On Saturday, I sat down to take care of one of my least favorite tasks: bills. We were able to refi under HAMP 2.0, so I was making updates to my budget spreadsheet. (We are saving about $240 on our mortgage each month after the refi.) As I was going through my updates, I realized that once again, my spending is out of control.
Last month, my Amex bill was about $1000 over what I budget each month. We just bought furniture, so I need to be more careful.
Where is it all going? Last month, $1100 was spent on food. $900 on groceries.$200 out. (Honestly, I’m pleased with the $200 because that included a nice sushi dinner that was about $125.)
But groceries. Damn. This has to dialed back. I can’t get out of Whole Foods for under $250 lately, so I need to avoid it for a while. I love them dearly, but it’s time for a break. I also have to watch things at Costco.
When we go to Costco, we load up on produce. But, except for the weekends, there are just two of us. We simply can’t finish the veggies that we’ve been getting. So I’m trying to get creative to make sure that we don’t waste anything.
On Sunday, I took a look in the fridge to determine which veggies we had left. There were a lot of peppers, some asparagus and a lot of spinach. We also had a fair number of eggs. Easy. I made a big frittata, loaded with those veggies.
All of the veggies were used. Except some of the spinach, but that isn’t set to expire until the middle of the week and my husband’s pet likes to eat it.
This week, I did my shopping at Fresh & Easy. With a couple of store coupons, I was able to hit $99. My goal for the month is food under $600. I want this to cover the weekly shopping and one trip to Costco. (We get a lot of organic meat there.)
Talk to me.
What is your food budget each month?
What do you splurge on? About $30 this week was my beloved turkey jerky and coconut water for Brian. Those are our bigger ticket items, along with meat.
In happy budget news, I only owe about $4,500 on my car now. I have never owned one of my cars outright, so that will be awesome. Do you have happy budget news?
At first I thought the bunny was in the frittata!
We try to come in under $150.00 a week.
My husband and I recently had this type of discovery.
We just participated in the first class of Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. I think it is going to help us out a lot.
Also – do you have an Aldi near you? I have found that they have the best price on fresh fruits and veggies. Unfortunately, they aren’t organic. They also have cheaper milk, eggs, yogurt, cheese, lunch meat, cereal, etc. I used to shop at Whole Foods too, but not anymore.
For 2 of use, we spend between $500-$800 a month on groceries. Summer is cheaper because we have a lcoal farmer who we buy our produce from dirt cheap. I’m talking 3 eggplant for $1 and a HUGE bag of green beans for $1. We splurge on eating out twice a month and getting takeout to enjoy at home once or twice a month.
Great news on the car! We are 8 months from paying our truck off so {knock on wood} we can start putting more money into savings!
You put the bunny in a post about food products! Look out Lil Rabbit!
$100/month for groceries…that’s up from $80/month.
Found a burrito place near work that has veggie breakfast burritos for $3. A splurge a week
That bunny is adorable…even if he has been kind of a butthead from what you’ve mentioned a few times on Facebook.
Our budget has gone in the crapper now that we’ve bought a second car which; interestingly, is the same amount you owe on your car. I’m not overly thrilled my car is a 2003 but I’m trying to keep things in perspective and realize it’s a huge step up from sharing one car for nearly 2 years.
Right now, it’s about finding part-time employment and making sure we make our payments on time. Our budget (whatever it is) is so out of whack it’s not even funny. Hey, any chance you can show people how you do your spreadsheet? I’d love to learn a new way of budgeting but have no idea where to start.
Most of my budget has been all over the place, but groceries is usually right on at about 450 for the 3 of us. I cook almost everything and I do a lot from scratch. Coconut water is a splurge but I find it on sale at my local store a lot. I get Fresh and Easy occasionally, but usually just for pre marinated meat for grilling and coconut milk.