2024. Buying and Eating: October 1-15

 Allocation:  $403

Cushion:    $640.77

What We Ate:  hummus, falafel, flat bread, roasted tomatoes and yogurt;    Chicken pot pie, sour cream biscuits, apple sauce;     Tuna noodle casserole, peas, yogurt;     Chicken stroganoff, rice, sautéed cabbage and carrots, clementines;     Welsh rarebit on toast, tomatoes, applesauce ;      Chicken stroganoff with rice,  sautéed pineapple, veggie;     Stacked vegetarian enchiladas, tomato, yogurt;     Potato tartiflette, pineapple, mixed vegetables, biscuits;     Pad Thai noodles with pork, fried green tomatoes, bacon wrapped water chestnuts, Chinese onion pancake, rice with cinnamon and sugar (2);     Crustless quiche, potatoes, tomato bread salad ;   Sandwiches, panzenalla salad ;     Vegetarian tiki masala with rice, tomato salad, homemade flatbread (2);   Cheeseburger casserole, chickpea salad, cheese bread, mixed vegetables 

What We Bought:

Aldi:    Garlic (2), oregano (2), cream cheese    6.11

Giant Eagle:  tombstone sticks  (5)     $2.95

Aldi:  onions (2#), bagels (2), apples (4#), Roma tomatoes (.58#), cucumber, romaine hearts, multi peppers (3)     $16.74

Sam’s:  onions (10#)      8.54

Two week total for groceries:  $34.34

Eating Out

$10.00.      Arby’s lunch

$10.            Lunch with the ladies.         Honey baked ham 

Two week total for eating out:  $20

Two week subtotal:  $54.34

Remaining allocation:  $348.66

YTD    285 days 

Total $2632.57.      $9.24/day.      $4.62/person/day

Grocery.    $1941.68.       $6.81/ day.      $3.40/person/day

Eating Out.   $690.89.      $2.42/day.      $1.21/person/day

2024 Household and Personal Care: September

 Household

12 rolls tp.    $8.29.     Aldi

Door flower hanger   $3     Good Will 

Two custard cups     $0.50      Goodwill 

Silk forsythia      99 cents        Goodwill 

Two custard cups     1.99     Goodwill

Total $13.77 under by $16.33

YTD 

Household    Over by $22.51

Personal Care   Under by $126.57

2024: Buying and Eating : September 16-30

 Remaining allocation:  $165.42

Cushion  $881.70

What We Ate:   Leftover Smorgasbord;   Steak on the grill, baguette , mashed cauliflower, cottage cheese and tomatoes ;     turkey pot pie, spinach salad , baguette;     Grilled smoked sausage, pesto potato salad, garlic and cheese mixed vegetables, cottage cheese and tomato;     Leftover smorgasbord;     Mexican chicken and bean burritos, cottage cheese and baked tomatoes, bananas and milk;     Pepperoni balls with marinara sauce, pan fried gnocchi with cherry tomatoes and mozzarella, peas;     Tuna noodle casserole, roasted Brussels sprouts, seasoned yoghurt with tomato;     Ham steak on the grill, corn on the cob, butter beans, yogurt;     Indian vegetable curry, curry potatoes, butter beans, yogurt;     Cheeseburger casserole, broccoli, corn on the cob, toasted raisin bread;     Roast beef sandwiches with popcorn and yogurt with tomato;     

Eating Out:   

Sandwiches for lunch while salvage shopping.  $7.50Middlefield cheese co-op

Mike lunch Cleveland     $2.66     Sam’s 

Total Eating Out:  $10.16

What We Bought:

Salvage:     breakfast sausage  (3#), bologna (2#), chicken Italian sausage (2#), ground turkey (6#), pepperoni (2#), breakfast novelties (6), shelf stable milk (2), cake mix (5), specialty crackers, sugar (16#), vegetable oil  (gal), coffee (27#), green beans (9), pears (4), peaches(6), mandarins (4), whole cranberry sauce , pineapple (4), bamboo shoots (3), wax beans (2), carrots (3), cooking spray (3), poppyseed dressing, Coleman’s mustard powder, pasta (7), matzo carvel, mashed potato flakes, peas (4),  minced clams (2), vanilla wafers (2), apricots(2), tropical fruits (3), baby corn (2), spaghetti sauce (3), plum pastry filling, salsa (4), teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, applesauce, blanched almonds (9), pumpkin quick bread (2), matzo ball mix, taco shells (3), sun dried tomatoes (2), cocktail sauce (2), macaroni and cheese (2), stove top (2), Parmesan cheese (2#), Greek black olives, chopped dates (2.5#), tomato basil soup, quinoa and brown rice, self rising flour, lime juice (3), garbanzo beans (#10 can), applesauce (two#10 cans), oatmeal (8#), pop tarts (32), beets (3), green chilies (4), spinach (2), oyster crackers, cranberry quick bread (2), no bake cheesecake, corn Chex, maple pecan crunch cereal, cranberry almond crunch cereal, toasted oats, coconut, corn tortillas (30), rye crisp breads, birds custard mix, pinto beans, split peas, soba noodles, raisins, veggies soup mix, tapioca, cumin seeds (7oz), fried onions (2), flour tortillas (2), honey nut cereal, brownie mix (2), hush puppy mix, falafel mix, banana box of snacks.       $281.75

Middlefield Cheese co-op: deli ham,  Swiss, cheddar, Monterey Jack and paneer. Total   20 pounds.  $60.55

Refugee owned market:   Large quart bottle of toasted sesame oil     $15.99

Giant Eagle:  fresh mozzarella (5)    $7.45

Sanders:   Bananas (4#), yogurt (8),pepperoni balls, raisin bread, cracked wheat bread     $10.50

Giant Eagle:  digiorno pizza (5)      $19.95

Total Grocery:  $396.10     Our stockpile is now basically restocked for about a year.

YTD     270 days 

Total     $2578.23          $9.55/day          $4.77/person/day       

Grocery     $1907.34          $7.06/day          $3.53/person/day

Eating Out          $670.89          $2.49/ day          $1.25/ person/day

Remaining Cushion     $640.77

2024. From the Tightwad Gazette. Number3

 1.   Do sweat the small stuff.  Why?  They save so little, right?  But remember, there are more small ways to save money in your day to day life than there are big ways.  And, most of these small opportunities will reoccur and reoccur through the day, month, year.  Those individual small savings accumulate into larger savings.

2.   The search for inexpensive breakfasts can save a lot over time.  Here are some we rotate through on a regular basis:  oatmeal, pancakes, muffins, French toast, scones, toast and peanut butter, English muffins, cream of wheat, cinnamon rolls, bagels, raisin bread, cornbread, biscuits, cooked rice with cinnamon and sugar. If you learn to make these rather than buy them, you can feed yourself breakfast for well under a dollar, sometimes for pennies.

3.  If your grocery store has a scale, use it to weigh your produce before you buy it.  If the apples are being sold by the bag, use the scale to help you buy the biggest bag.  If cantaloupe is sold by the piece, buy the biggest you can get for the price set.   Your five pounds of potatoes could be 5.5. Pounds.  You get that half pound for free.  And a baked potato with broccoli and cheese sauce can make a great lunch or quick dinner.  Or, try them topped with chili and cheese.  Inexpensive and easy.

4.  Establish and maintain a well stocked pantry of items you have purchased at rock bottom prices.  And I mean rock bottom.  Shop sales, loss leaders, clearance , bent and dent stores, discount groceries and any other place you can find that will give you a good deal.  Try to never pay full price.  Don’t plan a menu and then shop.  Shopping is done to replenish your stockpile, you should not be buying ingredients for specific meals.  Shop first, menu second.  Determine the menu from what is in your stockpile of good deals.  You will save a fortune.  

5.  Try to eat seasonally.  Tossed salad in the winter is expensive, and basically tasteless.  Build up a repertoire of salads that use cheaper and tastier ingredients.  Carrot salad with raisins, coleslaw, three bean salad, potato salad, Waldorf salad, broccoli salad, etc.  or skip the salad and serve two vegetables.  Nutrition doesn’t have to include a tossed salad.

2024 Household and Personal Care: August

 Household

2025 Planner and Calendar.   $1.50.   Dollar Tree

Toilet Paper for motor home.  $1.25.   Dollar Tree 

Tide laundry detergent (180 loads),   $23.98     Salvage 

Two pillow cases for rv     $2.99   Goodwill 

Monthly Total:  $29.72  under by 28 cents

YTD Total:  over by $38.84

Personal Care 

Hair elastic (20).     $1.25.       Dollar Tree 

Dial soap 6).    $3.58.        Salvage 

Hair cut for Mike   $14.    Great Clips

Monthly Total:  $18.83     Under by $11.17

YTD:  under by $96.57

2024 From the Tightwad Gazette. : Number 2

 I learned a lot from the Tightwad Gazette that Still Works.  So I am sharing.

1.  Potatoes can be an inexpensive food.  But it depends on how you buy them.  I buy potatoes in a bag at the smallest price/ pound I can find.  A baked potato is one of the cheapest forms.  Mashed is also fairly cheap when you make them at home.  Fried, scalloped, augratin, and others made at home helps the budget.  Prepared mashed, scalloped augratin and such, not so much.  And the humble French frie, bought in the frozen food department, costs at least five times more than making them from scratch with a knife.

2.  When I peel potatoes, I make the peels a little thicker.  Then, for a different meal, I spray the peels with Pam and salt them.  Then I cook them in the oven until crispy.  A great side for sandwiches, pizza and more and made with something that you might throw out.

3.  I bake a lot.  To keep the cost down, I only buy flour at 99cents for a five  pound bag.  Sometimes I am lucky enough to find it at 50 cents a bag.  and I buy yeast by the pound for a very small fraction of the cost of the little packets.  Keep track of sales in the November/December time frame. Amish  Scratch and dent stores are also good sources.

4.  Coffee can be expensive.  And for me it’s a food group.   So we follow the system outlined in the Tightwad Gazette :  make your first pot as usual ; make the second by adding half the original amount on top of the first pot’s grounds.  The result is two pots of coffee  for 1 and 1/2 the grounds rather than 2.  If your coffee costs $5.12 per bag, by making it go further your cost ends up being $3.84.  Small savings add up.

5.  Keep your sugar and your baking soda near each other in the cupboard.  When you make pie filling, cobblers, fruit salads, and other items using fruit,  If you add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the fruit, you can reduce the sugar by 1/2 and still get the desired sweetness.  The baking soda neutralizes the acid in the fruit.

2024 Buying and Eating: September 1-15

 Allocation :   $380.00

Cushion:   $881.70

YTD  240 days  

Total   $1957.30

Grocery   $1362.53

Eating Out    $594.77

What We Ate:  eggplant parmigiana, pasta with sauce, salad, zucchini;     Cottage cheese Alfredo, fresh tomato with feta, grilled homemade English muffins;     Kielbasa on the grill with mushrooms and onions, coleslaw, potato salad, watermelon;     Southwestern lentil and black bean burritos, popcorn;     Assorted appetizers to celebrate our anniversary:  Asiago cheese and crackers, shrimp cocktail, bacon wrapped water chestnuts, spicy oyster crackers;     Mullegwatawny soup and salad;     Leftover smorgasbord;     Indian curry over rice with rosemary bread , zucchini and watermelon;       Grilled chicken, cheesy potato rounds, cabbage, tomato;     Meatloaf, fried potatoes, Brussels sprouts, applesauce;     Buffalo chicken casserole and leftover veg;     Pork loin, tarragon baked potatoes, roasted cauliflower, corn on the cob;    Cottage cheese Alfredo pasta, carrots with butter and honey, garlic bread, mandarin oranges;     Greek marinaded chicken, pasta with spinach and feta, cheesy cauliflower;     

What We Bought:

Aldi:  Italian bread, bagels (2), raisin bread, cinnamon rolls.  $14.77.    (We are in the rv)

Save a Lot.     Onions (3#), smoked sausage (2).     $8.07

Giant.    Oyster crackers.  $3.29

Commissary:  rosemary bread, cinnamon raisin bagels, #10 cans of green beans and corn, canned chicken (2), white vinegar (gal), poppy seed dressing, water chestnuts (2)     $35.10

Casselman Creamery:  feta (2), cheese curds( 1#), red Leicester   $25.07

Sanders:  pork loin  (3.25#), corn (3), cauliflower $9.09

Aldi:   Cottage cheese, mixed vegetables, fresh spinach, peas, broccoli, fresh carrots, maple crème cookies   $  12.23

Sam’s:  Parmesan, mozzarella, three cheese blend, cheddar,7.5 dozen eggs   $41.00

Eating Out:

Lunch in dc.   $11.    Panda Express

Breakfast in dc.  $8.48  Ted’s

Dinner in dc.    $35

Lunch returning from dc. $3.99  Sam’s   

Dinner in rv.  7.49.    Taco Bell

YTD  255 days 

Total   $2171.88     $8.52/day     $4.76/ person/ day

Grocery     $1511.15    $5.92/ day     $2.96/person/ day

Eating Out     $660.73     $2.29/day     $1.15/person/day