Meal Planning

I've not been doing this as I am sure you can see by our constant eating out.

What I have to work with (off the top of my head, I know there is more...)
Dry: Rice, noodles, shaped pastas, flour, oatmeal, Irish oats, hominy, several kinds of dried beans, tons of chickpeas, tons of organic stock and organic mac and cheese
Jarred/canned: spaghetti sauce & pineapple chunks
Frozen: chicken breast, a pack of sausages, 1 pd of GB, 1 pack of chicken legs, some bread rounds and mystery aluminum foiled items.
Produce: 4 apples, 1 iffy cutie orange
Cold: salad dressing and 2 yogurts - that's it, sad eh?

What I bought for the week:
Doritos - $2
2 20oz Breads - 69 cents each
BBQ Sauce - 49 cents
2 Sierra Mists - 69 cents each
2 packs of ballpark hot dogs - 99 cents each
2 heads of lettuce - 49 cents each
(these were all the grand opening specials for my store)
dozen eggs - 1.49
1 pd stir fry veggies - 1.67
vidalia onions (1.94 pds @ .79 pp)
milk - 3.59 (this is the cheap milk too)
peaches 1.39 pds @ 1.69 pp
2 pds frozen green peas
a big seedless watermelon - 3.99
2 taco seasonings - 39 cents
2 12oz frozen snap peas - $1.50 each
ground chuck - 3.05pds @ 2.69 pp
2.59 pds of bananas @ 49 cents pp
1 pd frozen corn - 1.25
then I had a $5 off of $35 grand opening coupon so all of this was 37.99.

Breakfast will be eggs, toast, oatmeal or hot cereal and fruit.
Lunch is whatever I can pull together. Prob leftovers. This is the first week of no school.
Dinners
1 - chicken, stir fry veggies, rice noodles
2 - beef tacos with salad
3 - chicken and dumplings with peas & carrots
4 - chicken enchiladas & corn
5 - taco rice (DD has requested more taco-y things), beef, black beans, rice - spiced up
6 - pepper chicken, rice & snap peas
7 - my guy normally takes us out

I will need to pick up a jalapeno and several packs of Kroger generic enchilada seasoning mix this week. I also have a free salad dressing and free egg coupon for them that I will cash in.

So if I make enough for a family of 4, then we should in theory have enough to roll to lunch the next day. I should be able to roll 1 bread (freeze it), the BBQ Sauce, the 1 pack of ballpark hotdogs, some onions, a frozen pea, a frozen snap pea & 1 pd of hamburger to another week.

~~~~~~Rant time~~~~~~

I went shopping this week with the intention of stocking up to put an end to the eating out. But I was simply horrified by the prices. I did pick and choose the super cheap items for the week and I'll work with it. But I wanted a few "fancy" things this week. Like shrimp, normally it is $5 pp on sale. $8 now. I wanted a dirty rice mix. $2.89 instead of $1.50 (max). Veggies used to be 75 cents pp frozen are on sale, $1.25. Taco seasoning mix, you know the powder envelope was 99 cents. For powder? I switched to the super generic store brand, taco bell can stick it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The new Kroger ad came out today and luckily apples, pears, avocados, yellow squash, zucchini, green beans & tomatoes are 99 cents pp. I will pick those up much later in the week for next week's menu. if I make up 10 stir fry mixes, I will have saved $6.70. It is something to think about for sure.

Extra Moola $493.39

So my house should close next week. My buyer has been renting it for 3 weeks now and I have collected $750. I have an interest only loan on that house right now (kinda - don't ask, it's weird math) so I am going to take out the 256.61 that I'd pay for the month. And the other $493.39 will go straight to my extra money column. I might get another week's rent if closing is pushed to Friday. If so, I'll add it here.

Plus I should be receiving an insurance premium overage check, if I have done my math right. I will post that if/when it comes.

Changing Things Around

The way I am tracking stuff is getting on my nerves. Back when I had more time, and more patience, I relished in marking each item off its own little category and keeping running totals.

No more. I mean seriously, single (ish) mom here with 2 jobs. I am sooo over it.

I am going to look through all my bank statements and CC statement and calculate how much I spent for the month. Then I'll just report the overall chunk of cash at the end of each month.

What I'll stop doing is beating myself up over every nickel and penny. I am my own worst enemy.

So anyway, I am going to play with the numbers and change my little sidebar shortly.

Spending - Week Twenty One (May 15 - May 27)

We are at the beach - wheeeeeeee

Spending - Week Twenty (May 14 - May 20)

14 - $4.93 on Starbucks for me and the boy. $59.72 for groceries at Kroger.
15 - $16.42 a game for DD for her Leapster. I am taking this out of her allowance.
16 - zero
17 - breakfast $3.29 and DG $7.10
18 - zero
19 - another bobo bear for DD. $15.79
20 - zero - kinda - I have a few things to pick up for our trip that I'll roll into vacation money.

So a little better this week. The groceries at Kroger just floored me though. Part of it was $10 in cokes for me. But everything was just a little more and it really added up. I can't wait until the farmers market starts back up.

For our trip next week, we are taking some stuff to cook in the room (we will have a full kitchen). I will note if this really saves money. I am bringing 2 dinners and stuff for our lunch. Mom is doing the same then we'll share for variety. Normally bringing food and cooking doesn't bother me. But for some reason this week it is rubbing me the wrong way. I guess I just want to lounge and be catered to. Silly me! lol

Sold

Another tutu - this is my reminder to add $18 to the bottom number.

Spending - Week Nineteen (May 7 - May 13)

I am going to keep weekly tracking even though it looks like I'll have to hit up my savings to cover everything for the year. Phooey on me.

7 $23.25 groceries, $1.95 home depot, $12.75 drinks and lunch
8 $37.70 mothers day gift, $78 target, $10.79 Mother's Day present
9 zero
10 $3.48 breakfast, $14.24 stuff for wedding, $3 change of address fee, $42.09 gas
11 $5.35 BK, $21.23 for biz supplies, $53.05 for wedding stuff, $10.95 dress for DD
12 5.48 McDonalds (My new daycare payment is to feed my Mom breakfast), $4.37 gift for mom, $45.91 for wedding things. $4.51 for lunch tacos
13 zero

Sold

I was paid for one tutu tonight, sold another with payment and got another order tonight. I won't count the third until I am paid so this is my reminder to put $36 into the extra money column below.

I've also sold some bows at the consignment store and they have requested more purple ones. It looks like that is going to average 10 a month. Not a huge amount but its not like I am spending time selling them. I drop them off, I pick up cash. But I won't add that number to the bottom until I pick up the money.

I will have some super cute outfits available in size XS (4-5) and S (6). The shirt is black with glittery paris stuff on it. The tutu is hot pink, black and white. The hairbows have little effiel towers on them too. The complete package is $35. I will post pictures soon!

I am working away at my stock items for the big Oct sale. It is a huge festival where Carla (makes fun paper goods) and I will share a tent/booth. I am SO behind! I want to take 50 tutus and have 2 dozen of each bow done. I should stop posting and get back to sewing :)

Spending - Week Eighteen (April 30-May 6)

So we are back from NYC. After running all the numbers I spent $1136 for the week. $510 of that was the room, the rest was food, Mary Poppins tickets, tourist tickets to everything (bought these for my boy for his birthday) and a couple of souvies (I bought 2 pictures for $20 and DD got about $12 in toys).

With Natalie's train ticket and my prebuy for the statue of liberty tickets, I was at $1244 only $44 over. Pretty good considering those last minute tickets for Mary Poppins were $192! (eeck!)

Spending - Week Seventeen (April 23-29)

oops, I totally forgot to do this week's post. Since I am 100% credit carding it these days, at least I can go back and look stuff up.

23- $32.37 groceries
24 - ice cream treats for everyone 7.30
25 - zero
26 - lunch at work, $2.66, walmart 104.83(bath & cleaning mostly - we were out of everything)
27 - gas 42.86, taco bell 3.59
28 - bakery $7
29 - zero

So not horribly bad, not fantastic either.