The harsh reality of Christmas and a trip to Disney have officially hit my home. Oh, and the rise in electricity this month (what the f*(* is that?). And you've guessed it we're back on a budget! Hurray for us. Not that we haven't been on a budget, really we've been on a budget... It's just now it's going to seem a lot more like we're on a budget. It's not all that bad and there are some that have it worse but at some point in your life you just think that eventually you wouldn't be swimming quite so hard to keep your head above water. Crud.Really, really, it's not all that bad (I'm moaning a bit). In fact, I've probably said this before, it's a bit of a challenge. For instance, I went to the local grocery store today and got all the food I need for the week. It was a grand total of $54.82. Not bad if I don't say so myself. I used coupons and only bought things if I ABSOLUTELY needed them. There's not a lot of organics (please don't freak out) which makes a difference. I did try to buy the best I could for the least amount of money (like the all natural tomatoes - yes, that's a lot of tomatoes. They were 10 for $10). Now, I do have quite a staple pantry and that helps too. We'll see if I have to make a trip anywhere this week. Hopefully not...
Also, I plan on listing my supper list for the week tomorrow but for now, here's what was on my receipt:
Soy milk
Giant Eagle Skim Milk (gallon - no Hormones added)
2 - I can't believe it's not butter (then what the heck is it?)
Dannon yogurt (4 pack)
10 Redpack tomato (the big cans)
5 bags of frozen veggies (onions, cauliflower, corns and mixed)
2 - Nestle chocolate chips (mmm... I smell cookies)
1 - Giant Eagle brand cheerios
100 pack natural coffee filters (I'm looking for an alternative - got one?)
1 fresh celery
bulk carrots (4)
1 pkg. coleslaw
1 cucumber
1 yam
2 - 5lb bags of potatoes
G.E. large eggs 18 count
1 sunflower baguette
First, I _know_ you can make a gourmet (well, at least delicious) meal with what appears to be a couple of carrots, some store-brand Cheerios, and a cup of this and a scoop of that so I doubt anyone in the T,A,S,E household is suffering in the least.
ReplyDeleteI paid bills yesterday. I hadn't paid them in, say, more than a month. Thank goodness for autopay on the "we'll shut it off if you don't pay" kinds of bills. The credit cards? Ouch.
So, we're in the same boat. I'm cooking from scratch, I'm trying to curb R's Corn Pops habit, I'm stretching what I've got on hand. We're not on the verge of anything bad but these days if we want to afford "extras" we have to be more careful with the "everyday".
It's like the country is having one big giant lesson in humility -- together. I think that might be a good thing. It's almost as if you're not "in" if you're not economizing. I'm not one for trends but I'm happy to jump on this bandwagon (far happier than I am, in retrospect, about hopping on the legwarmer bandwagon dack in the day...).
Happy food-stretching. Let us know about the magic you manage to make!
It really doesn't look like much does it? I noticed that as I was putting it in. A struggle even for me I think... But, as you said, no one in this house is really struggling (as I trip over 1000's of legos and E. plays Mario Kart for the billionth time today). Luckily for me I still have the internet and cable and I taped Graham Norton on Friday so I'm happy as a peach!
ReplyDeleteMiss you - it would be so much better to be suffering together (over coffee...)