October:
Linus Project Blankets: 5
Adult blanket for a gift
Operation Gratitude Scarves: 2
23 skeins for $11.34 Goodwill
50 skeins for $14 Goodwillfor $23.15 Goodwill
2skeins for $2.49 (one overized) Episcopal thrift store
32 skeins(some wool) for $19.44 Salvation Army
10 skeins $8.80
November:
Linus Project Blankets: 4
Animal Blanket: 3
Scarf for gift: 1
Operation Gratitude Scarves: 4
December
Linus Project 2
Operation Gratitude Scarves: 14
Pet Blankets: 2
October:
Mike:
Watch $20.22 Exchange
Navy hat and tee shirt $11.75
Sandy:
Wool Eddie Bauer cardigan $4 Episcopal thrift store
Skirt $3.99 Goodwill
Long sweater $4.00 Salvation Army
Allocation for the Month: $310 for groceries and meals out
Cushion: $0.00
What We Ate: ham, sweet potato, cabbage and black eyed peas; scalloped potatoes and ham, green bean casserole, fruit and yogurt; vegetable soup and leftover cheese ball; BBQ pork and leftover sides; chicken paprikash soup and homemade rye bread; meatless chicken fried steak and sides; Buffalo wings, potato, lima beans; leftover chicken paprikash soup; seafood crepes and pea salad; Orange chicken with noodles and roasted root vegetables with an Asian sauce; curried potatoes, pea salad, warm cinnamon pears; homemade egg rolls, egg drop soup, onion pancake; fish, Greek salad, mashed root veggies; tacos and refried beans with roasted potato skins; pasta carbonara and broccoli
What We Bought:
Tops: Italian bread, eggs, liquid smoke ( for making kielbasa) $5.25
Bread store: English muffins, bagels (2) $3.29
Aldi: olives (4) $11.96
Price Rite: corned beef hash (2), canned chicken (4), boneless skinless chicken breast (5.83#), butter (2), eggs (4), orange juice $23.33
Grocery Total for Two Weeks: $43.83
Remaining Allocation: $266.17
Buying and Eating: We decided on $10.00/day or $5/person/day. Remember, this includes our meals out. We hope to have more of those this year with friends. Plus, it makes the math easier.
Household and Personal Care: Household will stay at $25/month. Personal Care will go to $30/month because I am hoping for haircuts and a pedicure.
Clothing : I am setting this at $10/person/month. We shall see if that is enough.
Linus Project, etc. Yarn: My goal is to find yarn for less than $1/skein. Last year I averaged less than 60 cents/skein son should be able to do it.
1. Mike got a free haircut because he is a veteran. A savings of $11.00.
2. We bought a 16.5 pound ham. It's original cost was $45.81. It was on sale for 99 cents per pound. That took the price down to $16.26 . THEN we used the $10 in gift cards we received when we had our flu shots. That took the final cost to $6.26 or about 40 cents per pound!!!
3. Mike needed a one-time prescription. He had it filled at a store that offered $15 in free groceries for doing so. Boneless pork loin went on sale and we used our gift card. The result was about eleven pounds of meat for $1.66!
4. Because of a medical appointment, we had to spend the night in Cleveland. We stayed in the hotel attached for free using a free night. We saved about $90!
5. We used some of our16 cent/pound pork to make Italian sausage.
Vegetarian: cheese tortellini with sauce;
Low Meat: assorted appetizers; beef pot pie; onions and peppers with Italian sausage; assorted appetizers; chicken Alfredo
Meat: catfish; beef stroganoff; ham; beef roast beef for Christmas; Christmas leftovers
Vegetarian: 1
Low Meat: 5
Meat: 5
The holidays threw us off track. A birthday and two holidays will do that. Such is life.
Remaining Allocation: $310.12
Cushion $1531.16
What We Ate: catfish and French fries with salad; beef stroganoff and rice with veg; ham, potatoes and limas; tortellini with sauce; assorted appetizer; beef roast for Christmas; hamburgers and French fries; Christmas leftovers; beef pot pie; chicken Alfredo and broccoli; onions and peppers with Italian sausage; assorted appetizers
What We Bought:
Aldi: egg noodles, butter (4), cream cheese (2) $9.63
Giant Eagle: boneless pork loin (11#) $1.66 This is not a typo! We used a $15 gift card Mike got for filling a prescription there.
Price Rite: coffee (2), romaine lettuce, cucumber, red sweet pepper (2) crescent rolls (2) $9.90
Tops: broccoli crown, fresh green beans, halo oranges, cherry tomatoes, iceburg lettuce mix, onion dip, $5.35
Total for Groceries this Two Weeks: $109.60
Eating Out:
Intercontinental Hotel $55.26
Bruegger's Bagels $6.38
Mike's birthday dinner at the club $18.62
Total for Eating Out this Two Weeks: $80.26
Grand Total for Two Weeks: $189.86
Amount to Cushion: $130.26
Final Cushion Amount for the Year: $1661.42
