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Archive for May, 2017

Groceries, take two

May 7th, 2017 at 04:08 pm

Boy, this is really bothering me. It seems the last 10 days of April were heavy grocery shopping days. We ate at home, gave some food to a neighbor, and DH cooks from scratch. The prices at our local grocery store are higher than average. My boys eat a lot...DS1 eats way more than I do, and DS2 probably eats a little more than I do. I will start over as of 5/1 and see what happens this month. So, groceries from 5/1-5/6 was $115, plus $38 at Penzeys Spices, but the spices will last several months. Grocery shopping today, for food this week, was $103. DH will be going to Costco later this week. I know he's treating the boys to steaks on Saturday while I'm out for the birthday party I'm attending. He'll also stock up on fruit at Costco, as it's so reasonably priced there.

Groceries, observations and other expenses

May 7th, 2017 at 01:36 am

Groceries...We've been extremely diligent about food...the only eating out the last 2-1/2 weeks was $25. DH bought the boys a few things while they were out. Other than that, every meal has been eaten at home or taken from home. DH buys his lunch every day, business expense, because he usually meets clients, but he's very frugal. Most of the time he'll eat at the grocery store cafe. With that said, our grocery spending was about $725 the last 2-1/2 weeks. We still have some stuff in the freezer, of course. But wow, that's more than I thought it would be. That amount does not include household supplies/toiletries. Groceries only for a family of four. We eat organic meats, a lot of vegetables and fruits, and never buy processed items. We shall see what the monthly amount is. I'm hoping it's a timing issue and will even out.

This month, I have a mom's get together on Monday (will take cookies or something), a concert to go to (will use cash for refreshments), a birthday party (restaurant and drinks out which will come out of the household budget; the gift will come from the gifts category), and a get together with my high school friends that will entail middle eastern takeout food (household budget).

We also had a bunch of home repair items taken care of in the last two weeks:
Annual exterminating $275 (they will come back out unlimited times as needed)
Annual HVAC maintenance $225
Electric repair $115
Refrigerator repair $150
Roofer came out to look at minor second floor ceiling stains and will repair-TBD
Called for screen door repair-TBD
Called for quote on porch floor painting and exterior painting and minor touch ups-TBD
Called for tuck pointing to porch column and brick stairs-TBD
I set aside $4,000 this year for maintenance and repairs. The only other item we will do this year is painting the living room and new carpet, which we can cash flow if necessary.

The summer camp reserve is fully funded. It's funny, because I'm always funding some kind of reserve in advance. So the funds go to one bucket or another! For instance, my reserve for estimated tax payments needs $1,905 to fully fund it through 1/2018. So, instead of directing the funds there, I funded summer camp. The tax estimate will be fully funded by the end of June. It's all good!

Oh, and our village has an annual Memorial Day carnival and parade, which we always celebrate with friends. We'll bring food and beverages! Wristbands for the boys will be about $25 each. Oh well, it's once a year and tons of fun!

If the rain ever stops, I'll get my porch furniture out, hopefully tomorrow!