I forgot to include the price of two little boys' haircuts last Friday. I could possibly cut their hair myself, but it would take a LOT longer and they'd probably end up wearing a hat until we could get the mistakes corrected. So I take them to a small kids' salon about 10 miles south where the lady swings them up on a toy motorcycle, goes snip snip and about 5 minutes later their hair is perfect.

It costs $15 per boy, and I give her a $5 tip, so that's $35 out.

This weekend was low-charge because we didn't do much. I brought my food to the office.

But I have done a lot of grocery shopping in the last two days. It felt like a lot since I haven't spent that much in the last two weeks, but when I compare it what I usually spend weekly on groceries, it wasn't bad. And, we're going to use it all. There should also be a lot more room in our freezer at the end of the month since we're using everything up.

Sunday: $4 - ice cream man.

I know, I know. But buying from the ice cream man means no ice cream in the house, which is safer for me.

Trader Joe's: juice, chips & potato sticks (should not have gone hungry), makeup remover cloths (impulse buy - I've been out for a while, but I was telling myself I should use the cleanser I already have before I buy more cloths): $24.07

Total today: $28.07

Wednesday: see below; also, $135 cash in

Thursday: We went to the dentist, got our teeth cleaned, and had no co-pay. No $$ out.

Friday: Grocery Shopping. As planned, I went to Grocery Outlet first. That can be a dangerous place, especially the health and beauty aisle. So I kept repeating to myself, "I don't need shampoo or moisturizer right now," over and over. I found tartar sauce, bacon (score!), sugar and organic cereal. I also got a good deal on V-8, which G likes, and some other stuff.

Grocery Outlet: $51.39

Then we were off to Food Source, where we got everything else except honey mustard. How do they not have honey mustard? I love me some honey mustard on turkey, but I'm not making a special trip to Safeway just for that.


Food Source: $37.41

Michael's: I went to look for memorabilia pockets, to hold our blessings in an album. They didn't have them, but they did have large sets of beads for 30 cents each; and a set of building cards for A's birthday that build a castle or many other kinds of buildings - right up his alley, $12.95.

Michaels: $15.06

Total out Friday: $103.86

Saturday:

Farmer's Market (corn, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, tomatoes, watermelon, zucchini): $26.00

Lakeshore Learning: this was our splurge today. I love the large washable stamp pads and the spill-proof paint cups the teacher at our art class uses. They were having a 20% off sale, so I splurged on paint cups, 10 bottles tempera paint, brushes, a workbook for A., and a set of 5 large stamp pads for $62.17. Kind of a lot, and I'll have to look into a cheaper source for the paint. But when I consider how long it will keep the boys busy, I think it's worth it. And, I had enough cash in my wallet to cover both the Farmer's Market and the store, so that was nice.

Total out Saturday: $88.17

Week 1

My guidelines for this month:

1. Account for every penny. I am starting off with $165 in cash (thanks to a client paying a month's worth of co-pays in cash - I don't usually carry that much) and $202.11 in my checking account.

2. Get what I can get at Costco (assuming it's cheaper than store sales, which it sometimes isn't) - get what I can't get at Costco at Food Source or Grocery Outlet - get what I can't get at any of those places at Safeway or at the Farmer's Market if possible. Our grocery bill tends to be high because we buy organic produce and much of our dry goods are also organic.

3. Plan meals each week, and plan shopping lists from meals. Take a list to Costco and ONLY buy what’s on the list (I did this on my last two trips to Costco, and my total purchases ended up being less than $100 which is pretty low for me

4. Avoid Target. If I do go to Target, see above.

5. Use what we have. Take an inventory of our freezer and pantry and use it up rather than buying more.

6. Pack my food for work days.

7. No non-essential purchases. What’s non-essential? I’ll have to figure that out as I go along. In the strictest terms, anything beyond minimal shelter, food and clothing are non-essential. I say that TP and medicine is essential. I also say that coffee is essential, but it doesn’t have to be Peet’s and it doesn’t have to be made somewhere other than home.

A’s birthday is in the beginning of September. Stuff for goody bags and b-day presents are pretty non-essential in the grand scheme of things. But I imagine I’m going to buy them anyway.

As an aside, I suggested to A. that we ask people not to bring b-day presents to his party and instead he could pick a charity for them to donate to, since he already has so much stuff and really doesn’t need more. His eyes filled with tears and his “Noooooo!” echoed through the aisles. Probably shouldn’t have brought it up to him in the toy section of Target.

Monday:
Costco
Food Source

Tuesday:
no spending

Wednesday:
breakfast: $4.43 + .35 tip
frozen yogurt: $6.35 (it was a big one)
(didn't plan well for this day, but avoided buying lunch like I usually do, except the fro you cost as much as I usually pay for lunch).