Budget Report Week 10 Cash Monday

We did really good this week. We decided to only take out $120 from the bank. At the end of the week, this morning I had $5 and some change in my pocket, and FabGrandpa had $6.00. We did go out to eat and use the debit card, for $27.00. So, even though we used the debit card, we are still under budget because we didn’t take out the entire $300.


Also, before we left Phoenix we went grocery shopping and spent somewhere around $300. That was 3 weeks ago, and we have only had to buy milk and bread since then. So, today, we drove over to Buckeye, Arizona, 80 miles away, to Wal-Mart to replenish the pantry.


Here is the menu for the next 3 weeks—we are going to try to make it 4 weeks this time before going back to buy groceries:


Salmon Patties/Peas/Mashed potatoes
Tuna A La King with Rice and canned fruit
Spaghetti/Salad/Garlic Toast
Mac & Cheese/Fried Chicken/Green Beans
Pork Roast/Potatoes/Carrots
Leftover Pork/Rice/Baby Lima Beans
Chicken with Salsa/Rice/Pear Salad
Meatloaf/Fried Okra/Diced Potatoes
Blackeyed Peas/Collards/Cornbread
Eggplant Parmesean/Brussells Sprouts
Chili/Cornbread
Black Bean Nachos
Beef Stew/Biscuits
Chicken with Garlic and Spinach over noodles
Bean Soup/Cornbread
Pork Chops/Green Beans/Mashed Potatoes
Tuna A La King/Rice
Goulash/Rice
Pizza/Salad
Salmon Patties/Corn/Potatoes
Roasted Chicken/Green Beans/Potatoes
Italian Mushroom Stew with Italian Sausage


We probably won’t eat all those meals in the order listed, but I listed them to show that I was able to get all the ingredients I needed to make these 22 dinner meals (plus breakfast and lunch stuff, and snacks) for under $300 for two people. And with leftovers, we should be able to stretch this out for a whole month.


I got us a couple of treats, too. Some garlic stuffed olives in Napa Valley Chardonay; some Black Olive Tapanade; some of those Mexican cookies FabGrandpa loves so much, the Surtido Rico ones. So we’re not even doing without good stuff, y’all!


Just so those of you who read this who love us and all, we are not on the brink of bankruptcy. We are just trying to eat a healthy diet without spending all our money on food. It is a challenge to do this, so it has become sort of a game to spend as little as possible and still have good food. With the prices of gluten free items out the roof, it is even more of a challenge. So, in addition to the Monday Cash thing, we are adding this monthly grocery shopping into the mix.


And as usual, I will let you know in a month how we did on this.

Budget Report Week 9 Cash Monday (OK, I'm A Little Late With This)

When Monday arrived this week, we counted up and found that I still had $45.90 in my pocket, and FabGrandpa still had $30. It was a great week, and we still were able to have some fun. We went out to breakfast twice, both times at Black Rock RV Village Cafe. They have a pretty good breakfast special. We drove over to Quartzsite, and browsed the flea markets there. We also did the drive up to Lake Havasu City and had both lunch and dinner up there.

Because we did so well last week, we only took $200 out of the bank this week. So, doing the math, FabGrandma style, (hahahaha) the bottom line is, not counting the disastrous week of Christmas, we had $75.90 in our pockets, took out $100 less than we were "allowed" to, add all that to the bottom line from week 7, and that puts us under budget THIS week by $297.21, which ALMOST makes up for the horribleness of week 8. And THAT makes me feel all better.

Budget Report Week 8 Cash Monday

Don't Ask. Really. We were THAT bad. End of story. I'll resume with week 9 where we tighten our belts and be really really good. (in the hole about $350, but it WAS Christmas, and we DID have to stock up on groceries, and we DID go crazy. And we are SO not counting this week. It was the failure of the century)

Budget Report Week 7 Cash Monday

Time for the budget report already!? We did a very good job this week--we still have $37.90 in our pockets after a very busy week. We went to breakfast twice at the 5&Diner, lunch once at a "not so good" Mexican restaurant, another lunch at Armando's Mexican Restaurant; went through the drive through at McDonald's twice, and Taco Bell once. I bought myself a new scarf while I was out Christmas shopping (the Christmas shopping money came out of another pile of money. Remember, our weekly $300 is for our normal, everyday living expenses, like groceries, fuel for the truck, going out to eat, sightseeing and such as that. And yes, I set budgets for everything.) FabGrandpa bought himself his favorite magazine and an expresso at the book store. And he picked up some lottery ticket scratchers and some ice cream for me while he was out and about one day.

So to recap, we still have the $37.90 in our pockets, making us under budget for this week. For the entire 7 week period, we are under budget by $127.31. So far, so good.

Budget Report Week 6 Cash Monday

This week was a little busy. We took the truck over to Chuck's Speed and RV and dropped it off for some custom exhaust work. Got a car at Enterprise Leasing for the day. Got an ultrasound done on my arm (NO, I haven't heard from the doctor yet!). And worked 5 days at the Christmas tree lot.

We took out the usual $300 from our checking account last Monday. Went out to breakfast 4 times: Once at Cracker Barrel, once at Fast Eddie's, and twice at Denney's. Picked up lunch once at Taco Bell, mmmm. And had a treat at Coldstone Creamery. If we had stayed out of there we would have made it under budget. Oh well, life needs ice cream once in a while.

The bottom line this week: We still had $13.35 in our pockets, but we used the debit card once at Fry's when we picked up milk and cereal, for $23.99. So, for the week, we are over budget by $10.64. But for the 6 week period since we started doing Cash Monday, we are under the budget by $89.41. Not bad. If you guys know how much self control this took, you would be cheering so loud I could hear you all the way out here to Phoenix!

Budget Report Week 5 Cash Monday

It's that time again, Cash Monday. This week we did pretty good. We went out to breakfast three times, once at Cracker Barrel and twice at Denney's across the street from the Christmas tree lot. We picked up lunch at McDonald's once (I had mine with no bun, of course). We drove across town looking for a particular store that sells Bio-Kleen dishwashing detergent because it is the only one that does not wreak havoc on my hands. (after we got there we found out they don't carry it in the store after all, but we got some really good stuffed olives instead)


This week, we have an appointment to get some work done on the truck. We got one of those superchips two years ago, which really does boost the horsepower on our Ford F-250. Now we are going to get a custom exhaust done, and that will improve the performance of the engine, too.

When we were in Pennsylvania in 2007, FabGrandpa had talked to a mechanic there who quoted a price of over $1300. We were pleasantly surprised when the guy here in Phoenix told us it would be only $890 and that includes heat gauges! So, that little job will take place tomorrow.


The same day, I am going to the radiology place to get the ultrasound done on my arm. They quoted me a price of $100, which will come out of my pocket since I have no health insurance. (we call it self insured. what else can you do?) We also have to pay for the service done on our refrigerator last week over at the RV dealership(more on that later). That will be $120 or so. We haven't paid them yet because we still have some things that need doing under warranty. We have to take the trailer back over there on Wednesday to finish that up.


So, while we are doing great on our spending money budget, we seem to be breaking the bank in other areas. This week's bottom line is: we have a total of $14.11 left in our pockets. That puts us under budget for the entire period by $100.05. That should pay for my ultrasound. Whoo hoo!

Budget Report Week 4, Cash Monday

We had a really good week this week. We spent a lot of money on groceries, because I cooked the Thanksgiving dinner for us and our friends, Charlie and Lynda. We had roasted chicken, squash casserole, sweet potato souffle, steamed green beans, and cranberry jello salad. It was all good.

We ate out at Cracker Barrel twice for breakfast, at the Chinese restaurant once for lunch, and at a Mexican place for lunch once. We also worked at the Christmas tree lot every day starting on Thanksgiving day.

At the end of the week, we had $59.99 left from our $300. The best week so far. FabGrandpa also had about $8.00 in tips from loading trees on people's cars, and I sold one apron for $25. Not a bad week at all.

With last week's ending total, we are now under budget by $85.94. Yay!

Budget Report, Week 3 Cash Monday

This week we did a little better. We went out to breakfast at Cracker Barrel twice, went to lunch at a Chinese place once, bought a boatload of groceries (but it was SUCH a good SALE!). We filled the truck with fuel, and drove about 250 miles over to the Superstition Mountains on an all day sightseeing trip, where we paid for a guided tour of a gold mine, snacks and lunch at a ghost town (more on that later).


This morning we did the count, and have $28.52 left of our $300. So, this makes us at the end of week three, under budget by $25.95. So far, so good. And we're not sitting here bored to tears, either.

Budget Report, Week 2 Cash Monday

I am really embarrassed to have to say that we went over budget this week. You would think that $300 would be plenty for two people, but it just didn't work out that way this week. It was the purchase of those hair products that put us over the top, but we needed them and they will last us for a couple of months, so there, I have justified my indiscretion on the money front.

We went out to breakfast three times, all at Cracker Barrel; out to lunch once at that Mexican grill place; and out to dinner once, last night on our way home from Montezuma Castle. (more about that trip coming soon)

So, the bottom line for this week: in the hole by $39.37. Since we were under budget last week by $36.80, that means for the two week period, we're in the hole by $2.57. I'll work harder at it this week. Sigh.