Living on Less in 2009

Haven't blogged....

2009-02-23T20:04:00.001-08:00

but haven't spent much money either - at least any that wasn't in the budget.

This is going to be LONG...but I'm going to catch up from the last two weeks.

Let's start with last weekend (Valentine's) - we decided to eat at home for Valentine's Night. We had some steaks in the freezer, so we thawed them out and Smith cooked them on the grill, and we had mashed potatoes. We are not big fans of Valentine's, so there weren't any card/gift expenses.

Sunday morning (Feb 15) - we went to church (YAY us!!) and out to breakfast/brunch as a family. We had a yummy breakfast at Cafe Brazil - this was our first meal out of any kind for the whole month!

Last week - not too much to report. I took my lunch every day, and saved my lunch money for Starbucks next weekend. I have to drive to Fort Worth two mornings in a row - I might need some Starbucks! :-) I did order Jacob's birthday present, finally, but that was money set aside before we started this frugal challenge. I just had to decide what to get with it. We ordered a Kitchen Helper stool, so Jacob can stand up at the counter in the kitchen and help me make dinner. I can't wait to try it out!!

I haven't been very good with the grocery rule - the one that says I have to go shopping every week. But, in my defense, we had a lot of food in the pantry and freezer, so we've been eating that. We also had a few of those "Super Suppers" meals. A wonderful friend of ours brought them to us.

This past weekend:
Friday night: A night out for both Smith and I, though separately. I went to a MNI at a friend's house for a few hours, and then I came home so that Smith could join the neighborhood dads for a movie night at Studio Movie Grill. I spent about $3.00 on cookies to take with me, and Smith spent about $20 (of his allowed $25 per event) on his movie/beer.

Saturday: Jacob's first session of Zoo School! It was a lot of fun. He and I did eat a fast food meal, because we were gone from the house for over 8 hours. I spent $11.66 on that food - and it was within our 1 fast food per week, with Jacob rule.

Saturday night: Our first trip to Costco! I was able to get a membership for work, so we decided to go check it out. We didn't have long to browse, because the store closed at 6:00. We did make it through the diapers (great price!!) and most of the food. We spent $149.71 - $75 on personal care items, and $75 on groceries (which will count from last week's grocery money).

Sunday: We made it to church - two weekends in a row! We ate lunch at home, and then I took inventory of the pantry, fridge and freezer, made a menu for the week and went to the grocery store. I spent $111.33...a bit over this week's budget, but we've still got $25 from last week - so we're okay. I am still going to make a stop at Sprout's for a few more veggies and a snack or two. Then I've got to make that last until next Sunday.

Monday: No money spent.

A little bit of bragging....

2009-02-12T20:23:00.000-08:00

We have done so well this month! I really thought we would have a hard time with the eating out part of our frugal rules, but it really hasn't been that bad. We seem to have some pretty good meal choices in our pantry and freezer right now, so it's been easy to find a good dinner every evening.

So, it's almost Friday of the second week of February and we still haven't used a meal out (fast food or restaurant either one!!). We might use this week's restaurant meal for Valentine's night. We don't really have anything special planned. Having worked for Hershey's for 4+ years, Valentine's is really not that special of a holiday to me. Also, between Christmas and our Anniversary, we are pretty holiday-ed out by Valentine's. So, we might get some yummy takeout to eat at home, or cook-out steak or something.

I feel proud of myself for not going to Target so far this month, and for only going to Walmart for one grocery trip...and sticking to my list. YAY me!!

I will have to spend a little bit this weekend...all budgeted of course. I'll have to go to Ulta for conditioner and hair spray, and then a trip to the grocery store to prepare for next week.

More ways to save money

2009-02-11T20:31:00.000-08:00

Smith and I both love to read. We are also raising a child who loves his books!! While this is a good thing, it can also be an expensive pass time. So, after picking up Jacob from school tonight, we headed to the library! We got library cards for each of us and even grabbed a few books for Jacob. We have a really nice, large library near our house, so it should be easy to find anything we need.

I have also been looking for free, fun activities for Jacob. We are going to check out Storytime at the library on Monday evenings, and we'll definitely be using our Children's Museum membership any chance we get!

Friday...still doing great!

2009-02-06T22:57:00.000-08:00

Friday turned out to be a great day....expenses-wise!

Except for Smith's lunch and a few items to make the gas logs work ($20 - within the "Home Improvement" limit), we didn't spend any other money!

I am saving my lunch money from this last week to use on Sunday when I have lunch with an old friend from Elementary school days. We didn't eat a meal out this week (neither fast food, nor restaurant) so that's some money into savings right here in the first week!

We have been discussing how we are allowed to structure our "eating out" allotment. When we don't eat out during a single week, we have discussed allowing ourselves to roll that over to the next week - if needed. For example, this last week, we didn't eat out a restaurant meal at all. But, next weekend (Valentine's) I could see that we might want to eat out twice. We had discussed breakfast out with some friends, but also eating out or getting takeout for Valentine's Day. Not sure where we are going to land on that topic...still more discussion to happen. My vote...roll it over only for special occassions. I think that will keep us from making exceptions for special occassions, but also give us a little flexibility. When no special occassion is involved - if we don't eat out, it goes into savings. I'll post what we finally decide.

Good Week...so far

2009-02-05T17:48:00.000-08:00

It's shaping up to be a good week so far...

Monday:
Kroger = $8 (milk)

Tuesday:
MNO Dinner #1 - $22 (allowed two per month)

Wednesday:
Walmart = $53 (groceries + $5 for two clearance shirts for Jacob)
Target = $5 (frozen lunches)

Thursday:
Home Depot = $135
* Smith bought Gas Logs for the fireplace - 50% off -- budgeted under Home Improvement (allowed $150 per month)

** I know there were some lunches for Smith in there somewhere - but as long as he doesn't exceed $15 per week - I'm not too worried about where and when he spends it. :-) I have not used any of my lunch money for the week. And I got an email from someone about the Bassinet. Hopefully I can sell that this weekend - $80!!!

Weekly totals:
Groceries = $66 out of $100

Monthly totals:
Home Improvment = $135 out of $150
MNO = $22 out of $50

Starting Tomorrow!!

2009-02-01T19:41:00.000-08:00

We are planning to start tomorrow. We've had a very busy and crazy last week and a half, so Smith and I haven't really sat down to discuss all the "Rules" so those my still change a little over the next few days. But, we already agreed on the lunch rule and the eating out/event rule - so we'll get started on that one right away.

Setting Financial Goals

2009-01-20T21:15:00.000-08:00

We are back from vacation, we are planning Jacob's 2nd birthday party, and we are finally finishing up the kitchen re-model...so it's time to get serious about paying off our debt and saving some serious money!

We will begin our quest on February 2, 2009 - with a few goals/rules to follow:

Food:
1) $100 per week limit on groceries - but go shopping every week
2) $15 per week per person on lunch
3) Only one dinner out per week as a family; only 2 dinner/events per month individually (MNO, Poker Night, etc)
4) Only one fast food meal per week with Jacob
5) Only one Starbucks per month, unless we have lunch money remaining to pay for it

Clothes/Toys:
1) No new clothes for Jacob...specific exceptions must be discussed as a family (Christmas, Family Pictures, etc)
2) All new toys for Jacob must be purchased using existing Walmart Gift Cards (Limit $200 for the year)
3) Consigned or Used toys are limited to $100 for the year
3) Gifts for others are limited to $20 per occassion

Household/Craft Items:
1) Household needs (lawn, etc) limited to $100 per month
2) Any new scrapbook items must be purchased using gift cards or earned money

*Rules subject to change before February 2, 2009