Helping Mrs. HB Get Control of Her Grocery Budget – Week 18

I don’t know what it is… Maybe the wonderful weather, me getting a little blasé about it all or maybe it’s becoming second nature, but I am having a hard time getting excited about writing for Ms. Mavis lately.

You know they say that habits start to take hold in about three weeks. Well I have been working on my budget for a little over four months! Can you believe that ? I can’t. It seems just like yesterday that Ms. Mavis and I were on a little walk in the rain around Christmas time and I mentioned that I was going to finally give Mr HB a budget for His B Day, which is three days after Christmas. She then said, “Let’s blog about it”. I was like LOL sure, thinking it really wouldn’t last more than a couple of weeks. Not that Mavis would back out but that I wouldn’t hang in there.

It really is unbelievable how I have transformed my spending habits! And honestly I don’t know if I was not doing this so “publicly” that it would have stuck. Plus having Ms Mavis on my back hasn’t hurt my success either!

So I thought I would share some of the positive outcomes of this whole journey.

1. I no longer feel the need or urge to go into “those stores” anymore.
2. I have learned to occupy my time with computer work, walks, or reading, if I do have some down time during the work day.
3. My life is much less stressful!
4. Meal planning has not been the burden I thought it would. It has actually set me free.
5. My HB hubby is learning he can relax about “We’re does all the many go?”
6. I know where all my money goes.
7. I have managed to save $2,456.78
8. I have learned to use Ibotta and ecoupons
9. I don’t need to go to the grocery store except once a week and how to make do if I don’t have something.
10. I can go into Costco and not spend the proverbial $300.00
11. I can stick to a list.

And really I could just keep going. For instance, in the beginning I had a really hard time allowing myself to buy stuff that wasn’t part of the plan or on my list. I have since learned it’s okay. Many of you have suggested making a slush fund for those incidentals and I have. For instance the new front porch pots from last week was from that slushy fund and this week I purchased two new lamps for our master bedroom. And I love them! I also didn’t purchase anything else from Home Goods on both occasions. If this had been 4 months ago I would have walked out of that store with about 5 or 10 extra things I thought I “needed”. Progress yes?! Well I think so.

So what about the weather ? My stars it’s been beautiful this weekend and had to get into the ground all those starts Ms Mavis and I planted a while back. They were starting to get funky looking. HB Boy made those planters with his Boy Scout troop and I am excited to see if they curtail the slug situation. I think we must have an infestation problem going on. I should collect all those slug eggs. I saw a documentary once where someone does this and makes a killing. It’s like caviar. Gag me with a spoon! (a through back catch phase from the 80’s ).

Finally the chicken pen has a real door ! Chino the Handyman came through and has collected payment and his first installment of fresh eggs. I also wrote a nice handwritten thank you note. I am sure this wasn’t at the top of his list, of many things to do, but I am oh so grateful.

I don’t normally ask people to do stuff for me especially if I feel it’s an imposition but honestly when he hesitantly said yes to the project, I bit my tongue and said Great! With a bit of humiliation I needed him to do it. I know for a fact we would still be using the old contraption we called a door and should I have attempted to make it, it would not look anything like this! High five to Chino the handyman!

I wasn’t going to go to the grocery this week but ended up going anyway? Cinco de Mio was this week and was planning on having my HB brother over. I think he works more that we do because we never see him and he’s been up here a year now. We made ribs that have been in the freezer for awhile. HB boy and I wanted slaw. I need to figure out how FM makes it. It tastes just like The Colonel’s and probably has tons of sugar. Mine tastes nothing like this.

Two FM freebies this week, yay, sale fruit and dollar potatoes. I did splurge on the beer and lime, a must have for the occasion. And the cereals where with an ecoupon.  I spent $ 56.38.

I also didn’t meal plan this week and I’ve learned that’s ok. We ate leftovers from last week almost every night. YAY!

Well I have a couple of hours of sweet, rain free, warm sun light left and going outside to make the most of it.

Thank you everyone for walking with me during this journey!

Until next week,

Mrs. Hillbilly