Month 2 Re-cap (April)

We had our budget meeting last night and planned all expenses for the month of May and reconciled those from April. We came in under budget on most expenses, but had a few unexpected events come our way. Bobby didn't realize his car was due for inspection, so he had to have that done when he went for a planned oil change. Luckily, we came in $100 under budget in gas this month and it all worked out. Also, the kids were sick, which meant co-pays and prescriptions. Most of our medical expenses are reimbursed, so it was just a matter of paying up front (check card) until the money was put back into our account. I keep a cushion in the checking acct for unexpected events like these.
We had Easter dinner at our house, and the kid's baskets were filled to the brim. We even took the kids out for ice cream a few times and we were able to make a donation to the MDA for a fundraiser at Robert's school.
Our yard sale was a HUGE success. We brought in close to $350 in one weekend. I was left with a few things that I will likely list online to make a few extra bucks.
In May, we have budgeted to do some yard work. I have hopes and dreams of building a deck out back, but it's a big expense that will have to wait until the debt is gone. I am helping to throw a bridal shower for Bobby's sister this month and also taking her for a spa day at the end of the month.
May will be busy. It will also be a challenge for our budget. But we will get through it. Most importantly we are not creating any more debt and living within our means. The plan for May is to pay the same amount to debt as last month. This may or may not be possible depending on how the month goes. We have been super-strict since we started this program, and it's paying off - literally.

As an aside... today Robert saw me making a purchase online with my debit card. He said "ohhh, a credit card. Mommy, you are very lucky." It was then that I had my first financial talk with my 4 year old son. I explained to him that credit cards can get you in trouble and Cash is King! He seemed confused. I am sure he'll understand once he starts getting an allowance.

Super Saving Saturday/ half way through month 2

This week at Gaint, my bill came to 80.37
After Bonus Club and coupons I spent 50.87.
(24 bucks under budget)

Apple and Eve Juice was a good deal - after coupons, they were 1.17 each.
Barilla pasta was .09 after coupon.
Vitamin waters were FREE - priced 10/10 and I had 3 $1 coupons.

Other good deals without coupons: Shredded cheese was 3/4 (1.34 each) which is an excellent price. OJ was also 3/4. We go through one of these a day in this house.

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This week, I made split pea and ham soup with the leftover bone from Easter Dinner. I kind of concocted my own recipe, but it came out delicious and cheap and is something I will surely make again - probably soon!

I also made my own whole wheat pizza crust - from scratch. It was quite tasty.
I tend to shy away from recipes involving yeast (not sure why, but it just seems like one of those things that I would mess up without much effort) but 'kneading my own dough' made me feel domestic and kind of "Donna Reid-ish." For a minute I thought I might try to make my own bread sometime, but I'm highly doubtful that will happen.
We have been trying to make our own pizza whenever we can, but I have some cash put aside in case we're in a pinch and need to order out. I noticed that our favorite pizza place offers a special during the week - 2 large pies for 16 bucks! The catch? It's M-Th only. So, we just moved our regularly scheduled pizza night from Friday to earlier in the week and we can save a few bucks.

I also stopped to think how cost effective it might be for me to make my own cookies, rather than buy them - and when I can get the ingredients for next to nothing, it only makes sense for me to bake them myself. The only problem is, I'll probably eat more than my fair share.

I'm still planning our meals according to what is on sale, and usually making enough to freeze for future meals. I've learned that Bobby really loves to cook, so I've been letting him take over in the kitchen - mostly on the weekends. He can make an incredible pork roast and very yummy chicken soup from scratch.

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The month is more than half over. We have only spent $60 on gas so far this month - which boggles my mind! I am below budget on groceries as well. Month 2 has been a good month so far. We will be having a garage sale next weekend, and we're hoping to bring in at least $200. We've got a quite a few big ticket items and as long as we sell them, we should meet our goal easily.

This month, we paid $500 to our debt. That's $200 more than last month and 15 TIMES the minimum payment!
Next month, we are already budgeting for some gardening and golfing for Bobby. The kids will have their portraits done and were having the upholstery professionally cleaned - with cash - ALL with cash!

I better quit blabbing so I have something to post about at the end of the month!

Wahoo!

Electric bill came today. It's under 80 bucks! Hasn't been that low since before the twins were born - back in 2006!

I can't believe I am about to say this, but I actually look forward to getting utility bills now! How crazy is that???

Last week - Easter

No grocery picture from last week. I did my big shopping on Saturday, but due to the Easter holiday, I found myself making several trips to different stores throughout the weekend. (This was also so that I was able to use my Giant meat, produce, bakery and eggs coupons in multiple times in different transactions)

I added up my receipts.
My total spent on groceries for the week came to 114.57.
After coupons/Bonus Club my total was 55.39.

Not too shabby. Twenty bucks under budget last week.

We got eggs for .49, 2 lbs of ground turkey for 4 bucks, 5 lbs of chicken breasts for 5 bucks, and a TON of produce for about 6 bucks. LOVE those $2 off coupons that Giant puts out. Giant also have 4 $1 doublers in their ad (again) this week. Those can only be used once/household, but they always help.

I stopped at Target to pick up some Dunkin Donuts coffee. It was $6/bag. I picked up 2 and used two .75/1 Target coupons and one 1.50/2 coupons from the newspaper. That is an excellent deal for DD coffee. I can't even get it that cheap from the wholesale club.

I also filled the kids Easter baskets for about 30 bucks. I had put $40 aside at the beginning of the month for that purpose and felt no guilt when I had to use it. I just wish I didn't wait until the last minute - the selection was slim!

Super Saving Saturday

I waited ALL WEEK to grocery shop. Bobby was away and I was trying to avoid taking all three kids out to the store. We did pretty good all week, but by Friday we were out of milk. It was wind and rainy that day and a friend offered to run out and pick some up for me. Thank goodness for good neighbors.
Waiting until the end of the week to shop gives me plenty of time to finalize my list and match my coupons. I used to get my ad on Sundays and run out right away to shop. That usually resulted in multiple trips to the store throughout the week to pick up the stuff I forgot or needed 'all of a sudden.'
Gaint put out some great coupons this week! They had some coupons 'hidden' on the website - $2 off $5 meat purchase, $2 off $5 produce purchase and $2 off a $5 bakery purchase. I also had a coupon for $5 off $50 that was in my ad last week.

So, without futher ado, here is this weeks grocery picture:
Total: $124.17
Total after bonus card and coupons: $53.92
I split my order into 2 so that I was able to use 2 of the meat and produce coupons. I came in $10 under budget this week - including my trip to Wegman's earlier in the week for a apples, oj, and ravioli.

Freebies this week: Hall cough drops were 10/10. I had coupons for $1 off 1. FREE! Colgate toothbrushes and tooth pastes were .99. I scooped up 2 of each and had .50 coupons that doubled. Stride gum was still on sale 3 packs for $2. I had one coupons left for $2 off 3packs. More FREE gum.
Other good deals: LOL butter was 2/5, minus $1q. Lysol wipes were 2/4 minus $1q/ Giant eggs were 1.19 and I had a coupon for .50 off eggs.
After I got home I noticed that I did not get my $4 instant savings for buying 4 general mills cereals. Guess I'll have to go back and get my money back on that one.

After Giant, I headed to CVS. I got everything below for .11 and made $2 in extra bucks.