Food Waste Friday

Only 3 days to go until I begin my year-long experiment... check back on Monday!  In the meantime, I thought I would take a page out of The Frugal Girl's book and chronicle my weekly food waste. 

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.

Here goes...

• 2 apples (I am having bad luck with apples lately it seems - I picked a bushel last month, made 20 pints of applesauce, made apple crisp, have eating apples as snacks, and yet I still have a few random ones left that have rotted.  Sigh.....)

• approx. 1 cup of deviled egg filling (I made deviled eggs for "food day" at work today and I always seem to end up with more filling than eggs to fill.)

• approx. 2 cups of generic Cheetos, left over from a party on Friday (Actually, I gave these to the dogs for a special snack so does it really count as food waste?)

How did you do?

I am annoyed.

Yes, I am annoyed.  Actually, annoyed is not strong enough of a term right now.  Why?  Quite simply, I am sick of people mocking my attempts at not wasting money.

Case in point... my company periodically allows us to wear jeans to work in exchange for making a $5 donation to one of their charities.  Sometimes I do this and sometimes I don't.  Recently, we were given this option and a co-worker asked me if I was going to do it.  I said no, that I had better used for the $5 this month.  She laughed and said I wouldn't even miss that $5 and to stop being so silly.

Then today another coworker and I were discussing gas.  I said I might stop and put a gallon of gas in my tank at a station by our office, as I am running low.  Then tonight I would fill up at a station by my house that is always cheaper plus I get a credit card rebate for using their gas.  The savings per gallon comes to about 15-20 cents by going to the gas station by my house, which is roughly a $3.00 savings.  She told me I was stupid for stopping twice for gas just to save a measly $3.00.  I was really offended by her remarks.  $3.00 is not much but over a year it really adds up. And in my opinion, not wasting $3.00 and, instead, putting it into savings is well worth the effort in the long run.

So, am I crazy for being annoyed?  Or is this just par for the course when you are careful with your money.   

A Week to Go! And why don't I just start now?

I begin my year-long experiment in exactly ONE WEEK!  I am very excited.  Remember, I will be documenting all of my expenses in detail for an entire year.

I had someone email me and ask why I don't just start now.  That is an excellent question.  The answer is, since I am going to try to follow-through for an entire year, I thought the start of a month would be a good starting and stopping point.  Also, I plan to recap my spending at the end of each month so I felt it might be problematic to begin mid-month. 

Food Waste Friday

Only 10 days to go until I begin my year-long experiment... I am getting excited!  In the meantime, I thought I would take a page out of The Frugal Girl's book and chronicle my weekly food waste. 

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.

Here goes...

• 1/2 can of Pepsi (I hesitate to call this waste.  I basically only drink cans of pop when I have a migraine as the caffeine seems to help the medicine work quicker.  This time I only drank a little bit of it.  I even used a little more of the can to make myself a small "Pepsi Float" with ice cream.  But as soft drinks are not really healthy, I saw no point in forcing myself to drink the other half of the can just to avoid food waste. )

• 1 apple (It wasn't very old, but it rotted anyway.)

How did you do?

Sigh... the furnace has been turned on.

I finally had to turn on my furnace last night.  Sigh.  :(  I guess this is the end of summer and the end of the super-low gas bills for awhile.  

Here is what I am doing this year to try to keep my gas bills down:

1.) I have a programmable thermostat and I use it!  I keep the house much colder at night and while I am at work.

2.) I have closed all the upstairs vents (except for the ones in my Master Bedroom and bathroom)... my thought it that heat rises naturally so if I heat the downstairs it will rise up, anyway.  Has anyone had any luck with this approach?
3.) I am thinking about setting my ceiling fans to 'reverse' as I hear it helps push the heat down to the areas of the room where you are sitting.  Has anyone down this... does it work?

Remember to check back on November 1st!

Frugal Find (Free Meds!)

I scored another frugal find today - at the doctor's office, no less!  One of the things I needed to do was get a prescription to refill my migraine medicine.  I get my medicine the 'cheap' way (HA!) by doing a 3-month supply via mail order, but the pills still cost me $4.45 each!  And the particular kind of medicine that works well for me is not available as a generic yet.  :(  

(Those of you who also suffer from migraines will understand why I am willing to pay so much for medicine that works.)

While I was at the doctor's office I decided I had nothing to lose so I asked if they had any free samples "to tide me over until the new prescription arrived."  Pharmaceutical reps are always giving out free samples to doctors and so they usually have a stock pile.  Sure enough, my doctor had a couple samples of migraine medicine that she was able to give me.  This means I was given $8.90 worth of free samples!  It's not much, but I'll take it!

The moral of the story?  Don't be afraid to ask your doctor for free samples of your medicines.  You have nothing to love and lots to gain.

Remember to check back November 1st for the start of my experiment! 

Frugal Find

I love sharing frugal finds.  And I got pretty lucky with my frugal find from yesterday!

I had been thinking about getting a 2nd propane tank for my grill and to have for when I can (I have a glass top stove, which means I have to use my canner on a camp burner).  On Friday I went to a gas station and priced a new tank - and was told it was going to cost $60+ since I didn't have an empty tank to exchange!  I passed!  This was not a 'must have' item and I have lots of better uses for $60. 

Well, yesterday I was walking the dogs in some woods near my house and I found not one but TWO old propane tanks that someone had dumped.  These were tangled in plant growth and had obviously been there for awhile.  I grabbed one and dragged it home, where I then took it to the gas station and exchanged it for a filled one for only $20.  Having a tank to exchange over buying a new one saved me $40+!  Yeah!!!  

I feel good about this because I was able to clean up trash and recycle while still scoring a pretty good deal.  And as the woods I was walking through is owned by my neighborhood, I know that those tanks did not belong there (i.e., someone wasn't storing them there on their own property), so I don't feel like a thief.  Oh, and as for the other tank, I have a friend who would like it so I will be going back and rescuing it - and cleaning up litter in the process!  I'd call that a win-win for everyone.

Remember, only 14 days left until I begin my experiment!  It all begins November 1st!  

I just hit 100!

Wow, I just hit 100 page views and this blog hasn't even officially started yet (the fun begins November 1st!).  

Thanks, everyone!  I am really encouraged by your support.  

Food Waste Friday

Only 17 days to go until I begin my year-long experiment... I am getting excited!  In the meantime, I thought I would take a page out of The Frugal Girl's book and chronicle my weekly food waste. 

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.

Here goes...

• 1/2 can of cream of chicken soup (I used this for a recipe and had every intention of doing something with the 2nd half of the can but forgot.)

• 1/3 head of lettuce (It went bad before I could eat it all.)

How did you do?

Remember, I begin my experiment in 'full disclosure on spending' November 1st!

What is "Budget Confidential?"

I make a decent income.  I live frugally.  I pay off my credit cards in full each month.  I set money aside in investments for retirement.  I am doing everything “right.”  Yet I still feel as if I am a financial mess sometimes.  Despite doing everything right, sometimes I feel like there just isn’t enough money left at the end of the month. 

Why?  What am I doing wrong?

Financial experts recommend tracking your spending as an effective ways of taking control of your finances.  So, my experiment is to do just that – track my spending and expenses for a year.  Everything.  Each penny.  Anonymously.

You may be asking why I would choose to do this online… out in the public for all to see?  I have decided that full transparency is the best approach here.  I want to know people are watching and expect me to follow through.  I want to be honest with myself, and with you.

Through this year-long experiment I hope to achieve two things:

1.)   Cut down on wasteful spending before it occurs

2.)   Evaluate how I spend my money in order to help me make wiser decisions in the future

The journey begins November 1^st… stay tuned!