I found this blog post at The Simple Dollar, on "heroic budgeting," particularly apt right now.
I'm in the final stages of saving to replace my daily driver car, and at the same time I've had a difficult few months of expenses: vet bills, car bills, and other bills that just came at really bad times.
In the last few days, I've felt the itch for heroic budgeting: no spending! at all! ever!
Except, the truck is almost out of gas. Except, puppy is almost out of the wet food that we use to stuff her kongs. Except, except. Then I get stressed and abandon budgeting, then I get terrified, then the cycle starts all over again.
Which is to say that yes, some of my expenses should be ditched. I may have been eyeing bareback pads recently, but the barn has one I can borrow indefinitely. I certainly don't need to buy new ingredients for fancy meals when I just threw away things that rotted in the fridge. (And my grocery budgeting would already be considered on the heroic side: $40 a week for the two of us. Yes, really.)
But if I don't let myself do anything, then it snaps like an overstretched elastic.
The blog post at The Simple Dollar was a really good reminder of that.
I want to know what your grocery list is... That's impressive.
ReplyDeleteI could do a whole post at some point. It's been steady for a few years now. It does go over some weeks, but it's been my baseline for a while. I shop sales and coupons - if I'm saving less than 30% I feel like I've failed.
DeleteWhen times were a lot tighter for us (I was laid off, hubs had furlough), I did the $20/person/week thing with groceries and that was EVERY meal. We literally could not afford to eat out.
ReplyDeleteOnce things loosened up, hubs requested that I spend a little more, but I'm still a stickler for efficiency. I make it a goal to use up everything I buy and NEVER throw away spoiled food. I use meat (so expensive!!) sparingly--it saves money to put it in stir frys and soups instead of just plain eating it.
Good luck with the new car! They are so expensive, but sometimes essential.
Yes - we eat meat only once a week or so. So expensive. There are other, cheaper, healthier sources of protein. Lots of beans and lentils!
DeleteI do throw away things in the fridge. That's one bad spot in my meal planning. I need to get better about buying the right quantities and using everything up. Tubs of plain yogurt are a frequent offender: I buy some to use to make Indian, then bake with it the next day, and then three weeks later throw out the last two cups that have turned green. Pretty sure there's some in there right now, actually.
Yes please, a grocery budget post!
ReplyDeleteSure - let me save some receipts and figure it out. We don't eat very fancy, but we do eat well!
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