As usual, I am slightly behind on my expense reporting. February is a busy month for me at work (not that I would ever blog at work... hehehe) and as a result I am exhausted when I come home and not as enthusiastic about blogging, especially blogging about boring numbers. I think I also have a touch of the winter blues as February has been a pretty nasty month, weather wise, here. But never fear, these are minor setbacks for me and I am going to get everything updated here right now!
I bought gas twice - once I spent $17.00 and the other time I spent $47.16. Both times gas was $2.25 a gallon (it has since gone up to $2.39 - yikes).
I spent $10.72 on gifts.
I spent $9.50 for a ticket to a charity event (which included food!). And while there I won a cake in the cake walk, so I will be eating good, dessert-wise at least, for the next week!
My cell phone bill was $54.79. Oh, and GOOD NEWS... I just found out my bill will be going down slightly! I get a discount through my employer and they negotiated a bigger discount with Verizon. it's not much, but I will take it!
My internet/cable was $95.36. I could have sworn this was supposed to go up but I am certainly not going to complain if it doesn't!
My electric bill was $79.00.
My heat bill was $51.00.
I paid $22.00 for the sewer.
I think that is everything, for now. I am going to be doing my month-end recap so be on the lookout for that in the next day or two (or three). Also, if I missed any expenses I will post an update. Until then, enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
What have I been eating this (last) week?
While I am taking part in my $50 a month spent on food grocery challenge, I will be documenting what I eat each week. Some people have expressed concerns that I can't possible eat enough on just $50 a month. I hope this type of documentation puts their fears to rest.
February 20
Breakfast/Lunch - eggs, tomatoes, toast, apple juice
Dinner - sardines, mac and cheese, salad, apple sauce, milk
February 21
Breakfast - cereal and milk
Lunch - leftover mac and cheese, kiwi fruit
Dinner - turkey panini, fripps, pickle, tomato
February 22
Breakfast - cereal with milk
Lunch - leftover mac and cheese, grapes
Dinner - ravioli, salad, apple sauce, milk
February 23
Breakfast - cereal with milk
Lunch - leftover ravioli, grapes
Dinner - fish, potato, salad, apple sauce, milk
February 24Breakfast - cereal with milk
Lunch - leftover fish, potato, salad
Dinner - veal, salad, side of pasta, rolls, squash, canoli
February 25
Breakfast - toast with PB
Lunch - leftover pasta, squash
Dinner - leftover veal, potato, salad, milk
February 26
Breakfast/Lunch - toast with PB, grapes
Dinner - spaghetti and meat balls, salad, bread, cake, fruit juice, hot tea
Dinner - spaghetti and meat balls, salad, bread, cake, fruit juice, hot tea
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Food Waste Friday
Spending money wisely also means not wasting it... and that includes not wasting food. So, each week I will document what food is needlessly wasted and report it here. Feel free to leave me a comment with your own food waste. Or, if you have a blog you can go to my new site, The Single Saver, and link up to my 'Food Waste Friday' post there (look on the main page or on the blog page for the link-up).
I am very happy to report NO food waste this week! Woohoo! I am finding it is getting easier and easier to not have food waste as the weeks go by and I am conditioning myself to be more careful with my food.
How did you do?
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
An unexpected food expense....
I had some Rite Aid UPS Rewards I needed to use, so last Saturday I went to Rite Aid. I spent $3.37 out of pocket plus $6.00 Rite Aid UPS Rewards. I bought:
• 1 gallon skim milk
• 1 dozen eggs
• 1 package of beef hot dogs
Sadly, I ended up with a very unexpected food-related expense last night. I have a second job teaching at a local University one night a week. Last night I had planned to run home before teaching to grab dinner. However, Mother Nature had other plans for me. We had about 8 inches of snow dumped on us in a short period of time. The roads became treacherous and I was lucky to get from my main job to the University in time... driving home in between would have been out of the question. As teaching on an empty stomach would have been near impossible, I had to spend some money and buy food on campus. I bought a half turkey panini with tomatoes, lettuce, and a pickle and a serving of fripps (which are basically just chips) - it was $3.49.
So if you are following along on my $50 a month grocery challenge, here are the stats: On this shopping trip (and restaurant meal) I spent $6.86 cash and $6.00 in Rite Aid UPS Rewards. That means I now have $29.83 cash left to spend in February (this amount includes my carry-over from January and what I don't use will be carried over into March)!
I will be linking to Frugal Follies and The Grocery Cart Challenge on their next link-ups!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
What did I eat last week?
While I am taking part in my $50 a month spent on food grocery challenge, I will be documenting what I eat each week. Some people have expressed concerns that I can't possible eat enough on just $50 a month. I hope this type of documentation puts their fears to rest. February 13
Breakfast/Lunch - eggs, tomatoes, toast, apple juice
Dinner - meatloaf, salad, apple sauce, milk
February 14
Breakfast - cereal and milk
Lunch - leftover shrimp fried rice, grapes
Dinner - leftover bagel pizza
February 15
Breakfast - cereal with milk
Lunch - lobster bisque (from Bravo)
Dinner - leftover meatloaf
February 16
Breakfast - bananas w/PB
Lunch - turkey wrap with lettuce and tomato and mayo, grapes
Dinner - Parmesan pasta, peas, carrots, milk
February 17Breakfast - cereal with milk
Lunch - leftover Parmesan pasta, peas
Dinner - banana and PB sandwich on wheat, apple juice, grapes
February 18
Breakfast - cereal with milk
Lunch - ham and bean soup (from my freezer), half a bagal
Dinner - beef hot dogs, grapes, kiwi fruit
February 19
Breakfast/Lunch - PB and banana sandwich on wheat
Dinner - (at a friend's) bakes spaghetti, corn casserole, salad, pound cake, cranberry juice
Dinner - (at a friend's) bakes spaghetti, corn casserole, salad, pound cake, cranberry juice
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Food Waste Friday
I wasted a handful of baby carrots this week. To be honest, they were probably still edible, but I didn't like their color so out they went.
How did you do? Leave a comment here and, if you document your food waste on a blog, head on over to The Single Saver and join our link up!
Also, click here read my insights on how I have benefited from participating in Food Waste Friday.
Making a small dent in my grocery budget....
I have been a bad blogger lately. I have been busy with 'The Single Saver' (have you checked it out yet?). Right now I am staring at a receipt I have had since Sunday and I am just now reporting it here. It is from a recent Aldi shopping trip. I spent $19.74 and bought:
• 3 kiwis
• 1 bag of baby carrots
• 1 head of lettuce
• 2 pounds of bananas
• 2 pounds of grapes
• 1 pound roma tomatoes
• 1 can green beans
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 bag cheese ravioli
• 3 pounds long grain rice
• 1 pound butter
• 1 bottle hot sauce
• 2 boxes mac and cheese
Also, I spent a whopping $7.00 out of my food budget on Tuesday when a group of us went out to eat at 'Bravo' for a friend’s birthday. I ordered a bowl of lobster bisque, instead of a full meal, and not only did that save me money but it was delicious, too.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that at Aldi I found an unreturned shopping cart in the parking lot which meant I gained $0.25 which I will add to my food budget! Woo hoo!
So if you are following along on my $50 a month grocery challenge, here are the stats: On this shopping trip (and restaurant meal) I spent $26.74 and gained $0.25. That means I now have $36.69 cash and $6 UPS Rewards for a grand total of $42.69 left to spend in February (this amount includes my carry-over from January)!
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