Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Payday!

When payday comes but once a month, you can't help but get excited about it.  A full grocery envelope!  Bills all paid!  I'm still allowing $280 a month for groceries, but it's getting tighter all the time.  I would have made it this past month, if the local grocery store had not had bacon for $2.50 a pound; I have not seen bacon priced that low for months, so I bought four pounds to put in the freezer.  I'm ready for BLT's this summer!  Unfortunately, my grocery envelope only had two bucks in it and my misc. envelope had been empty for two weeks.  So I wrote a check from the general fund.
Last month I realized how silly it is to plan on shopping for groceries weekly when we get paid monthly, so I worked on trying to buy enough coffee, canned goods, paper products and so on to last the full month.  This was scary, because when that shopping day was over, I only had $83 left in the envelope to last the whole month.  
However, it worked out fine.  Once I had all the staples, it didn't take much to get us through.  


Here's todays list.  Pardon my sloppy writing.  This is what happens when you are born left-handed and the school teacher makes you switch to using your right hand.  That's my theory, anyhow.  Plus, since discovering the computer, my writing has gotten much worse because I never write anything.  
The money for the dog food and cat food come out of the "critters" envelope.  
I'm keeping today's list and cash register receipts so I can check next month and see where I bought too much or too little.  I bought four pounds of sugar at Aldi's, but when we stopped at Walmart I found out their five-pound bag of sugar was less per pound.  The Kielbasa was the same price at both locations, and what I bought at Walmart was a name brand.  I didn't buy the potatoes on the list because they were ten pounds for $3.89 everywhere, and when we are in Lexington I can get them this week for $2.50.  
Oh yes, today I was left with only $47 to last for a month.  Hopefully the garden will help out before long.  There is money in the "Misc." envelope, so if I run short I can use some of that.  Don't blame me for all that Diet Coke; that's Cliff's doings.  I'm not sure if three 24-packs will be enough for him for a month. I will say, he sometimes has help getting rid of the Diet Coke.  The two twelve-packs of Pepsi Throwback are mine, and will last all month because I hide it and keep it at room temperature; I don't care if it's cold or not.
The money for Cliff's hearing aid batteries, his Dr. Scholl's heel thingies, the multi-vitamins, and a couple of other items came from the Doctor/Meds envelope.  Hey, it's the best I could do.   
So now you've been shopping with Donna.  Wasn't that exciting?  I have a feeling I'm going to have to allow more money for groceries before long.  The amazing part is that we have our meat and milk, and still struggle to keep our grocery spending under control.  If it gets bad enough, we may have to stop drinking soda; let's face it, we'd be better off without it.

11 comments:

  1. I pay the bills and what is left is grocery money. It does come close sometimes especially when I have to squeeze car insurance in once every three months.

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  2. It looks like you did pretty good there with your shopping. Groceries are expensive. It will be interesting to see how it goes.

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  3. It's unreal how much things cost now!! The gas prices just boost the prices of everything else also! Ugh!!

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  4. I just read that last sentence. BITE YOUR TONGUE, WOMAN! (tell everyone to bring their own like I do.) OK, sometimes I forget and get into yours, but I've been trying not to! LOL

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  5. Looks like you have the situation under control. You're getting what you need for the month and that makes sense. It's a fortune whenever you go to the grocery store, I know. Even if I just have a handful of things it adds up quickly. and now with gas prices being so high you do not want to be running all over town to pick up something, somewhere just because it's cheaper??? RIGHT? I think your new strategy will work. GOOD LUCK.

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  6. You're doing a very good job of keeping everything together!

    Pearl

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  7. It's a good thing I have Gina to keep track of those sorts of things or I'd be completely hosed. She keeps the lists and organizes everything. If the shopping were left up to me there would be nothing but lunch meat and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese to eat in the house.

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  8. I LOVE seeing other peoples' grocery lists! (or checking out what other people are buying at the actual store)

    My Sam's list has olive oil, cheddar cheese, and mozzarella. 10 bucks says Jesse will call me while he's at Sam's "Hey! You want me to get some ____, too?!"

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  9. Feeding 4 is quite a challenge in my house. Seems like there is always too much month and not enough money. I have been taking my money out of the bank every month and paying the bills first so that it doesn't get spent by my husband on E-bay. He does pretty good with grocery shopping but we could do better.

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  10. I dread grocery shopping. I've cut way back, watch the sales, and still it's hard.

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  11. What is Pepsi Throwback? I have unfortunately become addicted to Cascade Ice which is $1 per bottle. Ack. Now my husband has tried it and loves it too. I guess I'll just have to suck it up and keep working. :)

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