Friday, January 31, 2020

2020Meal Plan: January 16-31

Vegetarian:  dahl; cheese fondue; dahl over rice; Tuscan risotto; baked potato

Low Meat:  sausage and lentil loaf; black bean soup; egg, cheese and sausage Florentine; soupa Toscana; ham and bean soup; stuffed mushrooms; black bean soup

Meat:  liver and onions;  Swiss steak; Swedish meatballs

Two Week Totals:

Vegetarian.  5
Low Meat. 7
Meat  3


Monthly Totals:

Vegetarian. 7
Low Meat  14
Meat. 8


2020 Buying and Eating: January 16-31

Remaining Allocation:  $300.17

What We Bought:
Bread Store:  bagels (3), dinner rolls, rye bread English muffins  $5.58

Giant Eagle:  Can of pop  Free with coupon

Tops:  beef broth, peas, broccoli crowns (2)$2.72

Aldi:  assorted types of chips (10 f  assorted variedstock up when they are discounted for the Super Bowl), 12 grain bread, French onion dip (16 oz.- to use in place of sour cream), Greek yogurt (32 oz.)  $16.44

Aldi:  mushrooms (2)  $1.78

Aldi:  canned kidney beans (2), cream cheese (2), Roma tomatoes, dipper tortilla chips  $4.24

Two Week Week Total:  $30.76

What We Ate:  liver and onions;  dahl and waldorf salad;  sausage and lentil loaf, squash , rhubarb, baked potato; cheese fondue and salad;
Black bean soup and homemade bread with fruit; fish, butter beans, fruit; Swiss steak, mashed potatoes, fruit, muffins; Swedish meatballs and noodles with zucchini and rhubarb; spinach, egg and sausage Florentine with salad; dahl over rice; soupa Toscana; Tuscan risotto, roasted vegetables, garlic-cheese biscuits; ham and bean soup with garlic -cheese biscuits; stuffed mushrooms and broccoli salad; baked potato and salad; black bean soup over rice, salad



Eating Out:

$9.92  Mike dinner at trivia
$12.17 breakfast with Cindy
$18.12  breakfast with Pat
$9.92 Mike dinner trivia

Two Week Total:  $49.33



Monthly Totals:
We only spent $37.62  on groceries this month due to our stockpile of bargain deals.
Just to prove it is never too late to develop a bad habit, we spent $82.99  on eating out this month.  :)

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Buying and Eating: Yearly Totals

We spent $1542.93 on groceries in 2019 and $872.68 on meals out.  Combined, we spent a total of $2415.61 for the year.

Our average is therefore $201.30/ month   or $6.61 / day for the two of us.

Or, $3.30/person/day.

In an ideal world, my goal would be $2.50/person/day.  But I don't expect that to ever happen considering how much we eat out.  :) 

But, a girl can dream.  :)

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Quarterly Clothing Expenses: October to December

October: $0

November:  $0

December:

Sandy
New bras from Daily Sale  $45  I don't quite need them but the sale was too good to pass up.
4 sweaters $10.00 at Goodwill
2 sweaters $6 at Goodwill

Total:  $61


Mike
2 socks $1.90 at Goodwill
$11.99  new Navy hat from the exchange

Total:  $13.89

Monday, January 20, 2020

Entertainment October -December

October

Amazon Prime  $10

November:

Two free vouchers from a friend to see a play at the local play house.  It was wonderful!

Amazon Prime:  $10

December:

Went to another play with friend for free.

Free tickets to see trees decorated for Christmas at the Convention Center.

Amazon Prime  $10

Total:  $30.00

We also took full advantage of what our library had to offer.

Quarterly Linus Project and Yarn Costs: Oct.-Dec.

October:

Linus Project Blankets  6

Operation Gratitude Scarves  2

Pet Blankets  1

November:

Pet Blankets  2

Linus Project Blankets  4

33 skeins of yarn for $33.00 at Goodwill.


My productivity is down due to holiday preparation.

December

Linus Project Blankets 6

Operation Gratitude Scarves  5

2 skeins yarn $1.50 at Goodwill
17 skeins of yarn for $15.30 at Volunteers of America
13 skeins of yarn for $13.00 at Goodwill
24 skeins of yarn for $8.97 at Goodwill
16 skeins of wool yarn for Operation Gratitude Scarves  $28.66

Quarterly Totals:

Linus Project Blankets:  16
Operation Gratitude Scarves:  7
Pet Blankets:  3

Yarn Costs: $ 100.43 for 105 skeins.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

2020 Buying and Eating: January 1-15

Using our new, lower, daily amount of $10.99/day for the two of us, we have $340.69 allotted for January to cover all groceries and meals out.  Because it is a new year, our cushion is at zero.


What We Ate:  New Year pork black eyed peas, copper pennies, pecan pie ;  mooshu, Thai salad; leftover salad and cornbread; eggplant and sausage parmesan pasta, bread; pork and avocado with bacon, baked sweet potatoes; turkey and gravy over stuffing; Buffalo chicken salad with cheese and crackers; liver and onions; pasta with pesto and beans;  taco soup, salad and cornbread; eggplant parmesan pizza; soupa Toscana, salad and bread sticks; ham and beans soup; risotto with peas and mushrooms, cheese bread, salad

What We Bought:

Giant Eagle:  protein bar  Free
Save a Lot:  bagged salad (2)  $1.58
Tops:  bananas (4.11#), zucchini(.96#), peanut butter, Chex  $5.28
Giant Eagle:  smart water  Free

Total for Groceries:  $6.86

Eating Out:
Lunch with Jim and Robin:  $15.51
Mike lunch $1.62
Mike trivia dinner  $6.42.
Lunch at yacht club. $10.11

Total for Eating Out:  $33.66

Grand Total for Two Weeks:  $40.52

Total Allocation for Month Remaining :  $300.17

2020 Meal Plan: January 1-15

Vegetarian:  pasta with pesto and beans; risotto with peas and mushrooms

Low Meat:  mooshu; leftover salad; turkey and gravy over stuffing;  taco soup; eggplant parmesan pizza; soupa Toscana; ham and bean soup


Meat:  pork roast; eggplant and sausage parmesan; pork, bacon and avocado; Buffalo chicken salad; liver and onions

Vegetarian. 2
Low Meat  7
Meat  5

Monday, January 13, 2020

Frugal Things For December

1.  I made Italian sausage and breakfast sausage using 99 cent/pound pork loin.

2.  I bought $31.63 worth of bread products at the bread store for $5.65.

3.  We received two free tickets to Erie's Festival of trees.  We enjoyed the beautiful trees and Mike even bought some pizzelles.  Yum.

4.  I bought 12 boxes of Christmas cards (216 carrds) for  $11.76 at Goodwill.  I'm now good for three years.

5.  We took a short vacation to Kidron, Ohio and used points to pay for our hotel room for four nights.  We saved over $400 and got free breakfasts.

6.  After doing some research as to normal pricing, Mike took advantage of a choose your own case special and bought some wine.    He paid $134.97 and SAVED $355.95!!!  A little research meant a lot of savings.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Household and Personal Care Expenses: December

Household

25 Candles to burn in the fireplace $35.00 at Goodwill

Canning jars, bands and lids; cheese cloth,  candle wicks and kitchen timer  $55.46 at Lehman's

Toilet flap   $1.73 at Wal-Mart

2 pillow cases $1.50

Total Household:  $93.69

Boy are we over buget!!!

Personal Care:  $0


Tuesday, January 7, 2020

2020 Thrifty Food Plan Budget

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that, under the thrifty plan, Mike and I will have $10.99 per day to spend on food in 2020.

This is to cover all groceries and meals out for the two of us.

That is $0.92 LESS per day than in 2019.  Or $335.80 less per year.

Because of my stockpile, we can handle this cut in allotment but for people on Access, this could make things quite difficult.

I have one question:  Where is the government shopping that their food costs are going down?

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Meal Plan: Dec 16-31

Vegetarian:  pasta bake; meatless meatloaf; macaroni and three cheeses

Low Meat:  mooshu chicken; Florentine sausage bake; chicken and cheese tortellini soup; taco salad; assorted appetizers (2)

Meat: tortellini soup and ham salad sandwiches

Vegetarian  3
Low Meat. 6
Meat  1

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Buying and Eating: December 16-31

Remaining Allocation:  $181.32
Cushion:  $1073.77


What We Bought:

Aldi:  spiral ham (9.5#), pie crusts (2pkgs), butter (6), eggs (4)  $24.57

Aldi:  butter (4), cream cheese (3)  $10.33

Tops:  celery, bagels  $1.87

Aldi:  avocado (2)  $1.18

Price Rite:  salad (2) , green pepper, cucumber, eggplant, garlic, oranges , cheese  $9.86

Save a Lot:  sour cream $0.99

Total Groceries for Two Weeks:  $48.70

What We Ate:
Pasta bake, garlic bread; meatless meatloaf, veg, fruit;  mooshu chicken, apple, bread; Florentine sausage bake, baked potato mixed vegetable; macaroni and three cheeses, green beans with almonds, cranberry sauce; chicken and cheese tortellini soup and garlic bread.; tortellini soup and ham salad sandwiches; taco salad; assorted appetizers (2)



Eating Out:

Breakfast with Dad  $18.81
Shopping lunch  $7.00
Dinner in D.C.  $9.27
Lunch from D.C.  $3.18
Anniversary of first date dinner  $14.70
Dad's 90th birthday dinner $75

Eating Out For Two Weeks:  $120.96

Amount to Cushion:  $11.66
New Cushion Amount:  $1085.43