Grocery Budget

I have decided that our grocery budget for this month will be $200.
I noticed on our mint.com account that we've come in UNDER budget with our groceries for most months, so lets see if we can keep up with the trend.

Today, I stocked up on alot of items.
Instead of going to the store every week to week and a half, I bought 2 gallons of milk and froze one.  I am hoping not to have to go to the store until after the 15th.  I also bought some fish for us to eat in the next two weeks, a small turkey ham for our breakfasts, and a roasting chicken (which makes 2 meals for us.)

I also stopped by Nickles Bakery Outlet on my way to Aldi's.  Oh, how I love that store. 
Carbaholics unite!

At any rate, the budget is $200 for the month of October.
As of today, I spent exactly $69 from 3 stores.  It is odd that it ended up being a whole number, but it is what it is.

What is your grocery budget?

Recipe: Gift In A Jar: Corn Bread in a Bag

For the next week, I will provide a recipe every day that I like from the Mary Hunt's book, Debt-Proof the Holidays. I am hoping that these give you some ideas for homemade gift-giving this Holiday season!

Corn Bread in a Bag

1 C yellow corn meal
1 C flour
1/4 C white sugar (optional)
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Stir together all ingredients and transfer to a plastic bag. 

Attach this to jar:

Preheat oven to 425.  Empty contents of bag in a bowl.  Add 1 egg, 1 cup milk and 4 tablespoons shortening.  Beat until smooth (about 1 minute with whisk.)  Pour batter into a greased 8x8 inch baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until a knife inserted at the center comes out clean.

Water Challenge

This week, I am going to monitor how many ounches of water I drink.

My goal per day is 64.  I will post my results in the evenings or every other day, depending on my schedule.

Would anyone like to join me in my quest to get hydrated, stay full longer, and get healthy?

Recipe: Gift In A Jar: Cajun Spices

For the next week, I will provide a recipe every day that I like from the Mary Hunt's book, Debt-Proof the Holidays. I am hoping that these give you some ideas for homemade gift-giving this Holiday season!
Cajun Spices

3/4 C salt
1/4 C ground cayenne pepper
2 tbsp ground white pepper
2 tbsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp garlic powder

Put each ingredient into a seperate cup or small bowl.  WHile holding a pint canning jar at an angle, add ingredients to create a "sand art" look.  The salt and cayenne may be divided into smaller portions and used to separate other spices, creating more "stripes."  The salt and cayenne may be divided into smaller portions and used to separate other spices, creating more "stripes."

Attach this message to jar:

Can be used on potatoes, eggs and meat.  Enjoy!

October Goals

Financial Goals: I would like to see if we can live off of Todd’s income this month so that we can pay off Todd’s vehicle by mid-November.  Todd gets paid 5 times in October, but we are going out of state for the first weekend of October for a 3-day weekend.  Can we save $2150?  I just spoke to Todd about this, and he's on board! YAY! That makes it a bit easier!!

Personal Goals: I would like to finally get the fireproof safe organized with all of our paperwork.  I keep adding to the stack of paperwork that needs filed, but none of it is going into the safe for some reason!  Right now, the pile is daunting.

Weight Goals:  I would like to lose 10 lbs this month.  Instead of my drastic measures I usually do (drinking raw shakes every meal for a week,) I would like to try to do it with eating smaller portions, healthier food, drinking more water and exercising regularly.

I plan on posting a mid-month status so that you can hold me accountable!

What are your goals for October?

Regression

In the past month, we’ve been trying to lower our recurring payments as much as we can.  That would include the trash, DSL, satellite dish, propane prices, etc.  I was able to save us over $800/year by (insert link) downgrading or negotiating prices.

I gave in!  Hubby was utterly unhappy when we downgraded our satellite dish.  The few stations he enjoyed were taken away, leaving just 2 that he liked, but they kept replaying the same show over and over again.  When I say he was miserable, I mean he was M-I-S-E-R-A-B-L-E!  It was not something he internalized, I felt how tense he was and it was affecting our relationship. 

Last Monday, Todd started to do some research and decided he wanted not only to go back to the plan we originally had, but one step higher for $10 more a month.  I really couldn’t rationalize increasing our recurring payment, so we agreed that he would pay for the additional $10/month on top of what our old payment was out of his allowance money.  So, yes, I gave in.

I will admit, one of our leaches is something I wanted: unlimited text messaging.  Todd and I communicate throughout the day through texting because I cannot use my cell phone at work. Instead, I have to go into the bathroom and text from there.  I know, pitiful, but if I wanted to talk to my husband, that is how we have to do it.  That leach is $30/month.

So, we moved backwards on the satellite dish.  Having a happy hubby is so much more worth it than saving that extra $15-20/month!  

Date Night!

Todd and I have been chipping away at our debts for the past several months.  For the first time in over 4 weeks, we are going on a date!!!  I cant tell you how excited I am to go out with him.  Dates are normally every other weekend for us, but he has been out of town and working for the past several weeks that we haven’t gone out together at all.

We love sushi & hibatchi-type restaurants.  We are going to one about a half hour away with our Entertainment Book.  This will get us a BOGO dinner.  We both love food and are all about the experiences.  I would say that about ½ of our “entertainment” fund for the month of September will be going on this date, but I think it will be well worth it!!

Why cant we date at home?  We have a miniature farm.  It is not possible to shut out all of the animals from not bothering us or needing attention, so this will be the first peace and quiet time that we will have with no distractions in a while. 

Do you still date your husband?

Recipe: Gift In A Jar: Raising Crunch Cookie Mix

For the next week, I will provide a recipe every day that I like from the Mary Hunt's book, Debt-Proof the Holidays. I am hoping that these give you some ideas for homemade gift-giving this Holiday season!
Raisin Crunch Cookie Mix

1/2 C white sugar
1/2 C raisins
1 1/4 C packed flaked coconut
1 C crushed cornflakes
3/4 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C quick oats
1 1/4 C all purpose flour mixed with 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp baking powder

Layer ingredients in jar in order given.  Press each layer firmly in place before adding next ingredient.

Attach this message to the jar:

Empty cookie mix in large mixing bowl; stir to combine.  Add 1 cup softened butter, 1 egg slightly beaten, and 1 tsp vanilla; mix until completely blended.  Roll dough into walnut-sized balls.  Place 2 inches apart on a lightly gerased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.  Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet.  Remove to wire racks to cool completely.  Yield: 3 to 4 dozen.

Life Happens

I have been trying so hard to stick to a budget lately. We do really well on some things, and then others we fail miserably…EVERY MONTH!  There are those unexpected leaches that come by every few weeks that absolutely kill our budget.

Theoretically, we SHOULD have been able to pay off Todd’s vehicle by the end of October.  Now, I think we’ll be lucky to pay it off by the end of November. 

Life happens!  We got a puppy (our own fault) to which we have invested a good $500 into right now between 3 vet bills and flea & tick medication for the next 6 months.  The cold weather is coming, and Todd bought snow tires for his vehicle off of Craigslist a few weeks ago for $200.  This is about $300 less than if we were to get these tires from TireRack.com or WalMart/Sam’s Club.  Todd is building Squiggy his own home outside for the Winter, so that has been about $125 (and he recycled a lot of items we had lying around.) Our water softener was on the fritz – there goes $190 (mostly in labor costs!) Normally Todd can fix anything – this was not fixable without a professional.  Oh, not to mention going out of town for a wedding we found out about in August.  There is 2 nights in a hotel, wedding gift, gas money and money for food!  That will be a $300 weekend!  As you can see, these sporadic expenses add up quick!   Those “little” expenses alone added up to $1315!  That is 20% of the payoff balance for the car! 

Oh, did I mention my husband wants a chlorination system for our home?  It will be $1,000.  I want to put it off until next year, but he is pretty adamant about getting it before winter.  Oy!

Can you say beans and rice, and rice and beans for a little while?  I think we’ve only spent $75 this month on groceries thus far, so I’m not sure how much lower we can go on that budget!

How do you stay within your budget?

Free RedBox Movies!

If you have a RedBox nearby, you can sign up to receive a text on your cell phone for a code that will give you a free movie the first Monday of every month.  If you sign up for this now, you will receive your first code on Monday, October 4^th. 

http://www.redbox.com/content.mvc/moviemonday

Because hubby and I like movies so much, we both signed up for this and we both receive a free code on our cell phones.  Sometimes we use them both, sometimes we do not.  The movie does not have to be back until 9:00PM the next day!  Like I always say, you cant beat free!