LuLuO
<font color=darkblue>I am against mandatory fun<br
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2010
- Messages
- 2,565
I've been editing and updating my original post but I will also post an update here.
I must say that I am really surprised at how much I've spent on groceries so far. I've really not kept track of that part of our expenses since the kids entered the picture and this is a real eye-opener for me. I thought that a budget of $500 for groceries was more than adequate for us. But we're only on day 11 of the month and I've almost exhausted our grocery budget which is insane and I'm really shocked to be honest. I only have $86 left to work with for the month. So I'm either going to have to re-work our budget to fit our grocery bill or re-work our meals to lower our grocery bill or both. Probably both.
The no buy days are going great. I know that I've saved money by wanting to have no buy days. It has really curbed my impulse buying. I am terrible for impulse buying on the Internet. So I am going to up my no buy days goal from 10 to 13.
I've also been keeping track of "other" expenses just to get an idea of where we're at on those so I can set more goals for next month.
Groceries: $413.08/$500 (4/1) (4/4 ice for party)(4/6 snacks)(4/10 milk, gerber graduates)(4/11 went for produce but some of my regular items were deeply discounted so I stocked up.)
No Buy days:
4/2, 4/3, 4/5, 4/8, 4/9
Tracking other expenses:
4/1 - Target - toiletries and household stuff $46.06
4/1 - Gas - $46.36
4/6 - Target - makeup, clothes for kids, stickers $65.86
4/7 - WalMart - allergy medicine, diapers, card for DH, toilet seat, misc $109.88
4/10 - Target - Sandles for me and the kids, insulated bag $63.44
4/10 - Gas - $30.00
I must say that I am really surprised at how much I've spent on groceries so far. I've really not kept track of that part of our expenses since the kids entered the picture and this is a real eye-opener for me. I thought that a budget of $500 for groceries was more than adequate for us. But we're only on day 11 of the month and I've almost exhausted our grocery budget which is insane and I'm really shocked to be honest. I only have $86 left to work with for the month. So I'm either going to have to re-work our budget to fit our grocery bill or re-work our meals to lower our grocery bill or both. Probably both.
The no buy days are going great. I know that I've saved money by wanting to have no buy days. It has really curbed my impulse buying. I am terrible for impulse buying on the Internet. So I am going to up my no buy days goal from 10 to 13.
I've also been keeping track of "other" expenses just to get an idea of where we're at on those so I can set more goals for next month.
Groceries: $413.08/$500 (4/1) (4/4 ice for party)(4/6 snacks)(4/10 milk, gerber graduates)(4/11 went for produce but some of my regular items were deeply discounted so I stocked up.)
No Buy days:
4/2, 4/3, 4/5, 4/8, 4/9
Tracking other expenses:
4/1 - Target - toiletries and household stuff $46.06
4/1 - Gas - $46.36
4/6 - Target - makeup, clothes for kids, stickers $65.86
4/7 - WalMart - allergy medicine, diapers, card for DH, toilet seat, misc $109.88
4/10 - Target - Sandles for me and the kids, insulated bag $63.44
4/10 - Gas - $30.00
!
It is hard to stop spending. But you posted the truth here and now it is another day and another chance to get your spending right. I am now 18 months "credit card free" and tell myself, I can buy anything I want, I just have to save the amount of money needed and when the cash is there, I get what I wanted.
