When I have a really expensive week I always feel like sort of a failure. It’s then that I have to remind myself there is an ebb and flow to budgets and that when you go over budget one week you just need to take a deep breath and rein in your spending the next.
My phone camera vs The HH’s phone camera
Yesterday afternoon the HH and I went to our favorite Mexican restaurant for our first “date night” of the year to watch the Superbowl. We got rid of our cable last fall and it has saved us nearly $100 a month for something we weren’t really using in the first place. Our bill came to $50 and after the tip we were left with $60 less in our pockets. Going out to eat has got to be one of the simplest ways to cut back on your food budget. And yet there we were happily spending $60.
Funny huh?
Something that would seem like an extravagance to our grandparents generation has become such a common thing in today’s society. It’s kind of weird. But then I remind myself that like many of my friends, I don’t spend $800 a month on groceries. Nor do I spend the extra $100+ a month for cable.
I should STOP STRESSING OUT. And honestly, yesterday at the restaurant, I was happy to be there. Happy to be spending time with my husband doing something different and eating yummy food. LIVE a LITTLE Mavis. That’s what I have to tell myself. Seriously. It’s okay. I am my worst own enemy. I don’t buy expensive clothes or accessories {I’ve spent less than $20 in the last 14 month} I don’t spend frivolously. I should stop beating myself up about it.
Also, I feel like I need a new phone. My iPhone 4 is limping along with it’s broken camera, busted case and outdated software. I’ve been thinking a lot about our grandparents generation lately and if they were alive, what would they think about all this technology. Or more importantly, would they feel the need to spend their paychecks on it. Cell phones, take out, coffee shops, fancy cars, electronic devices, cable, music, e subscriptions to everything under the moon.
The good, easy, simple stuff is cheap. And we all know it. So why are we spending money on it? Is it really enhancing our lives?
Yada yada yada….
Winco $35.03
Even though shopping at Winco is a totally different experience than shopping at one my regular stores here in high maintenance suburbia town, I LOVE Winco’s everyday prices on basic supplies. And that’s why I keep going back when I’m in the Tacoma area. Which I happen to find myself about one day a week these days.
Some of last weeks deals: Green peppers $0.48, avocados $0.78, cucumbers $0.48, pears and apples $0.98 lb, yeast $3.55 lb, almond flour $3.55 lb, dried apricots $2.91 lb, a giant jar of dill pickles $2.98.
Bakery Nouveau $13
I seriously think I could live on tea and pastries.
Albertsons $13.96
And ice cream too. 😉
One of the lunches I packed for the HH last week: Salami, cheese, dried fruit, peanuts and crackers.
Fred Meyer $6.07 after iBotta rebates and Greek Gods coupon
Discounted bread and guacamole… score!
Fred Meyer Shopping with Mrs. HB $7.50
More yougurt {the expiration date it March 23rd} and a free can of soup.
Qdoba $8.46
I talked Mrs. HB into letting me get baby chicks {and her raising them after 6 weeks}, and she talked me into stopping for lunch. 😉 Peer pressure at it’s best. With only $105.98 left to spend for the month… I hope I can keep it together.
~Mavis
- Total Spent This Week $144.02 {Weeeeee!}
- Total Spent in Janaury on Groceries $202.99
- Total Spent in February on Groceries $62.56
- Total Spent in January on Take Out, Date Nights, and Bakery Treats $42.19
- Total Spent in February on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $81.46
Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.
Julie says
Hi Mavis, We cut cable about 5 years ago and haven’t looked back. We watched the game yesterday using a TV antenna. It worked great. You might look into it. I think it was about $15 at Fred Meyer.
Anita says
We did the same thing! We dropped our cable 8 years ago and use over-the-air too. Don’t miss cable at all. We live in Toronto, Ontario, so we were able to watch the FOX broadcast. Great game!
Anita
Christie says
So have you ever thought of your phone as a business expense versus a personal expense? Maybe that might put the purchase in a different prospective. I hate how expensive new cell phones are but then I think about it and I can check both my personal and work email on it, have immediate access to my work schedule and on short business trips I don’t have to lug my laptop around because I can check email on my phone and have my work phone forwarded to my cell. Just a thought.
Mavis Butterfield says
Even though I could write an $800 phone off as a business expense, it still has to be purchased. It’s still money out of my pocket. 🙁
Christie says
Oh to be honest I didn’t even think of writing it off (darn I guess I should have though of that for my taxes) – more that I am willing to spend money for business related items rather than on things for myself.
Caro!e says
I hope you do a blog on a new phone. We both need new phones and just the upfront cost is breathtaking!!
This last pair was only a penny at Costco. Those days are over
a says
No snow pictures?
Carrie says
I spent too much on groceries last week too. I renewed my CSA subscription which is $144 for 12 weeks (only $12 a week for 5-6 items is awesome I just hate paying for it upfront). I am having a “clean out the pantry week”. I’ll be having frozen baked spaghetti, black bean soup (made from dried beans) and quesadillas, macaroni with tomato juice and chicken sausage (weird I know but it’s simple, quick and my hubby’s favorite!), beans and rice, and breakfast night.
UpstateNYer says
Look into a Trac Phone plan. A lot cheaper and decent phones with cameras. Marketing has convinced us we need the latest IPhones. We don’t, really. They can be found at Walmart and any place they sell phones.
Marcia says
I kind of consider a cell phone to be a computer. Because it is. Could I survive without it? Sure.
Does it make my busy life much easier and more efficient? Yes.
Colleen says
I recently went from an Iphone 4S to a Google Pixel. Love it! Many apps that wouldn’t work on the outdated Iphone are now available and I use them regularly to check prices and get notifications from Ibotta and other saving offers. Also easy to take pictures and upload receipts directly for rebates.
Staice says
I’ve heard that you can buy the pre-paid iPhones at Best Buy and take them to your cell phone carrier and have them replace the pre-paid SIM with a SIM belonging to your monthly plan. Those phones are a lot cheaper than buying the ones at AT&T or Apple. I plan to try this when I need a new phone; I can’t seem to part with an iPhone yet because I have so many apps and my phone integrates with my iPad so well I use for work.
Has anyone tried this with the pre-paid iPhones?
Laura says
Have you looked into Republic Wireless? We have been using them for 2 years and LOVE it! Super cheap monthly bills and no contract.
anne says
Choose your expenses..our grandparents would never pay for a dog or fancy dog food ..times they are a”change in” all about priorities/ happiness..everyone is different.anne
Jen says
Does anybody know if there’s a website you can go to where you can kind of “check off” the shows you watch and it spits out different plans you can buy (like Hulu, netflix, fire etc)? I want to pull the plug on directv but certain shows and the SEC Network are standing in (my husband’s) way! 🙂
Caro!e says
Try the Roku website. They have a cordcutters blog. Really helpful nnfo there
Jen says
Thank you Carole!
Patricia says
Any chance you could post categories for your budget? You seem to have compartments for so many different categories. Having never had a budget it seems overwhelming.
Thanks
Connie says
I also will agonize over a $2o purchase that I can easily afford these days. I think it stems from years of saving/pinching every dollar to pay for college for kids etc.. Totay worth it to have them graduate debt free but now I think I can live a little too, thanks for the reminder. Connie
BeckyS says
May I ask what the cost of both flour and sugar are at Winco? I can only shop Winco when I drive to the Portland area (over 3 hours away), and normally I despise the taste of off-brand flour.
When we lived on the east coast, I loved King Arthur’s flour. Here, I prefer Bob’s Red Mill, and I buy LOTS of it when it goes on sale at Bi-mart. I always buy sugar, powdered sugar, and brown sugar at Costco.
On the phone front, after lots of checking around, I paid cash for my unlocked iphone SE from the Apple store, and I LOVE it. I use it with $45 a month prepaid Verizon coverage. I get all the benefits of Verizon coverage, 4G of data (always enough….even when traveling), and I have NO contract!!
BeckyS says
My 17 yo son just bought an unlocked iPhone 6 off of Craigslist for $340. It was 64GB, and he negotiated it down from $400. It is in perfect condition, and he is thrilled with his purchase!
Mavis Butterfield says
Flour was $1.72 for 5lbs and sugar was $1.86 for 4 pounds.
Cecile says
Mavis, I see that you are getting great deals on food items but many if the items are high end products. Have you considered growing pickling cucumbers and zucchini and making your own dill and sweet pickles? Ben and Jerry’s is awesome but really $13 USD on ice cream ? For me that would be spending almost $20 on for tiny containers that I could likely consume in a very unhealthy time frame! lol Homemade gelatos are so good you should try making them and see if it is any cheaper for the same volume. I love that you are trying new bakeries, but since you are also trying new recipes why not skip the bakeries, add those funds to your grocery budget and make some homemade awesomeness at home! One batch of donut dough could yield you 12 or more different flavoured filled donuts, rolls or strudels! Just suggestions from someone who didn’t have an option but make-due.
Megan says
I definitely think you should stop beating yourself up!! Remember to live a little… 😉 But because I’m married to a math nerd, and listen to this all day… remember that if you paid $100/month for cable, to watch 1 game, you’d spend $1200/game. If you go out to eat and watch 1 game/year at $60, that’s still only $60/game! And you can make that a GREAT meal and still save!! 🙂
Tracie H says
I love this comment!
Leslie says
Mavis! A couple months ago, when the iPhone7 came out, I started asking around. “are you getting an iPhone7? What are you doing with your old phone?” Within a week I had a basically unused iPhone5 and a 6 with a shatter screen. I got it replaced at a shop because I didn’t want to risk a bad DIY attempt. So for $80, we were both upgraded from our old phones (but iPhone4).
I went online to set them up and saw our bill would go up $35/month! So we headed to the store so I could haggle. Without haggling, our bill went DOWN $20/month! WHAT?!