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| One dozen red roses courtesy of TopDad |
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| Baked Salmon, brown rice, steamed broccoli, green salad, fresh homemade bread, and raspberry/cherry juice. |
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| A very old recipe of my mother's - Wild Raspberry Dessert |
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
A Valentine's Dinner for Two
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
January's Frugal Report
One good thing to be said about surgery is that it keeps one from over-shopping!
I did well in keeping within budget for January, ending the month with almost $59.00, which rolls over into the next month. The goal is to keep accumulating an excess which then can be put into savings or used to pay off something.
Here are the numbers:
tithing and offerings - $160
food - $179.80
gifts - $50.25
postage - $76.82
storage unit - $25.00
eating out - $44.33
bank fees - $1.61
other - $205.27
I was able to eat out of our pantry and freezer and was careful to use up things and not waste. I don't get tired of eating the same thing everyday, but my husband does so I get creative remaking foods, incorporating them into something new, or packaging up leftovers for the freezer to be brought out later.
Gifts ended up being less than I expected because of a change of mind. Not being able to drive limited me on what I could do.
Postage cost lots more than I expected, but in my defense I did finished some projects and got them sent off to far away children, so I felt good about that.
In my January post I forgot about my portion of the storage unit we rent; two children pay the other portions.
I hadn't thought about the meals we'd need when I had my surgery. It was out-patient surgery on my right eye; Mr. Movie accompanied me as he had time off work to do so. While I was in surgery he ate brunch, then we had dinner that night, and lunch the next day. Even eating cheaply it adds up.
Bank fees are exactly the same every month; a fee for the ATM and tax on the fee.
The "other" was where I broke in my resolve. I did well until the third week when I was going stir crazy so I surfed the net and spent money for books and sewing patterns (as if I didn't have enough already!). Other also includes the cat food, toiletries, treats, and things I bought when TopDad took me to Chinamart and a thrift store or two.
Overall, I feel I did rather well. It wasn't all deprivation. I like being creative, and I like feeling a little bit of pressure to be so. TopDad takes care of all the other household bills, debts, and such. I am responsible only for food (for humans and cats), laundry and toiletries, gifts and holidays, personal expenses (subscriptions, donations, clothing, grooming), storage unit (for me mostly books, and our crib awaiting grandchildren), and anything I don't want my husband to know about (which isn't much).
How did you do in January? Did you reach your month's financial goals? What do you find most difficult?
I did well in keeping within budget for January, ending the month with almost $59.00, which rolls over into the next month. The goal is to keep accumulating an excess which then can be put into savings or used to pay off something.
Here are the numbers:
tithing and offerings - $160
food - $179.80
gifts - $50.25
postage - $76.82
storage unit - $25.00
eating out - $44.33
bank fees - $1.61
other - $205.27
I was able to eat out of our pantry and freezer and was careful to use up things and not waste. I don't get tired of eating the same thing everyday, but my husband does so I get creative remaking foods, incorporating them into something new, or packaging up leftovers for the freezer to be brought out later.
Gifts ended up being less than I expected because of a change of mind. Not being able to drive limited me on what I could do.
Postage cost lots more than I expected, but in my defense I did finished some projects and got them sent off to far away children, so I felt good about that.
In my January post I forgot about my portion of the storage unit we rent; two children pay the other portions.
I hadn't thought about the meals we'd need when I had my surgery. It was out-patient surgery on my right eye; Mr. Movie accompanied me as he had time off work to do so. While I was in surgery he ate brunch, then we had dinner that night, and lunch the next day. Even eating cheaply it adds up.
Bank fees are exactly the same every month; a fee for the ATM and tax on the fee.
The "other" was where I broke in my resolve. I did well until the third week when I was going stir crazy so I surfed the net and spent money for books and sewing patterns (as if I didn't have enough already!). Other also includes the cat food, toiletries, treats, and things I bought when TopDad took me to Chinamart and a thrift store or two.
Overall, I feel I did rather well. It wasn't all deprivation. I like being creative, and I like feeling a little bit of pressure to be so. TopDad takes care of all the other household bills, debts, and such. I am responsible only for food (for humans and cats), laundry and toiletries, gifts and holidays, personal expenses (subscriptions, donations, clothing, grooming), storage unit (for me mostly books, and our crib awaiting grandchildren), and anything I don't want my husband to know about (which isn't much).
How did you do in January? Did you reach your month's financial goals? What do you find most difficult?
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