Today I am implementing a “no-spend” day, and only driving to and from work – no other pit stops. What spurred this frugal panic attack you might ask? I was doing a sort of mid-month spending review, and got excited about where some of my numbers were. See, I am a bit of a spreadsheet and number-crunching junkie / nerd for the most part, and I keep some pretty detailed spending records (down to the penny) of where my money goes and comes from each year. This allows me to easily track where I’m spending too much or saving too little, and also provides me with the option to challenge myself each month/year to see if I can spend less than the previous month/year. I’ve been doing this since my early 20’s. And no, I don’t have a psychiatrist.
I know, I know, that evil word “Budget” is ringing through your ears and making your eyes roll back. Personally, I like to view it as my “Guideline.” If I screw up in one area, I simply try to make it all balance in another. Tracking everything like this really does come in handy when you want to refer back to your spending habits, and also when it comes to forecasting future spending, like taxes, car repairs, insurance, the dreaded Christmas holiday, etc. And the more you do it, the more it becomes second nature to save your receipts and log them into the spreadsheet. It also forces you to see whether raising 23 chickens and 5 horses is a benefit or a liability (I bet you can guess what the latter is). Or whether your “Entertainment” category needs attention (cough, ahem). It can also tell you how much the garden you planted actually saved you on your yearly grocery bill. Or the cost benefit of making your own wine rather than buying it. You get the idea. I encourage everyone to try this, even for just one month. You will be amazed when you can clearly see where your money actually goes each month.
So the cause of my excitement today, came when I was reviewing my monthly grocery expenses for the past seven months. Mind you, this is for food only (no wine, toiletries, or cleaning supplies, etc.) for two adults. My highest monthly cost for groceries was for the month of July, and came in at whopping $367.88! I spent like a mad woman and was definitely not happy with myself. I even gained weight (Gasp!). My lowest monthly food cost for the year was in January, when I only spent a mere $179.23. What’s so exciting about this you ask? Well, at the time of this post, my total food bill for August is only at $122.85! This means if I can control my trips to the grocery store for ten more days, and use up things in my pantry and from the garden, I will set a new low in that “Guideline” category for the year. Yesssss!!! As I told you, I’m a spreadsheet nerd.
Nearly all our cooking is done from scratch. I even make all of our own bread, and I don’t even own a bread machine! Fortunately my husband is as good a cook as I, and actually loves to cook as well. Our meals are healthy and varied. We supplement our meat purchases by hunting rabbit, deer, doves, fish, and the occasional squirrel (don’t laugh – they’re good!). We will soon be adding to the list farm raised, organic, free-range ducks and chickens that we have been raising here on our farm. And the hens should start laying eggs next month. Since we just bought this farm this past January, we will wait until next year to raise a pig, and maybe a cow, with the goal of never having to buy our meat from the grocery stores again. We’ll also be expanding our garden and adding fruit trees in the future.
So that’s my story for Tightwad Tuesday. Maybe next time I’ll post some of my favorite tightwad recipes for you to experiment with : )
UPDATE: Finished the month with a total of $171.53 spent in the food / grocery category - new record!
