2024 Household and Personal Care: January

 In 2024 the monthly budget for each category is $30.

Household: 

White kitchen plates  (4). $1.57.    Salvation Army 

Kitchen sink strainer.         $0.97.       Walmart

Spent :  $2.54

Under:$27.46

Personal Care:  

Mike haircut.    $14.   Great Clips

Under:  $16.00

2024. Buying and Eating: February 1-15

 Allocation for Month:   $364

Cushion:   $249.88

What We Ate:     French onion soup and salad;     Chili burritos, Chex mix, salad;      Pressure cooker chicken, rice and asparagus risotto with Waldorf salad and garlic bread;      Garlic seared scallops, twice baked potato casserole, salad;     Homemade Italian bread supreme pizza and popcorn;     Shrimp scampi over pasta with peas, mandarins;     Smoked sausage, fried cabbage, twice baked potato casserole;     Hot chicken salad, green bean casserole, pickled beets (2);     Minestrone soup and grilled cheese sandwiches;     Indian veg and bean curry over rice with salad and homemade flatbread (2);     Bean nachos, corn with salsa, salad;     Ravioli lasagna, salad, bread;     Chicken and vegetables over potato gnocchi ,spinach and citrus salad;     

What We Bought:

Aldi:  cheese (2 #), carrots (2#), apples (3#), mandarins (3#),  half and half   $14.99

Walmart:  eggs (4)  $7.88

Sam’s:  onions (10#), garlic cloves (3#)  $17.52

Sanders:  kimmelweck rolls, grapefruit, beef tip roast (2#)    $11.12

Aldi:  cheese (4#), Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, hamburger (5#), coleslaw mix, spring mix, fresh spinach, Brie, cucumber, tomatoes   $35.90

Grocery 2 week subtotal:  $88.01

Eating Out:

Lunch with crafty ladies.   $14

Eating out 2 week subtotal:$14

Two Week Total:  $102.01

Remaining Allocation:  $261.99

2024 Frugal Things in January

 1.  I purchased boneless, skinless chicken breast to grind.  I will make sausage with some and use the rest instead of ground beef.  At $1.77/ pound the chicken is less expensive than what it is replacing.  Significantly.

2.  I have been using dry textured soy protein to stretch my ground meat.  When I make chili I usually use it exclusively.  Inexpensive protein.

3.  I used up some stale rolls by making a bread pudding dessert.  Yummy and frugal.

4.  I made homemade tortilla chips using some of my salvage purchased corn tortillas, 30 tortillas for 50 cents.  Each tortilla made six chips.

5.  I had enough Starbucks points for a specialty coffee.  About six dollars saved.

6.  Mike used his birthday certificate to almost completely cover the cost of our lunch.  $15 saved.

Frugal Fail:   I lost track of how old a loaf of homemade bread was.  It developed green spots and had to be thrown.  Food is only frugal when you actually eat it.

These are tiny frugal things, but over time they do add up.  They are like tax free extra income.

2024 Buying and Eating: January 16-31

 Remaining Allocation:  $352.08

Two week grocery subtotal:  $50.92

What We Ate:   Asian peanut noodles, pot stickers, fresh fruit and yogurt;     Scalloped potatoes and ham, dilly carrots, fruit salad, homemade rolls;    Pasta with clam sauce, garlic bread, apple and feta salad;     Supreme calzone, cheesy potato rounds;     Pot roast pot pie, homemade applesauce, tomato pie;     Taco pizza, homemade tortilla chips and salsa;     Meatloaf. Baked potatoes, baked beans;     Creamy Chicken and veggies over mashed potatoes with cottage cheese and clementine salad;     Southwest black bean burgers, potato skins, jello with cottage cheese and fruit;     Welsh rarebit over rye, butter beans, chopped tomatoes and feta salad;     Beef on a weck, potato skins, salad;     Beef and noodles, Lima beans, salad;  black bean sandwich spread on rolls, salads;       Turkey divan with rice, fruit salad with banana dressing;     Rarebit on homemade sourdough bread, peas, salad;     Pepper steak, egg rolls, fruit salad;

What We Bought:

Sanders:  chicken livers (2#), bananas (5#), grapefruit (2), rye bread, hard rolls    $9.43

Giant Eagle:  polish sausage (2), fresh mozzarella (5), cherries (1#)    $13.77

Sam’s:  black peppercorns, Pam, blue cheese     24.34

Two Week total groceries :   $47.54

Eating Out:

Mike breakfast with the guys.     $2.84

Breakfast with Mike.    $23.32

Breakfast with Mike.   $13.37

Lunch with Ginger:     $14. 16

Lunch Mike:   $1.97

Two Week total eating out:  $55.66

Two Weeks grand total:  $154.12

Monthly Total Groceries:  $98.46     $3.18/day       $1.54/person/day

Monthly Total Eating Out:  $55.66       $1.80/day      $0.90/person/day

Monthly Total:  $ 154.12       $5.00/day          $2.59/person/day

To Cushion:  $249.88

22023 Household and Personal Care: December

 Household 

1.  Receptacle plate.  $0.73. Valu home center 

2. Brita filters  (10)     $32.99     Costco

Total:  $33.72

Personal Care:

Zero

Mike used his Veterans’ Day voucher to get his hair cut.

Year end totals 

Household:    $54.58 under

Personal care:   $84.64 under

2024 budget amount   remains at $30/month/ category.  It will be a stretch.

2023. Frugal Things in December

 1.   We spent three nights in DC in a hotel.  The cost was paid for by credit card points.  We saved hundreds!  Remember, we charge everything on our cards BUT you MUST pay the card off in full EVERY month or the points you earn aren’t really saving you money.

2.   We took advantage of seasonal sales to add to our stockpile.  Things like flour and pie crusts are at there lowest yearly price now so I stock up.

3.  We used $15 of our “free” Giant Eagle money to purchase items that were already on sale.  That made the money go even further.

4.  We had cucumber left over after the salad greens were gone.  I cut it into pieces and put it in some pickle juice.  In a few weeks we will have pickles instead of having to throw it away.  Win!

5.  Got 4quarts of beef broth and a garbage bag of yarn for free from my buy nothing group.

6.  My holiday meals were all put together using things from the freezer and my stockpile.  We ate like kings!  And I saved over 50% of what you might expect it to cost.  Just some preplanning can save a fortune!

2023 Clothing

 January

1 pair of black dress pants and 1 top     $3.98   Sandy     Salvation Army

Tennis shoes   $34.98     Mike     Sam's

February

$0.00

March

Boxer shorts  4 pair    $15.00.    Mike    Amazon

2 sweaters   $6      Sandy.    Goodwill

2 pairs khaki pants   $70   Mike    Amazon

April

12 pair underwear    $34.46      Mike.     Amazon

New belt     $15     Mike     Amazon

T shirts  6    $18.99.    Mike.     Amazon

Navy nylons     $0.99     Sandy     Thrifty shopper

Rain jacket      $34.99      Mike.     Target

 dress pants and top     $10.82     Sandy.    Goodwill

May

Top from Irish thrift store   $3.30  Sandy

Sleep pants     $5.79     Mike     goodwill

June

Shorts  $12   Mike     Costco

Nylons   $1    Sandy     Thrift store

July

Top     $1.50     Sandy      Canadian Thrift store

Shorts  $10.98     Mike     Sam's Club

5 tops     $20      Sandy.      Thrifty Shopper

3 pairs jeans     $16.02       Sandy            Goodwill

August

 8  bras     $36        Sandy       Fruit of the Loom

Teva  sandals      $36.90       Sandy

black Pantyhose (2).     $5.      Sandy     Wal-Mart

September

Leather belt.       Mike.        $40

October

Winter boots   $5       Sandy         Salvation Army

3 sweaters   $15      Sandy        Salvation Army 

November

Jeans  (3)      $94.97       Mike      Amazon

December 

Totals:

Sandy     $150.61    $0.61 over budget

Mike       $399.16     The numbers speak for themselves .