Today, well yesterday, I decided to start being frugal (cheap) with our money. We spend what we make, simple as that. We have debt for things that we wanted and bought so here is my experiment in crazy!
Yesterday and Today I spend $458 on my groceries. My husband asked if that was for two weeks and I told him "no, that's for all month." I am not stupid, I know we will be going back for milk and fresh veggies (and diet coke for hubby), but yes, otherwise, for a whole month!
I spent over $1000 for groceries last month. This was not because I didn't budget and plan menues. It was because we are guilty of "stop by Walmart and pick up ..." This always leads to extra and to "do you want cash back?"
So, here I sit after four shopping trips (two to Walmart because I was not feeling well yesterday and needed the essentials). I went to Walmart, Publix, and Winn Dixie. I saved $26.10 at Publix and $29.80 at Winn Dixie. I'm not sure this was quite true to form. We will find out this month though, I have a month's worth of Jif Peanut Butter (Thanks to BOGO at Publix) I also got some free stuff at Winn Dixie (That was fun)
I found a blog that actually helped http://www.frugalityisfree.com/ They have lots of advice and links. I started out at some other blogs that touted "free stuff" and registered. I recieved a phone call within minutes of registering and had to answer questions about our income, etc. Sorry, dude, I just want coupons and hints.
One thing for sure, I only provided an email that I get junk mail in so that it didn't clutter up my "real" account.
Our day started out with a trip to my folks for free peppers that I plan to freeze and use later. Then we went to Party City to get a Morphsuit for my 12 year old. If you go to Party City's website and sign up with your email (use your trash email of course) then you get a $10 coupon on a purchase over $50. If you just go to their site you get $5 off $30. So this was well worth the ink in the printer.
We then went to Publix. This took WAY too long according to my 12 year old. However, I don't usually shop there. I was trying to use coupons. And, I was trying to take advantage of the "Buy One Get One Frees" It was actuallyl a lot of work.
Now I must digress and tell you that the kicker here is that I'm a vegetarian and a clean eater. I don't buy lots of processed items (thats why coupons really don't help alot). I eat lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and beans. I don't drink caffiene or any softdrinks. I only drink water and a glass of wine with dinner. My family eats deer meat instead of processed, antibiotic fed beef. They rarely eat pork or chicken.
So, as I said, this is my experiment in CRAZY. I am attempting to stay under budget and pay off some debt. We shall see where this goes.
Oh, by the way .. . tacos tonight (deer meat for the guys and brown rice/lentils for me).
