i have to chuckle when i hear that our economy is taking a dive. now, don't get me wrong, there are a lot of us out there that have lost jobs and are truly struggling, but as an overall picture, we in america don't appear to be diving along with the economy. i had speciality coffee twice this week. hubby and i grabbed lunch at a panera the other day while working. as we sat there i noticed the line as out the door. hmm....i thought we were all broke???
now, hubby left his job in august and we said we were going to cut back. the reality is we really haven't. i think we have maybe eaten out as a family a bit less, but nothing else has really changed in our world of economics. but as i pay our bills, and even though we have had more income than we expected, i realize there is a need for us to cut back - but beyond eating out, i wasn't sure where. with both of us working from home doing without internet doesn't work. we can't cut cable because we don't have it. we don't pay cell bills. we could get rid of our $15 long distance plan, but with both working at home often making long distance calls that seems like a budget no-no. and well - we only buy clothes when absolutely necessary. of course we need to pay the car, house, heat, water, insurance....so that leaves the eating out and grocery budget.
before costs shot through the roof i worked hard at keeping our grocery to $75 a week. for the most part i was successful. i don't buy a lot of prepackaged items and do quite a bit of baking. but as prices went up and my boy ate more our budget increased. this summer i could hardly stay under $100. but i started researching for ways to cut that back to $75. can i do it?
i started with coupons. i receive a few online, but only allow myself to print off ones that i truly buy. i shop aldi - which is still the cheapest around here. i found a few sights focused on meal planning and grocery shopping. after lots of thoughts i had renewed faith that i could do this.
so this week i made a meal plan. i looked at what i had in the freezer and tried to use that stuff. i also planned what i would send in my kids lunches and i determined to stick to my grocery list - absolutely nothings else!!!
i just added up my bills....i'm slightly disappointed. i came in at $85.47....argh....i really want to get to that $75 place again. i know i can get there. i'm striving to do even better next week. i have a bit leftover in my freezer - atleast 2 meals worth. so surely i can do it. i have to really think about the extras that add up quickly. what things do i normally buy that i can do without? i love the v-8 fusion juice, but well at atleast $3.50 a bottle - it is no longer in my cart. the kids love fruit snacks (okay, mostly hubby) but those are now a rare treat.
so while i'm whiddling away my grocery budget i realize the next thing i have to give up is my coffee. and frankly that stinks!! i have 2 friends i love to chat with. since i work from home and no longer have preschool pick-up i kind of count on this time as my sanity. that is my time to be me and have true meaningful conversation. i'm not sure my mental health can handle saying goodbye. since hubby is home, entertaining here is akward at best. so my goal is to work hard at switching to the plain old $1 coffee. i will miss my latte's. i love those, but hey, you do what you have to do right? since i don't have breakfast out or lunch out this is the only other place for me to cut back. honestly, the thought of working at starbucks one day a week just to pay this treat is tempting!
so i'm trying. we'll see if i have what it takes. i'm not promising anything - i can handle the grocery, the lattes - not so sure!
now, hubby left his job in august and we said we were going to cut back. the reality is we really haven't. i think we have maybe eaten out as a family a bit less, but nothing else has really changed in our world of economics. but as i pay our bills, and even though we have had more income than we expected, i realize there is a need for us to cut back - but beyond eating out, i wasn't sure where. with both of us working from home doing without internet doesn't work. we can't cut cable because we don't have it. we don't pay cell bills. we could get rid of our $15 long distance plan, but with both working at home often making long distance calls that seems like a budget no-no. and well - we only buy clothes when absolutely necessary. of course we need to pay the car, house, heat, water, insurance....so that leaves the eating out and grocery budget.
before costs shot through the roof i worked hard at keeping our grocery to $75 a week. for the most part i was successful. i don't buy a lot of prepackaged items and do quite a bit of baking. but as prices went up and my boy ate more our budget increased. this summer i could hardly stay under $100. but i started researching for ways to cut that back to $75. can i do it?
i started with coupons. i receive a few online, but only allow myself to print off ones that i truly buy. i shop aldi - which is still the cheapest around here. i found a few sights focused on meal planning and grocery shopping. after lots of thoughts i had renewed faith that i could do this.
so this week i made a meal plan. i looked at what i had in the freezer and tried to use that stuff. i also planned what i would send in my kids lunches and i determined to stick to my grocery list - absolutely nothings else!!!
i just added up my bills....i'm slightly disappointed. i came in at $85.47....argh....i really want to get to that $75 place again. i know i can get there. i'm striving to do even better next week. i have a bit leftover in my freezer - atleast 2 meals worth. so surely i can do it. i have to really think about the extras that add up quickly. what things do i normally buy that i can do without? i love the v-8 fusion juice, but well at atleast $3.50 a bottle - it is no longer in my cart. the kids love fruit snacks (okay, mostly hubby) but those are now a rare treat.
so while i'm whiddling away my grocery budget i realize the next thing i have to give up is my coffee. and frankly that stinks!! i have 2 friends i love to chat with. since i work from home and no longer have preschool pick-up i kind of count on this time as my sanity. that is my time to be me and have true meaningful conversation. i'm not sure my mental health can handle saying goodbye. since hubby is home, entertaining here is akward at best. so my goal is to work hard at switching to the plain old $1 coffee. i will miss my latte's. i love those, but hey, you do what you have to do right? since i don't have breakfast out or lunch out this is the only other place for me to cut back. honestly, the thought of working at starbucks one day a week just to pay this treat is tempting!
so i'm trying. we'll see if i have what it takes. i'm not promising anything - i can handle the grocery, the lattes - not so sure!
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