So far so good! We are still on budget. We did slip up and we went out to dinner twice this last weekend. We spend $90 on eating out!!!! It was a real eye opener for me, at least. Now, after watching how much we spend on groceries vs. how much it costs to eat out, I will definately be thinking twice about it!
Luckily, my winter blahs seem to have dissapeared! It has been in the 60's for the past 3 days, so that certainly cleared away the blahs for me! We were able to get out and do some outside activities on Sunday, I finally got my truck cleaned out, and we were able to take a walk yesterday! So, I think I will be able to make it through the rest of the winter, after this little reminder that spring will be here before I know it!
Aha! I almost forgot! I also quit smoking! Yes, you read that right. I am on Day #2 of quitting cold turkey, and actually...it hasn't been too bad. I've been able to keep my mood swings from driving everyone crazy. My mood gets a little short, once in a while...but last night with hubby and the kids, I just gave them a nice warning that I was about to blow, and they kind of knew to back off. Hubby is trying to quit too, but he always has a harder time. I know how hard it is firsthand, but whenever we try to quit together, I always get the impression that he is lying through his teeth to make me happy and never really has the intention to try to quit. Does that make sense? Like he really doesn't have the motivation at all.
Anyhoo, on to my January Grocery Challange! I still have not set foot in Wal-Mart, which is a huge part of my goal! This week I spent $52.30 on groceries. I went over a bit, but since I was under last week, I will overlook it! I have a total off $200 for the month...so right now, I am where I should be, actually a bit under! $96.44/$200
Jake's lunch each day: $.054
Tuna Sandwich
Granola Bar
Cheese Puffs
Water/Milk (add .09)
Pat Lunch each day: $.044
Ham Sandwich
Corn chips
I think I am just going to break down the dinners, so here they are:
$2.37 ~ Chicken Casserole (with cheese)
$5.92 ~ Meatless Chili Frito Pie (with cheese, sour cream & corn chips)
$2.18 ~ Goulash with Green Beans
$2.30 ~ Spaghetti with Homemade Garlic Bread
$1.43 ~ Hamburger Casserole w/ Veggie
$1.36 ~ Tator Tot Casserole w/ veggie
$3.18 ~ Eggs & Hash
So there it is. Breaking it down seems to be helping me stick to everything a bit better. I knew the frito pie would be expensive, but I didn't realize how much more expensive it would be than regular chili (check out last weeks menu for regular chili cost). I am so amazed at how little our meals are costing! I just need to stop taking hubby to the store...he is the one that talks me into the extras (like frito pie instead of chili)!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Friday, January 4, 2008
Need motivation to beat the winter blahs...
I swear, I must definately come down with the winter blahs. Not at all depression-like, becuase I am happy and content. But I haven't left the house in at least a week. Today, I really need to run some errands, post office, groceries, bank, etc. And I just can't get motivated to get out of the house. It is just so cold and yucky outside, I just don't want to go anywhere! It might also be that I have had 2 kids home instead of 1 being in school, and where ever I go, I know I will have to take both of them, which just doubles the headaches!
I need to find some motivation to just get out of the house! It isn't really even laziness. I got up and showered, and basically, I could get my coat on and walk out of the house right now...I just don't want to! It is driving me crazy...I guess I am just going to have to buckle down and get everyone bundled up and go. Putting it off just isn't going to help anyone! We need groceries for dinner tonight!
On the plus side, my New Year's Plan is shaping up nicely. I have not spent ANY money other than groceries since the first of the year and my cleaning plan is working out. I set up different cleaning tasks for each day, to break it up, so it doesn't seem so daunting and it seems to be working. Today, I cleaned the bathroom & laundry rooms, and menu planned for the week! Things that totally would not have gotten done if I hadn't had a list made up to do them! So kudos to me for that!
I need to find some motivation to just get out of the house! It isn't really even laziness. I got up and showered, and basically, I could get my coat on and walk out of the house right now...I just don't want to! It is driving me crazy...I guess I am just going to have to buckle down and get everyone bundled up and go. Putting it off just isn't going to help anyone! We need groceries for dinner tonight!
On the plus side, my New Year's Plan is shaping up nicely. I have not spent ANY money other than groceries since the first of the year and my cleaning plan is working out. I set up different cleaning tasks for each day, to break it up, so it doesn't seem so daunting and it seems to be working. Today, I cleaned the bathroom & laundry rooms, and menu planned for the week! Things that totally would not have gotten done if I hadn't had a list made up to do them! So kudos to me for that!
Friday, December 28, 2007
Breaking down my grocery budget...
I'm doing well on my grocery budget. But I thought I would start breaking down the costs of my meals to see what meals were actually cheap and what meals are sapping my money. So, here we go. My total bill for this week was $44.14 for 4 people including toilet paper.
Breakfasts:
$0.30 Oatmeal (3 days for 2 people)
$0.20 Cinamon Toast (2 days, 2 slices each for 2 people)
$0.82 Pancakes (double batch for 4 people)
$1.95 Egg & Sausage skillet (8 eggs & 1/2 pkg tube sausage
$3.27 Total for Breakfast for 1 week
Pat's Lunches:
$1.28 8 Salami Sandwiches (day off for New Year's)
Lunches:
$0.72 PB&J Sandwiches (9 sandwiches, 1 each for 3 days)
$1.54 Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (11 sandwiches)
$0.00 One day of dinner leftovers!
$3.54 Total for Lunches for 1 week
Dinners:
$2.65 Meatless Chili
$2.19 Chicken Noodles soup with homemade noodles
$1.92 Fake Chicken Pot Pie (made with biscuits...not pie crust)
$1.92 Chicken and Dumplings
$1.64 Potato Pancakes with Chicken gravy & green beans
$1.56 Homemade Bagel Dogs with Baked Fries
$4.96 Make your own pizza night (sausage)
$16.84 Total for Dinners for 1 week
Snacks:
$2.49 Applesauce (homemade 8+ cups)
$4.00 Popcorn (4 bags...normally it wouldn't be this pricey...but I'm still using up the Boyscout popcorn that my son had to sell)
Muffins & cornbread, which total about a quarter per batch.
So, there is my grocery budget. We splurged on a few very minor things. We bought two 2 liters of pop at $.055 each. But that was about it.
I'm going to try to continue to break down my costs, so I can see what is expensive and what isn't. Until I did this, I didn't realize how expensive the "make your own pizza night" really is. But, I'll look at it this way...the kids absolutely love making their own pizza's and it is SO MUCH CHEAPER than ordering pizza and having it delivered!
Breakfasts:
$0.30 Oatmeal (3 days for 2 people)
$0.20 Cinamon Toast (2 days, 2 slices each for 2 people)
$0.82 Pancakes (double batch for 4 people)
$1.95 Egg & Sausage skillet (8 eggs & 1/2 pkg tube sausage
$3.27 Total for Breakfast for 1 week
Pat's Lunches:
$1.28 8 Salami Sandwiches (day off for New Year's)
Lunches:
$0.72 PB&J Sandwiches (9 sandwiches, 1 each for 3 days)
$1.54 Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (11 sandwiches)
$0.00 One day of dinner leftovers!
$3.54 Total for Lunches for 1 week
Dinners:
$2.65 Meatless Chili
$2.19 Chicken Noodles soup with homemade noodles
$1.92 Fake Chicken Pot Pie (made with biscuits...not pie crust)
$1.92 Chicken and Dumplings
$1.64 Potato Pancakes with Chicken gravy & green beans
$1.56 Homemade Bagel Dogs with Baked Fries
$4.96 Make your own pizza night (sausage)
$16.84 Total for Dinners for 1 week
Snacks:
$2.49 Applesauce (homemade 8+ cups)
$4.00 Popcorn (4 bags...normally it wouldn't be this pricey...but I'm still using up the Boyscout popcorn that my son had to sell)
Muffins & cornbread, which total about a quarter per batch.
So, there is my grocery budget. We splurged on a few very minor things. We bought two 2 liters of pop at $.055 each. But that was about it.
I'm going to try to continue to break down my costs, so I can see what is expensive and what isn't. Until I did this, I didn't realize how expensive the "make your own pizza night" really is. But, I'll look at it this way...the kids absolutely love making their own pizza's and it is SO MUCH CHEAPER than ordering pizza and having it delivered!
Trying to save to no avail....
Ugh! We have been doing so well trying to save money. Now, I went and totally blew it! Somewhere along the way, I screwed up my checking account and overdrew. It cost me $50 in fees. So I went back, tried to figure out the problem, couldn't really find anything wrong. So we made our deposit last week and everything seemed to be jiving with our banks online system. So, I go back on today just to make sure I am still balancing and BOOM! I'm overdrawn again. So, now I will have at least another $25 fee, plus if Hubby uses his ATM card today, we'll get hit for that too! It is so frustrating, becuase I have been over and over the checking account ledger and can't find anything I added or subtracted incorrectly, and can't find anything missing. I balanced as of my Dec. 14th statement, and can't find any problems after that. I even went back and rebalanced my Dec statement, just in case and it is fine!
I am ready to tear my hair out with this whole thing! I guess I will have to bite the bullet and go to the bank today and see if they will give me a printout of my account. More than likely, they will charge me out the wazoo, just for printing out a piece of paper. But at this point, I don't think I have any other options. It might be time for Hubby to get rid of his Debit card again. His spending is somewhat out of control with it. He is getting his allowance, then on top of that, he is spending an addition $200/month with his card. Granted, some of that is family stuff...eating out, shopping, etc. But most of it is his use while he is at work. We are gonna have to sit down and rebudget tonight and work something out.
But first, I need to get this damn checking account under control! I've never made a mistake like this in the 15 years I have used a checking account, so it is driving me absolutely bonkers!
I am ready to tear my hair out with this whole thing! I guess I will have to bite the bullet and go to the bank today and see if they will give me a printout of my account. More than likely, they will charge me out the wazoo, just for printing out a piece of paper. But at this point, I don't think I have any other options. It might be time for Hubby to get rid of his Debit card again. His spending is somewhat out of control with it. He is getting his allowance, then on top of that, he is spending an addition $200/month with his card. Granted, some of that is family stuff...eating out, shopping, etc. But most of it is his use while he is at work. We are gonna have to sit down and rebudget tonight and work something out.
But first, I need to get this damn checking account under control! I've never made a mistake like this in the 15 years I have used a checking account, so it is driving me absolutely bonkers!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Christmas at Simply Mommy's
I have been so busy getting ready for Christmas that I haven't blogged in almost a month and didn't even realize it!
We had a very nice Christmas this year. I did my best to make sure that we weren't going to be running around to a million different places. We were supposed to have a quiet Christmas dinner with friends, but Hubby (of course) went and made other plans for us. So I had to cancel dinner with friends last week, but it worked out becuase they came over early and we had a nice Christmas breakfast all together!
My oldest son has been stricken with the flu. So he was sick throughout Christmas Eve and Christmas day, but he was a trooper! I was going to stay home with him, but he insisted on going, which was a good thing, becuase it shortened our trip to the in-laws! ; ) At one point he was so tired, he was laying on the couch opening presents under a blanket...I felt so bad for him. He had a temp of almost 103, most of the weekend, but he did great. And knock on wood...I think it is starting to break now!
Of course, our family went totally overboard on gifts, so I now have a ton of stuff that I have to get rid of in order to make room for the new. The kid's had a great Christmas, they each got the top thing on their list from Santa, then a few smaller things that they love. So, all in all we had a great Christmas. Santa filled their stockings with homemade Christmas crackers, and homemade coupon books along with lots of Candy...I was surpised how much they loved the coupons which entitle them to things like picking their favorite dinner, picking dessert one night, picking a movie and having movie night, getting a footrub, etc.
Today, I am trying to find places for everything and trying to recoup from the hectic holidays an being up most nights with sick kids. So I think we will start out our New Year with quiet evening at home! Maybe we will spend the night watching the movies we got for Christmas! On the up side...I threw my diet out the window for about a week, but I only gained 2 pounds...and I made sure I unloaded all the cookies we baked on relatives, so no more in the house!
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Frugality at it's finest...
Ok, so this month I am really planning on kicking ass on lowering our expenses. Not much of a choice, really. We just need to get back to basics and get some things caught up, so I can start putting money away into an emergency fund. So in December, I plan to catch up on all the bills. Then in January, I will be putting away everything I have towards and emergency fund. Once I can get the EF up to about $1000...then I will start taking our extra's and putting it toward paying off the truck. Then that money can go into the EF as well.
So my pledge to myself this month, is to keep the thermostat between 66-68 degrees, going down to 60 degrees at night. I am fighting with everyone about keeping lights off when we are not in a room. That seems to be really tough. It seems like I am the only one doing this, but I'm working on it. Until I can get them "trained" to turn off the lights, I will just have to keep making the rounds and switching off lights.
I am trying to cut our grocery bill by ALOT this month. Because we need to get caught up on so much stuff, I have very little money for groceries. So I have a budget of $200 for groceries for the entire month. That includes all three meals a day for the four of us, any cat/dog food and all beauty accessories, TP, soap, etc. So it is gonna be tight, but I think I can do it. I will be keeping a running talley in the comments section of this entry!
Wish me luck. I really think we can do it, we just need to crack down. It is just going to be hard with Christmas coming up, but luckily...most of the shopping is done!
So my pledge to myself this month, is to keep the thermostat between 66-68 degrees, going down to 60 degrees at night. I am fighting with everyone about keeping lights off when we are not in a room. That seems to be really tough. It seems like I am the only one doing this, but I'm working on it. Until I can get them "trained" to turn off the lights, I will just have to keep making the rounds and switching off lights.
I am trying to cut our grocery bill by ALOT this month. Because we need to get caught up on so much stuff, I have very little money for groceries. So I have a budget of $200 for groceries for the entire month. That includes all three meals a day for the four of us, any cat/dog food and all beauty accessories, TP, soap, etc. So it is gonna be tight, but I think I can do it. I will be keeping a running talley in the comments section of this entry!
Wish me luck. I really think we can do it, we just need to crack down. It is just going to be hard with Christmas coming up, but luckily...most of the shopping is done!
Friday, December 7, 2007
Slow and Steady, wins the race...
The weight loss race that is. Since getting my Gazelle about 2 1/2 weeks ago, I've been doing pretty well. The weight is coming off at a healthy rate, not too fast & not to slow. In about 2 1/2 weeks, I have lost 6 pounds (and kept it off...no going up & down) and I've lost 2" off my waist! The pants that I bought the day before Thanksgiving no longer fit! Which is good, but now I need another pair of new jeans. I think I am going to stick to stetchy waisted paints for a while, then when I get down to my goal weight (only 16 pounds to go), then I will go out and buy a new pair of jeans as my reward!
I've been doing my best to spend at least 20 minutes on my Gazelle each day, and trying not to eat too much junk food! I haven't even changed my eating habits that much, and with the added exercise, the weight is still coming off. I will need to work on changing my eating habits in order to stay slim, but I am doing that little by little. Making small changes here and there. If I jump whole hog into eating healthy, then I know I will fall back into my old habits and binge on junk food when I cheat, and I don't want to do that.
I have about 16 pounds to go. Of course, I took some "fat" before pictures and when I hit my goal weight I plan to post the before & after pictures for the world to see. Well, only if I look really good in the after pictures! : )
Other updates:
Our family is doing well. Our budget took a huge hit, so we are on a spending freeze. We are literally not buying any extra's whatsoever. Even as far as groceries go, I'm going to spend the smallest amount of money I can, and only once the food we have in the house runs out. We will be eating strange meals, as I try to make meals out of the combinations of things we have in the house!
My brother & his fiance had a huge loss this week. One of their close friends ( and she was to be a bridesmaid in their upcoming wedding), was killed in the Omaha Mall shooting on Tuesday. I know they are devestated. I can't even imagine dealing with having a friend murdered, let alone the fact that this was such a henious thing to have happen. She was 24, and only a few weeks from her 25th birthday. My heart goes out to her family
The boys are doing well. Nothin too new to report. We are being homebodies lately. We have about 8 inches of snow on the ground and it has gotten really cold. Single digits at night and only in the 20's during the day. So we have been doing our best to stay home and stay bundled up. I am trying to keep the heat down to about 66, becuase I know this winter the gas bill is going to totally kill our budget. So, I have been wresting with the boys to keep their clothes on. The minute they get home, the like to take shirts & socks off and just run around in their pants. It has driven me crazy forever and now with the heat down so far, I think I've solved the problem. For the most part, they are staying dressed. ; ) Same goes for bedtime. They have always hated wearing jammies (they prefer to just wear underroos), but they are finally wearing jammies at night to help stay warm.
Saturday night we had a huge ice storm come through, to start off all the snow. I don't remember the last time I have seen so much ice. It had covered everything! It was beautiful, until the ice took out the power to the entire neighborhood! But, we actually had a good time in the dark. Since I am a collector of candles, I had a ton on hand. We lit candles and just hung around and sand Christmas carols. It was actually quiet fun!
Well, I think that is about all that has been going on lately!
I've been doing my best to spend at least 20 minutes on my Gazelle each day, and trying not to eat too much junk food! I haven't even changed my eating habits that much, and with the added exercise, the weight is still coming off. I will need to work on changing my eating habits in order to stay slim, but I am doing that little by little. Making small changes here and there. If I jump whole hog into eating healthy, then I know I will fall back into my old habits and binge on junk food when I cheat, and I don't want to do that.
I have about 16 pounds to go. Of course, I took some "fat" before pictures and when I hit my goal weight I plan to post the before & after pictures for the world to see. Well, only if I look really good in the after pictures! : )
Other updates:
Our family is doing well. Our budget took a huge hit, so we are on a spending freeze. We are literally not buying any extra's whatsoever. Even as far as groceries go, I'm going to spend the smallest amount of money I can, and only once the food we have in the house runs out. We will be eating strange meals, as I try to make meals out of the combinations of things we have in the house!
My brother & his fiance had a huge loss this week. One of their close friends ( and she was to be a bridesmaid in their upcoming wedding), was killed in the Omaha Mall shooting on Tuesday. I know they are devestated. I can't even imagine dealing with having a friend murdered, let alone the fact that this was such a henious thing to have happen. She was 24, and only a few weeks from her 25th birthday. My heart goes out to her family
The boys are doing well. Nothin too new to report. We are being homebodies lately. We have about 8 inches of snow on the ground and it has gotten really cold. Single digits at night and only in the 20's during the day. So we have been doing our best to stay home and stay bundled up. I am trying to keep the heat down to about 66, becuase I know this winter the gas bill is going to totally kill our budget. So, I have been wresting with the boys to keep their clothes on. The minute they get home, the like to take shirts & socks off and just run around in their pants. It has driven me crazy forever and now with the heat down so far, I think I've solved the problem. For the most part, they are staying dressed. ; ) Same goes for bedtime. They have always hated wearing jammies (they prefer to just wear underroos), but they are finally wearing jammies at night to help stay warm.
Saturday night we had a huge ice storm come through, to start off all the snow. I don't remember the last time I have seen so much ice. It had covered everything! It was beautiful, until the ice took out the power to the entire neighborhood! But, we actually had a good time in the dark. Since I am a collector of candles, I had a ton on hand. We lit candles and just hung around and sand Christmas carols. It was actually quiet fun!
Well, I think that is about all that has been going on lately!
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