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.

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

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?

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

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

2020 Words of the Year

I no longer do resolutions.  Instead I pick a word to guide me through the year.  This year I picked three.

Adapt.  Adjust.  Revise.

These words were stolen from Jack Lemmon.  They were the words he based his life on as he aged.  If they worked for him, I hope they will allow me to age gracefully.

But, actually they would work for anyone.

Stop beating your head against that brick wall.  Adjust your point of view.  Adapt your plan.  Revise your behavior.

Focus your energy on the positive instead of a futile fight against reality.

Greetings to All

Tis the season of goodwill to all.  Say those kind words.  Exchange the gift of time with one another.Be patient.  Be grateful.  And try to continue all this goodwill all year long.  When you fail, try again.   What a better world we could build in  a  year

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year you and your loved ones!