2020 Household and Personal Care: October

 Personal Care:

Body powder for Mike  $1.06   Dollar Tree

2 hair clips for Sandy  2.12  Dollar Tree

Total:  $3.18   Had Mike trim the back of my hair.  He did a great job and we saved money, too.

Household:  

24 canning jars and lids $17  Esh's

60 gallon bags, 80 quart bags, 35 parchment sheets  $8.67

2 dishwasher detergent  $3.98  Discount Grocery

2 taper candles  $1.15   Episcopal thrift store

duvet for the RV   $6.99  Goodwill

Grater for RV  99 cents  Goodwill

6 Corelle bowls for RV  $2.69 thrift store

Flour sifter $5.83. My over 40 year old one died

Total:  $47.30    We are over budget.  But, we stocked up on some things.  Hope it evens out.

2020 Linus Project Blankets and Yarn Cost: July-September

July:

Operation Gratitude Scarves:  8
Linus Project Blankets:  5
Pet Blankets:  6

August:

Linus Project Blankets  7

Operation Gratitude Scarves  6

Crocheted Wash Cloths 7

Yarn:

Goodwill:  $27.00 for 28 skeins

Salvation Army  $7.55 for 32 skeins  Special thanks to the nice lady!

AMVETS:  $3.00 for 4 skeins

St. Vincent de Paul  $7.74 for 8 skeins

Goodwill  $6.04 for 6 skeins

Goodwill  $11 for 17 skeins

September:  

Yarn:

Goodwill   9 skeins for $8.33

Salvation Army 29 skeins for $14.29

Salvation Army 14 skeins for $8.99

Animal Rescue Thrift Store   32 skeins for $16.40

Fort Drum Thrift Store:  19 skeins for $10.18

Fort Drum Exchange:  8 skeins for $9.90 (2 are oversized)

Watertown Thrifty Shopper  20 skeins for $18.85

Watertown Salvation Army  40 skeins for $22.00

Watertown Thrift Store  18 skeins for $14.50

Animal Rescue Thrift Store  4 skeins for $1.35

Operation Gratitude Scarves:  15

Robin's wrap and pouch

Linus Project Blankets:  4

Washcloths:  6

Linus Project Blankets:  16

Operation Gratitude Scarves:  29

Pet Blankets:  6

Wash Cloths:  13

Gift: 1

Yarn Purchase:  288 skeins

Cost:  $187.12

Price/Skein:  $0.65

2020 Meal Plan: November 1-15

 Vegetarian:  pierogie casserole; chili nachos; baked potato bar

Low Meat:  sausage and cheese polenta (2); chicken and rice soup; Philly cheese burger pizza; beef lo mein; assorted appetizers

Meat:  rosemary chicken; smoked pork sandwich; bbq ribs

Vegetarian:  3

Low Meat:  6

Meat:  3

2020 Buying and Eating: November 1-15

 

Allocation:  $329.70

Cushion:  $1308.20

What We Ate:  rosemary chicken, rice pilaf, yogurt and fruit; pierogie casserole, green beans, fruit; sausage and cheese polenta (2); chicken and rice soup with homemade the bread.; smoked pork sandwich and chips; BBQ ribs, veg, gnocchi; Philly cheese burger pizza; beef lo mein and Chinese pancakes; baked potato bar, baked beans, salad; assorted appetizers

What We Bought:

Price Rite:  vegetable oil (gal), mayonnaise (2)  $6.37

Aldi:  mushrooms (3), apple juice, chip dip,   $5.45

Price Rite:  flour (2) spices(4), coffee onions (9#), sweet potato (2.33#)cream cheese (7), butter (4)  $24.18

Groceries:  $36.00

Eating Out:  -0-

Remaining Allocation:  $293.70

2020 Buying and Eating : April-September

 Here are the figures for the past six months.  It's higher than I like in total, but we have a good stockpile and we enjoyed some time with family that was priceless.

Groceries for April -September:  $1006.11

Divided by 183, the number of days, equals $5.49 for Two people/day

Or, $2.75/person/day for groceries.

Eating out April-September:  $242.05

Or, $1.32/ day for two people 

and  $0.66/person/day.

We have a Grand Total of $3.41/person/day.  

That includes the large stockpile we have going into the remainder of the year.  Because of the Covid situation, I hesitate to let it get down too far before restocking.

2020 Frugal Things in October

 1.  Mike and I got our flu shots and received gift cards worth a total of $10 in free groceries.

2.  As has been happening for awhile, I have been saving my bacon grease to use in sauteeing and flavoring other dishes.  It reduces the amount of vegetable oil I have to buy.  Did you know that they sell bacon grease at Wal-Mart for about $22/gallon!

3. As we camp we have been checking thrift stores for yarn and have been quite lucky at finding deals.  I am set now for winter.

4.  We have been  filling in the holes in our stockpile with specials we have found as we travel.  We are now ready to hunker down for winter.

5.  We are working on eating less meat.  It is easier on the budget and Mother Earth.

6.  I received a crate of tomatoes from a friend who was putting her garden to bed.  This will be turned into green tomato mincemeat, salsa verde and tomato puree.  You have to love generous friends.

2020 Meal Plan: October 16-31

 Vegetarian:  minestrone; leftover bean burritos; macaroni and cheese(2); gazpacho and grilled cheese sandwich; butternut squash curry

Low Meat:  scalloped potatoes and ham; creamed salmon and vegetables over mashed potatoes; split pea soup and salad; tuna noodle casserole; pizza; scalloped potatoes and ham

Meat:  sandwiches and gazpacho; sloppy Joe (2)

vegetarian:  6

Low meat:  6

Meat:  3

Another good month.

2020 Buying and Eating: October 16-31

 

Remaining Allocation:  $289.57

Cushion:  $1308.20

What We Ate:  minestrone cheese and crackers; leftovers; macaroni and cheese, tomatoes with fresh mozzarella, peas; gazpacho and grilled cheese sandwich; scalloped potatoes and ham, grapes, peas and carrots; macaroni and cheese; creamed salmon and vegetables over mashed potatoes; split pea soup and salad; pizza; tuna noodle casserole and zucchini; sloppy Joe and potato skins with salad; bean soup and cheese biscuits; scalloped potatoes and ham, tried green tomato, applesauce; butternut squash curry, rice and salad; leftover sloppy Joe

What We Bought:

Down on the Farm Creamery :  ice cream  $3.15

Esh's:  port wine cheddar(1#), havarti (1#), cabbage, butter (8), Lebanon bologna(1#), sweet bologna( 2#), large Italian bread, butternut squash (2), apples (5#), #10 can tart cherries (2), #10 can applesauce, bananas,   $64.45

Discount Grocery:  #10 can beets, #10 butter beans, lima beans (2.5#), artificial crab meat (2.5#), chicken wings (2#), hamburger(10#), pepperoni (2#), Oreos (2), raisins, like juice, evaporated milk (3), parmesan cheese, dried onion soup  $49.98

Grocery Outlet:  gallon balsamic vinegar, coffee, marshmallows, rice krispies, carrots (5#), potatoes (10#), frozen green beans (1#), yoghurt(48 ounces)fresh mozzarella, summer sausage (2)  $24.10

Bread Store:  bagels (3), English muffins(2),sourdough bread  $6.49

Save a Lot:  potatoes  $1.79

Price Rite:  brownie mix (4), chocolate chips (2), onions (9#). $9.95

Tops:  doritos, sweet peppers (3), goldfish, folgers, eggs (4)  $9.48

Salvage Grocery:  coffee (19), tortilla chips (2), vegetable oil (gal), pav bhaji, tikki masala (4), Indian vindaloo, stir fry sauce (3), General Tao's kit, falafel mix (2), jambalaya mix, Pac Thai kit, parmesan garlic rice (2), tabouli mix (2), paella mix, Szechuan chicken and rice kit, chestnuts, macadamia nuts (4), sliced almonds (5, walnuts, pine nuts (2), evaporated milk (4), wheat Chex, Cheerios, pectin (6), kosher salt (3#), crackers (2), raisins (12), smoked salmon (2), pears, pineapple, fruit mix, red cabbage with apple, peas, goldfish (2), Mandarin oranges, chicken a la king, refried beans (2), diced jalapenos (2), tried apples (2), corn (2) cream of chicken soup (2), chick peas (3), tuna, diced rutabago, Italian green beans (2), cocktail shrimp, artichoke hearts, carrots, vegall, Brown rice, sugar (16#), brown sugar (2), combos crackers, salad dressing for marinade (5), tortellini, Chinese noodles,  chocolate chips, dried cherries, solid-state sauce, milk (5), parmesan cheese (3), pudding mix (4), cookies (2), cake mix (3), sliced (5), baking powder, lemon grass  $175.87

Grocery :  $345.26

Eating Out:

Lunch Bird-In-Hand:  $11.00

Lunch Winterizing RV:  $4.24

Lunch Cleveland for Mike  $3.21

Joyce birthday lunch:  $23.50

Eating Out:  $41.92

Grand Total:  $387.18

We are into the cushion by $97.61

The resulting new cushion amount is $1210.59

We deliberately went into the cushion as we restocked our stockpile.  Now we can hunker down again for a few months.