I've been working on my to-do list for the weekend. I've realized that I'm going to be spending quite a bit of money this weekend. Sigh.
First up, the Princess is going to Disney World next week with her Dad, StepMom and brothers. She's been saving up her allowance and Christmas money so that she has plenty of her own spending money for the trip. I'll give her a little bit too. The rest of the trip won't cost me anything, however, she needs some clothes for the trip. She wants to wear yoga pants to the parks most days because they are more comfortable than jeans (and its not hot enough for shorts really). A brief survey of her wardrobe reveals that she needs a couple of new pairs.
Second, I gave Thing 1 and Thing 2 the last of their food this morning. Since there aren't any super deals out there on their food right now, that will necessitate a trip to Sam's to get a 50 pound bag. While I'm there, I'll go ahead and fill up my car with gas. AND I've realized that Thing 2 is down to 2 pills left of her maintenance meds. That will require a trip to the vet to pick that up.
I also need to do some grocery shopping. Just the basics mainly, but I'm low on coffee creamer (yes even though I picked up a small bottle this week), dog treats, milk, fruit and veggies.
So a super spendy weekend --- PLUS its ridiculously cold outside so I get to do all this running around in freezing type weather! JOY.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Avoiding Temptation and Saving Time
One of the hardest things about staying within a strict grocery shopping budget is avoiding the temptation of the impulse purchases. How many times do we realize that we need to stop at the store for one or two necessary items and end up walking out of the store with an additional $10 - $15 more of stuff we didn't plan on getting because it was a good deal or we just couldn't resist?
It may sound completely counter-intuitive, but one way I sometimes combat this is to shop at a more expensive grocery store! Before you think I have completely lost my mind, let me explain. My regular Publix and Aldi stores are on the opposite end of my suburban town from my office. My house is kind of in the middle of the two. If I need just one or two items, it doesn't seem worth the time or gas to go to one of those in rush hour traffic. To take that detour in rush hour traffic often means I don't get home until at least 6 o'clock and I'm usually tempted to just check a bit further on the deals (regardless of whether or not I have my coupons with me).
So, I stop at a local grocery store that is basically on my way home. Last night for instance, I needed coffee creamer (an absolute necessity for my morning to start off right) and bananas. So, instead of making the detour across town, I stopped at the locally owned store. I grabbed my creamer and bananas (on the same aisle), went straight to check out, and was out of the store in less than 5 minutes. Since I know this store has higher prices on most items, I wasn't tempted to scan the other aisles. I added it up when I got home, and figured out that I paid approximately .65 more at this store than I would have if I'd gone to Aldi. However, I saved roughly 40 minutes of time and nothing else made it into my little hand held shopping basket.
In this case, the time and gas savings outweighed the cost savings I usually see by going to my regular stores. While this would not be the case on a "big" shopping trip. For 2 items, it was definitely the better choice.
It may sound completely counter-intuitive, but one way I sometimes combat this is to shop at a more expensive grocery store! Before you think I have completely lost my mind, let me explain. My regular Publix and Aldi stores are on the opposite end of my suburban town from my office. My house is kind of in the middle of the two. If I need just one or two items, it doesn't seem worth the time or gas to go to one of those in rush hour traffic. To take that detour in rush hour traffic often means I don't get home until at least 6 o'clock and I'm usually tempted to just check a bit further on the deals (regardless of whether or not I have my coupons with me).
So, I stop at a local grocery store that is basically on my way home. Last night for instance, I needed coffee creamer (an absolute necessity for my morning to start off right) and bananas. So, instead of making the detour across town, I stopped at the locally owned store. I grabbed my creamer and bananas (on the same aisle), went straight to check out, and was out of the store in less than 5 minutes. Since I know this store has higher prices on most items, I wasn't tempted to scan the other aisles. I added it up when I got home, and figured out that I paid approximately .65 more at this store than I would have if I'd gone to Aldi. However, I saved roughly 40 minutes of time and nothing else made it into my little hand held shopping basket.
In this case, the time and gas savings outweighed the cost savings I usually see by going to my regular stores. While this would not be the case on a "big" shopping trip. For 2 items, it was definitely the better choice.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Ouch! Can't Move!
I suppose, technically, my title is incorrect. I actually can move. It just takes deliberate thought and care! Since the beginning of the year, I've been working to eat healthier and exercise more. I am NOT dieting (because I always fail massively at those). I am simply trying to make healthier choices. (that sounds SO much easier to accomplish than a DIET!).
As part of those healthier choices, I've been getting out and walking every day. Generally short 15-20 minute walks on the weekdays each morning, and longer 35-45 minute walks on the weekends. I'm already seeing some results from just that simple commitment. I feel better and several people at work have commented that they think I've lost weight. I honestly don't know, because I don't have a scale (but that is on my list of planned upcoming purchases).
Anyway, last night, I bit the bullet and met BFF and some other girls at the local Park Community Center for a Zumba class. O.M.G. That was too much fun! I really have not had that much fun exercising since dance class in high school! The instructor had super high energy and we MOVED for a solid hour. I sweated and gasped and danced around and had a complete ball! I think this is definitely going to be a an addition to my healthier lifestyle focus.
The cost is $5/class, or you can pay $40 for a 10 class punch card (yes, that's the way I'm going to go). They have classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and also a Saturday morning class. I think for now, I'm going to start with just the Tuesday/Thursday classes and then add the Saturday one later.
This morning, I'm sore and every part of my body feels that I worked out last night --- but its a REALLY good sore! The kind that makes you KNOW you did SOMETHING! No real pain, just those muscles going "Dude! What the heck did you do!?!?!!?!?"
Once the Princess gets out of season for basketball, she is probably going to join us for the Zumba classes, so I'll need to budget in the cost for both of us. That's going to take some tweaking to the budget, but that's okay --- it will do us both some good!
However, for now, I'm going to go pop some ibuprofen and down another glass of water or two to face the day!
As part of those healthier choices, I've been getting out and walking every day. Generally short 15-20 minute walks on the weekdays each morning, and longer 35-45 minute walks on the weekends. I'm already seeing some results from just that simple commitment. I feel better and several people at work have commented that they think I've lost weight. I honestly don't know, because I don't have a scale (but that is on my list of planned upcoming purchases).
Anyway, last night, I bit the bullet and met BFF and some other girls at the local Park Community Center for a Zumba class. O.M.G. That was too much fun! I really have not had that much fun exercising since dance class in high school! The instructor had super high energy and we MOVED for a solid hour. I sweated and gasped and danced around and had a complete ball! I think this is definitely going to be a an addition to my healthier lifestyle focus.
The cost is $5/class, or you can pay $40 for a 10 class punch card (yes, that's the way I'm going to go). They have classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and also a Saturday morning class. I think for now, I'm going to start with just the Tuesday/Thursday classes and then add the Saturday one later.
This morning, I'm sore and every part of my body feels that I worked out last night --- but its a REALLY good sore! The kind that makes you KNOW you did SOMETHING! No real pain, just those muscles going "Dude! What the heck did you do!?!?!!?!?"
Once the Princess gets out of season for basketball, she is probably going to join us for the Zumba classes, so I'll need to budget in the cost for both of us. That's going to take some tweaking to the budget, but that's okay --- it will do us both some good!
However, for now, I'm going to go pop some ibuprofen and down another glass of water or two to face the day!
Monday, February 6, 2012
Super Bowl, um, I Mean, Super Small Project Sunday
As much as I ramble about football from August through January, you'd think I'd be all fired up for the Super Bowl. Hmmm, not so much. I'm more of a college football girl. I did watch the game, but mainly because I wanted to see what the creative minds willing to spend over $3 Million for 30 seconds of airtime came up with. I wasn't highly impressed but the Volkswagen one with the overweight pup and the Bud Light "Wego" Rescue Pup were the highlights for me.
I'd like to say I spent the rest of Sunday getting my house in super ship shape, but I'd be lying! Instead, I focused on some nagging projects that I've had sitting around, but since they've been completely IN MY WAY, have hampered other productivity. First off, I had a huge pile of cast off clothing and other items that need to be dealt with. They are now all packed up, itemized and waiting to be hauled off for donation. Second, I went in search of missing socks. I had a huge basket FULL of mismatched socks. So, I cleaned out from under the Princess's bed (I may have nightmares about that for months), washed up the ones I found and got to sorting. In the end, I matched up about half of the rogue socks with mates. The others went into the trash. I'm tired of looking at them. I also spent a few hours playing around with Quicken. I had a friend who is awesome with it on speed dial to help me when I got stuck. After a while I had to take a bit of a break. My brain was overloaded -- but I think once I get it on track and understand it, I'm going to like it.
So that's it. My Super Exciting Super Bowl Sunday. How was your weekend?
I'd like to say I spent the rest of Sunday getting my house in super ship shape, but I'd be lying! Instead, I focused on some nagging projects that I've had sitting around, but since they've been completely IN MY WAY, have hampered other productivity. First off, I had a huge pile of cast off clothing and other items that need to be dealt with. They are now all packed up, itemized and waiting to be hauled off for donation. Second, I went in search of missing socks. I had a huge basket FULL of mismatched socks. So, I cleaned out from under the Princess's bed (I may have nightmares about that for months), washed up the ones I found and got to sorting. In the end, I matched up about half of the rogue socks with mates. The others went into the trash. I'm tired of looking at them. I also spent a few hours playing around with Quicken. I had a friend who is awesome with it on speed dial to help me when I got stuck. After a while I had to take a bit of a break. My brain was overloaded -- but I think once I get it on track and understand it, I'm going to like it.
So that's it. My Super Exciting Super Bowl Sunday. How was your weekend?
Sunday, February 5, 2012
First Shopping Trip of February
Lately, I haven't been super impressed with the coupon/sale deals I've found at my regular grocery store, so I've been doing a lot of shopping at Aldi. Also, I've been way behind on my coupon clipping and organizing so haven't been able to take advantage of the deals that were offered! I've made a real push this week to get the coupons in order, and so, I ventured into Publix yesterday. And I actually found some good deals that weren't on my list! The deal I was happiest with was that Princess's face wash was on sale for $3.50 (normally $7) and I had coupons that totalled $3.00 off of 2 (I actually had more coupons, but they only had 2 bottles left) -- so I ended up getting $14 worth of face wash for $4. That works for me!
Anyway, this is how I did:
1 Mott's Natural Applesauce
1 Rondele Garlic/Herb Cheese
2 Cheez-its
1 Barrilla Penne Pasta
2 Del Monte Tomatoes
1 Contadina Tomato Sauce
1 Mt. Olive Bread & Butter Pickles
1 Powerade 8 Pack
2 Gorton's Fish
3 Sargento Shredded Cheese
1 Hillshire Farm Smoke Sausage
2 Special K Bars 12 Pack
2 L'Oreal 360 Cleansers
1 Lucky Charms Cereal Bars
1 Kraft Olive Oil Mayonnaise
Bananas
Avocados
Apples
1 Mentos UP2U Gum
Spent: $52.06
Saved: $51 -- That's 49.48% --- pretty darn close to 50/50!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Time to Stop Whining
I got my gas bill today. I opened it, and was terribly disappointed to see the total was $118.43. We keep the temperature pretty low in the house and run around in yoga pants and sweatshirts or fleeces all winter long. I had hoped it would be a little lower. I whined a bit. And pouted.
And then I looked back at last year's bill. $193.82. I think I'll shut up now! :-)
And then I looked back at last year's bill. $193.82. I think I'll shut up now! :-)
Getting a Jump on Gardening
We've had a milder than normal winter here in Alabama. I think the same can be said for many portions of the country. The end result has been that certain plants have not died back to rest over the winter as they normally do, and others have emerged early. This one for example, has bloomed now all the way until February when normally it dies back in November:
This is Rudbeckia Indian Summer. This is one of my favorites --- drought tolerant, each bloom lasts for what seems like forever, at the height of the season the blooms are massive and it just has such a happy face. It usually just tends to pop up wherever it feels like it as it reseeds itself. Thanks to some encouragement from a fellow Garden Geek, I decided to try my hand at growing the plant from seed this year. I harvested the seeds from the seed heads of some spent blooms (and shared them, of course). I then actually took the time and planted them in little trays to hopefully give them a nice start indoors:
If I remember correctly, they won't bloom this year (assuming of course the seeds grow at all!), but they should give me a multitude of blooms from one of my favorite garden workhorses next year for absolutely free! I've got my fingers crossed!!!!!!
This is Rudbeckia Indian Summer. This is one of my favorites --- drought tolerant, each bloom lasts for what seems like forever, at the height of the season the blooms are massive and it just has such a happy face. It usually just tends to pop up wherever it feels like it as it reseeds itself. Thanks to some encouragement from a fellow Garden Geek, I decided to try my hand at growing the plant from seed this year. I harvested the seeds from the seed heads of some spent blooms (and shared them, of course). I then actually took the time and planted them in little trays to hopefully give them a nice start indoors:
If I remember correctly, they won't bloom this year (assuming of course the seeds grow at all!), but they should give me a multitude of blooms from one of my favorite garden workhorses next year for absolutely free! I've got my fingers crossed!!!!!!
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