Friday I went to the grocery store. It was one of those trips where I needed toiletries along with food so the bill was heftier than I wanted. That’s when I realized a) food is expensive – why do we have to eat?! b) last week I bought two pairs of cords and two shirts for LESS than this grocery bill! c) it’s quite possible I could have gone a bit cheaper on this trip. Here is the rundown:
Non-food items: body wash, female products, cold cream – I didn’t NEED the cold cream. I saw this commercial for Abaline and I thought, “hey, that’s cool! Washing my face with cold cream, just like in the 50’s!” I’m sure my decade is way off but I like the sound of it. The cold cream was on clearance but was still $3.95
Cat food: Simon is one lucky and picky cat. I stocked up on treats and cat food. I also put down puppy training pads right outside of his litter box so he cleans his feet a bit. It also stops him from tracking litter onto the carpet.
Regular food: I’m making some white chicken chili this weekend and needed most of the ingredients for this. Except for the chicken, which I already have, thankfully, as it wasn’t on sale. Bacon, eggs, bananas, a frozen pizza (I despise cooking on Friday night), a jug of water and tomatoes.
Coffee: I have a problem but we all knew this already. I needed creamer (I bought 3 or 4 bottles) and coffee. I finally found some coffee that I really like and is actually fairly cheap. A bag is $5.00. I really like grocery store blends/roasts and strongly recommend them. All of my favorites are non-big coffee chains.
Kind Bars: while these are so, so good they are not “kind” to my budget (ha!)! They were on sale for $1.39 per bar. Since I used to eat granola bars/breakfast bars for breakfast this is a great alternative. It keeps me full a lot longer, it’s all natural and with a banana I’m good to go.
Chobani Flips: yep, still in love with these! My fridge is stocked and I eat this for breakfast or lunch. These aren’t cheap either but my obsession controls my pocket-book!
When I write it out, it doesn’t seem like that much. I do buy chocolate milk for after running and to take my meds with at night. I didn’t buy a lot of snack foods although I did buy my current favorite chocolate, Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate and Caramel squares – oh so yummy
Still, where does all the money go? My cart wasn’t even all the way full! Sometimes when I am going through aisle and see families I don’t understand how they feed everyone! Not to mention, our sales tax isn’t bad at all. In WA it’s 8%. While my budget could withstand some ground sirloin it better supports ground chucking it. I’ve been thinking a lot about budget lately and how I use/spend my money. There is something to be said for learning how to better manage my funds when I’m doing okay rather than when I’m financially pinched. I’m almost completely out of credit card debt. I’m ecstatic about this considering it will be the first time in 15 years where I won’t be dragging a credit card ball and chain. Oddly enough, the other day when I went to buy my Hokas, the price tag made me a bit nervous at first (they were mega on sale so I bought two pairs) so I almost put it on my credit card to make me feel better. Thankfully, I realized this was silly. It’s a habit. I can fool myself into thinking I’m not really spending the money if I put it on the little 3.370 × 2.125 in piece of plastic with the magic black strip.
Then there is my running budget – absolutely a whole other post!
Amy's Recipe for Disaster 
Amy have you thought about doing the cash system with envelopes, I have heard that it’s a great system!
I might give it a shot! Thanks!