February 2011 Controlled/No Spend Thread

[ses]

AZmom-- having someone clean for me anytime is a gift straight from God! Especially in this situation.

I finished my grocery shopping for the month and of the $112 I started with I spent $77.70 at Walmart for basic groceries, $28.07 for meats and dairy at Safeway and 4.00 at the Dollar store for sugar and spices and have $2.23 remaining. I was able to come in under the $112 by not getting my almonds , and getting regular pasta instead of my regular low carb pasta, and getting 80% lean hamburger instead of my regular 96% lean hamburger I saved enough to hit the dollar store and have a bit left. I plan to use the remaining $2.23 mid month when cabbage goes on super sale for St Patty's day and another onion or pepper, if possible. I'm really glad I like coleslaw.

I know the amount I am using is unbelievably high for a single adult and I have conviences that many don't (a very good freezer and fridge, a working stove, and stores nearby and easy access to them) but this would be very difficult if I couldn't do this on a monthly basis. Foods are not packaged in small enough portions for those who can't afford the family packs. I wanted one pound of ground beef and none of them were smaller than 1.23 lbs. That is about 50c more than I wanted to spend. If this were a regular process I could budget for a family pack of something each month and lower the overall costs. I did compile a list of staples I use each month but not all the time (flour, sugar, cooking oil...) and bought only the most critical for the first month.

I also have a very big advantage that many don't. I am old enough that I know how to cook from scratch and am a pretty fair cook and pretty good at planning. Constanz is absolutely right about planning being so critical. I think more schools need to go back to teaching basic life skills like cooking. I also think ones receiving assistance should be required to take a class or seminar about the efficient use of food stamps and basic cooking.

[sapphire12]

SES -- Congrats on your effort. You have pointed out the flaws with trying to buy only for the week. If you only buy for the week, you actually spend more money than if you bought for even a two week period. In Maryland, the avg monthly allotment is $130.45. I would be fine with the $130.45 for a month, especially during the winter months. I do mostly one-dish meals and I can eat the same thing every day. There was a $30 week challenge in MD. Based on what I'm eating this week, I could do it; however I won't attempt it. One, I officially missed the deadline. Two, knowing what I know and you know about numbers I would be just frustrated. As Constanz said, planning is key. I would be okay with the cooking class, if they gave students some latitude in what they could cook. When I took Home Ec, many moons ago, we had to cook items, I don't eat; that benefits no one.

kcgal -- shoveling snow counts as exercise. I've had more than enough of that form of exercising, though not as much as you this year.

muttley -- glad you are making the best with your time at home.

[sheilaincali]

Had a blast at lunch with my friend from HS today. I only leave the office for lunch maybe once a month and that's usually to meet up with my sister. So this was a nice change of pace. Used some of my weekly allowance but will still count it as both a spend and an eat out.

[Honeylioness]

Final January Numbers: 26 NEO / 26 NSD/CSD

February Goals: 25 NEO / 25 NSD/CSD

Gee, I did better than I thought in January. Except in the area of groceries. I MUST get this back under control!!! My total figure for January just about made me physically ill ... how could three people have spent that much in food? I use to be able to get it just under $300 with two of us ... would love to get the number to about $350 for the three of us.

Let's see - what else can I update on money wise?

Have I mentioned that I really really REALLY want mid-February to arrive so I can file my taxes already? Yeesh, and to add insult to injury I am going to have to file hard paper copies instead of e-filing because of the truck donation.

The girls were home AGAIN yesterday with yet another "Snow Day" - this makes seven in less than a month. At this rate they will be leaving for home before the school year is officially over.

On an upside: Punxsutawney Phil sees no shadow, predicts early spring. Good thing too or I would be planning on how exactly you make a gopher purse.

Oh, and being single $ucks and there was no "date" this last weekend - he cancelled due to a "scheduling conflict" ... yeah ... whatever.

[kcgal]

RANT COMING: I am sick of shoveling snow and I don't want to do it again!! My shoulder hurt, my back hurts Darn snow. I got stuck twice today. Once leaving my driveway and once entering. The snow plows came by and made a huge pile of snow in front of the driveway. Twice! On the good side they came by twice. I don't care how good of an exercise it is I am ready to move on! Now they are talking about more snow next week. At least it won't be a major storm. Where are those H.S. kids in the olden days that used to shovel walks for cash I''ll pay.

BTW: SES you are better than an average cook!

[azmom]

Uh-Epic Fail on the NEO front today. I just finished polishing off a big mac and fries...and dd is in the mist of devouring a kids meal. I have instructed DH to take my debit card away from me!! I had my class that I am shadowing the teacher in today (it's a Beth Moore study of David and is sooo good) That class in on the other side of town so I had already planned on taking my friend lunch. Well, I called and took her order for one of her favorite places and after I hung up I realized I had no idea where it was (after I drove by where I thought it was) and my phone died when I called to try and find out!! After driving around the city for like 15-20 minutes with no luck, I decided to just go to a similar place and they took another 20 minutes to prepare the food and I finally made it by her house and stayed and chatted for a bit. (more on that later) and by the time we were out of thee it was 1:30 and dd and I were starving!! We left the house at 8:30 a.m. and all she ate was a bowl of cereal and all I had ate was a piece of toast!!! Poor planning on my part. I thought I knew where this place was and I didn't. Not having a cell phone really is not fun...it was eye opening as to how dependent I am on my phone.

ALL: Thank you so much for all of your insight and suggestions. Her place is so clean and organized!! She really has a hard time accepting help too. I told her that all the fuss is really to make us feel better anyway! She laughed and said she will accept it as it comes. I also dropped off a pair of comfy PJ pants another friend had for her and we ordered her an edible fruit basket, that has already been delivered to her. She is moving around and plans on going in to work tomorrow!! I made sure to tell her to take it easy and ask if she needed anything else.

Shannon: Thank You so much for getting our totals up!!

SES: I am so impressed. Mostly by the fact that you have your food purchased for the entire month!. Even on my best planned months, I still have trips planned for more bread, milk, fresh fruit, lettuce and tomato, and fresh peppers. What perishables are you using and how do you store them so they last that long. Plus, it helps me feel like I am "shopping" even if I am buying budgeted grocery items. I understand you may not have need to satisfy a "shopping" inkling but I do....which is how I got myself in trouble. At least now my "shopping" is on necessary items-minus McDonald's-and not on unnecessary items from the mall charged to a cc!! Your same encounters with not being able to buy in bulk and buying less quality beef and pasta. I deal with on a more regular basis. Sometimes my budget is REALLY slim and I don't get to take advantage of the "bulk" sales and I end up spending more per pound or quality but it is less money spent out of pocket for what I need for just that week and sometimes that is all I can afford. It was like that ALL the time before we moved because a huge chunk of our budget went to gas. Anyhow,
WOW...I am amazed by your diligence and desire.

I know there was more to comment on but I am exhausted! I have had a load in the washing machine for two days (the same load) and I am about to re-wash it for the 4th time because I keep forgetting about...I need some help! February is a hard month for me. My son is turning 7 (same age I was when my mom left and looking at how young and innocent he is just brings back old wounds) the 11 year anniversary of my dads death is coming up. I'm just an emotional wreck. I cried like 5 times yesterday. Not full on ugly cry just a sense of overwhelming emotion that causes tears to stream down my eyes type of crying. It doesn't help that I am sure I'm about to start my cycle in the next couple of days. Poor DH, he is aware of my roller coaster of emotions and he extends me so much undeserving grace. It has taken 11 years but he is officially a master of dealing with my craziness and helping to put me back together. He will never understand it, and he has stopped "offering suggestions" and now he's just there to tell me it will all be okay. I Love That Guy!!

[azmom]

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[ses]

I fixed half of the cabbage for coleslaw, yummy, prepped the onion and pepper for pizza and omelets and the enchilada sauce is simmering. I can't wait for dinner! I will divy the sauce up for this month and freeze some for later.

The most wonderful thing just happened. One of the guys I worked with has three boys, ages 10-14, and they all stopped by on the way home and gave me a gift of a quart jar of shelled pop corn. Fresh pop corn is ao wonderfully light and puffy compared with what you can buy, there is still enough moisture in the kernel they almost over pop. No more tears about the lack of almonds!

They visited "Gumpa" over Christmas and he had bushels of recently harvested ears of pop corn and sent all the grandkids to the barn to shell the ears--to keep them busy I would bet. Anyway, they brought me some pop corn. I think they want me to continue to remember them at Christmas with a couple of gallons of cinnamon corn. Someday I am going to kidnap the boys and teach them to make it themselves, it is so easy. In fact, it was a ten-year-old boy who taught me to make it!

Thank you, KCgal, especially considering some of our family background.

[muttleynfelix]

KCgal - At least you can leave your driveway! We can't!

Here's how things have gone this afternoon. DS only napped an 1.5 this morning which means he desperately needs a nap right now which he is protesting and I am ignoring him. THe Fedex guy called and was like ok I've got these big boxes, can I get up your driveway and I was like I have no clue. So he gets to the bottom of our driveway and finds that the plow has gone by and there is no way he can get in our driveway. So, DH and I tell him to leave the boxes (they are the parts for our car) at the bottom of the hill and DH was on his way to get them. Well DH took the SUV to get them (no idea why) and sure enough we have 2' of ice chunks at the edge of the road. So, DH tries to back the SUV up the driveway and gets 1/3 of the way up and repeatedly gets stuck. So that is where our only working vehicle is at the moment. The tractor then didn't want to start. Plus I found a toy in the bottom of the wet bag as I started washing diapers. So, I put that in the dish washer to be power washed. Fortunatley, it is hard plastic, but still. ICK!!

SES - I am so impressed that you are doing that. DH and I are such junk food adicts that it would be tough for us.

[ses]

AZmom--The fresh produce I am using this month is cabbage and onions, both of which last quite awhile and a green pepper. I will add more cabbage and another pepper mid month. Most of my produce is frozen or canned. With today's processing, vegetables are just as nutritious frozen or canned as fresh, unless you can get the produce less than 24 hours of picking like a farmer's market which is not the case here. Besides on a food stamp budget that is not much of an option. I am freezing my milk to last the month. One of the handicaps I am giving myself is assuming I am starting from nothing with completely empty shelves.

Living in the climate I do I always maintain a pretty complete pantry that I gradually built up over time with super sale promotions. By doing this on a regular basis, it is stocked with low cost foods which releases a bit of the budget to occasionally stock up in the "super value" purchases. I think that is why it "hurts" so much to have to buy the smaller "expensive" size that costs less. I just think that it is unfair that a loss leader price is not available to those who can't utilize or afford the larger packages. This whole project is opening my eyes every day.

I find it ironic that just as I start this project the "heads" in the news broadcasts are saying some of the rioting in Egypt, and other countries, is to the extreme inflation in the food markets for basic needs. Perhaps it is good for me to become aware of this issue now and in this way.

Sapphire--I don't think I could do this project on a weekly basis and maintain a healthy balanced diet. At least not for very long.

[ses]

AZmom--check your local library for Annette(I think)Economides book Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half. You might be able to get some ideas, it is really very good. I think she is from your area, Phoenix, I think.

[singlemomky]

Shan - Thank for you the instructions on the avatars back in January. I finally went on to Picasa and uploaded Moo's image!

[shanendoah]

Honey: I updated your numbers on the chart on this thread (but not the one at the end of the Jan thread).

smokey: Moo's so cute, too

[ses]

AZmom--your post made me think a bit about my process. Since I am cooking for just myself and so many recipes are for four servings I freeze three and eat one. Do this a couple of times a week and I'm prepared for some meals each week. But one of my biggest assists is preparing a big batch (8 servings) each month of something (my last three have been chili, pasta sauce and enchilada sauce, maybe vegetable soup or ham and beans will come up soon). I will eat four of the servings this month and freeze the others in single serving size containers. Then four times a month I will choose from the stash frozen in the previous months. The rest of the time a meal will be a variation of chicken breasts, fish fillets or shrimp.

Twice a month I make some kind of sandwich filling (chicken salad, ham salad, tuna, pimento cheese spread, peanut butter...) So as you can see I really only "cook" about 4-5 times a month. My planning for a month is probably like you planning and cooking for a week for your family...not really a big deal.

[3catslady]

GLDN; Yes, I got your box and I thought I sent you an e-mail about it. Maybe I didn't, I will have to check. The wool I am going to make a throw for ME because I like the colors. I am waiting for a friend at work to pay me back a couple of dollars so I can order 2 boxes of cookies.
BTW, my kitty's neck looks great. We may not have to get another shot until the itching starts up again. The vet said it is something she and I will have to live with, but he hopes that we may have put the disease to sleep for a while. I hope so.

[moneysquirrel]

Update: 2 NS days & 1 CS days = 3 NS/CS days

Spend today but all of it was in the budget so I am counting it as a CS day.

[mizbear]

Shan- I have friends (and unfortunately family) that do this. Many of them just stopped asking me places- others are a little more sensitive to my budget.
ses- You can still buy bulk and whatnot- the trick with utilizing FS is to tailor your needs and your budget. I tweaked the parts of my diet I was either willing to tweak ot needed to tweak. You can't give up everything you love or find essential unless it is absolutely necessary. You won't succeed that way.

[reeneejune]

What Would You Do? -

I have two garnishments on my paychecks currently: One for a student loan (I can't afford to get into the rehabilitation program until after the other is paid off and at that point it would almost be pointless) and the other for several old medical bills rolled into one. I've been going along with this without complaint for just over a year now, and I'm only 1 month away from having the medical bills one paid off. I found out today that for reasons unknown, no money was deducted for the second garnishment from the paycheck I'll receive tomorrow. I've been very diligent about tracking how much I owe on this debt and how many payments I have remaining, and according to my records I still owe $720 and change which would be paid in 3.5 payments. Having the extra $200 in my bank account is nice, but I'm concerned that something has gone astray which would delay payoff on this. I'm going to call the payroll department in the morning and try to get to the bottom of this. But I have to admit that there's still a little voice in the back of my head saying "don't worry about it, they're responsible for keeping track, enjoy the little break from being completely strapped for cash!"

I guess this isn't a question so much as it's a realization of how much my attitude toward debt has changed over the last two years. Two years ago I would have breathed a sigh of relief and said "thank heavens for small favors" and splurged. Now I'm cursing the possibility of having to make a payment directly to the creditor (these don't update to my employer very quickly and thus there's a possibility that I'll overpay through garnishment and have to wait for a refund). If by some miracle I don't owe anything further on that bill, I'll happily apply the extra cash to the loan I'm trying to get paid off.

[constanz22]

Update 1 NS, 2 CS

[muttleynfelix]

reene - I would call and figure out what I owe. Everytime I have sat around and said it will work itself out, it has bitten me in the rear. Everytime I have been proactive I have had a much better result. Plus my motto for February is Anitprocrastination February.

Yeha, I am at work today!! Yippee. The roads still aren't great, but we can get out. They are predicting another dusting of snow today, flurries on Sunday, and another storm Tuesday and Wednesday! UGH!! Are you kidding me? I have my meals planned for next week and I only did 3 of them, but I'm thinking I need to plan a 4th if we are going to be snow bound.

[sheilaincali]

reenee: Call payroll and check on it. Otherwise it will always be in the back of your mind waiting for the other shoe to drop. You will feel good about being proactive about it.

SES: since we are on a big portion control kick lately it seems we get twice as much food out of every meal. So meatloaf the other night was dinner for 3 plus 3 lunches. Pork shoulder is pulled pork for one meal and burrito bowls with pork for another meal and still some left for sandwiches on the 3rd day (this is with the smaller shoulder we can find in the store). It's amazing what we can do with a little planning.
Super impressed by what you are doing this month. Keep us posted

[startsmart]

SES - there's a blog I followed over the summer about eating well on $1 day. Great content and the guy really shows how to use coupons, cook and shows his meals. He did the challenge for 100 days and also donated thousands of dollars in food to the food bank.

3cats - did my package ever arrive? I was just wondering that the other day but it's possible I missed something on the thread since January went so quickly by. Just checking!

Snow? - I am definitely getting flashbacks to college and the few times I felt stuck. Couldn't go outside, can't make it to the store, no one will deliver food. Here in CA it's not so much an issue thankfully, I don't plan and forget to eat on a normal day!

Honey - with the increase in your grocery costs are you eating all the food you buy or is some going to waste? If everything is getting eaten maybe you need to substitute for lower cost items some of the time or reduce quantities somewhat. I have no idea what it's like to feed two teenage girls though!

okay, gotta run. work and blue eyes are calling

[shanendoah]

renee: Even if they're supposed to take the money out, its still your debt, and you're the one who will be held accountable for late payments or anything like that. We learned this the hard way with DBro.
When he joined the military, he signed up for them to garnish his wages and pay his student loans before he ever saw the check. This is SOP for Army payroll, so no big deal. Well, at one point when he got a promotion, they stopped paying on some of his loans. DBro wasn't paying enough attention to realize it (his check was supposed to be bigger, afterall). Years later, he (and DOD, who cosigned a couple of the loans) started getting letters demanding the full balance repayment "now or else" on loans DBro thought were paid off.
So yeah, be proactive, because the lein holder doesn't care that its your employer who messed up. They only care that YOU didn't make a payment.

[dakota4600]

Last night ended up stopping and getting fast food for mini-D and I for dinner. DH had parent teacher conferences. Mini-D hadn't napped and was cranky and even though I had stuff to warm up in the fridge, it seemed so much easier to go through the drive through. But is was less than $5 so still a CS, we split an order of popcorn chicken and supplemented with veggies and bread at home.

Renee- I agree with the others, check with your HR and get this figured out.

SES- Good luck with the project. I agree it is the not stocking up and buying in bulk that would be the hardest. Some months I go way over my grocery budget to take advantage of good sales and other months, we basically just buy the perishables. In fact a major grocery run is in my future this weekend, we are out of brown sugar, whole wheat pasta and shredded cheese to name a few. Now I have to go through the ads and see if I'm stocking up or just getting what I need for the week.

Shan- Could you plan things for that group that are lower/no cost?

[dianartemis]

reenee: I second, or third, being proactive. When I had to quit school in 2002, I still owed the school some $$ on my account. Even though I had been paying on the account, I still received a letter 6 months later stating that I had to now pay $XXX or my account would go into collections. I called and straightened it out. If I hadn't, that account would have gone into collections because I couldn't've afforded those payments.

[redwagon]

Happy Friday, all!

Muttley - glad you managed to dig out at long last, just in time for the next storm!

Today is blue's last day at his job. We're going out afterwards, should be a fun night. Trying to limit/plan my food/drink intake so I don't totally screw up my finances and weight watchers for the week. We'll see how good my willpower is, though. I'm a sucker for chips and guac and margaritas....

Pretty sure I'm going to blow through my points this weekend anyways. Family shindig tomorrow night and SuperBowl Sunday. Trying to make healthier apps so I have something "good" to choose. Again, we'll see how I do!

[mizbear]

renee- Check it out- if they short payments they will still want their money, if they overpay- how long will it take for you to get your money back?

[shanendoah]

mizbear: We already don't get invited to a number of things they plan. They like to plan group vacations, and after we declined putting ourselves in major debt to go on the first two, they stopped even telling us when the trips were happening.

dakota: I try. Sadly, we are not "cool" enough for the wife. We still get invited to the group things they plan because we are part of his old (ie before her) group of friends, but if I plan something, they are invariably busy that night. Unless we plan something specifically with the two of them, like a couples dinner somewhere (usually planned a month+ in advance), it just doesn't happen. There is also the fact that she REALLY like to plan get togethers, and rarely wants to attend anything she didn't have a hand in putting together. Exceptions are made for events that will project the image she wants to convey.

I want to repeat that they are not bad people, just very different from us (or she is, at least). We live near each other and they have more than once given us rides to the airport or train station on little to no notice. When I was in my car accident, they stopped by to check on me. He would have represented me in that court case had I asked. She is an incredibly loyal and steadfast friend to her inner circle. He would give just about any of us the shirt off his back if we needed it.
He especially understands the budget issue - he spent two years working road construction in Vegas to put himself through school. But I also know he made a conscious choice about what type of woman he wanted to marry (I do not doubt they love each other, I'm just talking about the general criteria) because of his plans to spend his life as a public figure. (He works for the DA's office and this last summer ran for judge. Wasn't elected but made some great contacts.)
She, however, has never had to worry about money. Her father is wealthy and paid for everything. Even when they were "struggling" in their first years, her father bought their car for them, they made payments to him, which he then gave back to them as a down payment when they went to buy their first house. So while she intellectually understands a budget, she's never actually had to live on one.

We will probably just continue with our current plan- when invites come out, we'll evaluate whether we can work them in to our budget or not and decide from there.
I do feel kind of like the people who ask for budget help and then refuse to take any of the suggestions, though, so I apologize for that. Its just one of those situations that I have to re-wrap my head around every time we decide to attend one of their events.

[redwagon]

Resisted the urge for McD's for lunch and ate my yogurt and cereal. Victory on financial and WW fronts!

Just ordered my free Coffee Mate coupon on FB. You have to give your address and they mail it to you within 3 weeks. I was worried I'd have to use a coupon printer which I don't have at work. Can't download any software, which is annoying.

[azmom]

SES: Thank you so much for your clarifying that for me. You should really consider targeting cooking for single people. I came from a large family (I'm the oldest of 5). When I moved out on my own I could not cook for just me, which led to a life of eating out the majority of the time. I wish I had that insight and the know how back then. I do have a follow up question. How do you freeze your meals for the future. I seriously have no idea and would like to be able to make a double batch and save for a future date but I do not know how. SERIOUSLY. what kind of container do you store it in? After assembly do you cook the meal then let it cool (how long) and then freeze it. Do you have a "top five" meals you like to freeze. Reading your post made me crave enchiladas. I will be making some next week for sure...maybe that could be my first freezing experience. Again, thank you for your input. I love your challenge.