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Sunday, September 11, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Stupid Little Things
Trent over at The Simple Dollar has been doing a series on Savings Pennies or Dollars in which he examines many traditionally frugal ideas, doing a cost benefit analysis. Basically it's supposed to determine whether or not these practices are worth the time and energy. Are they truly frugal?
I've found these posts thought provoking. Mostly because, as I've cultivated my frugal lifestyle, I find myself with many such unexamined habits. These little things that I do which save me money, albeit not much, but some small amounts of money here, there and yon. These are things I am often mocked for by friends and family if/when they ever realize what it is I am actually doing and why.
Yes, they are dumb. Yes, in many cases, I am probably saving pennies, not dollars. No, the one small little act probably doesnt amount to much in the way of money savings. The point to me is that they are good habits. Over the course of time, those pennies saved add up. If I can keep these habits as just that, habits, in which I am doing it without a lot of thought process, and expending as little effort as possible, then those pennies cost me nothing. If you catch my drift.
This is a list of some of my stupid little things....
Filling up my water bottle before leaving work or the gym.
I drink a lot of water in my handy dandy reusable bottles. We have a water cooler at work. The gym has a filtered, chilled fountain. If I take the second to fill up on my way, that's just a little less water I drink from home.
Religiously bringing my bags to the grocery store, and asking for the credit.
Some stores in my area have taken to 'donating' your .05 or .10 bag credit for you. I make my own donations thanks. I want my nickel! It only takes a second to ask.
Unplugging the microwave/coffee pot/computer peripherals/TVwhen not in use.
Oh how that little microwave display clock haunts me! I have all the things I turn off regularly on conveniently located power strips. In some cases, this is pennies, but as long as its only seconds of time, I'm ok with that. Also, I'm betting our big plasma TV is more of a phantom draw than you think.
Washing my hair every OTHER day.
This is a somewhat recent one. I shower every day and always thoroughly rinse my hair, but I've recently discovered that washing my hair every other day, makes very little difference. I use pretty expensive shampoo. This cuts my shampoo consumption, well, in half. It also cuts down on my shower time. Another money saver.
Washing my lunch dishes at work
Im a brown-bagger through and through. I tote my lunch in mostly glass containers. After I'm through, I take the second to wash those in the break room sink. Gives me a nice excuse to get up from my desk. Uses their water and soap, and I come home with a bag full of clean dishes, ready to be re-used.
I reserve the right to add to this list, as more of these inevitably pop into my brain.
These are the somewhat random things. There are all the other 'standards' too (line drying, laundry soap, leftovers, etc). While I'm sure the above net me only pennies, they are so ingrained into my daily life, I don't think about them. If I can auto-pilot a few couple pennies a day, why the heck not?
I've found these posts thought provoking. Mostly because, as I've cultivated my frugal lifestyle, I find myself with many such unexamined habits. These little things that I do which save me money, albeit not much, but some small amounts of money here, there and yon. These are things I am often mocked for by friends and family if/when they ever realize what it is I am actually doing and why.
Yes, they are dumb. Yes, in many cases, I am probably saving pennies, not dollars. No, the one small little act probably doesnt amount to much in the way of money savings. The point to me is that they are good habits. Over the course of time, those pennies saved add up. If I can keep these habits as just that, habits, in which I am doing it without a lot of thought process, and expending as little effort as possible, then those pennies cost me nothing. If you catch my drift.
This is a list of some of my stupid little things....
Filling up my water bottle before leaving work or the gym.
I drink a lot of water in my handy dandy reusable bottles. We have a water cooler at work. The gym has a filtered, chilled fountain. If I take the second to fill up on my way, that's just a little less water I drink from home.
Religiously bringing my bags to the grocery store, and asking for the credit.
Some stores in my area have taken to 'donating' your .05 or .10 bag credit for you. I make my own donations thanks. I want my nickel! It only takes a second to ask.
Unplugging the microwave/coffee pot/computer peripherals/TVwhen not in use.
Oh how that little microwave display clock haunts me! I have all the things I turn off regularly on conveniently located power strips. In some cases, this is pennies, but as long as its only seconds of time, I'm ok with that. Also, I'm betting our big plasma TV is more of a phantom draw than you think.
Washing my hair every OTHER day.
This is a somewhat recent one. I shower every day and always thoroughly rinse my hair, but I've recently discovered that washing my hair every other day, makes very little difference. I use pretty expensive shampoo. This cuts my shampoo consumption, well, in half. It also cuts down on my shower time. Another money saver.
Washing my lunch dishes at work
Im a brown-bagger through and through. I tote my lunch in mostly glass containers. After I'm through, I take the second to wash those in the break room sink. Gives me a nice excuse to get up from my desk. Uses their water and soap, and I come home with a bag full of clean dishes, ready to be re-used.
I reserve the right to add to this list, as more of these inevitably pop into my brain.
These are the somewhat random things. There are all the other 'standards' too (line drying, laundry soap, leftovers, etc). While I'm sure the above net me only pennies, they are so ingrained into my daily life, I don't think about them. If I can auto-pilot a few couple pennies a day, why the heck not?
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Things Forgotten: Groceries Check-In
As I am ruminating on my once a month shopping strategy and money spent thus far, I remember GAK! The CSA box.
We get a lovely box of fruits and veggies every other week from a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm. This is a pretty sophisticated operation, as these things go. Its year round, so while much of it is local, they do trade/supplement with farms down the West Coast and into Mexico. However, there is a handy dandy web interface, which tells me where everything comes from and allows me to pick and choose what I'd like for the week. Its generally awesome all around. Definitely, something I like to support.
I feel like the box provides a generous amount of produce. So much so that we don't even need it every week. If ever any particular item is not up to snuff, a quick email merits me a credit on my next box.
A credit towards the $36 per box.
I am not adjusting the $650 max target for the month. We've spent $513, leaving us $137. Minus the forgotten CSA subscription of $72, this leaves me only $65 for the month. Again, with the GAK!
Its only the 7th for crying out loud. I have 3 shopping trips remaining! Thats about $21.50 per trip.
I know the cost of living here is high. I am also aware that we eat pretty high on the hog. Nonetheless, it seems to me somewhat ridiculous that 2 not-large people who eat at home the vast majority of the time, can butt up against a $650 grocery budget.
This month is going to be a rather enlightening, work in progress to get expenses identified, reigned in, and figure out what truly is do-able for us.
In the mean time, GAK!
We get a lovely box of fruits and veggies every other week from a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm. This is a pretty sophisticated operation, as these things go. Its year round, so while much of it is local, they do trade/supplement with farms down the West Coast and into Mexico. However, there is a handy dandy web interface, which tells me where everything comes from and allows me to pick and choose what I'd like for the week. Its generally awesome all around. Definitely, something I like to support.
I feel like the box provides a generous amount of produce. So much so that we don't even need it every week. If ever any particular item is not up to snuff, a quick email merits me a credit on my next box.
A credit towards the $36 per box.
I am not adjusting the $650 max target for the month. We've spent $513, leaving us $137. Minus the forgotten CSA subscription of $72, this leaves me only $65 for the month. Again, with the GAK!
Its only the 7th for crying out loud. I have 3 shopping trips remaining! Thats about $21.50 per trip.
I know the cost of living here is high. I am also aware that we eat pretty high on the hog. Nonetheless, it seems to me somewhat ridiculous that 2 not-large people who eat at home the vast majority of the time, can butt up against a $650 grocery budget.
This month is going to be a rather enlightening, work in progress to get expenses identified, reigned in, and figure out what truly is do-able for us.
In the mean time, GAK!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
My Big Fat First Mortgage
This starts out like a Yo Mama joke. My mortgage is SO big... I'm not even comfortable divulging the total. Lets refer to the balance in a way that protects the innocent.
$X55,000.00
And its safe to assume that first number is not a one.
A little history...
When we bought our house 3+ years ago, the principle balance was $X82,000.00. That was after putting 20% from the equity in the house we later sold. So in 3 years, we've paid off just shy of 30K. Im pretty happy with that. Especially considering the financial turmoil we've been through.
At the time of purchase, we weren't necessarily biting off more than we could chew. These were the times of plenty. In the beginning it was no big deal to carry our shiny new mortgage AND the paltry payment from our previous house. We did that for 3 months or so. It was surprisingly easy. Although I was certainly happy when house #1 sold.
In any case, our mortgage payment represented right around 30% of our monthly income, as recommended, and all was well. For our circumstances at the time, it was not necessarily a bad decision.
Enter unforeseen circumstances.
This is the part where I try not to focus on the coulda and shouldas.
Mere days after the sale of house #1 completed. I was informed that my job was being outsourced. More on that later, but the long and short of it is, that over the course of the next 3 years that payment often became 50% of our income, sometimes more. No the interest rate didn't adjust. But, our income certainly did. I've come to think of The Mortgage (and sometimes the house itself) as the monkey on my back, a burden to be borne, the albatross around my neck.
How to change those circumstance has been perplexing me for some time now. Even if we are back to a cushy double income lifestyle, the writing is on the wall. As long as we have this mortgage as it stands now, the flexibility of our lifestyle is limited. Our monthly overhead is too high.
So what our my options?
Moving. Even with the plummeting house prices, we aren't exactly upside down. But close enough that after real estate fees, it would almost certainly cost us money out of pocket. As long as we've been able to make the payment, this is something I've avoided. For us, the logistics of moving, suck. Selling this house while it contains our menagerie would be difficult to say the least. The only feasible way is to buy another house first, move everyone there, and sell this house uninhabited. We have not had the cash flow to carry two mortgages. Moving doesn't really work.
Truth be told, we like this house. We are comfortable here. The pack of mutts is comfortable here. Its close to our network of friends. Close to the city, and work. It's big enough that we can garden, entertain, and not feel like we are on top of each other or our neighbors. Not too old. Not too new. Well-Maintained. The house is a keeper. During all our trials and tribulations, when I would lament our lot in life, we always came back to "If you have to be stuck somewhere, this place ain't so bad". And its true. The price tag stinks, but we' d just as soon stay.
This brings us to an obvious second choice; Refinancing. Much like moving, this is also something I've avoided. Until recently the conditions have not been favorable. We bought our house before prices took a huge tumble, but interest rates were still rather modest. Every time I've made an inquiry with our credit union, it would take us years to re-coup the closing costs of a refinance through money saved on our monthly payment. Once again, as long as we were able to make the payment, I avoided rocking the boat.
And make payments we did. Even in the worst of times, we've always been able to put just a little something extra towards our mortgage. $50 here $100 there. Even just $25 or the odd windfall. I try to do it before I think too hard about where else that money can go. That's the only reason's we've been able to pay off nearly $30K. A little here and a little there.
I have a number in my head of what I want our mortgage payment to be. It's about $600 less than what we are currently paying. With the rates now, and the principle we've paid off, I can get right in that ballpark, which is kinda hard to believe. Still it going to take some work. They aren't handing out mortgage like they used to.
Yes, with circumstances as they are now, I could keep my high mortgage payment and keep plunking away at it. The lower monthly payment is my primary concern. After my own job loss and The Husband's employment drought, this mortgage has made our lives quite difficult. I can always pay more of my own accord. They don't take too kindly to voluntarily paying less. Even now. I consider lowering this payment, a step towards shoring up my financial house against disaster.
My first mini mission: to unfreeze my credit report with one of the 3 bureaus.
I froze it when our house was broken into some months ago. That was no easy task then, and unfreezing it is proving to be an equal pain. I need to get this done before the re-finance can proceed.
Next: Keep paying down the principle. When I said our balance is $X55,000.00, that is exactly what I meant. I've been paying it down to a nice round number as a game I play with myself. Also, I'm considering this re-fi a one shot kind of thing. It behooves me to pay as much as I can now, to refinance for that much less.
Furthermore: Consider the benefits of applying a cash lump sum to the principle balance. This would eliminate some of my precious cash cushion. I might actually consider that in exchange for an even lower payment, and the flexibility I am looking for.
Yes, with circumstances as they are now, I could keep my high mortgage payment and keep plunking away at it. The lower monthly payment is my primary concern. After my own job loss and The Husband's employment drought, this mortgage has made our lives quite difficult. I can always pay more of my own accord. They don't take too kindly to voluntarily paying less. Even now. I consider lowering this payment, a step towards shoring up my financial house against disaster.
My first mini mission: to unfreeze my credit report with one of the 3 bureaus.
I froze it when our house was broken into some months ago. That was no easy task then, and unfreezing it is proving to be an equal pain. I need to get this done before the re-finance can proceed.
Next: Keep paying down the principle. When I said our balance is $X55,000.00, that is exactly what I meant. I've been paying it down to a nice round number as a game I play with myself. Also, I'm considering this re-fi a one shot kind of thing. It behooves me to pay as much as I can now, to refinance for that much less.
Furthermore: Consider the benefits of applying a cash lump sum to the principle balance. This would eliminate some of my precious cash cushion. I might actually consider that in exchange for an even lower payment, and the flexibility I am looking for.
Monday Money Saving: Tuesday Edition
Since, yesterday I partook in a conscious squandering of my Holiday
afternoon, I didn't get to the nitty gritty of what we did yesterday to
save money. In this case it's actually what we didn't do.
See I had big plans for yesterday, my 'free' day off. I had plans of garden fence expansion and re-build, painting said fence, building new raised beds. These plans involved trips to the lumber yard, and generally sounded like cha-ching cha-ching cha-ching.
It was big plan, but we so rarely have whole days with no concrete obligations. It looked like our golden opportunity.
It was not to be.
As one of our 2011 goals, we have sworn off the Big Box store. That means no Home Depot and no Lowes, among the long list of chain stores we do not patronize. This causes some challenges. More significant challenges in some categories vs. others. Hardware and Home Improvement being one of those.
Yes, we have local independent lumber yards, and paint stores. In some cases, we've discovered they even have better prices than their soul-less counterparts. But, these type of places tend to cater to the Contractor set. The Monday thru Friday 9 to 5 Contractor set. The Contractor set that has Labor Day off. If your clientele has the day off, why would you be open?
On Sunday afternoon, when we started formulating our plan of attack for our forth coming Day of Labor, we were met with an unfortunate choice; Forgo our plans for productivity or admit defeat and get ourselves down to the Home Despot.
I admit, I thought long and hard about the latter option. Even though we've made it all this time without going succumbing to the call of convenience, fluorescent lighting, and low low prices. I had made plans dang it! I wanted to be productive!
Then, I let it go. We had other stuff that could be done. Yes, the garden is important. Instead of embarking on a new project, we used the time to do some maintenance in our small existing garden. Important hum drum things like mulch and fertilize, using supplies we already had.
Then we took the time to sit down and go over our plan for next year, and prioritize our end of the season projects. After that discussion, which involved sitting in the sunshine with cups of coffee, we decided the fence can wait until next year. We don't need it until then, and there is actually some debate about the style we'd like.
I could have rushed out and spent a bunch of money yesterday. Just because I could. Because I had the time. Then we would have rushed around trying to finish a weekend-long project, in one day. I would have compromised a goal we have upheld for the last 9 months. And as it turns out, it might not have even been a fence we both wanted.
Instead, we did things we already had materials for. We spent $0, and we enjoyed our afternoon at home.
I also opened another targeted savings account called 'Garden', and put $25 in it.
See I had big plans for yesterday, my 'free' day off. I had plans of garden fence expansion and re-build, painting said fence, building new raised beds. These plans involved trips to the lumber yard, and generally sounded like cha-ching cha-ching cha-ching.
It was big plan, but we so rarely have whole days with no concrete obligations. It looked like our golden opportunity.
It was not to be.
As one of our 2011 goals, we have sworn off the Big Box store. That means no Home Depot and no Lowes, among the long list of chain stores we do not patronize. This causes some challenges. More significant challenges in some categories vs. others. Hardware and Home Improvement being one of those.
Yes, we have local independent lumber yards, and paint stores. In some cases, we've discovered they even have better prices than their soul-less counterparts. But, these type of places tend to cater to the Contractor set. The Monday thru Friday 9 to 5 Contractor set. The Contractor set that has Labor Day off. If your clientele has the day off, why would you be open?
On Sunday afternoon, when we started formulating our plan of attack for our forth coming Day of Labor, we were met with an unfortunate choice; Forgo our plans for productivity or admit defeat and get ourselves down to the Home Despot.
I admit, I thought long and hard about the latter option. Even though we've made it all this time without going succumbing to the call of convenience, fluorescent lighting, and low low prices. I had made plans dang it! I wanted to be productive!
Then, I let it go. We had other stuff that could be done. Yes, the garden is important. Instead of embarking on a new project, we used the time to do some maintenance in our small existing garden. Important hum drum things like mulch and fertilize, using supplies we already had.
Then we took the time to sit down and go over our plan for next year, and prioritize our end of the season projects. After that discussion, which involved sitting in the sunshine with cups of coffee, we decided the fence can wait until next year. We don't need it until then, and there is actually some debate about the style we'd like.
I could have rushed out and spent a bunch of money yesterday. Just because I could. Because I had the time. Then we would have rushed around trying to finish a weekend-long project, in one day. I would have compromised a goal we have upheld for the last 9 months. And as it turns out, it might not have even been a fence we both wanted.
Instead, we did things we already had materials for. We spent $0, and we enjoyed our afternoon at home.
I also opened another targeted savings account called 'Garden', and put $25 in it.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Some Labor Day
An Ode to Four Day Work Weeks or How We Should Always have Three Days off.
I lurve 3 days weekends, but I have to remind myself to actually 'use' themSince yesterday, was Shopping-polooza, one would think we'd have not much to do on this day celebrating Labor. One would be wrong.
So, I made an agreement with myself. Get up. Go Run. Chores until noon. And then nothing. I made a date with my hammock, the sunshine, and a trashy vampire novel from the library.
If I don't schedule these things, and force myself off the to-do list hamster wheel, I'd run around all day, then be completely disgruntled when 8pm rolled around and I realized I'd squandered my free day off. Yup, squandered it getting stuff done.
Before noon today, we...
Cleaned the downstair fridge
Washed the walls in the stair well
Did a variety of miscellaneous tasks in the garden
Made notes for next years garden plan and talked about what we want to get done before fall is officially upon us
Hung a new shelf in the bathroom
Clipped dog nails
Processed 2 loads of laundry
and drank too much coffee.
Not to shabby. Definitely enough, so I felt quite justified in my planned laziness.
Even now, as I write I am accompanied by a glass of $3.99 Malbec (which is pretty darn good I must say) and a chocolate bar. I do this as the smell of my happy cow beef roast on the bbq wafts in the back door . Because some days dessert before dinner really is ok.
I lurve 3 days weekends, but I have to remind myself to actually 'use' themSince yesterday, was Shopping-polooza, one would think we'd have not much to do on this day celebrating Labor. One would be wrong.
So, I made an agreement with myself. Get up. Go Run. Chores until noon. And then nothing. I made a date with my hammock, the sunshine, and a trashy vampire novel from the library.
If I don't schedule these things, and force myself off the to-do list hamster wheel, I'd run around all day, then be completely disgruntled when 8pm rolled around and I realized I'd squandered my free day off. Yup, squandered it getting stuff done.
Before noon today, we...
Cleaned the downstair fridge
Washed the walls in the stair well
Did a variety of miscellaneous tasks in the garden
Made notes for next years garden plan and talked about what we want to get done before fall is officially upon us
Hung a new shelf in the bathroom
Clipped dog nails
Processed 2 loads of laundry
and drank too much coffee.
Not to shabby. Definitely enough, so I felt quite justified in my planned laziness.
Even now, as I write I am accompanied by a glass of $3.99 Malbec (which is pretty darn good I must say) and a chocolate bar. I do this as the smell of my happy cow beef roast on the bbq wafts in the back door . Because some days dessert before dinner really is ok.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Sunday Spending: Bringing Home The Cow
In addition to today being the first incarnation of Once a Month Shopping, it's also the day we bring home our cow. Rather our quarter of a cow. A month ago we put a deposit down on a bulk beef order with a local organic farm we purchase from regularly at the Farmers Market. Today was pick up day. 150lbs of meat. Wowza. This meat is certified organic (duh) and grass fed. Plus, the farm (which I've actually been to) is in located in the area where I grew up. My Mom knows the farmers, who are good people we chat with regularly. It's warm and fuzzy all around.
I'm not going to sugar coat it, doing the bulk order involves a hefty outlay of cash. Really hefty. But it brings the overall price per pound down significantly. $5.95/lb. I could let you do the math, or just tell you that we paid $890 for our beef. $300 deposit last month when we ordered. The remainder today. Clearly, this is going to skew our grocer budget numbers for the month. But, Im guessing this is about a year's worth of beef for us. As we've never done this before, I'm not positive. But, hopeful.
Today's shopping involved 5 stops; Farmers Market, Grocery Outlet, Whole Foods, Costco, and the Drug Store.
Farmers Market: Minus the Cow.
Spent $103 on 3 dozen eggs, 1 pork shoulder, 1 pack bacon, 1 pack pork chops, and 8 packs of sausage. Apparently we eat a lot of sausage as it came up regularly in our meal plan for the month.
$16 for 1 gallon of milk. 1/2 of which will go to yogurt.
$26 for a Whole Chicken
+$15 deposit for Thanksgiving Turkey
$41 on peppers, peaches, tomatoes, green onions.
Eat Local: $32
I have a love/hate relationship with this place. It is inconveniently located, expensive, and the food isn't that good, except for the Almond Granola, and apparently the Graham Crackers as we discovered today. *Curses*
48oz of Almond Granola
Today's Impulse buy #1 - 1 pack of Graham Crackers. These are the best Graham Crackers I have ever eaten. Ever.
Also had $3 off coupon.
Grocery Outlet. $60
Kinda hit the mother load today, as happens from time to time at the Gross Out (as we affectionately call it).
Organic Beans $.99/can Kidney, Northern, Pinto, and Garbanzo - 10 cans total.
Red Wine. I drink about a bottle a week, usually spending $8-$9 per. I decided to take a chance, and picked up an assortment of recommendations ranging in price from $3 (!!!) to $7. At those prices its worth a shot.
Organic Peanut Butter. Usually Costco is our standby for PB, with the Kirkland Signature brand costing $3.79 jar. Its the best deal I can find. Today, I was able to pick up 6 jars of Santa Cruz Organic for $2.99 each. We go through 1 jar a week, so thats an ample supply.
Organic Bananas $2.29. Also the best deal in town.
Babybel Mini Cheddars $1.49. These are great for lunches and snacks, but usually run about $4 - $5 for 6. At this price, I got two.
Other miscellany...
Sliced Olives $.79
Vegetarian Refried Beans $.79 (x2)
Organic Red Curry Lentil Soup $.79
Jar of Pesto $1.99 used infrequently, but such a deal.
Terra Chips $1.99
Also had a $3 coupon.
Whole Foods. $64
I try very hard to shop their 'sales' such as they are. Sometimes it's great. Others not so much.
Today we picked up.
Orzo. A little too much because of my failure to operate the bulk bins. Woops.
1/2lb King Salmon. Wild and On-Sale. 2 of my favorite things.
Frozen Shrimp
Mahi-Mahi
Cabbage
Flour
Sweet Relish
Granola (for The Husband)
Red Lentils
Horse Radish
1 Lime
Today's Epic Fail & Impulse Buy #2: Rotisserie Chicken. On sale for $4.99. I usually abstain, but we were hungry and I knew would want to eat as soon as we got home. Sale price is the same as Costco's regular price, but I actually thought this would be better chicken. Completely False. It is fatty, and mostly tasteless. Will be fine as Chicken Salad Sammies for lunch this week, but lesson learned. Cook your own Chicken, folks.
Costco. $64 Seems to be a magic number today. I sent The Husband because I hate Costco. Whats worse than a Costco Trip? A Costco Trip on Labor Day weekend.
We keep the list brief, and only get what I know is a good Deal.
Organic Olive Oil
Nuts - Cashews & Almonds
Cheddar Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
Dishwasher Detergent
Drug Store. $16.
It's on the way to Costco, and they have the absolute cheapest price around on my absolute favorite chocolate.
1 Months supply of Salted Almond Chocolate Bars. Necessities people. Necessities.
Total Money Spent (again minus the cow): $437
Including the cow *gulp*: $1050
HOWEVER, (its a big however) if the cow does indeed last us 12 months, then total cost for beef is $76/per month. Add that to today's total for $513.
Budget Thoughts: I often refer to our 'Grocery Budget'. Realistically, we don't have actually have one. We have an amount we spend, that varies all over the map depending on what's going on. I'd say the range is from $500 - $800. For the purposes of this month, I'm going to give us $40 a week for incidentals, and round up.
This means we are shooting for a high water mark of no more than $650.
Total Time Investment: 4 hours + 1 hour menu, and list planning. This is not including the time it took to put away and organize everything, although that mostly surrounded the beef.
Lessons Learned:
BRING SNACKS, not coffee. Or at least have a real good food plan. Sunday morning, I get hungry even after eating oatmeal at home. Round bout 11am, we found ourselves grumpy, with rumbly tummies. This accounted for impulse buys #1 and #2.
BRING BAGS. We typically do much better on this. Today for whatever reason, there were nowhere near enough bags in our car to accommodate the amount of shopping done. I brought home a lot more plastic than I cared to, and I didn't save my incidental $.05 and $.10 here and there.
Next Week: The plan is for a quick stop at Whole Foods on our way back from some other Saturday errands. That would mean *drum roll* No. Shopping. on Sunday. Can it be done? Is it even possible?
What will I do with all my free time? Stay tuned.
I'm not going to sugar coat it, doing the bulk order involves a hefty outlay of cash. Really hefty. But it brings the overall price per pound down significantly. $5.95/lb. I could let you do the math, or just tell you that we paid $890 for our beef. $300 deposit last month when we ordered. The remainder today. Clearly, this is going to skew our grocer budget numbers for the month. But, Im guessing this is about a year's worth of beef for us. As we've never done this before, I'm not positive. But, hopeful.
Today's shopping involved 5 stops; Farmers Market, Grocery Outlet, Whole Foods, Costco, and the Drug Store.
Farmers Market: Minus the Cow.
Spent $103 on 3 dozen eggs, 1 pork shoulder, 1 pack bacon, 1 pack pork chops, and 8 packs of sausage. Apparently we eat a lot of sausage as it came up regularly in our meal plan for the month.
$16 for 1 gallon of milk. 1/2 of which will go to yogurt.
$26 for a Whole Chicken
+$15 deposit for Thanksgiving Turkey
$41 on peppers, peaches, tomatoes, green onions.
Eat Local: $32
I have a love/hate relationship with this place. It is inconveniently located, expensive, and the food isn't that good, except for the Almond Granola, and apparently the Graham Crackers as we discovered today. *Curses*
48oz of Almond Granola
Today's Impulse buy #1 - 1 pack of Graham Crackers. These are the best Graham Crackers I have ever eaten. Ever.
Also had $3 off coupon.
Grocery Outlet. $60
Kinda hit the mother load today, as happens from time to time at the Gross Out (as we affectionately call it).
Organic Beans $.99/can Kidney, Northern, Pinto, and Garbanzo - 10 cans total.
Red Wine. I drink about a bottle a week, usually spending $8-$9 per. I decided to take a chance, and picked up an assortment of recommendations ranging in price from $3 (!!!) to $7. At those prices its worth a shot.
Organic Peanut Butter. Usually Costco is our standby for PB, with the Kirkland Signature brand costing $3.79 jar. Its the best deal I can find. Today, I was able to pick up 6 jars of Santa Cruz Organic for $2.99 each. We go through 1 jar a week, so thats an ample supply.
Organic Bananas $2.29. Also the best deal in town.
Babybel Mini Cheddars $1.49. These are great for lunches and snacks, but usually run about $4 - $5 for 6. At this price, I got two.
Other miscellany...
Sliced Olives $.79
Vegetarian Refried Beans $.79 (x2)
Organic Red Curry Lentil Soup $.79
Jar of Pesto $1.99 used infrequently, but such a deal.
Terra Chips $1.99
Also had a $3 coupon.
Whole Foods. $64
I try very hard to shop their 'sales' such as they are. Sometimes it's great. Others not so much.
Today we picked up.
Orzo. A little too much because of my failure to operate the bulk bins. Woops.
1/2lb King Salmon. Wild and On-Sale. 2 of my favorite things.
Frozen Shrimp
Mahi-Mahi
Cabbage
Flour
Sweet Relish
Granola (for The Husband)
Red Lentils
Horse Radish
1 Lime
Today's Epic Fail & Impulse Buy #2: Rotisserie Chicken. On sale for $4.99. I usually abstain, but we were hungry and I knew would want to eat as soon as we got home. Sale price is the same as Costco's regular price, but I actually thought this would be better chicken. Completely False. It is fatty, and mostly tasteless. Will be fine as Chicken Salad Sammies for lunch this week, but lesson learned. Cook your own Chicken, folks.
Costco. $64 Seems to be a magic number today. I sent The Husband because I hate Costco. Whats worse than a Costco Trip? A Costco Trip on Labor Day weekend.
We keep the list brief, and only get what I know is a good Deal.
Organic Olive Oil
Nuts - Cashews & Almonds
Cheddar Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
Dishwasher Detergent
Drug Store. $16.
It's on the way to Costco, and they have the absolute cheapest price around on my absolute favorite chocolate.
1 Months supply of Salted Almond Chocolate Bars. Necessities people. Necessities.
Total Money Spent (again minus the cow): $437
Including the cow *gulp*: $1050
HOWEVER, (its a big however) if the cow does indeed last us 12 months, then total cost for beef is $76/per month. Add that to today's total for $513.
Budget Thoughts: I often refer to our 'Grocery Budget'. Realistically, we don't have actually have one. We have an amount we spend, that varies all over the map depending on what's going on. I'd say the range is from $500 - $800. For the purposes of this month, I'm going to give us $40 a week for incidentals, and round up.
This means we are shooting for a high water mark of no more than $650.
Total Time Investment: 4 hours + 1 hour menu, and list planning. This is not including the time it took to put away and organize everything, although that mostly surrounded the beef.
Lessons Learned:
BRING SNACKS, not coffee. Or at least have a real good food plan. Sunday morning, I get hungry even after eating oatmeal at home. Round bout 11am, we found ourselves grumpy, with rumbly tummies. This accounted for impulse buys #1 and #2.
BRING BAGS. We typically do much better on this. Today for whatever reason, there were nowhere near enough bags in our car to accommodate the amount of shopping done. I brought home a lot more plastic than I cared to, and I didn't save my incidental $.05 and $.10 here and there.
Next Week: The plan is for a quick stop at Whole Foods on our way back from some other Saturday errands. That would mean *drum roll* No. Shopping. on Sunday. Can it be done? Is it even possible?
What will I do with all my free time? Stay tuned.
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