January Budget Roundup

Wasn't January a really loooong month!  Budget-wise it sure was.

Groceries
Budget for two adults $425 Canadian.
This budget includes all over the counter medications, personal care products, and groceries.

Actual $440.22. Over  by $15.22 which shall come off February Budget (only 28 days - this should be manageable)

Coupons used $13.00.

This month I managed to stock up on meat and both my mini-chest freezer and small freezer attached to the fridge are full.  I took full advantage of specials and now have lots of chicken and ham.  There are also some porkchops, shrimp, and canned Tuna in the Pantry,   In an effort to continue to reduce my grocery spend I bought dried black beans versus canned.  Next week I will make some chili.  There was a great post by Elaine over at Sunny Simple Life on how to prepare dried  beans for recipes so I am going to follow that.  This month I will be on the lookout for some fish sales as we have been eating more of it lately.

I also separated Food and Non-Food items this month.
Food  $288.67  plus Non-food $138.55 = Total  $440.22

Our non-food items are high mainly due to over the counter medications (two non-life threatening diseases reside at our home -  IBS and Fibromyalgia both of which we currently only take over the counter medications). I did manage to do a large stock-up on tin-foil this month, at least a two year supply when it went on sale in early January.

We are trying to eat healthier so in February I will  be buying lots of fruit and veggies to round out our supplies.

Clothing
Clothing budget for the year is $200.  This budget is only for myself.  Hubby spends what he needs as he wears suits a lot and is the face of our company so we consider that business related.  Please note that I set the budget for myself for clothing.  If hubby had it his way I would spend a lot more but he is continually amazed at my finds and has not told me I look like a bag lady (yet) so I must be doing something right.

This month I bought brand new shoes for $3.25 and a pink sweater for $5.25, both at Salvation Army (see post here).  Balance remaining for the rest of the year is $191.50.

Hair
Budget for the year is $250, much lower than last year.  Nothing spent in January.

I need a haircut and to find a sale on hair dye so there will be some money spent in February.   I use First Choice Haircutters in case anyone is wondering.  The ladies who work there are just as adept at cutting my hair as the high priced salons, and I find out what day my hairdresser is working and wait for her (they don't make appointments, wish they did).  Hubby now goes there too.  In Alberta my last hairdresser whom I was very loyal too started out at a First Choice Haircutters and then bought her own salon (therefore my costs went up but she was really good!).  I always tip them as well somewhere from $3-5.  Usually I get out of there for around $20.  They occasionally mail out coupons too!

No Spend Days
I tracked no spend days in January for the first time ever.  I do not intend on tracking these every month as expect it is similar from month to month.  Seventeen no spend days out of thirty one days.  If nothing else I paid more attention to grouping errands so probably saved some gas.  I use very little gas each month ($60 this month) due to working from home.  It takes about $20 in gas to go see my Mom (two hours each direction) and we did that for her Birthday mid-month as she was just here at New Years.  Hubby uses my car a fair amount too - he has a sportscar (that I found at a garage sale and that we paid cash for - one day I will do a post on that) so doesn't like to take it out in bad weather.

For anyone interested in how I track things - the low tech method.  Dollar store notebook.  Put receipts in there and tally up every few days to keep on budget track.  Separate columns for  groceries, then food, nonfood, and coupons.  You really can't get any easier than that!

Letting the Warehouse Membership Go

I, as Master Grocery Buyer in our home (hubby only buys them when I am on my deathbed etc as he has a tendency to come home with unnecessary items plus doesn't look at prices) have decided to let the C*stco membership go.  For the past few years I avoided it as really don't like shopping there.  Always busy, always the lineups.  This year I went twice.  Once to buy pork-chops and once to buy some flowers.  Hubby went a couple times to buy vitamins.  A big waste of our money!  I don't want to buy 18 green peppers because that is the size of bag they come in.  They used to be such a great deal but slowly over time their prices have been creeping up and up.

Through careful shopping and using the occasional coupon I have found much better deals to be had in our regular grocery stores, primarily by scouring the flyers each week and stocking up on loss leaders.  I also don't have to  buy an eight year supply of something I only want a one year supply of.

This decision is not as easy for every family but for the $61.60 it costs us to keep the basic membership ($55 plus 12% tax in British Columbia) per year I can stock up on lots of groceries elsewhere.  So goodbye C*stco, its been nice knowing you but I have moved on to greener pastures.

Do you still maintain your wholesale club membership? If so do you use it enough to warrant it?

Top Ways I Saved Money in 2012 & December Budget Results

1. Prevented Food Waste creating ways to use leftovers within a day or freeze them for use later. There has been a conscious effort to reduce food waste here - and it definitely improved in 2012.

2. Used only vinegar as a rinse aid in the dishwasher. I have been doing this for six months now and will never go back to store bought rinse aid. Better for the environment too!

3. Bought in bulk - two weeks ago I bought 8 kg of white rice for $10. Way cheaper than buying small individual bags and now I just have to find a better storage solution for bulk buying.

4. Cherry picked the loss leaders every week from the flyers, stockpiling those items and meal planning around only what was on sale.

5. Maximizing use of frequent flyer and air mile programs. We had nine free flights between Alberta and BC this year - only paying taxes.

6. Continuing to buy used. Clothing, furniture, vehicles. Anything that is required try to find used first. This strategy pays off year after year with someone else paying for all the depreciation. It helps that I love garage saling and thrifting.

7. I finally color my own hair and have found much cheaper options for haircuts. This was the largest breakthrough and my hair care budget in 2013 will be much lower than 2012 as a result.

8. Continued with my paid out phone contract on a month to month basis when it expired in September at a lower rate. I have no need to upgrade my cell phone currently, although in 2013 I may take the plunge and get a smartphone.

9. Cooking from scratch. I now can make homemade pizza crust and pie crust. Hubby has suggested that my cooking has gotten better this year (his has too). In 2013 I would like to dust off that bread-making machine or make dough from scratch. In the past I didn't like the hole the bread-maker makes in the middle of the loaf (does your breadmaker do that?) but there may be a way around that - make the dough in the machine and transfer to oven for baking perhaps.

10. Found free entertainment options and limited eating out to once per month. Eating out is the number one budget buster and I mean anything from grabbing a coffee and doughnut to a lavish dinner. Think of all the groceries you could buy instead! I try and keep our diet varied and interesting otherwise hubby is tempted into eating out more. We occupied ourselves at the beach a lot this past summer and that certainly qualifies as free entertainment. This year hiking and biking is on the agenda.

11. Moved ourselves versus hiring a mover and purged a huge amount before the move. This saved us at least $7000 - it was tough but totally worth it. Only move items that are difficult to replace or mean something to you. Buy furniture when you get there. We filled one cube van and two cars worth - that was all that was moved. We downsized from over 3600 sq ft to 1700 sq foot and love our new home. Now just to get rid of the gigantic home back in Alberta! It goes back on the market in March.


The No More Christmas Cr**p Campaign

If you missed the original post see here. Well, other than the few vintage ornaments I found in November there was one other Christmas Crap purchase this year. One that went over the allotted budget! Hubby insisted we get two more light strands for the exterior of our home as due to the style of our new home we didn't have enough lights. I searched and searched the thrift stores but could find only the older style energy busting lights. After being called Scrooge I caved and we spent $24 at Canadian Tire on LED lights. It was not worth an argument and they look pretty nice. Hopefully they will last forever and we don't need to buy anything new at all next year. I collect vintage glass ornaments so will keep looking at garage sales and thrift stores to find them at the absolute lowest prices.

December's Grocery Budget $425

If you are a new follower the grocery budget includes all over counter medications, grooming and cleaning products.

Actual $667.31. Way Over!
Coupons used $12.65

$200 of this amount was spent on Christmas food/snacks in Alberta, much of it left behind for my stepson to finish. I continued to stock up on items and my stockpile keeps growing. Hopefully 2013 will be easier on the grocery budget as it took a bruising this year due to depleting the stockpile before the move and then starting over once we got here.

Grocery overage for 2012 = $664.57 less money transferred in from hair ($104.01) and clothing ($90.01)budgets throughout the year = $471.55 OVERALL BUDGET OVERAGE. A few months ago the grocery budget increased from $400 per month to $425 so there it shall stay in 2012. Grocery prices have increased and I had to be realistic with the budget since we rarely eat out now.


Annual Clothing Budget $200
I bought an Eddie Bauer Spring shirt for $3 at the Thrift Store this month.
Total Spent on Clothing, shoes and accessories this year was $109.99.
Throughout the year $90.01 of clothing budget was transferred out to reduce the grocery budget overage.

Of the $109.99:
used:
7 shirts
3 pants (2 jeans, 1 capri)
2 belts
boots
new:
bra, socks, nylons

In 2013 the clothing budget will remain at $200 as I need to do an undergarment shop and only purchase those new so need extra funds for that. As well, I will be looking for a good rain jacket. So far I have not found one at the thrift stores so again, may have to purchase it new. We intend on travelling to Washington for a cross border weekend away/business supplies shop so probably will spend some money on clothing there as prices are 40% to 60% cheaper than in Canada.



Annual Hair Budget $400
I had a cut this month for $20.12 which included a $5 tip. Yes, you can get a good haircut for cheap. My hair looks little different than when I used to spend $140 for a cut and color.

Actual spent in 2012 $295.99. $104.01 was transferred out to Grocery Budget overage. The Annual Hair Budget in 2013 is being reduced to $250.

I look forward to a new 2013 budget year with a clean slate! There will be no transferring of budgets to other categories in and I shall stay ON TARGET!!

November Budget Results and Getting A Handle On Our Grocery Bill

November's Grocery Budget $425
Year to date overage prior to November $261.25
Actual November grocery spend $472.
Over by $47 this month for year to date overage now at $308.25.
Coupons Used $10.97.
If you are a new follower the grocery budget includes all over counter medications, grooming and cleaning products.


Annual Clothing Budget $200
Remainder after October $6.40
($109.79 was transferred out of clothing to cover part of grocery overage in September and October)
Bought leather Kenneth Cole belt for $3.35 at Salvation Army.
$3.15 remaining for rest of year. I might buy a pair underwear this month, new of course as don't buy used undergarments.

Annual Hair Budget $400
Balance after October $99.13.
Zero spent - I used the root kit bought in October last week. I need a hair cut but am trying to stretch it another week so I can get one closer to our Christmas visit to Alberta. Whatever is left will be transferred to reduce the grocery overage at end of year.


It seems harder than ever to stay within our grocery budget, even after increasing it to $425 per month. Perhaps it is because our entertainment budget has been reduced $60 per month for two of us(eating out once) but I think the true reason is that all groceries have gone up. I would have paid $5.69 for four litres of milk last week - got it free using Quality Foods points. Perhaps it is because we pay 12% tax on all nonfood items (and some food items that are considered convenience foods). Perhaps it is because I am still stocking up and have been forced to buy items when not on sale. Whatever the reason, I have gone over the food budget again this month. We are living leaner than we ever have and as a result my cooking skills have become better because we are eating at home 98% of the time. I do use coupons but most of the ones I have access to are for processed foods or for items that I don't buy like air fresheners. If only they made coupons in Canada for staples.

There are no Tim Hortons Coffee's (the last one I had was in October when my Stepson was here as a treat). There are no spontaneous lunches out. We carefully plan our days and outings to avoid eating out as that is the number one budget buster. We belong to a business organization that has a lot of fundraisers for Charity. Since August we have been to two - cost $30 per plate. We declined going to their Christmas party at $37 per plate as it is not going to charity. There are no movies out with popcorn as we own a PVR purchased in 2011 with cash so we record lots of movies and tv shows (yes, we have cable). Once in a great while we rent a DVD for $4 - the last time being early October. Early in November we invited our neighbor friends over for some drinks and I splurged on a variety of cheese and crackers to go with it. The extra cheese was frozen to use for casseroles.

In order to keep our entertainment budget low we try and keep our diet varied and interesting, which sometimes involves buying more expensive ingredients. This week's menu included chicken curry, shrimp stirfry, cajun chicken pasta casserole (one of the best things I have ever cooked so says hubby and I just threw it together with ingredients we had) and tonight barbequed burgers. Yesterday a large batch peanut butter cookies for desert was whipped up - froze half.

It is difficult to source out inexpensive meat here. For now we are using less meat in casseroles and stir fry's. Last week Tuna was on for .77 cents a can - the usual lowest price here is .99 cents so I bought twelve. I creep about in the meat section of every grocery store looking for pink stickers with extra dollars off. Every week the flyers arrive out comes the list to write down the loss leaders at every store - and that is my shopping list for the week. Buy only what is on sale and do without until something goes on sale.

The plan this month is to start a Price Book to keep track of lowest prices found on grocery items so that when a sale comes along I know how good the sale is to stock up. This is certainly not my idea, but one borrowed from that famous Frugalista
Amy Dacyczyn, author of the The Tightwad Gazette - go to the library and read the books if you haven't already for frugal ideas,some over the top and some very good ones that anyone could benefit from. The budget is likely to get blown again this month due to Christmas as we are flying back to Alberta for five days and the four kids will be over at our house for at least four of those days. They consume huge amounts of food being 15, 17, 19 and 21 but we are really looking forward to the time with them so I will have to do some meal planning for that timeframe. Family time is worth blowing the budget!

August Budget Roundup & Urban Foraging

Hubby's shot from his iphone today on our beach walk

August's Grocery Budget $400
Year to date overage prior to August $335.66

Actual $380.25 reducing year to date overage to $317.91 less $75 from clothes budget (see below) to $242.91 overage year to date.
If you are a new follower my grocery budget includes all over counter medications, grooming and cleaning products.

Coupons Used $6.46. Quite low but so much cooking from scratch on items that have no coupons so I am not at all worried about that.

Annual Clothing Budget $200
I bought two pieces of clothing to go with my job - both purchased at Value Village for $25.74
$139.79 To Go
I have done so well this year on a reduced clothing budget by shopping thrift stores. Now I am transferring out $75 of the clothing budget to reduce to grocery overage but still have $64.79 left in the clothing budget for the year.

Annual Hair Budget $400

Spent $8.95 on root lightening kit

$133.25 left to go - and I think I can now stay within this budget - drumroll please

This is not a sponsored post - just wanted to show you what I bought

****Finally I tried lightening my hair with a store bought lightening kit. I was not trying to go full blonde or anything, just lightening up the roots a bit to match the rest of the hair that bleached out from the summer and the left over lightened bits from the last time I got my hair done in the Spring. Hubby says he likes it better than the last several times the hairdresser did it as is more natural looking. Another great thing was that it only took fifteen minutes.


SUCCESS! I am now committed to only getting my hair cut at the hairdressers, not colored. This is a financial barrier that took years of being a GIGANTIC CHICKEN to overcome. Next year my hair budget is going down to $200 as a result which is still a generous budget.

Due to inflation next year I likely will increase my grocery budget by the amount I reduce the hair budget.

I have gotten exactly one tiny tomato off the plants so far, I cut it in half and shared with hubby (picture much bigger than real life). It was tasty and several more are starting to turn. Both tomato plants were supposed to be beefsteak tomato, and one is apparently not.

After a wonderful late summer day at the beach enjoying the sunshine I picked some blackberries to freeze for baking. Hubby joined in the eating when I got them home so tommorrow night he joins in the picking :) Hooray for free groceries!

July Budget Roundup

flowers from front of house beds

July's Grocery Budget $400 less YTD overage of $269.40=$130.60


Actual $466.26. Over by $335.66 YTD

Coupons Used $23.86


No haircuts this month so Annual Hair Budget $400
= $142.20 for rest of 2012



This is the month that I try and reduce the YTD grocery overage which occured all from the last three months due in part to restocking the pantry and the move which can throw budgets out of whack. Now that my pantry is mostly full I am only buying when there is a great deal. We are eating at home a lot more than we used to before the move and that is making an impact in the budget, but I fully intend to stay within the $400 budget this month and chip away a bit at the overage.

I made scones for the first time using this recipe from allrecipes.com and added some cinnamin, cloves, raisins and milk as found it too dry without adding more moisture. They were yummy but a little more like a cookie than scones. Rather than cut them I just dropped them biscuit style.

I also made tzatziki from scratch using some Greek yogurt obtained for free with a coupon - it was amazing and I will definitely make it again. No pictures of that as it was long gone before I thought about taking a picture. The recipe can be found here at Kalyn's Kitchen. I highly recommend using proper Greek yogurt and fresh dill.

Miniature rose in container pot on my patio

There are two small tomatoes growing with several blossoms on the two tomato plants we keep in containers on the back patio. As they were not purchased until the last week of June they are later than normal for this time of year. Luckily September here is normally georgous and sunny so they have some time yet to grow. Each plant was $1.14 on sale so if we get a couple of tomatoes out of it they will have paid for themselves.

What I haven't shown you is the bug eaten petunias in pots at the front of the house. I have been battling with earwigs for two weeks and they were winning but this week I started getting the upper hand. Next year I will research annual plants they don't like eating or hang the pots rather than put them on the ground. They don't seem to like tomatoes, roses, or hot peppers.

Hubby made dinner and brought in some flowers the other night for me. I had the same colour hydrangea in my bouquet when we got married and now enjoy them in the front flowerbed. There were orange lilies that bloomed a few weeks ago and now these pink ones are in bloom. The black cat was a souvenir brought back from Egypt fifteen years ago. The vases are actually pillar candle holders that I bought at a garage sale about five years ago, hubbys idea to put the flowers in them.

Have a great day!

May and June Budget Results

Due to an extremely busy life no budget results were posted for May so today I will post both May and June.

May's Grocery Budget was $426.57 minus April overage of .45 = $426.12.

This includes all food, over counter medication, cleaning supplies and items like shampoo, razors, and other bathroom products.

Actual results were $595.68 - over by $169.56.
Coupons used $16.88.
Yes, way over budget. The reason for the overage is we switched gears from selling the Alberta house to having my adult step-children occupying it while they attend college so some groceries were purchased to be left behind.

June's Grocery Budget $400 less May overage of $169.56 = $230.44
This budget is now permanently lowered to $400 per month based on our new life.
Results: $499.84. Over by $269.40
Coupons used: $38.87
I had to buy a lot of items from scratch this month. Only a few groceries were transported like spices, oatmeal and some canned items that the boys would not use back in Alberta. Instead of buying smaller sizes to try and stay within budget I bought large quantity at lowest prices. Most of the pantry is completely stocked up except for the freezer.

$2 glass jar being used as a pantry cannister says "British Made" on bottom, purchased at Salvation Army

This month will be spent trying to find a good source of low cost meat, scratch cooking and using coupons to assist with reducing the grocery costs. Realistically there is no way I can make up the overage by the end of July but I will try and reduce it, chipping away at it each month in an effort to be fully accountable. The goal is to make up the overage by end of 2012.

$4.75 Capri Pants purchased at Salvation Army

Annual Clothing Budget $200
May spent $12.98 on Jeans and a t-shirt at Goodwill
June spent $4.75 on capri pants at Salvation Army
= $172.28 for rest of 2012
The secret to maintaining a frugal wardrobe is to shop thrift stores and to be continously looking to add pieces, even if that means buying one or two items per month. The capri pants were a necessity for this new more relaxed lifestyle. I do not feel deprived at all and am very happy with my current wardrobe even though I have only spent a grand total of $27.72 so far this year. If I could lose 10 pounds I would have even more clothes to feel comfortable in as there are a few items in the closet that are a bit tight and therefore I am not wearing. Rather than give in I am challenging myself to lose 10 lbs by October 1. Current weight 146 pounds - just putting that out there for the record.


Annual Hair Budget $400
May spent $50 on a cut = $142.20 for rest of 2012
If necessary I will pull some money from the clothing budget to add to the hair budget as am doing better in that category. I had my regular hair dresser in Alberta cut it extra short on the last visit and am considering letting it grow until October when I am going back for a family visit and can book an appointment with her. If it gets really bad I will try and get a cut with a local hairdresser which is kind of inevitable at some point. I have a really great relationship with my hairdresser and have found it difficult to find someone I like to cut my hair in the past so am very loyal to her. Husband is not willing to have a go nor am I willing to let him near me with a pair of scissors and my mother's eyesight is not good enough for that either.

As I get older(42 now) I find myself avoiding crowds so we spent a quiet Canada day visiting the CFB Comox Airforce musuem which was quite interesting with a drive to the ocean afterwards. Even though it was mostly cloudy it did not rain so was a nice pleasant mild day.

The unpacking of the house is mostly sorted. There have been a few more expenses than initially anticipated as we have had to buy things here like a lawnmower, hoses, and toilet plungers that we would have moved if we had sold the house but were left in Alberta with the house there. In the end, hopefully, this gamble of keeping the Alberta house for two years will pay off until the market gets stronger.

I am off to plant some flowers and do some weeding. Have a great day!

Settling In

Photo of Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island
I have been unemployed on purpose for four weeks now and have found the most difficult part of that is feeling productive. I have never really been unemployed and there have been a few times this month where panic has set in about not having money coming in(me), which in reality is not true since hubby's company is already making money and we have savings in the bank for the purpose of taking time off.

Most of the month has been spent packing, driving, moving, unpacking and arranging hookups, insurance and getting ready to change over our auto insurance to B.C.. Hubby drove his car over the mountain this past Thursday and now all our vehicles, hamster, and crap is here so we can relax a little.

We go to the Ocean(five minutes away) at least three times a week and as my mother lives just under two hours away we have visited a couple of times. She gifted me four flower pots this week which is great since only one flower pot made it on the moving truck as the others were too large. The planting supplies will be purchased this week as everything is on sale due to being very late in the planting season. The budget for plants and seeds will be $30 which is very low but I intend to be creative with a mix of flowers, herbs and some tomatoes. Once planted I will share some pictures with you.

There is a great farm market near where my mother lives with really cheap veggies so I stopped and got:

10 lbs potatoes $3.99
3 lbs onions $1.49
bunch of celery .99
two red delicious apples .63 (.69/lb)
field cucumber .99
loaf home made bread $1.50
large Yellow pepper .70 (.59/lb)
Pineapple $1.59


Total $11.97

Likely savings were 30% to 50% from a regular grocery store which usually have one or two of those items that cheap as a loss leader but not consistently that low. Later in the summer the prices go even lower so I will go to this market every time we visit her. Next week I will share with you my May and June Grocery budget results as both months were over budget(with good reasons) but I will make the overages up in the Fall once things settle down and the pantry is once again full.

Mother also gifted some vintage goodies and a new thrift store was found so will share all those items in a post tomorrow.

For all those who live in Canada Happy Canada Day and all of those in who live in the USA happy Fourth of July. I am a dual citizen of both USA and Canada so can celebrate both! For anyone living anywhere else - have a great weekend!

April Budgetary Results

April Food Budget $426.57 (if you are new to this blog the post in which I worked out this formula is here)
minus March overage of $30.30 = April Food Budget 396.27

Actual $396.72 - Success - only over by .45 cents!

It took me three months but I made up January's huge overage and am back on track. This method of carrying forward and reducing current month's food budget by previous months overages certainly keeps the budget on course. It also allows me to blow the budget near end of month if I happen upon a great sale, knowing that it will only reduce next months budget.

Coupons used $9.50 - one of the lowest months yet. I am almost at 95% scratch cooking so only using coupons on mostly non-food items. I found a great sale on pork loin mid month so with a little effort chopping up pork chops - the freezer is well stocked going into May.

Non-food items: all over the counter medications, soaps, razors, garbage bags etc: $72.19 of the budget. I would like to reduce this further and believe I will be able to when I can again stockpile after we move ourselves to Vancouver Island.

Meat: $99.11. I continue to buy family packs and break them down into family size meals. We had the older boys over a few times for dinner - and the younger two kids seem to have hollow legs at ages 14 and 16. I swear we went through six litres of milk the last time my 16 year old stepson was over for the weekend.

Annual Clothing Budget $200
April spent $9.99 on a shirt and a tank top at Goodwill (see previous post)
= $190.01 for rest of 2012

Annual Hair Budget $400
April spent $140.20 on a cut, professional colour (lighten not darken) and professional hair product
= $192.20 for rest of 2012

We also sold our truck $5500 which was reduced from original asking price due to a wheel bearing that was discovered during the purchasers mechanical inspection - he still bought it - thank goodness!

Also unloaded this week: sold 2 kids bikes $40, gave away a tube tv, one box and one bag to goodwill and recycled an old cell phone as part of a women's shelter drive (they recondition them and give them to women in crisis).
Total in stuff sold in downsize: $7910.

I have just over 20 days of work left and will be making the drive to move to Vancouver Island the first week of June to our new pad at Comox. Hubby will come as soon as we can unload the Alberta house - we did a further price reduction this week and are resigned to losing somewhere between $50,000 and $70,000 on this home from our purchase price. Fortunately, the home is paid for in full - and we made over $100,000 in equity on the sale of our last home so everything evens out in the end. Lesson learned is try not to tie so much of your equity up in your home. Our new home in Comox is smaller, less expensive on taxes and utilities and is 54% of the cost of our home we are trying to sell in Alberta. The difference in equity will be put to work making our life financially independent and hopefully a little less stressful.

Saturday was the 9th Anniversary of the weekend I met Hubby(married 6.5 years) - we celebrated by using a giftcard that we had received at Christmas and went to the Keg for a wonderful dinner of Steak and Seafood. It was one of the few good meals out we have had in the past year - excellent service and food. Afterwards we went for a walk around the pond and spotted:

Muskrats(look like mini-beavers) and Grebes (similar a duck)

It is baby making season on the pond so stay tuned for photos of tiny furry and feathered creatures as all seem to be pairing up!

Taking a Chance To Save Money

So, dear hubby was not always as thrifty as he is today. When I met him (9 years ago next month) he was charming, but a name brand man. Slowly I have chipped away at his name brand exterior and he realizes now that we can eat a nice, well balanced and tasty diet on a low grocery budget(approximately 30-40% of what we used to spend per month). This is done a variety of ways - primarily through scratch cooking, coupons, and stocking up on items that are one sale.

Today I was nearing the end of the grocery budget dollars with several days left to go in the month. We needed garbage bags (ran out last week but I was stretching things) so I picked up a box of 40 bags for $4.79 of an unknown brand versus name brand Glad 40 bags for $18.99. You cannot tell me Glad is four times better than these - hubby is skeptical but to save that kind of money it is worth a shot. Nine times out of ten they are just as good (or almost as good which also works in my books). I hope to prove Hubby wrong - I will post results in a few weeks after using them.

Yesterday hubby managed to sell a set of golf clubs purchased seven or eight years ago for the kids to learn on - but unused in the past two years - we unloaded them for $100. For that price he even delivered them as had to run an errand on the other end of the town and he was anxious to close the deal.

Tally for Vancouver Island Savings Account (aka household crap sold fund) $1765.

I gave a few items away to a friend: crock pot and large urn for flowers. This weekend I will try to freecycle some items and he hopes to sell our snow blower to a friend.

No offers on the house yet - we have had more snow in March than all winter so that has slowed viewings. I had originally intended to rake the lawn this weekend but a dump last night of 3 inches has killed that idea.

Cheers - happy bargain hunting. Sunday I will post all my treasures from thrift stores for the past two weeks!

February Financials

We sold our last two items today that were listed on Kijiji for $60 (pictured above one of the items-abdominal excersizer)giving a grand total of $1535 household items sold. Ironically we had planned to relist these items this weekend (originally listed on February 10th) and list a bunch more - we will still do that but it is surprising weeks after your original listing people still call you up.

Now for grocery results for March:

Budget $426.59 - January overage of .29 = $428.28
Actual $502.80 - Way over by $74.60 which will come off March Budget.

Of the $502.80 Spent:
Coupons used $11.25
Nonfood items $74.12
Meat $139.67

I spent a lot more on meat this month. I also miscalculated as now that hubby is self employed he is home more and we are eating out far less due to tightened budget. I may have to increase our food budget a bit to account for this as soon I will be home more as well. I will give it another month to see.

I started keeping track of non-food items, most of this being over the counter pain medication for my fibro-mialgia. I refuse to go on prescriptions as tried several and they only screwed up my blood pressure and made me gain weight. So far this is one of my most pain free winters to date and the self-medication seems to be working. I only take medication as needed and seem to be healthier for it.

Hair Budget for year is $400

Haircut in February - used $52 of budget = $348 to go.
I am going to push the time between dyes to stretch my budget. We dyed my hair a slightly darker shade of blond this time so roots take much longer to show, and later when I move I may still try home dye but for now will stick with my faithful hairdresser. If I go over on the hair budget the clothing budget may be to make it up as I seem to be doing better in that area.


Clothing Budget for $200

Spent so far ZERO!!!! Yay!!
Apparently it is not that hard to go a few months without spending any money on clothes. I did buy some undergarments for $19.93 (socks and a bra) but used a Gift Certificate that I won last year at Winners so am still counting it as Zero out of pocket.

I am buying more in bulk, family packs of meat, and definitely stocking up on sales even with the move (a month or two's worth).

Funny story heard today: at work discussing the Box O Wine waiting for me in the fridge at home a co-worker told of her Grandpa who used to save the plastic bags from the inside of the boxes of wine, wash them out, fold them up and save them for camping. When someone needed a pillow at the beach he whipped out the wine bag and filled it with water - Wa La - a pillow for suntanning. I love that story. No, I am not saving the bag to do that - it will be recycled. Still, long before mass recycling people were finding ways to re-use items.

Have a thrifty weekend!

January Budgetary Results

Art Courtesy of the Graphics Fairy

Grocery Tally - January Budget: $426.57 (see how I determined this budget and tips to save money on groceries here)minus overage of $74.54 from December = $352.03
Actual $352.32 - over budget by .29 which will come off February Budget. A success with tiny overage due to finding stuffed chicken breasts on sale this evening(6 for 9.99).

Meat purchases of $100.48(included in above totals).

Next month I will keep track of non-food items separately for the first time. It is very interesting analyzing your grocery budget at the end of the month.

Coupons used: $9.88 - very low but it was mostly scratch cooking this month so not many items to use coupons on.

Clothing Annual Budget $200 ($16.67 per month) Zero spent this month. With a much lower budget this year it will be saved for when I need something (versus want something). The closet is full and and I don't anticipate any pricey clothes purchases in my future. When I do, I will try and buy used with exception of undergarments.

Now for my dirty little secret. What do I spend way too much money on? My hair. There. I said it. After an episode of pink hair at age 19 from a colour treatment gone wrong (from student hair stylist school) I have shied away from anything but seasoned hair stylists. No home dye jobs for my roots. This may have to change with our new "work less play more on a budget" lifestyle. In 2011 I budgeted $1000 for hair and hair products (yes, just me, please don't be too judgemental). Actual was $636. I include professional hair styling products in that amount. Anything bought at a regular drugstore is included in the grocery budget. Ridiculous, isn't it?

In 2012 the budget for hair is $400 ($33.33/month) - Zero spent this month although I do have to get a haircut in the next week or two. My average haircut costs $50 and a cut and dye costs $120-$130. This includes one salon hair product that I cannot part with (tried to find cheap replacements and no luck-product is Super Skinny Flat Ironing Serum by Paul Mitchell) due to very thick fine hair. Hairspray is $1.98 Finesse - purchased with coupons.

As someone who is deathly afraid to dye her own hair I have to figure out a way to keep within this budget. Do you dye your own hair? What line of home dye is your favorite? Any suggestions?

$16 Left in The Grocery Budget - Four Days to Go

Art courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

Sounds scary right? It isn't. Fortunately, if I have to go over I will. I feel like it is a contest with myself - make do with what we have in the pantry. There are only four days left and unless I need to pick up the odd ingredient to round out what is already in the cupboards - we will meet the months smaller grocery bill which is much lower than normal due to reducing it by the large overage in December.

Groceries we cannot live without for more than a day or two:

milk - bought 4 litres yesterday which will last us until next weekend (14 yr old and 16 year old here this weekend - huge quantity of milk disappears)

coffee, tea, splenda - I buy these in bulk always on sale - starting to get low on Splenda but should be able to make it to end of month

bread - 3 loafs in freezer bought at $1 each on sale last week. Normally I don't like to freeze bread but if only in the freezer for a week or two there is little difference in quality. I also froze four hot dog buns left over from earlier in the month that were pulled out to go with a soup dinner this week. I added a piece of ham, a small amount of mustard and a little cheese on top - they were a complete hit and hubby requested a repeat of this recipe.

fruit - three bananas, one orange and two pears in the fruit bowl, frozen blueberries in the freezer for pancakes or muffins

Butter, margarine, oil: I enjoy baking with butter, have a little but if it runs out will switch to margarine which was purchased on sale last week - have two containers. Very low on oil. Likely can make it to end of month.

veggies - all the fixings for salad are in the fridge plus frozen corn in the freezer. I try to buy only the veggies that are on sale each week. Last week head of cauliflower $1, this week huge bunch of celery $1. Winter in Alberta means high veggie prices so I scout out the loss leaders. We finally ran out of the potatoes from the 20lb bag bought in November, and there was little downgrade in quality - some were a little soft by the last round of mashed potatoes. I still have a few pounds of onions from the 10lb November bag - am really impressed that there is no downgrade in quality of those either two months later.

Rice & pasta - during Chinese New Year this week rice was on sale so I stocked up. We still have half a packet of spaghetti, brown and white rice and a package of macaroni. I use rice and pasta in soups a lot.

Meat is not a requirement of our diet but is nice to have. There is still fish, ribs (bought on sale at a ridiculously low price this week - not sure why so low), porkchops (great sale last month), chicken, meatballs and turkey bacon.

I have no worries. Our cupboards are looking a little barer than they have for a while but that goes with the "use up what you have" mentality that I and many other bloggers are having this month.

I made chili in the crockpot this week - a first for me. It was completely awesome and ends up with that wonderful taste that normally chili made on top of the stove only gets the day after reheated. It has time for the flavors to meld properly.

It has been extremely difficult preparing meals around house showings - that is why I used the crock pot. It also makes your house smell great! I also used it for a fabulous meal of porkchops in mushroom sauce as had a large amount of fresh mushrooms to use up.

The house viewings have slowed - which is a bit discouraging but understandable based on January blues and weather. Hubby is extremely busy as he still has two days left on his old day job and is completing his first new contract with self employment within the next two weeks.

I have been a little blue this month. I have made the decision to work my day job - no matter what - until we sell the house and closing has passed to maintain household expenses on two homes and to keep heath, dental and vision benefits until we leave the Province. Fortunately due to no debt this is actually achievable but feel somewhat in limbo until we get some action on the property.

Something exciting is brewing in my future however:

A new part-time business of which I will share with you some of the exciting details in my next post!

December Grocery and Coupon Tally

Yet another weekend spent spiffying up the house to get it on the market. This weekend we did paint touchups, took garbage to the dump(cost $17), redeemed our bottles for deposit ($47 back)and cleaned carpets with our Hoover carpet cleaner at a total cost of $24 for one bottle of carpet cleaning solution (still 1/3 left). We purchased the unit six years ago when renovating our last house. Weighing out the cost of hiring someone to carpet clean (minimum $200 for the home we had at that time) or purchasing a Hoover Cleaner for $200 and doing it ourself we decided to go with the tougher but thriftier option. Same cost but over time this unit has saved us about $700 due to amount of times used-almost every six months and it has stood up well over time. We purchased ours at London Drugs where you can also buy the cleaning solution but almost any carpet cleaning solution will work. If you own a house with a lot of carpets I highly recommend making the investment. We did a little research ahead of time and decided Hoover was the model for us and six years later we have no regrets. There are many other types of carpet cleaners out there of which I am sure are equally good buys. Just remember, the cheapest option is not always the best option, read reviews before you buy.

Our model is very similar to this one in case you are thinking of buying one:


December was a month I figured that I would most likely blow the food budget due to making food gifts and entertaining family. Fortunately the way the food budget works is if I go over one month that is ok - I just take the overage off the next month. This method sets me up for continued success and it allows some room to purchase great deals - even if found at the end of a grocery month.

December Food Budget: $426.57 (see how I determined this budget and tips to save money on groceries here)
plus .38 left over from November = $426.95
Actual $501.49 - over budget by $74.54 which will come off January Budget

Meat purchases $87.58 of that $501.49 which included products with meat

Coupons used: $35.79 or total for 2011 $523.69.

I no longer have a goal for coupon use - other than to only use coupons to buy products I already use or where it will get me an item for free or almost free. Many coupons out there are for items I do not wish to bring home so have seen less useage this year than the last couple. Interesting when you consider my grocery expense is at its lowest on a month to month basis than it has ever been-back in 2008 I was spending $1100 per month. Fortunately we have changed our ways.

November Grocery & Coupon Tally & Festival of Trees

We took my stepdaughter to the Festival of Trees this weekend where all the proceeds go to a charitable hospital foundation. The crowds were large but we enjoyed ourselves.

Birds and feathers were a popular theme as well as black and white trees.

(look closely, those are peacock feathers)


One of the biggest attractions was this tree made of plastic zip ties - over 40,000 were used in the construction.

Onto November results:

November Food Budget (Thrifty Plan) $426.57 plus surplus from October budget
$1.05=$427.62

Actual $427.24. Woohoo made budget with .38 to spare which is added to December's Budget

Coupons used $28.68
Coupons year to date used $487.90

Meat including products that included meat(like soup): $71.40
Even lower than last month but I still managed to stock up-the cupboards are fuller at the end of this month than last knowing we will be here for at least four months I managed to stock up a little. I got a great deal mid-month on pork tenderloin for $18 that was then cut into portions for 7 porkchop meals for two in the freezer. I also bought 20lbs of potatoes and 10lbs of onions which are inexpensive staples good to have on hand.

This month I will be looking for sales on Turkey, shrimp and chocolate chips.

I had several apples that were starting to get soft so made a nice batch of apple crisp last week. I threw in some raisins and sweetened dried cranberries I had on hand - it was a hit.

My Amish friendship cinnamin loaf (see previous post here)turned out great - but no photos as it is 98% eaten. I have started another batch to bake in 8 days time.

I did manage to sneak back to Goodwill and pick up the four Andy Warhol butterfly dishes(as mentioned in previous post) for $1.98 for all four (I left tags on as proof!)The are safely tucked away in a box packed for Vancouver Island.

I found another item to take to Goodwill this week: Oversized wreath (2' x 2') which is simply too big to pay to ship to another Province. No, this one is far too big for the front door to replace the one wrecked by the wind last week. This used to go over our downstairs fireplace mantle. One less piece of Christmas crap to deal with and hopefully some crafter will pick it up on the cheap (originally bought at Michaels with a 50% off coupon of course)
.

The house is decorated, over half of the Christmas shopping is completed and the Christmas cards were sent out. Now I can relax a little bit.

October Grocery & Coupons Tally & the Power of the Freebie

October Food Budget (Thrifty Plan) $426.57 less $19.12 overage from September = $407.45 Budget

Actual $406.40 Woohoo made budget with $1.05 to spare which is added to Novembers Budget

Coupons used $40.50
Coupons year to date used $459.22

This month I tracked meat purchases including products that included meat like frozen pizza and meat based soups
$86.80
I was shocked that most of my foodbill is non-meat items. A real eye-opener.

A completely awesome freebie week:

Free Keurig cups care of amazon.ca gift certificates made through swagbucks.com

P&G Sampler

Woolite Sample

Jergins Sample

8 Free Cineplex Movie passes (to be given as Christmas Gifts) from Aeroplan


The power of free!

Save Money On Groceries - Seventeen Tips

Wouldn't you rather be spending your money on things like travel, entertainment and family? Or getting out of debt or becoming mortgage free? Use these tips to save on your grocery expenses:

1. Buy in bulk but be aware sometimes bulk is not always the best deal - calculate the cost per unit. Buying six heads of lettuce does not make sense when you will end up throwing some out due to spoiling. Be aware of bulk buying stores Costco - you may end up spending far more than intended. Buying a small amount of a specific spice to try out a new recipe makes more sense than a large container that will go to waste.

2. Only buy meat on loss leaders. We eat a well balanced diet but only eat certain things when on sale. A freezer comes in handy for this purpose. Most meat can last up to six months in a freezer without any breakdown in quality. Buy in season (turkeys before Christmas and Easter go on sale every year). Buy family packs and break them into portions that will work for your family at home.

3. Only use coupons for items you would be already buying. Try to hold back on using them until the item goes on sale - then you end up with the absolute lowest price. Some areas offer doubling of coupons or stacking. In Canada a great resource for learning how to coupon is smartcanucks.ca.

4. Don't be brand loyal or if you must be brand loyal watch for sales on those brands. I will only drink Earl Grey Tea and I drink it every day. Regular black tea is cheap but does not come close. I buy huge bags of 100 at Superstore for $6.99 as this tea rarely goes on sale. I feel the quality is worth the cost therefore pay more. The same goes for Heinz Ketchup and Kraft Peanut Butter. Luckily peanut butter goes on sale quite often. For everything else we buy the brand that is cheapest with or without a coupon. Some times that means store brand.

5. Buy produce in season. In winter buy produce that is on sale due to loss leaders. When it is minus 30 degrees celcius out grocery stores often put cucumbers on sale or tomatoes to attract bargain shoppers. Buy cheaper produce in summer and freeze for winter use. Buy local - do you really need okra in Alberta? I wouldn't even know where to get it and would certainly pay a high price if I could find it. Avoid recipes with odd ingredients.

6. Eat soup for supper at least once per week. Whether store bought or home-made soup is an easy low calorie low price meal. Add buns and you have dinner - or make biscuits or cornbread. Sometimes I buy Knorr broth(with coupons), add my own pasta(whatever is in the pantry - spaghetti broken up if nothing else),veggies (whatever is in the fridge-celery, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, red or green peppers) one chickenbreast (cubed - will cook in broth) and any leftover salsa. This is one of our favorite winter meals. The salsa just gives it a little kick. If you have no salsa put a small amount of cayenne pepper for the same effect.

7. Try to eat porridge at least once a week for breakfast. Not the kind that comes in little packets - the from scratch kind. Throw in cloves, cinnamon, dried fruit (I like dried cranberries left over from another recipe or raisins) and you have a hearty, filling, healthy breakfast. Very low cost per person. If doing a bacon and egg fry-up consider only using half a package of bacon. A side benefit to this is a lower calorie meal.

8. Shop at more than one grocery store. Buy loss leaders at all of them. This way you get a varied diet. Try to stop on the way home from work so you save on gas. Make lists using the local fryers of deals at each store and only go there if nearby to pick up the loss leaders.

9. Shop less. Everytime you go to the grocery store you chance picking up non-essential items. If going to pick up one or two items don't get a cart.

10. Shop with a list. Nothing comes home unless on the list or unless a shockingly low deal that was unadvertised. Those I come across regularly, especially in the day old department of the bakery or some of the smaller grocery stores in older areas that may not see as much traffic as the new shiny stores.

11. Grow your own produce. Don't spend big bucks-try to get plants or seeds at the lowest price possible. I have gotten 20 tomatoes off of one tomato plant purchased for $3.99 in the Spring. It is now a living room plant as the first frosts have come but it is still producing. Even if you don't have a yard try container gardening on a balcony or sunny room. My tomatoes are chemical and pesicide free as well.

11. Cook from scratch. Once you set up a pantry properly with spices and baking items there are both savings to your grocery budget and you will eat healthier as know what is going into what you are eating.

12. Don't buy convenience items like pre-cut salads and pre-cooked pieces of meat unless your are using a coupon that makes it cheaper than if you bought the individual ingredients to do it yourself.

13. Shop alone and only on a full stomach. My husband is terrible to grocery shop with as he keeps throwing items in the cart without looking at the prices.

14. Buy direct from a producer where possible. Is there a local farm near you? Can you go pick apples at half the cost of the store? Is there a local meat shop where you can buy half an animal and have them cut it up and wrap it for freezer use?

15. If entertaining make dishes like casseroles or a big roast that can feed multiple mouths with several side dishes. The less meat the cheaper the whole meal will be. I can feed 7 (five adults and two teenagers) on $20 at Thanksgiving by making my own stuffing and buying grade b young turkeys.

16. Use less. Cut that fabric dryer sheet in half, use half as much shampoo, use a smaller amount of sugar called for in a recipe.

17. Waste less. Use up yesterdays leftovers in todays casseroles. If it can't be used today then freeze it for a rainy day. Browning bananas are a classic example of an item that can be frozen for use in muffins or banana bread. If going on holidays did you know you can freeze milk?

Be creative, get out your cook book and the next time the budget is getting a little tight for groceries check your own cupboards before running to the grocery store.

September Grocery Tally and Coupons Used

Septembers Budget was $450.00 minus 46.03 over from August = $403.97

Actual: $423.09 ($19.12 over budget)

Coupons Used: $83.53 - my highest month to date (Year to date $418.12)

Octobers Grocery Budget will be based on my new Thrifty Plan
$426.57 (see more on Thrifty Plan Guidelines here) minus $19.12 overage from September = $407.45.

This month I went over budget on purpose in the last week. Why? Great sales on produce with sales ending on September 30th. I would rather go a little bit over than pay twice as much for the same item the next week - that is the major benefit of carrying the overage from one month to the next. My overspend never gets out of control.

We have been cooking from scratch this week more, on Thursday was ground Turkey (that had been sitting in the freezer for several months) chili and baking powder biscuits. It turned out really good and we have a frozen batch for some future dinner when we don't feel like cooking. My chili is always a mish-mash of whatever is in the fridge. Leftover salsa, that last bit of barbeque sauce, some pasta or rice, and always tons of chili powder.

I scored one food product for free this week at Sobeys

$1.99 minus $2 coupon (no tax on food products in Alberta)= free plus 1 cent to apply to other groceries.

I found a great deal on gum at Rexall. They must have been selling off older stock - I wonder if gum expires?

4 packages for .16 each (photo shows 3 as husband stole one before I could take a picture) plus tax .68 cents (for 80 pieces of gum)

We also listed a few items for sale on Kijiji. One sold last night:

4 year old Costco Patio set (that was starting to chip pieces off the top as I am certain these were not meant for our harsh winters)
Sold for $400 - that goes straight into the Vancouver Island Furniture Fund(for anything we sell here that we have to buy there - is much cheaper than shipping an 800 pound patio set)

Things are starting to leave the house - selling things makes me feel like we are moving in the right direction. The patio actually looks much larger now that the set is gone and will likely show better when we sell.

Here is a shot I took a few weeks ago at sunrise. Seagulls flying high in the pink puffy clouds. Cheers everyone!

Deals this Week and Tweaking my Future Grocery Budget

Deals this week:

Blouse from Goodwill $5.99

Freebies this week: P&G Brandsampler
Olay facial cleansing cloth
Febreze Noticeable coupon for free unit
Two samples Crest Whitestrips
Two samples Cascade Actionpacks

We are starting to purge/downsize slowly. I will feel better about the process if I document it as will feel like I am getting something accomplished. In 10 minutes these items were gathered to be taken to Goodwill on Monday(yes, they take comforters and blankets, I checked):

Tomatoes from the lone tomato plant turning red on the windowsill (the one on the right is being eaten this evening). Aren't they beautiful? There are at least six more in the vine - it is now a houseplant.

Two years ago before I discovered couponing and stockpiling (with two adults and four kids staying with us 8 days per month) we paid on average $1000 to $1100 per month for groceries. That included all non-food items like toothpaste, toilet paper and cleaners. Today with two adults and two kids (older boys just come to visit now as they are young adults) 8 days per month we have a set grocery budget of $450 per month. We rarely eat out (about twice per month), are meat eaters and enjoy cooking. We don't include our eating out tally in the food budget as I consider that more under the entertainment category. Keep in mind if you are reading this blog outside Canada that grocery and food prices are 1.5 times what they are in the USA and if we lived in the USA with couponing (better rules and availability) I could probably pay $200 per month total. The Canadian budget is kept down by buying and stocking up on loss leaders every week and using coupons only for items that we would normally use.

I was trying to do some research to find out if our monthly average grocery budget was lower or higher than the average family. The best research too founds was figures from December 2009 which show what the weekly grocery budget is for the average two and four person family in the U.S.A(based on age brackets as well) with information taken from the US Government Census.

Under the low cost plan (four plans - thrifty, low cost, moderate, and liberal)
Two adults between the ages of 19 and 50 have an average weekly grocery cost of $101.70 which I prefer to calculate out to monthly:

Two Adults (age 42 & 49) $440.70
Male Child age 15 - 8 days per month $72.27
Female child age 14 - 8 days per month $49.11

On the low cost plan our currently monthly budget should be $562.08.

We are already lower. Based on our current plan of quitting our jobs and not working for a period of time I have decided that starting October 1 we will lower our budget to the thrifty plan:

Two Adults (age 42 & 49) $345.80
Male Child age 15 - 8 days per month $41.13
Female child age 14 - 8 days per month $39.64

Thrifty Plan Total Monthly Budget $426.57 (currently at $450 per month)