Thursday, January 31, 2019

Wrapping Up A Thrifty January 2019



I started out 2019 with a quarter tank of gas, $26 cash plus a good handful of change in my wallet and another $26 in my checking account.  Not a lot, but certainly better than nothing.  When payday rolled around on the 4th I paid all of our monthly bills ahead of their due dates, put money into my savings and retirement accounts. topped up the fuel tank on our car and set aside money for our grocery budget.  I dumped all of the change out of my wallet into my change jar.

With my next paycheck I paid the mortgage two and a half weeks early and added to my savings and retirement accounts.  I also set aside a little more money for our grocery budget and a few miscellaneous expenses.  I used a $50 gift card I had earned last year, taking on a health challenge through my work to purchase a new pair of black slacks  to wear for work.  Very nice not to need to take money out of my budget for that purchase.

$20 worth of groceries!

The $20 Grocery Challenge was a roaring success.  I nailed it each week and I am super happy about that.  We made a game out of it and I really began to enjoy the challenge.  So much so, we'll be doing it again next month as well.

I filled the tank at the beginning of January and was really thrifty with the fuel in my car ending the month with over a third of a tank still left.  I mapped out my trips so as not to be wasteful and ran errands along the routes I was taking.  I also made sure to hit the eco button on the car each time I went anywhere to get the best gas mileage possible while driving. 

Aetna, you kinda stink! 😝

At the end of the year I got some less than stellar news.  Last spring I put the girls onto my employee family insurance plan at work.  Shortly after doing so we discovered the new insurance wasn't going to cover my daughter's orthodontics like the old insurance had.  It never even occurred to me that this would be an issue.  After eight months of back and forth with the insurance company the final verdict came down - not covering it.  While it is a true bummer and an unexpected extra expense I have to just be grateful the old insurance covered over a third of it making the remaining balance a manageable amount to handle.  I made arrangements with the orthodontist and I'll be making three balloon payments over the next year to pay it all off and they aren't charging me any interest or fees.  I took money from our emergency fund to pay the first payment, the next one is due on July 1st and the last one on January 1st of 2020.  That should give me plenty of time to save up and make those payments without having to use anymore of our emergency fund, but it is there should I need it.  This is one very good reason to have an emergency fund.  When I get my tax refund this year I plan to replace the money I used and add more to the account as well.


As I've already shared with you my goal from here on out is to live my life with more intent and purpose.  A big part of that is to make sure that I am really mindful about my spending and that I make sure I spend each one of my dollars wisely.  This past month I was really careful about my spending and took the time to make sure I did so with intent and purpose.  As a result I spent much less and saved a good amount of money in January.  I met all of my financial goals so I feel really good about the month we just finished as well as adequately prepared to head into February.  What a fantastic feeling!



Wednesday, January 30, 2019

My Grocery Budget 2019 - January Update



As part of my goal this year to spend less money I took on a Another $20 A Week Grocery Challenge this month and I knocked this puppy out of the park!  Whoo hooo!  And we didn't suffer one bit either.


We also made it a A Month Of Soup meals that were fantastic.  We love to have a simple meal of soup, salad and bread so this challenge was right up our alley.  I was able to use up a lot of goodies from our freezer and pantry and we had plenty of wonderful leftovers for quick and easy work and school lunches.  I plan to incorporate more soup and salad meals into our regular diet as well as other fun grocery and meal related challenges to help keep me inspired and help me save more $$.


Best nonfood buy of the month was getting these at Walgreens for only 99¢ each!

I kept my nonfood spending pretty minimal too.  This year I have the same budget of $25 a month for nonfood expenses.  I purchased 8 cans of canned cat food, three bags of kitty litter (with 75¢ OFF coupons), two boxes of tissues (on sale & with a 55¢ OFF coupon), 2 containers of laundry detergent (on sale & with 2 $1 OFF coupons), and a tube of toothpaste.

I made one trip to Trader Joes

My single trip into Albertsons

Here is the food I bought this month:

Groceries
 $$$
Sport water
FREE
Friday Freebie
Fred Meyer
Salad mix
FREE
Coupon
Fred Meyer
Avocado Oil
           8.99
Trader Joes
Mushrooms
           1.79
Trader Joes
Romaine
           2.29
Trader Joes
Celery
           1.59
Trader Joes
Spinach
           1.99
Trader Joes
Avocados - 6ct
           2.99
Trader Joes
Bananas
           0.95
Trader Joes
TJ Gift card
       (10.00)
Trader Joes
White beans
           0.75
WinCo
Coleslaw mix (2)
           1.96
WinCo
Green beans
           1.11
WinCo
Eggs - 1 doz (3)
           3.84
WinCo
Pudding (3)
           1.56
WinCo
Ground turkey
           2.99
Sale/Digital Coupon
Fred Meyer
Ground pork (2)
           2.54
Coupon
Fred Meyer
Bratwurst
           2.49
Markdown
Fred Meyer
Lettuce mix (2)
           0.98
Coupon
Fred Meyer
Cheese (2)
           2.91
Sale/Coupon
Fred Meyer
Sour cream
           1.59
Sale/Coupon
Fred Meyer
Eggs (2)
           1.98
Digital Coupon
Albertsons
Mayonnaise
           1.99
Albertsons
Cheese snacks
           1.49
Markdown
Albertsons
Relish
           1.00
Dollar Tree
Oranges
           3.98
Sale
WinCo
Lettuce - 3 ct
           1.78
Sale
WinCo
Spinach
           1.98
WinCo
Avocados (2)
           1.96
Sale
WinCo
Gelatin
           0.36
WinCo
Cream
           4.22
Fred Meyer
Buns
           0.89
Markdown
Fred Meyer
Sausage
           3.98
Sale/Digital Coupon
Fred Meyer
Bananas
           0.52
Sale
Fred Meyer
Sparkling water
FREE
Friday Freebie
Fred Meyer
Cold brew coffee drink
FREE
Friday Freebie
Fred Meyer
Sirloin steaks
           6.37
Sale
Fred Meyer
Cottage cheese
           0.89
Markdown
Fred Meyer
Cheddar cheese
           1.69
Sale/Coupon
Fred Meyer
Milk
           0.88
Sale
Fred Meyer
Tortilla chips
           1.10
Sale/Coupon
Fred Meyer
Pasta (6)
           1.94
Sale/Coupon
Fred Meyer
Tea
           1.89
Markdown
Fred Meyer
Avocados (4)
           1.00
Markdown
Fred Meyer
Mushrooms
           1.00
Markdown
Fred Meyer
Peppers (3)
           1.00
Markdown
Fred Meyer
Turkey
           1.50
Markdown
Fred Meyer
Bananas (4)
           0.76
Fred Meyer
Total
        79.46


$79.46 ÷ 31 days ÷3 people = $0.85 per person per day!!!  Wowza!

Lots of good buys on meat, cheese and produce


With the success of my $20 a week challenge I decided to ride this wave into February as well.  Our pantry is still really full as well as both freezers so for me it makes a lot of sense.  Feel free to join me with this challenge or one of your own. 

Final shop of the month at Fred Meyer

This budget month runs from January 1 through January 31