I must have done well at not eating out this month because I fantasized this afternoon about fish'n'chips and tacos, none of which is a mainstay menu item at my house. We used to go out for fish'n'chips when the English lived with us (my stepfather and his mother, from Liverpool).
Leanne Ely's Saving Dinner paperback died in the car. I braked, my purse and its contents plummeted to the floor, the paperback in several pieces. I relied on it a lot! It had nutritional data: protein, carbohydrates, fat, and suggested side dishes, and weekly menus that always included one vegetarian dish, and some slow-cooker recipes. I need the more durable spiral-bound edition. My Canadian cookbooks are decades old and still in use because they are spiral bound. Tangentially, I notice every Canadian cookbook I have has a recipe for butter tarts and for Yorkshire pudding, except for my ultra-regional Vancouver cookbooks.
We did eat out for lunch twice: once because my spouse earned a leisurely lunch through enduring enough stress that he felt entitled to one at our favourite cafe; another because our friend from British Columbia was visiting. And we ate Chinese food takeout from the supermarket: got two meals each for two people out of $20, and that time earlier at Billie On Burgers.
We ARE going out for my son's birthday next Friday. And I have enough food in the freezer and pantry now to last at least a week.
Outfitting boy for his field studies is DONE, with an exception of a 2 ounce bottle of Dr. Bronner liquid soap for his toiletry! I thank JC Penney for coming through with flannel jammies and bathrobe for less than a third of what I would have paid at Land's End.
Serendipity: $15 haircut for boy today in an instant walk-in, instead of $25 at the hipster two-hour-wait-on-Sundays barbershop my husband likes to go to (truth: my husband gets buzzcuts for about $15). So that is $46 saved from haircuts this month.
Food was probably around $700. Gas only $55 for the month (including scooter). Coffee we cheated, probably $46 instead of $40.
Car Fund: $278 less than August 18 balance
Stocks: up $150 from September 1
Debt: down $916.43 from September 1
I need a challenge for October.
End of Month Reckoning, also RIP Saving Dinner
September 30th, 2012 at 11:37 pm
October 1st, 2012 at 02:36 am 1349058983
Try to change your mindset that you have "failed" when you eat out. You didn't live up to your own expectations. You just stole money from your son's college fund for some french fries.
The point to this exercise is to change your eating out habit. Instead of spending $20 for burgers, go to the store and straight to the beef section. What kind of meat can you get for $5 per pound? Add in some rolls and a $1.00 bag of frozen vegetables and you've just spent $20, as well, but got more beef, and less fat or calories.
Again, this is NOT a criticism. It is just an attempt to help you change your psychology about one of your removable expenses.
October 1st, 2012 at 02:42 am 1349059359
October 1st, 2012 at 02:36 pm 1349102182
@Wino I approve of your Lifehacker mentality! That self-programming hack sounds worthy, and I'll try it out: I sure do need some cerebral rebooting.
October 2nd, 2012 at 04:00 am 1349150432
October 2nd, 2012 at 04:09 am 1349150996
October 2nd, 2012 at 04:41 am 1349152876