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FOOD

June 28th, 2008 at 03:17 pm

I think I should start scanning my grocery receipts and see what you all think.

We seriously have noticed NO change in our grocery bills, doing nothing different. We might hit $350 this month (a new low actually) and that includes a splurge on sushi the other night (quite unusual).

I do admit we have been eating out a bit more. (All the deals/coupons). Then again, I have been eating out a lot less (for lunch).

Well, I just get the feeling it is largely regional. & little things like our milk price has not gone up since we are charged the same for 2 gallons at a time, as one gallon, now. So since I can't exactly put my finger on it, I am curious how our food prices compare to what you see... (Now I wish I had kept a price book all along. I wrote it off as WAY too time consuming, but now curiosity wishes I had wasted all that time - hehe).

Well, dh made some greek chicken and potato dinner in the crockpot. Also, some spicy hummus. The hummus was okay. (We need to add more spice next time). & the crock pot dish, well, it was pretty good.

YUM!

Reminds me we are getting a new Indian restaurant. I was told it was in the style of our favorite greek restaurant here (more of a cafe I guess). So we are keeping our fingers crossed that it is GOOD!

We have another one, but we aren't a big fan of it. We only went once...

Oh, and dh may sign up for some Indian cooking classes. Forgot about that too. I give you, the Asian cultures know how to cook veggies. I may eat them a little more if dh can master Indian cooking. Wink

Beyond that, we are going to try "monkey munch" today. Oh, it is terrible for you - lots of butter and sugar and chocolate. I saw it on "Jon & Kate Plus 8" last night and of course the recipe was online (just googled it). So, since we are stuck indoors (smoky air) we will have to just make some monkey munch instead...

Since I am stuck indoors I may de-clutter a bit as well. I had all sorts of outdoor plans, so bah!

If you see my weather thing to the left, yeah, that's smoke... Not clouds, but smoke.

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The man and the kids are now addicted to garage sales. LM really wanted to go so dh took him this morning. Every time he comes back with a toy, of course.

I think we will hit a $2k credit card bill for the 3rd month in a row. Woohoo. I say, woohoo, because we earn an extra $30 in cash rewards as a result.

April was my professional dues (reimbursed by employer anyway) and our camping deposit which got us there. (We usually budget around $1300 credit card which includes pretty much ALL our bills - whatever we can card, of course we card - for rewards). May our Disneyland trip got us there in a flash. I expected to get there this month with medical bills or the rest of our camping expenses. But camping remainder was due May and the medical bill never arrived (put off another month...). So, I thought about it and realized I had more professional dues, due soon. I'll just pay them today and hope it clears the card before the month closes.

We also paid $130 to get dh's car fixed yesterday. New battery and new wires and cables and all that. Rather reasonable in the end. We'll drop off my car Monday and that will certainly ensure we hit the $2k. Think we are there already. This month we bought shoes, camping supplies, and dh's receiver. So, it was just spendy.

& no, I don't expect anywhere near $2k bills next month or going forward. Though I may get a $1k medical bill one of these days. They sure take their sweet time, which is fine with me.

I am hitting Craigslist today. I signed BM up for swim lessons and dh is talking about these cooking classes. It all adds up. I have enough baby stuff to sell and cover it though, so cracking at it. I am afraid that my car repairs will probably need to come either short-term or mid-term savings. Bummer. But trying not to touch savings for anything else.

BM also got his school teacher assignment yesterday. Along with a request for $25 for supplies, and $60 for field trips. They just have you prepay everything for simplicity. I don't think it's so bad. There is an option to pay the $60 in 5 installments. I kind of giggled when I saw that. You have to understand we live in a rather upscale community and so, yeah, struck me as strange. Though I guess on some level, it isn't surprising.

I must admit since I never deal in cash, that this is really throwing me off. Suddenly I have to come up with $200 cash between that and LM's private swim lessons. (Awesome deal, I just got that squared away, after months. His lessons are in July). So, hmmmm, yes, stuff to sell. Sell sell sell, deposit the cash, and pay the cash bills. I don't have any cash otherwise, and am loathe to touch savings. Though that really is what some of it is there for. Just a last resort for me.

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A friend just told me she couldn't afford the $1k to fix the A/C on her truck, so she would just live without. (I swear everyone I know has had A/C problems of late. I am thinking this is a perk to an older car - no A/C problems. These are all newer cars - and problems galore).

But then started talking about a new $20k truck she wanted. On and on and on.

Ugh, this stuff just drives me nuts. It's not worth the $1k to fix, so will shell out $20k instead.

& then they wonder how we can afford our lifestyle on half the income, while all the while wondering why we drive OLD cars. I've had one too many people tell me old cars are a financial drain. Yeah, the $130 I just spent to fix dh's car with 90k miles (paid off when we bought it in 2001) is killing us. NOT! Wink

In fact, our newer minivan is so awful, I am sorely tempted to trade it in for an old Toyota. We'll see what the repair bill is this round. The minivan has awful repair bills, which I did not expect in a newer vehicle. So I guess it all depends on the car. But I will take a $1k bill over a $20k bill any day. I know, it's the debt mentality. Get a $300 payment or something and that is better than shelling out $1k. That is the thinking.

I know they will think I have lost my mind when I trade in the van for an older car. Wink But probably what we will end up doing, to get our gas bill and repairs bill down.





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