A self imposed spending limit a week before Christmas?

Yes, you read that right! Actually, because the kids got such big presents for the birthdays earlier this month, we had decided that we were NOT going to do a big Christmas, and I’ve warned them of such. Whether they believe me or not, well, that remains to be seen. Because we are paying our property taxes this month instead of last, we have really been focusing on saving this month. Would have/should have paid them in November, but the car needed $700 worth of repairs & the cat (the expensive, exotic one) needed $600 worth of doctor care. Grrr. So that’s that, over & done. I’ve decided that I will give myself $20 a week for the rest of this month (3 weeks) for groceries. Should NOT be too difficult so long as I don’t run out of the essential things, such as laundry soap, dish soap, coffee, cat food, etc. You know, the things that make my life so much easier . And yes, those 4 items appear to be low. I’ve told the cat he may have to hunt a little more for his meals. I have about $40 in ECBs from CVS that expire the end of this month. I also have a $10 gift card from Target. Sooooo….if it gets too close to my $20 … well, it’s nice to know I have about $50 in back up plans. This week, I’ve already spent $2.45 (much to the disbelief of cashier) for 3 cans of soup & 3 whack a can of bread sticks. I love steal deals. Progresso is $1.25 a can. Have a $1.10 off each (used 3). Then on the cans of soup, there was a $1.00 off any Pillsbury bread meal. Those were on sale for 3 for $5 so, $1.67 each. Total for each can of soup was 15 cents and total for whack a can was 67 cents. Woohoo. So $17.55 left in my hands to spend. Know I need bread, may go to the bread store around the corner from gym BEFORE class (they close at 6) and see if a loaf is cheaper than $1.19 …

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Smelly Shoe Fix!

Image
Honestly, we have real good hygiene habits in my house, I can assure you of that! But, lets face it, living in paradise with 125% humidity can be a little trying sometimes ... my running shoes (which have NOT seen much running action for quite a while) get a little ripe smelling ... and oh man, you should smell the shoes that Hubby wears outside in the yard, patio, garage and boat that constantly get wet ... enough to suck the oxygen right out of your body ... whew! Then you have the Boy ... who works out pretty darn hard and doesn't always wear socks, nor does the Princess ... I mean, seriously, I've had to throw shoes away because you could smell them just sitting there. No one wants to be the person that people are wrinkling their nose at when they are walking by you! So when I saw the featured post for the Smelly Shoe Solution (and dang, I'm still trying to find the original post because I had no need to bookmark it, such a simple fix!) Yes. That's IT!
Read more

Non Toxic Mosquito Spray

Image
Let's face it, living in Paradise does have a few drawbacks with the #1 complaint being ... BUGS. Yeah, bugs.  Mostly mosquitoes that can just ruin an evening of relaxation on the patio ... those pesky little guys can really do a number on you quickly!  Heaven forbid if you are one of those who are very sensitive to the bites (the Boy), you will have welts in no time. So Hubby always decides to spray AFTER everyone starts swatting the air and scratching. We have to gather up our drinks and appetizers, go indoors and wait for 20 minutes or so for the toxic fog to flat away ... only to be swatting and scratching AGAIN in 30 minutes. After seeing THIS tip a few too many times, I figured, what the heck, $5 at Walmart is worth it to try, right? Guess what?  It seems to work!!!  I need to do a few more nights to say for certain but I say it's WAY better than that can of toxic stuff ... and cheaper to boot! You must use the ORIGINAL flavor, and yes, it nee
Read more

Rice Cooker - Hard Boiled Eggs

Image
One of the things I picked up at Costco was a new Rice Cooker. The one I have, well, I gave that to the Boy when he went away to college (so he could make his macaroni and cheese), not to mention, it was small as heck, like mini size! So, I figured, you know, Hubby likes to make rice occasionally. The Boy makes brown rice in the microwave every other day and leaves the bubbly residue behind for ME to find when I go to heat something up (I hate a dirty microwave, totally wigs me out and sends me running for the windex!) ... so I grabbed the rice cooker ($29.95), a 10 pound bag of organic brown rice and a 20 pound bag of Basmati rice. I'm asking myself now, a whole week later, what the hell am I going to do with 20 pounds of Basmati rice? Anyways. Then I was reading the recipe booklet that came along with the cooker. They had one recipe that said to add the eggs, unshelled, to the steamer basket.  Ok. That made me re-read it a few times. Unshelled? Did they mean out of the shell?
Read more