I LIVE ON A BUDGET.
Always have. Always will.
Lucky for him, I'm really OK with that. I am not a high-maintenance kind of girl. I don't get my nails done. I carry faux Coach bags. $5 flip flops from Old Navy suit me just fine. Get the picture? This is my most favorite jacket of all time.
It is super faded. The pocket is ripped. The pull on the zipper is gone making it very difficult to zip up. The edges are frayed. But I wear it like it was brand new!
I think it's easy for me to live on a budget because I like a challenge. I am more than just a little competitive - even with myself. (That is so lame, I know.)So, the President and Vice-President of Budgeting at the Wright house (CBOTB and moi) had a little meeting at the beginning of January and it went something like this:
Pres: We (meaning the VP) seem to be spending more money lately.
VP: (indignantly) What??? That can't be. I don't go anywhere. I don't do anything. I don't buy anything. Just show me where the money's going.
Word of advice: never, never, never say this to an auditor.
So, we get out all our receipts for the past several months and put them in their categories - all the standards with grocery and miscellaneous aka the-category-that-kills-your-budget. There were more than a few from Ross and my favorite drive-thru car wash. (That place just makes me happy!) But, the one that really made me crazy was our grocery budget!!
Now you may have noticed the cost of everything has gone up at the grocery store. But, for our family of 4, we were spending way too much money. And I know exactly why: because I do not like grocery shopping. I would rather eat lima beans and kiss a frog than do it. I used to plan my menus for 10-12 days and shop BIG for that but I eventually dwindled to one big trip a month. That led to the budget-busting "run to the store real quick" for a few things that would always include a few things that we didn't really need. (the latest issue of Southern Living and Mint Milanos would fall into this category.)
Seeing how much we were spending just put a bee in my bonnett. It is my j.o.b. to do the best I can for my family when it comes towhat we spend on groceries. Here comes the fighter in me - the eye of the tiger, rising up to the challenge of ...oops! too much guitar hero!
These are the changes I've made: $150 per week to include anything you buy at walmart like cleaning stuff, soap, etc. I plan my menu for 7 days only. We eat out one time a week as a family which has it's own budget category - woo hoo! No extra trips to the store.
We did so well in January. Very satisfying. I yelled - to no one in particular as the house was empty - "I win. I win. I am the champion." But then the Super Bowl came and I let the CBOTB go the store for snacks. Aye yi yi. Let me just say that grilled cheese and lots of pasta are on the menu this week!!
Over and out,
B. is for budgeter
5 comments:
daggone...where'd it go?
my comment?! ugg.
so as i was saying...we spend more than your pretty 150 and we don't have a teenage boy in our house yet. eek.
i also said that i think i need your budget plan but fear that you'll need me to dig out my receipts i've shoved in the car door pocket...some containing old chewed up gum!
This is truly one of the funniest posts I've ever read. Not that budgeting is funny, but that you make a game out of it.
I also make my menu for the week. I use a calendar and when the month is finished, voila....I just use the same menu for the next month. Have been doing this forever. Without it, I'd be lost and my CBOTB would be the ABOTB (angry).
Eerily similar to Moran family discussions and quests to save a $. Grocery buying could suck the fun out of a clown.
**Laura A., the calendar idea is brilliant! Gonna use it.
LM
Maybe we should trade hoodies. Your Old Navy with the hole and frays for my GAP (at least 5-yrs-old,wear it several times a wk.and I loved it until recently)then it would feel like we got something new. :)LM
Budgets? Receipts? I dunno what u r talkn about.........
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