Stitch from Stash May Update

Month: May
Spent: $0.00
Earn: $0.00

It's time for another Stitch from Stash update, check out Mel's Blog for details. This month I managed a zero spend on cross stitch supplies, which I am very pleased with. However I must admit that my personal budget did implode this month.

Here is some of what I finished up this month:

Floral Cross Stitch Ornament - Bright Blooms - The World of Cross Stitching 179

Somebunny to Love Finish - DMC Creative - Free Somebunny to Love Chart.

As some of you know I have been trying different techniques to attempt to get a better handle on my personal budget and to stop accumulating large amounts of "stuff". So far I have made a number of changes which have helped me to save more and created a less stressful financial environment for myself.

My plan was to keep my unnecessary purchases as low as possible for the year. This month I did make a big purchase that I hadn't intended to make. I decided to invest in a tablet PC. While it was a large expense I approached the purchase using some of my new budget skills. I decided on a maximum spend I was willing to make, then I did lots of research and found the best tablet with the features I wanted within that price.

I am so glad that I spent the time doing the research and am extremely happy with my choice. This does mean that I need to make a huge effort not to make any more unnecessary purchases for the rest of the year.

I have also decided that I will not be joining the SFS group for the second half of the year. I feel I have managed to get my craft spending under a certain amount of control and as the spaces are limited, I will leave it for someone else to take my place.

Stitch from Stash - Craft Budget April

Month: April
Spent: $15.00
Earn: $0.00


Today's post is going to be a fairly short one. If you are unsure as to what Stitch from Stash is check out Mel's Blog for details. I did spend some money this month on restocking a few of my DMC colours that I was running low on. Even though I haven't kept to a zero spend every month so far I am really happy with how little I have spent on cross stitch supplies. This has led to an increase in stitching pieces from my stash, which is a great feeling.

I did manage to finish a few smalls this month and will do a post on these soon, but I will add them into my earned budget next month. I have also decided to do my personal budget experiment posts separately, so my trial with using a weekly menu to reduce grocery and takeout costs will be up soon as well.

I am currently in the process of making some changes to my blog, layout, structure and content. I hope you can all stick with me for a little while longer. Hopefully I will have new and better posts coming up very soon.

Stitch From Stash and The Budget Experiment Part 2

Month: March
Spent: $5.25
Earn: $8.00

This month I unfortunately didn't manage a zero spend. A very good friend of mine expressed an interest in learning to cross stitch, so I offered to teach her. I decided to pick up one to two supplies I didn't have in my stash to suit the chosen project.

However I did manage to earn some funds for a couple of finishes from my stash that I made. I have only taken earned funds for two of the three finishes, as the Lickle Ted project was one I had started before January and as it is small I decided to just leave it out.

Here are my projects for March:

Sweet Treats - Cupcake of the Month - The World of Cross Stitching Issue 192

Swirly Sheep - Christy Schmitz - http://www.just-crossstitch.com/featured_pattern.php

Lickle Ted - Christmas Stitch Kit - The World of Cross Stitching

HAED - Bridge of Wings

I also started a new mini project, a free Somebunny to Love design from DMC. I just thought it was so cute. The chart can be found here: DMC Somebunny to Love Free Chart

Somebunny to Love - DMC Free Chart -
 http://www.dmccreative.co.uk/Inspiration/Projects/Cross-Stitch-Inspiration/Dmc-SBTL.aspx?technique=cross+stitched

My attempts at controlling my spending are on going and I am continuing to try new techniques. I am still using the reward system, if you missed that post you can read it here: Stitch from stash and the Experiment to Spend Less. This is continuing to assist me in cutting much of my unnecessary spending. The last few weeks haven't seen much added to the reward jar, as I have needed to purchase some supplies for a craft class I am taking.

The new technique I have added this month is a food budget. I know that probably sounds incredibly obvious to many of you but I have never really paid much attention to a food budget. In the past I often used my credit card to buy groceries and as such would often overspend. Now I have allowed myself a certain amount, which I withdraw in cash on payday. This amount must be sufficient to cover grocery costs for the week. Any money left over at the end of the week goes toward the budget limit for the following one.

I have forbidden myself from using the credit card for grocery shops. This is working well for me so far and has led to smaller grocery bills and less food waste.

I would love to hear any thoughts you have on my new attempt to curtail my spending in the comments section.