I spent a total of $127.30 for the month. That's a bit over the $95 or so I had figured would be my limit for the month. For the year, I have spent $855.83 and coupons and such total of $2537.82. That makes the goal of $86 per month for the balance of the year. Not impossible.
I made a decision on the $25 rebate I recieved from Eight O'Clock coffee. I am not figuring that into my grocery spending. That's just income because I can use it any way I wish. That may not make a lot of sense, since I usually count grocery rebates into my grocery budget. Either way, I did O.K. this month. I'm expecting a bunch of Office Depot rebates in the next month or two. That will just go into income and not count towards my grocery spending.
Cats are going to need more feed in a couple of weeks. I'll see if I can scare up a few Qs towards that. I have enough Purina weight circles for another $6 check, but, I prefer to wait until I have enough for 2.
The flea market trial worked out pretty good. I went, I think, 7 Saturdays. I should have kept better records, but, I think I made about $450 total. I'm trying to integrate the leftovers back into my stockpile. What the heck do you do with 100 tubes of toothpaste?
Next Saturday is FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE!! I will be going to Knoxville with my dad for the first game of the season. Should be a slam dunk, but, don't quote me on that!
I'll be in touch and try to find some great deals for you.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
I'm Really Cruising This Month
Here it is the 23rd of the month and I have spent a total of $61 so far. I really feel in control of the situation, something I haven't felt in a while. I've sold more than $400 of my stockpile at the flea market. I finally had a good day yesterday selling tea. I think I told you I had about 85 boxes. I had 48 boxes of Tetley, the 24-ct. quart size bags. I'm down to 20 boxes. I wasn't selling much of it until yesterday. All of a sudden, everyone wanted to buy tea. Who knows how these things go. I guess next Saturday will be the last for the flea market. Football season starts the next Saturday. My dad never misses a home game and I will be going with him. I don't want him to go alone in his condition.
Speaking of my dad's condition, he is going back tomorrow for another scan to see the size and condition of the pancreatic tumor. We are hoping for a good report. He thinks he's cured; I'm afraid he's going to be terribly disappointed to find the tumor still there. It will all be O.K. He's got a really good attitude about the whole thing and has placed it all in God's hands. There's a 100% probably that we will all die sometime of something or another. Sometimes we just happen to know what we are going to die of and about when it will happen. Otherwise, we just try not to think about it, I guess.
I have no plans to go to the grocery in the next week. I can't think of a thing that I need or might need before the end of the month. Even if I do, I will still come in well below my projected average and I will still be on track to make goal this year.
Speaking of my dad's condition, he is going back tomorrow for another scan to see the size and condition of the pancreatic tumor. We are hoping for a good report. He thinks he's cured; I'm afraid he's going to be terribly disappointed to find the tumor still there. It will all be O.K. He's got a really good attitude about the whole thing and has placed it all in God's hands. There's a 100% probably that we will all die sometime of something or another. Sometimes we just happen to know what we are going to die of and about when it will happen. Otherwise, we just try not to think about it, I guess.
I have no plans to go to the grocery in the next week. I can't think of a thing that I need or might need before the end of the month. Even if I do, I will still come in well below my projected average and I will still be on track to make goal this year.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
If It Weren't For Cat Food, I Could Live On Almost No Money
I'm not really complaining about the cat food bill. I love all my little "critters" and will gladly feed them and all their little stray and feral friends. New kitten alert: a little calico has shown up at my house. When I open the door to let my indoor cats in or out, she shoots right between my legs into the house. And, no, she is not going to live in the house!
I spent a whopping $39 at the grocery yesterday, $30 of which was cat food. That's a total this month of $53 or so. I really believe that I am going to make my goal this year.
I think I may have mentioned that I noticed peanut butter has suddenly dropped from 18 oz. to 13 oz. for the same price. Have any of you noticed anything else lately that has dropped significantly in quantity while the price has stayed the same or increased? I haven't seen this one, but, I was told recently that the 5 lb. bag of sugar is now a 4 lb. bag at the same price. That is a huge increase in price per pound. I'm so glad I have about 40 lbs. stockpiled. I usually do more baking around the holidays, and, check your calendar, Thanksgiving is looming on the horizon.
I spent a whopping $39 at the grocery yesterday, $30 of which was cat food. That's a total this month of $53 or so. I really believe that I am going to make my goal this year.
I think I may have mentioned that I noticed peanut butter has suddenly dropped from 18 oz. to 13 oz. for the same price. Have any of you noticed anything else lately that has dropped significantly in quantity while the price has stayed the same or increased? I haven't seen this one, but, I was told recently that the 5 lb. bag of sugar is now a 4 lb. bag at the same price. That is a huge increase in price per pound. I'm so glad I have about 40 lbs. stockpiled. I usually do more baking around the holidays, and, check your calendar, Thanksgiving is looming on the horizon.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Wow! I'm Doin' Great!
Here it is the 11th day of the month, a third of the way through, and I have only spent $14.10. I bought some cat food using a free CVS GC. I also bought several packages of cokes with the free CVS GC. Just to let you know that I'm not always so good, I have to admit that I spent some of my free Rite Aid GC on stuff I probably could do without; photo print paper. It was 75% off and the manager made a point to show it to me, so, what could I do, I just bought it. Bad me.
I've mentioned that I've taken quite a bit of my stockpile stuff to the flea market for the past month or so. I can actually see some sunlight through my stockpile and I've made about $400 or so in 5 weeks. It's really helped me to feel more in control of my circumstances (when you're being run out of the house by shampoo and body wash, look out!) and, surprisingly, with less stuff, I've been able to make better meals. I guess just getting rid of much of the clutter has been helpful in seeing what I have that goes together for a meal.
I have once again unleashed the "eternal taco". You know the routine; some ground beef makes a few tacos, so, you make more ground beef to finish off the tacos, you have ground beef left over, so, you open another box of tacos, and the story goes on. I shouldn't make it sound so bad. I really like them and can stand to have them every day or every other day for a while. You're going to laugh at me, but, last night, I made tacos and some Uncle Ben's Spanish rice in the microwave package. Served up my tacos, got full, went back into the kitchen, and there was my Spanish rice, untouched! What a doofus I am. I put it in the fridge. I'll just have to remember to warm it for the next round of tacos.
Has anyone noticed in the past 2-3 weeks that the size of the peanut butter jar has been reduced? It was 18 oz. and now, for the SAME PRICE, is only 13 oz. My math skills are a little rusty, but, that's about a 30% increase in price due to the reduction of the package contents. Of course, it's been years since you could buy a "pound" of coffee. I'll bet most of you still refer to it as a "pound," when it's only 8-12 oz. Thankfully, I have about a year's worth of coffee in the stockpile. That's one thing I refuse to take to the flea market. It's something I use every day and the price sure isn't going to come down anytime soon. I'm also hoarding sugar. I got mine at a great price and I'm not parting with it. As you may know, southerners drink "sweet tea," which is iced tea made almost into a syrup by the amount of sugar we put in it. Before going to the flea market, I had about 85 boxes of tea, the quart sized bags. I think I'm down to about 60. I think that is something I can sell and not miss it. What the heck, I can drink cokes and get the sugar I crave!
Summer is in full bloom, but, that does not keep me from looking toward fall and winter. I have an ample supply of canned soup for the colder weather. I also found a hefty supply of canned chili when poking around in the stockpile a few days ago.
The freezer is full and the pantry is stocked. I'm in good shape for a long time.
I've mentioned that I've taken quite a bit of my stockpile stuff to the flea market for the past month or so. I can actually see some sunlight through my stockpile and I've made about $400 or so in 5 weeks. It's really helped me to feel more in control of my circumstances (when you're being run out of the house by shampoo and body wash, look out!) and, surprisingly, with less stuff, I've been able to make better meals. I guess just getting rid of much of the clutter has been helpful in seeing what I have that goes together for a meal.
I have once again unleashed the "eternal taco". You know the routine; some ground beef makes a few tacos, so, you make more ground beef to finish off the tacos, you have ground beef left over, so, you open another box of tacos, and the story goes on. I shouldn't make it sound so bad. I really like them and can stand to have them every day or every other day for a while. You're going to laugh at me, but, last night, I made tacos and some Uncle Ben's Spanish rice in the microwave package. Served up my tacos, got full, went back into the kitchen, and there was my Spanish rice, untouched! What a doofus I am. I put it in the fridge. I'll just have to remember to warm it for the next round of tacos.
Has anyone noticed in the past 2-3 weeks that the size of the peanut butter jar has been reduced? It was 18 oz. and now, for the SAME PRICE, is only 13 oz. My math skills are a little rusty, but, that's about a 30% increase in price due to the reduction of the package contents. Of course, it's been years since you could buy a "pound" of coffee. I'll bet most of you still refer to it as a "pound," when it's only 8-12 oz. Thankfully, I have about a year's worth of coffee in the stockpile. That's one thing I refuse to take to the flea market. It's something I use every day and the price sure isn't going to come down anytime soon. I'm also hoarding sugar. I got mine at a great price and I'm not parting with it. As you may know, southerners drink "sweet tea," which is iced tea made almost into a syrup by the amount of sugar we put in it. Before going to the flea market, I had about 85 boxes of tea, the quart sized bags. I think I'm down to about 60. I think that is something I can sell and not miss it. What the heck, I can drink cokes and get the sugar I crave!
Summer is in full bloom, but, that does not keep me from looking toward fall and winter. I have an ample supply of canned soup for the colder weather. I also found a hefty supply of canned chili when poking around in the stockpile a few days ago.
The freezer is full and the pantry is stocked. I'm in good shape for a long time.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
How Do I Handle This "Rebate?"
I learned of the Eight O'Clock Accumul8 program last year. When you join, you save your coffee bags and enter the product information on the website and earn points. I finally drank enough coffee to earn a $25 Visa GC. Now, usually, when I have a store-specific GC, I count that as coupons used when I redeem. Also, when I receive a rebate from a MIR item, I deduct that amount from what I have spent on groceries for a "net spend" amount.
This $25 GC can be used anywhere, not just on groceries, but, a 1/2 a tank of gas, maybe! Should I count this as income in my overall budget or should I subtract that amount from the amount of grocery money spent, since it did actually come from a grocery item, and is something like a rebate?
Does anyone have any thoughts on how I should count this $25? I'm probably going to buy 2 large bags of cat food with it, so, maybe how I spend it matters in relation to how I count it.
This $25 GC can be used anywhere, not just on groceries, but, a 1/2 a tank of gas, maybe! Should I count this as income in my overall budget or should I subtract that amount from the amount of grocery money spent, since it did actually come from a grocery item, and is something like a rebate?
Does anyone have any thoughts on how I should count this $25? I'm probably going to buy 2 large bags of cat food with it, so, maybe how I spend it matters in relation to how I count it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
