The next two weeks are going to be a little rough in the staying on budget for groceries. I decided to try something new and buy food/cake supplies for Carson's party out the grocery money. I didn't go crazy on food for the party. In fact it was quite simple. I even had several cake mixes on hand for his cake. I thing that I didn't have on hand was frosting (that stuff is pricey, even on sale). And I ruined one whole cake. I also ended up with two extra cans of frosting so I didn't have to make another trip to the store. Like they say "time is money". Because I wasn't as prepared as I should have been, it ended up costing me more money.
Another thing that has tripped me up was buying cough medicine for the kiddos. Again that by itself was not too bad. I did buy the generic brand. But because I wasn't prepared, it was one more thing I had to buy. My kids hardly ever get sick so I don't keep medicine like that on hand. Had I purchased the medicine when it was on sale, I would have spent much less money. The lesson there is keep Dimetapp type medicine on hand especially when you get it on sale for a dollar or two with a coupon. Many little things have added up to a potential overage on budget. Check back to see how the next two weeks work out.
One last thing, the weekly challenge starts tomorrow. I will be making two meals from items I have on hand. I will be making a chicken pot pie and crock pot chili.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Weekly Challenge Wednesday
Every Wednesday I will post a challenge to help with the money saving journey. The challenge will run from Sunday 1/31 until Sunday 2/7. I would love for you to join me.
This weeks challenge is to eat at least two meals from items you have on hand. The idea here is twofold. First of all, the items that may have been pushed to the back of the pantry or fridge will get used up. If groceries are purchased on sale, but go bad, then that is no savings at all and a pure waste. Secondly, less money will be spent at the grocery store because two less days worth of food will be bought.
The reason for this challenge is because I have allowed things to go bad numerous times. I need to better about not being wasteful.
This weeks challenge is to eat at least two meals from items you have on hand. The idea here is twofold. First of all, the items that may have been pushed to the back of the pantry or fridge will get used up. If groceries are purchased on sale, but go bad, then that is no savings at all and a pure waste. Secondly, less money will be spent at the grocery store because two less days worth of food will be bought.
The reason for this challenge is because I have allowed things to go bad numerous times. I need to better about not being wasteful.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
My Journey To Start Saving Money
After being plagued for many years with the thought "if only my husband made more money", I started to dialogue with my husband about how much money would be enough. Together, we decided that if we didn't make our income work now we never would. There would never be enough money. After being introduced to a website called babycheapskate.com, I started seeing examples of people living on very little money and saving much. From that first site I then started exploring other money saving blogs. It then became a challenge for me to see how little we could live on (specifically in the area of our grocery budget). This became my way to contribute to our family income without getting a job.
Right now our budget is $100 a week including all food, diapers, formula and any household goods. That equals to $16.67 per person per week for our family of six. My goal for this year is to actually stick to that amount without going over. I have starting using cash to pay for our groceries and household goods. The cash goes into an envelope marked "grocery" so I am not tempted to use it for other things. Using cash is a huge help because for some reason it is a little more "painful" to spend the cash opposed to handing over a debit card. I had heard people say that before but until I started doing it I didn't understand.
I don't have it all figured out and am still growing in the area of finances. I am a living testimony that the Lord can do mighty things when you begin to choose contentment over discontentment. Saving money really isn't that difficult you just have to know some "tricks" to make your money go further. I will outline some of those tricks in a future post.
For now, I wish you contentment in the area of money.
Right now our budget is $100 a week including all food, diapers, formula and any household goods. That equals to $16.67 per person per week for our family of six. My goal for this year is to actually stick to that amount without going over. I have starting using cash to pay for our groceries and household goods. The cash goes into an envelope marked "grocery" so I am not tempted to use it for other things. Using cash is a huge help because for some reason it is a little more "painful" to spend the cash opposed to handing over a debit card. I had heard people say that before but until I started doing it I didn't understand.
I don't have it all figured out and am still growing in the area of finances. I am a living testimony that the Lord can do mighty things when you begin to choose contentment over discontentment. Saving money really isn't that difficult you just have to know some "tricks" to make your money go further. I will outline some of those tricks in a future post.
For now, I wish you contentment in the area of money.
Grocery List
This is what I purchased for the week at Vons: (All of the prices are good until Tuesday Jan 26)
(2) Annies boxed mac & cheese free $1 each
(2) Bags Goldfish crackers sale price .88 each
(2) Bottles of syrup sale price $1.50 each
(2) Boxes of Life cereal $1 each
(2) Boxes macaroni pasta $1 each
(2) Sargento sliced cheese $1.49 each
(1) Softsoap liquid hand soap $.88 each
6.5 pounds of ground beef $.99 per pound
(1) 6 oz container of blueberries $1
(2) Bags of salad mix $.99 each
My total for everything was $21.63 for a total savings of $52.99. The total includes one store coupon found in the ad that is found at the front of the store for the Sargento cheese. It also includes 2 coupon for the Annies Mac and Cheese and a coupon for one of the packages of cheese. Lastly, that price included a store special that Vons was running on the Life cereal and syrup. When you bought four items you got $4 off. The items were mix and match.
Also, keep in mind that the majority of what I will use this week is food I have already purchased. This is to either round out our meals or "stock up".
Hope this helps.
(2) Annies boxed mac & cheese free $1 each
(2) Bags Goldfish crackers sale price .88 each
(2) Bottles of syrup sale price $1.50 each
(2) Boxes of Life cereal $1 each
(2) Boxes macaroni pasta $1 each
(2) Sargento sliced cheese $1.49 each
(1) Softsoap liquid hand soap $.88 each
6.5 pounds of ground beef $.99 per pound
(1) 6 oz container of blueberries $1
(2) Bags of salad mix $.99 each
My total for everything was $21.63 for a total savings of $52.99. The total includes one store coupon found in the ad that is found at the front of the store for the Sargento cheese. It also includes 2 coupon for the Annies Mac and Cheese and a coupon for one of the packages of cheese. Lastly, that price included a store special that Vons was running on the Life cereal and syrup. When you bought four items you got $4 off. The items were mix and match.
Also, keep in mind that the majority of what I will use this week is food I have already purchased. This is to either round out our meals or "stock up".
Hope this helps.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
