $200 in my electric bill envelope. Therefore, I have $100 to add to my challenge money.
prev. total $5737.00
today 100.00
new total $5837.00

I found some extra money in one of the envelopes It is actually an expense that has been discontinued, but if I have extra money, I will put $10 in that envelope. So I now have an extra $50 to put in my challenge money.
Prev. total $5687.00
today 50.00
new totl $5737.00

Ok, it is 76 here in my exercise room. This is where I spend most of my day. The computer is in here too. I am going to try and do better about my elec. bill cause every dollar I save from my monthly budget of $160 is money I can put in my challenge. This room needs a/c on all day, to make it bearable. I have a big floor fan on right now, and it is helping! Of course this room is upstairs (heat rises) and my treadmill is right in front of the window and gets the afternoon son.
If I ever move, I will plan a cooler place to put my treadmill.

We always cook on Sundays, no restaurants open in our area, except fast food.
I asked my husband what he wanted to cook tonight. (He does all the cooking and cleaning, plus works 7 days a week)
He wanted steak, but if they did not have what we wanted hamburgers would be ok.
You see, he likes rib eye steak and I like N.Y. strip, but we can never find just 1 of each. So we settle for porter house, if they have them.
Yesterday, they were out and I was kind of hoping they would be out of porterhouse again, so I could save money and buy hamburger.
Well, they had 3 left, so i got two steaks, almost $20. Just what I paid for my meal last night with enough leftovers for two lunches.
Well, it is father's day, he works hard, he deserves steak!!
I only saved $1 using my advantage card today and $1 for walking 30 minutes on the treadmill.
So I will add that $2 to my challenge.

Prev. total $5685.00
today 2.00
new total $5687.00

It really is a boring day. I was invited to a cookout this afternoon, but it was mostly young women with children, plus my husband wanted to work.
I definatly had a no spend day, cash wise, although I did charge my qvc purchase on my credit card.
I saved $1 on potato chips last night and used no gas today, so I will add $2 to my challenge money.
Prev. total $5683.00
today 2.00
new total $5685.00

Well, I did 30 minutes on the treadmill so i can add $1 to my challenge plus I am definately going out to eat tonight, so that is another $20 to add to the challenge money.
prev. total $5662.00
today 21.00
new total $5683.00

I haven't added anything in a couple of days. I did use a coupon that saved me $2 on dog food today, so I will add it to the challenge.
prev. total $5660.00
today 2.00
new total $5662.00

i went grocery shopping today. Now that I have stocked up on major items, I don't seem to spend very much, under $35 today. I was craving low carb ice cream and it was on sale and I saved $2. I will add that to my challenge money, bringing my new total to $5660.00

We went to a dinner party last night. Since we usually eat out on Sat. night, I thought I would add some of the money we saved last night to my challenge money. I had to bring bread for the 20 plus guests, so spent about $8.
But I saved at least $10 for dinner, plus I walked for 30 minutes and had a no gas day yesterday, so I will add $12 to the challenge money.
Prev. total $5646.00
today 12.00
new total $5658.00

I did my stair challenge, my 30 plus minutes walking, my no go to town, waste gas, plus a little saving with my advantage car. Total is $6 to add to my challenge money.
Prev. total $5640.00
today 6.00
new total $5646.00

Not sure what i did!
prev. total $5638.00
today 2.00
new total $5640.00


sorry!!!

I ate dinner at home last night which saved at least $20. I did 30 minutes on my treadmill and also saved a dollar in gas from not going to town. I am adding $22 to my challenge money!
prev. total $5616.00
today 22.00
new total $5638.00

I have spent the past two hours paying bills, both mine and for the houses we are building!! I found some extra money had accumulated in the telephone and cable envelopes, so I am putting that in my challenge money, another $80!!
Prev. total $5536.00
today 80.00
new total $5616.00

Since, I have been on a trip, I have not added any money to my $20 challenge. Today I went grocery shopping. I hate to say this, but I spent $46 and got One bag of groceries!! ONE!!
I did save almost $4 using my advantage card, so I will all that to my challenge money.
prev. total $5532.00
today 4.00

new total $5536.00

Forgot to add my new totals:
prev total $5512.00
today 20.00
new total $5532.00

not bad!!

Our restaurant was not open last night, so we ran to the store to find something to grill. We spent $6, so I feel like we saved at least $10 for the challenge. Then today, I used coupons and saved $4 at Ingles. I have 2 coupons for free dog food from the pet store.
That food was $10 each for a 5 pound bag. I am not going to count $20 saved for dog food because I do not buy expensive food for my outside dog. I figured that I have saved at least $6 in what I would spend for dog food, for a grand total of $20!! I also have a coupon for a free expensive bag of cat food. I will go get that someday and guess I can donate it to someone. Too bad I don't have any frugal friends!

Sunday night is our stay home, cook at home night. We have not had steak in about 2 months, so i thought I would splurge. It is a holiday although my husband generally works 7 days a week.
The steak was on sale with my bi lo card, so I saved $3. I also got in my 30 minutes of walking, so I have a total of $4 to add to my challenge money.
Prev. total $5508.00
today 4.00
new total $5512.00

Just got back from the grocery store. I stocked up on sprite which is still on sale. I now have 12-12/can cases, but we drink it a lot. I also got another free case of disani water for buying coke products. I found a coupon for a savings on pickles, which were on sale already. With my advantage card, I saved about $10 which I will add to my challenge money. I am not counting the $5 I would have paid for the water because I never buy bottled water. I distill my own.
prev. total $5498.00
today 10.00
new total $5508.00

I paid all of my end of the month bills today. The electric bill is one I am never sure of as opposed to garbage, water, cable, etc. being a set sum every month. So I budget $160 a month to pay the electric bill. This month is was $80 so I have $80 left over which will go to my challenge money.
Prev. total $5418.00
today 80.00
new total $5498.00

Well, I saved $6 with my advantage card yesterday, stocking up on diet sprite while it is on sale. I also walked 30 minutes, so I have $7 to add to my challenge money.

prev. total $5411.00
today 7.00
new total $5418.00

I applied for a new GM credit card that will give me back 1% of everything we spend on it.
We already have an american express that does the very same thing, but you get the credit for it, only once a year. If you should mess up and pay late even one time, you lose the entire amount.
Now, I always pay on time, but I can't control the mail, so this kind of worries me. Right now, we have over $500 coming back off this card around August.
This GM card will pay you by check anytime you go over $100 and request a check. I like that better.
My husband charges a lot of building materials at home depot and that is what we used the American Express for. Now, we can switch over to the new GM card and get money back more often. I will add this to my challenge money when I start receiving it.

I had a no spend day too. I don't usually have any of those because we eat out every night but Sunday!!
Last night we had to go to a meeting about licensing for builders. The state of Georgia is requiring that, and there is a lot of paperwork to do.It was a good meeting last night, and before it started, they gave us a free meal. It was just sandwiches and brownies, but hey, it was free and pretty good. I don't like to eat that early, but I managed to eat most of a sandwich and had no trouble breaking my diet for the brownie. I got to walk 30 minutes yesterday, so I will add $1 for that and $20 for not eating out to my challenge money!
prev total $5390.00
today 21.00
new total $5411.00

I had a good mail day yesterday. I got a new $1 bill with a survey. I also got my electric bill and it was only $80. That is about the lowest it has been all year and they raised the price per kilowatt hour last month.
I did walk for 30 minutes, so I can add that plus my mail $1 for a total of $2 to my challenge money.
prev. total $5388.00
today 2.00
new total $5390.00

I had run out of all the diet sprite I had stocked up on earlier in the year and was paying full price. I was glad to see that it went back on sale 4/$10. I saved $6 today and will add that to my challenge money.
Prev. total $5382.00
today 6.00
new total $5388.00

Well ice cream has been the only food that I have really wanted to eat these past 3 days, so i decided to get some when I grocery shopped today.
I am on a low carb diet, so the low carb type ice cream is $5 a gallon. I was thrilled that it was on sale for half price. I got a few other cents off with my advantage card, so I have $3 more dollars to add to my challenge money.

prev. total $5379.00
today 3.00
new total $5382.00

I haven't done anything on my $20 challenge since I got sick a few days ago. Well, I did do my stair challenge yesterday and I stayed home, so no money spent on gas.
I will add $2 to my challenge money.
Prev. total $5377.00
today 2.00
new total $5379.00

I was all excited that I had found a new mouthwash that was much cheaper than the one I use. Mine is $2 on sale, usually it is $2.50. This was $1 and I tried it out, not bad!
So I have used up all my mouthwash and went to get some of this new cheap stuff today. There were only 2 bottles left on the shelf and they were 50 cents each. Looks like they are closing out and not going to carry anymore.
I also save $1.50 on my dog's food with a coupon. Rite aid advertised coke products 2/$5 with a coupon, but they had no sprite at all. All in all, I saved about $2.50, so I will add the $2 to my challenge.
Prev. total $5375.00
today 2.00
new total $5377.00

Well, my husband still has a sick tummy, so he just ordered soup for dinner again. I figure that saves me about $5 which I will add to my challenge money today.
The dinner bill came to $10 and the sweet waitress told me I should not tip her so much. ($6) I encourage her to add it to her savings.
Prev. total $5370.00
today 5.00
new total $5375.00

Ok, time to quit feeling sorry for myself and back to the challenge. I had lots of time alone yesterday, so i got in an hour of walking on my treadmill and 15 flights of stairs. I will add $2 to my challenge money.
prev. total $5368.00
today 2.00
new total $5370.00