Budget for each $30/ month
YTD: Household over by $49.86
Personal Care over by $19.98
Household:
Replacement food processor part $27.56 Amazon
Because Mike is not able to drive yet, there were no shopping trips locally.
New YTD:
Household over by $47.42
Personal Care under by $10.02
Allocation: $341
Cushion: $423.43
YTD: (59 days)
Grocery: $147.47
Eating Out: $79.10
Total: $226.57
What We Ate: cheese ravioli, three bean salad, garlic bread; Mandarin pork over noodles, lima beans, cranberry sauce; vegetable tikki masala, Delhi saag, rice and yogurt; Tuscan chicken and rice,pumpkin oatmeal muffins, fruit ; Korean BBQ beef,chicken j Asian citrus slaw, butter beans; ham and lentil soup with cheese and crackers; cheesy potatoes, meatloaf , roasted carrots, fruit salad; homemade veggie soup and tomato quick bread with fruit salad; shakshuka, three bean salad , braised cabbage with apple and cranberry, tomato bread; seafood paella, green salad, garlic! bread; Tuscan chicken, green bean casserole, salad (2); taco salad; taco pizza; veggie tikki masala, Delhi saag, poppadoms
What We Bought:
Aldi: frozen peas (2),frozen broccoli (2), marshmallows, cottage cheese, sour cream, cucumber, green chiles, romaine, tomato, half and half, plain bagels, English muffins, blueberry bagels, cream cheese, yogurt (2), bleu cheese, eggs (2) $31.48
My first shop in six weeks!
Tops: cabbage (2.5#), rye bread, plantain (4), cantaloupe $7.21
Price Rite: coffee, assorted cheese (2#), spiral ham (11#), red bell pepper, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, calamari (1#), shrimp (3#) $53.22
We have ham to last till the next sale at Christmas. We have shrimp to get us to lent next year.
Two Week Subtotal;
Grocery: $91.91
Eating Out: $0.00
Total: $91.91 $6.13/day. $3.07/person/day
Remaining Allocation: $249.09
1. Frugal Soups Equal Frugal Make Overs. I make a soup every week to two weeks because they are frugal. Soup equals money saved on my food budget. But eating all that soup ( I can't make a small batch. I have tried.) can get boring. So, I turn soup into other meals. Cuban black bean soup becomes black bean burgers and black beans and rice. Chili becomes chili spaghetti Mexican lasagna, burritos, taco pizza and tacos (once drained), and the drained liquid is used to make Huevos Rancheros and shakshuka. Ham and bean soup turns into baked beans. Vegetable soup turns into cottage pie. Potato soup becomes scalloped potatoes. Frugal meals all.
2. Homemade soup almost as quickly as canned. I use my pressure cooker (think instapot) to make my soups It is very quick and I find the results more flavorful than other methods. If I soak the dry beans overnight (super simple) I can make a bean based soup in about 20 minutes once it comes to a boil. Non soaked beans can be cooled in about 30 minutes. Non bean based soup can be made in 10-15 minutes. And remember, you are making multiple serving in that time period. Easy and frugal.
3. Inexpensive breakfasts. Most of our breakfasts are grain based. We eat oatmeal, pancakes, easy crepes, homemade cinnamon rolls, grits, toast, grilled PBJ, homemade scones, homemade muffins and, as a treat, bagels. These breakfasts are cents/person, in general.
4. Inexpensive and easy basic homemade bread. Bread has gotten very expensive. I can make a loaf of bread quickly and with minimal effort for much less. (And we like the taste over store made bread.) I found this recipe decades ago in a publication called The Tightwad Gazette. It is my go to. 3 cups flour, 1 Tbs yeast, 1 tsp salt ,1 Tbs sugar, 1/8 c oil, 1 cup water ( the hottest you can get from your tap). Mix and knead with your mixer. Let sit for20 minutes. Form into a loaf. Put into a cold oven, Set temp to 350 and bake for 45-60 minutes or until bottom is brown and there is a hollow sound when knocked.
5. Frugal lunches. Most of our lunches are leftovers from previous dinners. Very frugal. But if I don't have any, I bake potatoes, cook pasta and veg with garlic and butter, defrost a soup, make a grilled cheese, serve pbj, and other inexpensive dishes. But, leftovers are great!
6. Bought a gift card from Discover and saved 15%. Only $7.50 but small amounts add up
7. A plastic piece of my house food processor broke. We replaced the part for $27rather than replacing the food processor for $199. Savings of $172 !
Remaining Allocation: $308
Cushion: $115.43
What We Ate: moussaka, sauted pineapple, homemade flat bread; flat bread pizza, cheesy potato rounds; calzone, snack items; Sicilian olive chicken, pasta and lima beans; shakshuka, rice, fruit, cheesy bread; cheesy veggie cottage pie, carrot and cranberry salad, Meg's cheesy things; bleu cheese gnocchi with Alfredo sauce, carrot salad, garlic bread; paella and crunchy apple cabbage and feta salad; grilled tuna and cheese sandwich, popcorn, fruit; beef stroganoff with noodles and green beans almondine; mandarin orange pork over rice, mixed veg, cranberry sauce; chicken and garbanzo beans, fruit mix, baked artichokes, parmesan couscous; cheesy meatloaf, baked potatoes, pickled beets
YTD (59days);
Grocery: $147.47 $2.50/day $1.25/person/day
Eating Out: $79.10. $1.35/day. $ 0.68/person/day
Grand Total: $226.57. $3.81/day. $ 1.90/person/day
Because Mike's knee replacement is keeping him from driving, there was no grocery shopping in February. Instead, we are eating out of our over full freezer and stockpile. We are doing well
Our new cushion amount is $423.43
