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Home > Archive: February, 2009

Archive for February, 2009

Weekly spending/Valentine's Day

February 16th, 2009 at 04:44 am

My Valentine's Day was uneventful except for 1 big thing! DH was out of town working, but he called to say he wished he could be home to make me a nice dinner. He then told me how much he appreciated how hard I was trying to stick to the budget and get our savings back up.

Now maybe this doesn't sound that big, but most of the time I feel like a receipt nazi, hounding him for every receipt, constantly talking about saving, saving, being frugal until I'm sure he would like to gag me! So it was nice to hear he actually appreciates it!

I had an almost no spend week. I spent $3.00 at a back sale for The Boys and Girls Club being held at work (hospital). I bought cupcakes for a few coworkers. They were 2/$1.00.

Otherwise, we have not grocery shopped now for 8 days, but I'm sure DH will stop into Winco tomorrow. I am certainly rubbing off on him. He took out a package of leftover noodles and cream sauce and a package of turkey Italian sausage and cooked it up along with the rest of the asparagus and a red bell pepper leftover from the week. It was pretty tasty even though the frozen cream/noodles mixture was leftover from a seafood dish that the shrimp and scallops were eaten out of. Ha Ha. Yes that's how cheap we are!

My lunch for the next 2 days is homemade mac and cheese with broccoli I fixed for myself Saturday night. I made a pitcher of iced tea and Crystal Light Raspberry lemonade that I mix half and half and take to work along with a container of milk and cereal for breakfast, nuts for snacks and an individual container of applesauce.

I am going to a luncheon on Thursday, which will cost me $12.50 and a couple of cans of food. The speaker is the chairman of Operation Homefront, a charity that is near and dear to my heart.

I have not spent any of my $100.00 allowance this month, so it will come out of that envelope!

I rolled more coins today with the help of my older sister (visiting from Salem, OR) and my mother, who lives nearby. I definitely felt like my mother's daughter, who couldn't come over until she took her clothes off the line outside!

Ended up with $109.50 and have dollar coins left to roll, but need to get some rolling papers from the bank. Note to self: As DH to check with the bank tomorrow. The bag is so heavy I could not pick it up since it included $54.00 in pennies!

Quick weekly update

February 8th, 2009 at 04:13 pm

This would have been a total no spend week, but my doctor called and between the 2 of us, decided I needed a few more days of Bactrim. Otherwise, no spend week!

DH was out of town again for a few days, splurged and stayed at the Motel 6 one night. I deposited $138.00 in rolled change yesterday, along with my $100.00 allowance for the month. I discovered over $50.00 in my wallet so I figured that could do for the month.

I will be transferring over $3000.00 into ING today to savings. Woohoo. It's amazing what a mind set, a real job with benefits, sticking to a plan and having DH on board can do!

I am starting to feel like the kindegartner who didn't go to preschool and see to be picking up every bug at work. This week I was home on Thursday with a stomach bug. Luckily I was able to return Friday.

Found out my oldest brother is having a heart procedure (angiogram maybe) down at the SF VA. This finally also hit DH between the eyes (10 years older than us) and we are committed to exercise and eating less (we eat right just a lot!). I have been using our treadmill, DH has not. So looks like the treadmill is going to get more use. So instead of couch potatoes we will hopefully be treadmill zucchinis!

The Costco Butcher

February 3rd, 2009 at 04:34 am

DH is at Costco so much that he got to know the head butcher. Turns out he lives around the corner from us. One day he was at our car wash and DH turned on the self-serve for him. A week later he brings us a huge package of pork chops on his way home.

Today DH is in Costco and goes by the meat department and the Butcher has 3 prime grade steaks set aside for him. He did have to pay for these though. They rarely get prime grade in and DH had expressed interest.

So I run the drill
ME: where's the receipt??
DH: I don't know, somewhere (vaguely looks around) $22.00 for these 3 huge steaks.
ME: How did you pay for them I ask?? DH: Cash.
ME: Your allowance?
DH: Yes.
ME: Never mind I don't need the receipt, your allowance is already budgeted out.

Hey if he is so desperate for some steak he spends his allowance on it, who am I to complain! And he really is trying to save all receipts for me and go along with the no eat out thing for the month.

So yummy barbecued steak, I ate about 1/4 of mine with the fingerling potatoes and barbecued asparagus ($1.48 lb at Safeway yesterday). DH had a hard day at work.

January 2009 totals

February 2nd, 2009 at 01:48 am


Budgeted amount Spent amount
Income total: $7,793.73
Charity : K-Love Radio Station $40.00
Charity : Miscellaneous $5.00

Utilities : Gas and Electric $32.74
(overpaid last month)
Utilities : Water $0.00
(Paid in December)
Utilities : Phone & Internet $87.55
Utilities : Garbage $46.90
(Billed bi-monthly)
Utilities : TV $114.64
(Yes I know, what can I say)
Utilities : Cell phone $30.00
Food : Groceries $319.69
(woohoo)
Food : Restaurants $27.25
(Okay so things went downhill after my Costco hot dog/drink fiasco!)
Transportation : Gas & Oil $216.13

Medical/Health : Miscellaneous $12.66
Medical/Health : Reimbursable $124.57

Personal : Allowance-Cheryl $100.00
Personal : Allowance-Ron $100.00
Retirement: Roth IRA-Cheryl $50.00

Insurance : Auto insurance $306.68
Household : Cleaning supplies $20.29
Household : Miscellaneous $1,937.95
(December AMEX charges)
Household : Pets $54.82
(toys and grooming, almost out of food!)
Household : Holidays $5.35
(Christmas cards for next year)
Debt : State Farm Bank $200.00
Debt : RSB Bank $141.00
Investments : Car wash $486.70
Gifts : Ally $51.15
Gifts : Miscellaneous $125.97

Gifts : Katie and Jimmy $21.47
Total Spent: $4,651.35
Balance in checking 2/1/2009 $5,720.74

I paid off my Amex this month weekly, reflected in the various categories. I am especially proud of our groceries for the month. Hoping to do the same in February along with really a no eating out month! It's a short month, I should be able to do it! I was surprised by our gasoline costs, but some gas was reflected in investments and DH filling up going back and forth to the new business.

I went over in the car insurance category. Our monthly rate for 3 vehicles is $107.00, but somehow pay my Toyota Camry every 6 months and that hit this month.

Our income was higher than usual due to a $3000.00 dividend check. I already put that into savings along with paying my mortgage 2/1/2009 to ING Direct.

I had a rough week, ended up in the ER twice, once for a UTI and 45 minutes thereafter for a reaction to the medication they gave me. Luckily I work in the hospital, so it was close! DH went out of town and brought me a lovely lunch the day he left (Wednesday) so that was the eating out along with breakfast purchased in the hospital cafeteria since I was feeling sorry for myself after being diagnosed Friday. Ended up being told to go home by ER doc, which I did, a coworker drove me home and I dozed watching Lifetime movies the rest of day/evening with my doggies close by.

DH came home last night and today we went to pick up my car at work, then went to Safeway for their sale. Ended up getting 8 packs of Diet Pepsi for $1.00 a piece (in store unadvertised special) and then 4 packs of Diet Coke for 7.99. We cherry picked other on sale stuff, some veges, canned goods and Cranberry juice and managed to spend the required amounts to get both $10.00 off and a free $5.00 pepperoni pizza!

DH made a leftover turkey goulash type dish with side of fingerling/sweet potatoe roasted. Yum!

Time to go see what's happening with the Super Bowl.