This week for dinner we had:
- sloppy joes and french fries
- spinach, bacon, and roasted red pepper quiche
- spaghetti
- a casserole-style dinner with rice, cheese, salsa, and chicken
- a celebratory dinner out
- and a couple of nights where people fended for themselves or ate leftovers
I spent $85.76 this week on groceries - a little more than I had budgeted for but I still have quite a bit of food left over that will be used next week. I think it will take me a while to figure out how to not stock up at the store when I'm shopping. I am getting the hang of not going to the store all the time, and only paying cash for things. I am beginning to love living on cash, but I'm still carrying my debit MasterCard around because it feels kind of dangerous to not have it with me. What if I needed it? I ask myself why I would need it, and although there are reasons I think the danger of reckless spending because I have the card is more likely than me needing my debit card because I had an emergency on the way to the grocery store or the post office. It's kind of ridiculous that I am on the wrong side of 45 years old and still don't quite have a handle on self-discipline when it comes to spending money. Although I think I am pretty good at it, there is still much room for improvement and I admit that I get a sort of thrill from shopping, even though I don't enjoy it. I just have to keep telling myself that spending money doesn't fill any kind of emotional or mental void. I know in my head that it doesn't. But it actually kind of does, although it's very short-lived. I haven't been practicing this way of spending long enough to see any big rewards but I'm not giving up, and the small successes are helping me stay on track.
In my Bountiful Basket this week I got:
- two giant heads of romaine lettuce
- a classically beautiful head of cabbage (seriously, where do they get this gorgeous food?)
- 4 big slicing tomatoes
- 5 avocados
- 1 basket of button mushrooms
- 8 bananas
- 12 or so gala apples
- 6 oranges
- 4 or 5 lemons
- 4 bosc pears
- 2 pints blackberries
All that for $15. (The extra head of romaine and pint of blackberries I got because my Little Prince and I volunteered at the drop site - you get a prize when you work.)
Sounds like a great basket--does anybody in your house eat bananas?
ReplyDeleteIf you don't carry your debit card, you will miss a terrific stock-up opportunity.
Avery and Taylor eat bananas, and when whatever is left starts to turn brown I throw them the freezer to save for banana bread.
ReplyDeleteRight now, since I'm striving to aggressively pay down some debts, I've made a rule for stock-up opportunities and that is that they have to be planned, not impulsive. Most opportunities are longer lasting than the impulse to go off my budget. I've had to tell myself again and again that this time of sparse spending is temporary. And that it is by deliberate choice, not necessity, which I am grateful for.