Spending morotorium

I went to the grocery store yesterday.  I was hungry.  I know, big mistake.  When I left, my total was $109 plus my cash back.  I think there were 14 items on my list.  What happened?

I'm not really sure. Grocery prices ARE up as evidenced by $8 packages of meat.  I did buy more than I originally intended.

So now, the real question is what to do.  I will need to get some perishable things from the store each week but I plan to use what I have for the rest if October and the first two weeks of November.  If there are some good opportunities to stock up, I may take advantage if that but otherwise, it's the basics.

Busy Weekend

We got a lot done this weekend.  The weather was a little warmer and we took advantage of it.

DH and I were able to overseed the lawn and power wash part of the driveway just close to the garage doors.  (New doors are being installed Thursday and I wanted the driveway clean in that area.)

We worked a little more cleaning the balusters on the front porch by both brush and pressure washer.  The front walk and steps have also been pressure washed for safety of guests on Halloween and the winter months.    

We also cleaned the guest bathroom including some adjustments to the sink and drain.  Most of the clothes are washed - there maybe one load left.  The shower liner has also been cleaned.

I was also able to clean the kitchen window - inside and out.  

This afternoon, I turned two over ripe bananas into muffins.  I had wanted to make apple sauce this weekend and can but it, along with our flu shots, never happened.

The coming week only has three work days for me (yippee).  Thursday morning I pick up 80 pounds of chicken to be trimmed and packaged.  That morning the garage doors are also being installed.  

It's been kind of a crazy week ...

And weekend here.  GS #4 had another stay in the er and hospital early in the week.  We kept #5 and ran him home and to daycare/school until his older brother was released.  I was off Wednesday so he stayed the day with me and then Thursday DH/Papa kept him.  Friday, he stayed with the other side of the family and should be good to go back to school tomorrow.

Saturday morning, I went to one of the kids soccer games while DH ran a few car related errands.  Flirt to the tire shop to get his new setup checked out.  It turns out that he had a nail in one of the tires and they also rebalanced them while he was there.  Taking that road hazard plan on those tires was a good call.  Oop = $0.  Next he headed over to the new mini dealership.  He had noticed that some of the rubberized gaskets around his windshield had cracked off.  He asked, and yes! they will replace it under warranty.  Another win with no out of pocket.

We stopped by BJs and picked up some things, mostly groceries, and we went to Publix today.  I've spent about $160 in groceries this weekend which should leave me about $10 over budget.  At BJs, we purchased two and a half pounds of stew meat.  With the first pound - or maybe a little less - I made a big pot of vegetable beef soup.  We should get two dinners and probably a lunch out of that.  The other meat was cut into large chunks and vacuum packed for the freezer.  

I also bound a package of two roast beefs.  One for Tuesday and one for the freezer.  They were pricey but still less than the grocery store.  They were $4.99 a pound versus over $6 at the grocery.  These are very lean, boneless roasts that are perfect for the crockpot.  Each one should feed at least 10 meals, first as roast beef and then as either sandwiches or pot pie, beef and noodles, or soup.

I've started slowly stocking back up on my rice and grains.  My plan this time is to freeze every package at least two weeks before it goes into the bucket and they will stay in their original plastic containers.  I will buy one rice and one dry bean each week for the next 10 weeks.  I'm also planning on stocking up on canned goods: green beans, kidney beans, corn, tomatoes, tomato paste, etc.  I like to buy these in the plastic wrapped cases to keep them clean longer.  Four cans each week over and above what I intend to use for the week.

As for the current week, here's my plan:

Sunday - blackeyed peas with ham

Monday - leftover vegetable beef soup

Tuesday - roast and mashed potatoes

Wednesday - leftover surprise soup/peas

Thursday - leftover roast

Friday - chef salad

Little things to save money

Last weekend we did a few things ourselves that saved us some money.  

One of the light fixtures in the basement had it's pull chain break.  We simply purchased a new fixture at Home Depot and replaced it.  Because it is a very simple, old fashioned socket, it was less than $5. DH also pulled back some items along the basement wall and sprayed it down with a Clorox bleach solution.  We have some moisture seeping in through the block and causing the paint to come off the inside of the wall.  It looks like we will be re painting some of this wall section with some dry lock paint this fall.  

On a fun note, DH wanted to add some side graphics to his car.  Instead of having the dealership or a third party order and apply the decals, we did it ourselves.  It cost about $50 and we spent about an hour with the installation.

The most expensive thing we did was to order some new wheels for the car.  We are hoping to sell the old ones for enough to cover at least half the cost of the new ones.  They are in excellent shape and are oem type wheels.  Keep your fingers crossed that we can find a buyer.

We need to over seed our lawn but the weather has not been cooperating.  The grass needs to be cut but it keeps raining.  

I'm busy creating doll clothes for Christmas gifts, working on my quilt project and some other miscellaneous craft projects.