Making a bling resolution...

[Amys Bling]

so last night I sat down and took a look at my expenses. I hate cooking, preparing meals, and packing a lunch- I also buy on average 3 cups of coffee a week. My FI is away on average two nights a week and those nights pick up dinner for myself. By doing some calculations I figure I spend around 2,800 a year on my lunches, coffees, and dinners for myself!!! Not to mention the food that gets uneatten and tossed from our fridge.

So I decided to set a goal for myself to eat better, save money, and allow myself a bling reward in the end. For every lunch I pack from home I can put 3.00 towards a bling fund, for every week I don't buy coffee I can put another 3.00 in the fund, and for every dinner I make for myself while FI is away I can add another 4.00 to the fund. By yearly calculations I will be able to save us 1,350 to bank, 1,350 for a bling fund, and eat healthier while I am at it.

Here's to a smaller a**, and a new beautiful assch for myself!

What bling goal/budget/reward have you set for yourself???

 

[lliang_chi]

Great motivation for a bling fund! You've got me inspired to do the same

 

[Amys Bling]

Great motivation for a bling fund! You've got me inspired to do the same

Please post your bling plan!!! It will definitely be nice to motivate each other, I need to keep on track and this will motivate me way more than just "getting in shape" lol.

 

[purselover]

Great idea! Good luck saving and post pics when your start looking at diamonds!

 

[Amys Bling]

Great idea! Good luck saving and post pics when your start looking at diamonds!

Thanks! I am a ways away from a purchase but you better believe I have been looking

 

[Mrsacornblue]

DH and I each get $30/week for "fun" money. I'm going to try to take 1/2 of that and stash it away for a list of projects that I have in mind...resetting my grandmother's RB ring, a pair of princess cut huggies and a LV wallet (not diamonds but something I've always wanted!).

 

[nfowife]

Since it's summer and I have the kids with me more it's harder to save my spending money since we are going out to lunch and other pay activities more. But I'm going to start selling off all our baby stuff as my LO outgrows it and will be putting that $$ away for future bling....I'd really like a nice 5 stone for my RHR at some point in the near future. And in the fall I will be able to put more away weekly. I have a set amount each week for groceries + spending and the less I spend on groceries the more I have for fun stuff...but obviously I have a family of 5 and we've gotta eat

 

[yennyfire]

nfowife, there's nothing wrong with noodles everyday to help build up the bling fund!

I try to do my own mani's, get my hair cut at a cheapie place, buy clothes for myself only on sale, etc. I don't actually put any money aside for doing those things, but I might just start! I'll bet if I did it for a year, I'd be shocked at just how much was there...

 

[merilenda]

That's a good idea! I should start doing this since I'm dying for an upgrade within the next year.

 

[Amys Bling]

That's a good idea! I should start doing this since I'm dying for an upgrade within the next year.

But your ERing is stunning!!!!!!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Oh you are just a better woman than I am! I need to save another $600 to get my reset (scraped together $650 so far) and really, it just ain't gonna happen anytime soon!

 

[D&T]

Good for you Amy! when I have the funds and are itching for a larger diamond project...well it goes to something else, just recently it went to new furniture so the bling fund will have to start all over again but I am excited about my new dining table and hubby is thrilled with his item so it makes it easier and the kids furniture (big cheesy smile and lots of love from the kiddos too!). My problem is acquiring little things along the way and taking detours which I need to stop and focus focus focus!

 

[jewelerman]

it really works!!!my 2.54 round brilliant, 1.01 princess cut, and my Rolex are all by products of being more goal oriented then instant gratification oriented!

 

[mrs jam]

Oh, I love this thread! Very inspirational. My upgrade goal has really helped me to almost eliminate all frivolous purchases. I used to be a bit of a shopping addict, but I realized about a year ago that most of my purchases don't really thrill me. It's a bit ironic, I guess, but saving for a bigger diamond has taught me how to prioritize my purchases and stick to a strict budget.

 

[diamondringlover]

Good for you that is a really good way to get a bling fund started!! I work from home so this would not work for me because I seldom eat out!

I guess I sorta of have a plan, I think I am going to take all my old gold and old jewelry that I do not wear and probably will never wear again and sell it or melt it, I weighed all my pieces with my digital scale and was very surprised at how much I truly do have that I dont wear. I am really wanting to reset my rings, badly, I just dont have the funds to do it right now.

 

[Amys Bling]

it really works!!!my 2.54 round brilliant, 1.01 princess cut, and my Rolex are all by products of being more goal oriented then instant gratification oriented!

Yes! And I think you are more excited about ut when you know you purposefully saved for it d made better decisions. I'm thinking of ebaying a bunch if stuff that I dont use as well to add to the "get Amy an assch fund!" lol

 

[mrs jam]

Good for you that is a really good way to get a bling fund started!! I work from home so this would not work for me because I seldom eat out!

I guess I sorta of have a plan, I think I am going to take all my old gold and old jewelry that I do not wear and probably will never wear again and sell it or melt it, I weighed all my pieces with my digital scale and was very surprised at how much I truly do have that I dont wear. I am really wanting to reset my rings, badly, I just dont have the funds to do it right now.

Now is definitely a great time to sell unwanted gold jewelry and gold scraps! I recently sold all my gold scraps and gold jewelry that I knew I wasn't going to wear, and I was shocked at how much I got for it!

This is a good website for estimating how much your gold is with, according to gram weight and gold content: http://www.jackhunt.com/gold-calc.html.. The place where I sold my gold gave me 80% of what my gold was actually worth. Some places only offer 70% or even less, so do some research on where you sell.

 

[Amys Bling]

Oh, I love this thread! Very inspirational. My upgrade goal has really helped me to almost eliminate all frivolous purchases. I used to be a bit of a shopping addict, but I realized about a year ago that most of my purchases don't really thrill me. It's a bit ironic, I guess, but saving for a bigger diamond has taught me how to prioritize my purchases and stick to a strict budget.

So true, when you have a goal in mind you are more likely to really cut out extra unneeded expenses!

ETA: today I did pack a yogurt for breakfast and salad and veggies for lunch. Zero money spent so I can bank my first 3.00 lol.

 

[merilenda]

That's a good idea! I should start doing this since I'm dying for an upgrade within the next year.

But your ERing is stunning!!!!!!

Thank you! I actually just want to trade up to a bigger AVC, hopefully in a yummy warmer color!

 

[Amys Bling]

That's a good idea! I should start doing this since I'm dying for an upgrade within the next year.

But your ERing is stunning!!!!!!

Thank you! I actually just want to trade up to a bigger AVC, hopefully in a yummy warmer color!

Ok, that I will allow, lol.

 

[tyty333]

What a geat idea Amy! Another possible plus...if you drop a few pounds maybe your finger size will shrink! Bling will look bigger!!!

About a year and a half ago I started using coupons and saving quite a bit of money. Its very time consuming but I'm a SAHM.
Only thing is that I didnt set up a bling account like for every $1 I save I get $1 for my bling account. I think I saved about $2400
last year (I did keep track). That would have given me about $1200 for something nice!!!

 

[Amys Bling]

What a geat idea Amy! Another possible plus...if you drop a few pounds maybe your finger size will shrink! Bling will look bigger!!!

About a year and a half ago I started using coupons and saving quite a bit of money. Its very time consuming but I'm a SAHM.
Only thing is that I didnt set up a bling account like for every $1 I save I get $1 for my bling account. I think I saved about $2400
last year (I did keep track). That would have given me about $1200 for something nice!!!

you should start a bling fund! lol, that way you feel good about saying the 1200 for savings and such, but you also get rewarded and motivated to always save and spend wisely!

 

[Amys Bling]

What a geat idea Amy! Another possible plus...if you drop a few pounds maybe your finger size will shrink! Bling will look bigger!!!

About a year and a half ago I started using coupons and saving quite a bit of money. Its very time consuming but I'm a SAHM.
Only thing is that I didnt set up a bling account like for every $1 I save I get $1 for my bling account. I think I saved about $2400
last year (I did keep track). That would have given me about $1200 for something nice!!!

p.s. I think you just convinced me to start couponing and shopping more wisely!

 

[DiaDiva]

Wow! I just worked out I spend at least $4,000 a year on just regular lunches and that's not including the more expensive self-indulgent ones. Time to eat home more and teach my helper to cook better.

 

[Amys Bling]

Wow! I just worked out I spend at least $4,000 a year on just regular lunches and that's not including the more expensive self-indulgent ones. Time to eat home more and teach my helper to cook better.

Seriously, it adds up!

 

[DiaDiva]

Wow! I just worked out I spend at least $4,000 a year on just regular lunches and that's not including the more expensive self-indulgent ones. Time to eat home more and teach my helper to cook better.

Seriously, it adds up!

Agree! I should have more lunch potlucks at home. Tax here is crazy high. VAT 12.5%, service tax another 3.09% plus service charge 10%. Delhi is insane!!!! Time to save save save.

 

[Dandi]

I recently sold all my scrap gold, too! Plus I went on a big eBay-fest and sold everything I don't wear regularly, and I ended up with a trifling sum Paired with the fact that I stopped colouring my hair and just get a trim every 6 weeks or so (man that was a money spinner!) only buying clothes when I really need them, and packing lunch and dinner for DH and myself every work day, I ended up with a delicious little bling fund that I now need to rebuild. I've been so naughty with bling this year! Yet the wishlist continues to grow, but I'm slowly working my way through it

 

[tyty333]

I recently sold all my scrap gold, too! Plus I went on a big eBay-fest and sold everything I don't wear regularly, and I ended up with a trifling sum Paired with the fact that I stopped colouring my hair and just get a trim every 6 weeks or so (man that was a money spinner!) only buying clothes when I really need them, and packing lunch and dinner for DH and myself every work day, I ended up with a delicious little bling fund that I now need to rebuild. I've been so naughty with bling this year! Yet the wishlist continues to grow, but I'm slowly working my way through it

If you get the money from cutting back somewhere then being Naughty is good thing! Very rewarding!

 

[Indylady]

Nice idea! I've been working out something similar--reworking my budget just a little tighter and figuring out the holes.

 

[jewelerman]

my diamond account produced $12,000 in 5 years and when i used the account there was no guilt at all spending on jewelry !Guilt Free because the money was supposed to have already been used on entertainment!