So last night I spent $5.07 on two ice cream treats for Budget Naginata and myself. I know that you ask yourself why the Budget Ronin would both break the rules and how he could get away with it after the last Showdown confession that the Budget Clan was deep in the hole?
I robbed a bank.
Ok. I didn't really rob a bank.
To pick up where we left off in the last post, I did contact some family and they were able to give me the money we needed to put us square with the bank. I picked up a check yesterday and put it in the night deposit last night.
I made the decision to get treats for Naginata and I prior to even this? Why? Why would I break my own challenge rules? Well, honestly, because some things deserve a big, damn celebration. And in lieu of fireworks and streamers, we got ice cream.
At the end of next month, October of 2007, Naginata and I will have no more credit card debt.
It started with a couple of letters from two creditors telling me that we had finished our debt repayment program with them. I called the agency that had been facilitating this for us, the fabulous Consumer Credit Counseling Service. (I'd provide a link, but it varies from town to town. Google "CCCS" and your town and you should be golden.) They confirmed we had indeed finished those two and had a zero balance with one of the remaining two and a small balance with the last creditor. They encouraged me to confirm this yesterday, so I did.
Well, here's my warning to anyone in a debt repayment program. Don't be afraid to knock on some doors. CCCS was mostly correct. We actually had a $9 charge left with one creditor, and the balance on the remaining one was about $10 off. Neither of these is a huge deal and I paid off the $9 charge this afternoon, so we have one last payment to our final creditor scheduled for next month.
This brings up our level of workable return income drastically. So much so that we will be able to escalate our last few remaining car payments and be done with paying off the Budget-Mobile by the end of the year. Wow. By the start of 2008, we'll have a paid-off car and no credit card debt.
This returns roughly 20% of my take-home income back to me. Considering right now we have about 0% discretionary income, that's quite a big leap.
I was so excited, I broke the rules.
Now back to the nitty-gritty. We still have a challenge to win, a car to pay off and some savings to accrue. I also have one more personal debt I have to pay off. But all this is on the heels of some really great news that has put some spring back into my Budget Ronin Geta.
This was not the result of luck or good fortune. We started this repayment program over five years ago and did not miss a single payment. It's the seed of the plant we are now tending every day, and I can say with certainty that it is because we thought ahead back then that we reap the rewards of that forethought now. I'm taking that very much to heart right now.
Wow. By the time the challenge is over, I might actually have my stuff together.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
New! With reconstituted ideas!
We bought food... you know, so we could eat it.
On Sept. 8th, before our trip out of town, we bought:
Eggs $1.5
Milk $1.5
=total $3
Upon our return, Sept. 23rd, we bought:
Apples $3
Bananas $1
Yogurt $2.5
Grits $1
Bacon $2.5
Powdered Milk $8
Jelly $2
=total $20
We switched to powdered milk after we did a test run a couple of weeks ago after reading this article:
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/09/08/how-to-feed-yourself-for-15-a-week/
So far the powdered milk is a good option for us. It's cheaper, it doesn't go bad as quickly and seems a bit... um... cleaner? It works well for cereal, recipies and I've even used our Budget Cappucino machine to make pasable lattes (our tip on cheap mixed coffee drinks? cheap espresso tastes just as good when you plan to add a heavy flavor like chocolate to your mix). I'll let you know if we plan to change, but so far, it's really nice just being able to make a quart or two of milk rather than having to run to the store for a "fresh" gallon.
So far, no plans to swap out to powdered eggs or freeze-dried beer.
On Sept. 8th, before our trip out of town, we bought:
Eggs $1.5
Milk $1.5
=total $3
Upon our return, Sept. 23rd, we bought:
Apples $3
Bananas $1
Yogurt $2.5
Grits $1
Bacon $2.5
Powdered Milk $8
Jelly $2
=total $20
We switched to powdered milk after we did a test run a couple of weeks ago after reading this article:
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/09/08/how-to-feed-yourself-for-15-a-week/
So far the powdered milk is a good option for us. It's cheaper, it doesn't go bad as quickly and seems a bit... um... cleaner? It works well for cereal, recipies and I've even used our Budget Cappucino machine to make pasable lattes (our tip on cheap mixed coffee drinks? cheap espresso tastes just as good when you plan to add a heavy flavor like chocolate to your mix). I'll let you know if we plan to change, but so far, it's really nice just being able to make a quart or two of milk rather than having to run to the store for a "fresh" gallon.
So far, no plans to swap out to powdered eggs or freeze-dried beer.
WBRFS #3
The third installment is late, for reasons explained below.
Showdown!
Last week we spent time out of the house. Although my employer regards it a "vacation," Budget Naginata, Edamame and I were out of town for anything but a relaxing time. I won't go into great details, because this is blog for financial analysis, but Naginata has a sibling in the hospital in a scary and uncertain condition. We have our best thoughts out for their recovery and, if you are so inclined, we wouldn't mind a few positive thoughts sent our way.
As we spent all of last week at their house, trying to help out the family, I ruminated on the cost of the treatments and considered us and them lucky to have a good insurance program to fall back on. I know it is a situation that many people are not fortunate enough for, but all things considered, should Naginata or Edamame have something wrong with them, it is not a concern of ours to whisk them away to the hospital and apply whatever knowledge Western medicine can give us to help allievate their problems.
I say this because it is a comfort in our small world of financial uncertainty. Things really are a roller coaster at the Budget-Castle. This weekend, we were notified by two of the five credit card companies we are in debt repayment with, that our obligations had been fulfilled. They thanked us for our participation and we are free and clear of those two accounts. That is a great cause for celebration.
The celebration is short lived, however, because due to the expense of tripping out of state, we have bounced several large checks and currently owe our primary bank a significant amount of cash, to the extreme that we cannot recover when my paycheck comes in at the end of the week. This puts us in the horrible position of having to ask for assistance from relatives.
Odds are we will be able to secure the cash. Having to ask for it, however, is not a position I want to be in. I called my stock broker today to see if there was anything left in any account I had with him. I haven't talked to my stock broker in over five years. I almost considered calling my old boy scout troup to see if I could sell tickets to the Jamboree instead of asking to borrow money.
I'm sure many of you reading this know how humbling it must feel to be a parent and have the expectations of an adult resting on your shoulders and immediately feel transformed back to the age of 14 or 16, trying to con your parents for the keys to the family automobile. It's uncomfortable and often belittling and I want to turn tables so that I'm in a better position than to have to ask anyone other than my own savings account for a little extra money to make up a shortfall.
But thinking of Naginata's sibling and that family dealing with a much more serious crisis really humbles your view on some things. I should be thankful for relatives that would be there for me and would loan me this money. I am thankful knowing that were I the one in the hospital, they would be right there for me. Dispite many of my misgivings, I feel like I have done something very much right in my life to have these people around me and work hard to be someone worthy of their trust and friendship. A large part of my quest for financial stability is not for the best wall-mounted plasma television or expensive vacation abroad, but to be in the position for my friends and family to know that they could come to me and be able to count on my support during their times of turmoil.
I hope this was not overly depressing or preachy. I don't confess to having a lot of answers, just the tenacity to try and make a better life for those around me, friends, family and others. As far as Budget Ronin go, I consider myself lucky to have the friends and family that stand by me. I hope that each of you are equally lucky.
My wallet is empty, but my heart is full.
B.R.
Showdown!
Budget Ronin vs. the Longest Journey!
"A small victory in the face of overwhelming odds! Ronin refuses to surrender!"
Last week we spent time out of the house. Although my employer regards it a "vacation," Budget Naginata, Edamame and I were out of town for anything but a relaxing time. I won't go into great details, because this is blog for financial analysis, but Naginata has a sibling in the hospital in a scary and uncertain condition. We have our best thoughts out for their recovery and, if you are so inclined, we wouldn't mind a few positive thoughts sent our way.
As we spent all of last week at their house, trying to help out the family, I ruminated on the cost of the treatments and considered us and them lucky to have a good insurance program to fall back on. I know it is a situation that many people are not fortunate enough for, but all things considered, should Naginata or Edamame have something wrong with them, it is not a concern of ours to whisk them away to the hospital and apply whatever knowledge Western medicine can give us to help allievate their problems.
I say this because it is a comfort in our small world of financial uncertainty. Things really are a roller coaster at the Budget-Castle. This weekend, we were notified by two of the five credit card companies we are in debt repayment with, that our obligations had been fulfilled. They thanked us for our participation and we are free and clear of those two accounts. That is a great cause for celebration.
The celebration is short lived, however, because due to the expense of tripping out of state, we have bounced several large checks and currently owe our primary bank a significant amount of cash, to the extreme that we cannot recover when my paycheck comes in at the end of the week. This puts us in the horrible position of having to ask for assistance from relatives.
Odds are we will be able to secure the cash. Having to ask for it, however, is not a position I want to be in. I called my stock broker today to see if there was anything left in any account I had with him. I haven't talked to my stock broker in over five years. I almost considered calling my old boy scout troup to see if I could sell tickets to the Jamboree instead of asking to borrow money.
I'm sure many of you reading this know how humbling it must feel to be a parent and have the expectations of an adult resting on your shoulders and immediately feel transformed back to the age of 14 or 16, trying to con your parents for the keys to the family automobile. It's uncomfortable and often belittling and I want to turn tables so that I'm in a better position than to have to ask anyone other than my own savings account for a little extra money to make up a shortfall.
But thinking of Naginata's sibling and that family dealing with a much more serious crisis really humbles your view on some things. I should be thankful for relatives that would be there for me and would loan me this money. I am thankful knowing that were I the one in the hospital, they would be right there for me. Dispite many of my misgivings, I feel like I have done something very much right in my life to have these people around me and work hard to be someone worthy of their trust and friendship. A large part of my quest for financial stability is not for the best wall-mounted plasma television or expensive vacation abroad, but to be in the position for my friends and family to know that they could come to me and be able to count on my support during their times of turmoil.
I hope this was not overly depressing or preachy. I don't confess to having a lot of answers, just the tenacity to try and make a better life for those around me, friends, family and others. As far as Budget Ronin go, I consider myself lucky to have the friends and family that stand by me. I hope that each of you are equally lucky.
My wallet is empty, but my heart is full.
B.R.
Friday, September 14, 2007
WBRFS #2
Here is the second installment of my would-be ongoing series. My Weekly Budget Ronin Financial Showdown.
A week or so past, I answered the house phone and got a fun surprise!* A creditor was kindly calling to remind us of a past due amount on a credit card on my Budget Naginata's account. I had a quick chat with her, because I had hoped it was a mistake. I spoke with Naginata and she informed me this was her overdraft account.
I knew she had an overdraft, but neither of us realized it was that out of sorts. Mind you, I'm not blaming anyone for anything. I have an overdraft on my account as well, and it stays mostly maxed out at this point because we can only barely cover the bills we have, which is kind of the whole point of this blog anyway.
So what next? Well, we scrape together the money to pay off the late fees for the overdraft, but it kind of puts us back where we were in the first place, which is more money out of pocket and more in debt. What's a Budget Ronin to do?
I discussed this at length with Naginata and we came up with a few things:
1. Two overdrafts is easily one overdraft too many. We're getting hers shut off and we're going to pay it off so that it's done, never to be resurrected.
2. We're looking at closing that account of hers. We have two accounts to cover my steady paycheck and normal bills/expenses and hers as a sort of slush fund for other expenses. This is not really working well, since you shouldn't have to pay penalties for your slush fund. It's supposed to be for extra money, not extra money we don't have.
3. We've decided to move the expenses she typically concerns herself with over to cash. Typically Naginata writes the check for groceries, Budget Edamame's schooling and gas for the vehicles. We think that by moving them over to cash we have a better chance at maintaining a tighter budget and more control over recognizing what financial latitude we have at any given point.
Here's how #3 is going to work out. Mind you, I don't consider this revolutionary, we've both read of things like this from other sources, but after some review, we think it might work well for us. Cash in trackable envelopes. We're going to mark envelopes with specific amounts of cash that we know we'll need for each of our expenses: Groceries, Gas, Edamame's school. We'll deposit cash in the envelopes for use for those budgeted expenses and withdraw them to pay for the items. That way we know exactly what we have and don't have available to us. Need gas? No overdrafting, get money from the envelope. Extra money is rolled into the next envelope. Hopefully we'll eventually actually get enough extra money to put into savings or something fantastic like that. And so it goes...
Since we need to know how much to put in, this puts us in the position of budgeting our groceries in a more orderly fashion. Planning for stock items like litter and toilet paper every two months and edibles every other week. This also puts us in the position to splurge less on trips to the store, which has been a vulnerability in our otherwise good plans.
I don't know if any of this will work, but I know that paying service charges on overdraft fees for money we don't have isn't making me sleep any better at night, so we'll try this for now.
And if think that having loose cash on hand puts us at risk, I should warn you that I fill the Budget Clan Compound with deadly spiders. Hundreds of thousands of deadly spiders. It's so dangerous to intruders that we don't even actually live there anymore.
Unrelated, I'll be trying new catchphrases until I get one I like.
Neither Standard nor Poor,
B.R.
*note: Actually, not fun at all.
Showdown!
Budget Ronin vs. the Overdraft Overlord!
"Helpless against Service Fee Magic, a new technique revealed!"
A week or so past, I answered the house phone and got a fun surprise!* A creditor was kindly calling to remind us of a past due amount on a credit card on my Budget Naginata's account. I had a quick chat with her, because I had hoped it was a mistake. I spoke with Naginata and she informed me this was her overdraft account.
I knew she had an overdraft, but neither of us realized it was that out of sorts. Mind you, I'm not blaming anyone for anything. I have an overdraft on my account as well, and it stays mostly maxed out at this point because we can only barely cover the bills we have, which is kind of the whole point of this blog anyway.
So what next? Well, we scrape together the money to pay off the late fees for the overdraft, but it kind of puts us back where we were in the first place, which is more money out of pocket and more in debt. What's a Budget Ronin to do?
I discussed this at length with Naginata and we came up with a few things:
1. Two overdrafts is easily one overdraft too many. We're getting hers shut off and we're going to pay it off so that it's done, never to be resurrected.
2. We're looking at closing that account of hers. We have two accounts to cover my steady paycheck and normal bills/expenses and hers as a sort of slush fund for other expenses. This is not really working well, since you shouldn't have to pay penalties for your slush fund. It's supposed to be for extra money, not extra money we don't have.
3. We've decided to move the expenses she typically concerns herself with over to cash. Typically Naginata writes the check for groceries, Budget Edamame's schooling and gas for the vehicles. We think that by moving them over to cash we have a better chance at maintaining a tighter budget and more control over recognizing what financial latitude we have at any given point.
Here's how #3 is going to work out. Mind you, I don't consider this revolutionary, we've both read of things like this from other sources, but after some review, we think it might work well for us. Cash in trackable envelopes. We're going to mark envelopes with specific amounts of cash that we know we'll need for each of our expenses: Groceries, Gas, Edamame's school. We'll deposit cash in the envelopes for use for those budgeted expenses and withdraw them to pay for the items. That way we know exactly what we have and don't have available to us. Need gas? No overdrafting, get money from the envelope. Extra money is rolled into the next envelope. Hopefully we'll eventually actually get enough extra money to put into savings or something fantastic like that. And so it goes...
Since we need to know how much to put in, this puts us in the position of budgeting our groceries in a more orderly fashion. Planning for stock items like litter and toilet paper every two months and edibles every other week. This also puts us in the position to splurge less on trips to the store, which has been a vulnerability in our otherwise good plans.
I don't know if any of this will work, but I know that paying service charges on overdraft fees for money we don't have isn't making me sleep any better at night, so we'll try this for now.
And if think that having loose cash on hand puts us at risk, I should warn you that I fill the Budget Clan Compound with deadly spiders. Hundreds of thousands of deadly spiders. It's so dangerous to intruders that we don't even actually live there anymore.
Unrelated, I'll be trying new catchphrases until I get one I like.
Neither Standard nor Poor,
B.R.
*note: Actually, not fun at all.
Monday, September 10, 2007
No catchy story
No, seriously, I don't have one.
I just have a receipt for groceries. On 9/6, we bought:
Cupcakes $4
Something $2 <- The receipt is slightly damaged
Roast Beef $6
Pork Roast $7
Spaghetti $1.5
Tortillas $2
Ice Cream $4
Pretzels $2
Bagels $2.5
Mushrooms $1.5
Grapes $1.5
Pears $2
Tomatoes $3
Garlic $.25
Sour Cream $1
=total $40.25
Moral of the non-story. The Pork Roast was delicious.
I just have a receipt for groceries. On 9/6, we bought:
Cupcakes $4
Something $2 <- The receipt is slightly damaged
Roast Beef $6
Pork Roast $7
Spaghetti $1.5
Tortillas $2
Ice Cream $4
Pretzels $2
Bagels $2.5
Mushrooms $1.5
Grapes $1.5
Pears $2
Tomatoes $3
Garlic $.25
Sour Cream $1
=total $40.25
Moral of the non-story. The Pork Roast was delicious.
Friday, September 7, 2007
And your name is? And we know you from...?
Hello! Budget Naginata here. Just popping to say that Budget Ronin has not disposed of me in any way and that I suck at posting. But of course you already KNOW that.
I have always been an avid blog reader and I want to post more but it is truly hard for me for some reason. I'm guessing it has to do with a deep seated problem of not wanting to face my fears/stress/life. Or I could just be lazy. A little from column A, a little from column B.
Anyway, I am still in on the experiment and I have to say that I've been really impressed with the ability of Budget Ronin to bounce back from some of the budget traumas of the past 4 months. His normal melancholic nature hampers him but he's really worked hard to focus on the learning experience and I for one am proud of him.
Go team Venture!
Here's to rededicating myself to actually post. Please for the love of God, don't hold your breath! ;)
I have always been an avid blog reader and I want to post more but it is truly hard for me for some reason. I'm guessing it has to do with a deep seated problem of not wanting to face my fears/stress/life. Or I could just be lazy. A little from column A, a little from column B.
Anyway, I am still in on the experiment and I have to say that I've been really impressed with the ability of Budget Ronin to bounce back from some of the budget traumas of the past 4 months. His normal melancholic nature hampers him but he's really worked hard to focus on the learning experience and I for one am proud of him.
Go team Venture!
Here's to rededicating myself to actually post. Please for the love of God, don't hold your breath! ;)
WBRFS! #1
First installment here, so bear with me while I work on some sort of formula to make accessible and fun to read. I really should be doing pictures or something. In the meantime I present:
Showdown!
One of the Budget Clan needs some dental work that we totally can't afford. Steadfastly, they have been holding out so as not to tax our already strained accounts. We went to get an estimate at the dental surgeons and planned to add it to our next year Flexible Spending Account that I get as a benefit of my job. I consider myself lucky to have this benefit and it has already proven itself invaluable. Luckily for us, we can spend any amount of the FSA at the beginning of the year, allowing to schedule as soon as the next calendar year rolls around.
Budget Naginata was called this morning with the estimate on the surgery. It is close to $2000. Perhaps it's my own unfamiliarity with the cost of some things, but it just seems like a lot of money. It seems like a lot of money we already don't have, so I got a bit depressed about it over the phone.
That's pretty much where I am with it. I don't have a good plan other than going ahead to extend our FSA by the requried amount to cover the procedure. It really needs to be done now, but we don't have a lot of choice, barring a lottery win or a surprise inheritance from a long-lost uncle Stan (wherever you are, lost uncle Stan, we really wish you no ill).
I've been trying to think of what can offset the cost. Thinking positively, this should be a one-time occurance, so we'll only need to expand our budget for the upcoming year (2008). The year after (2009), should see a reduction and more money back in the general funds. Also, 2008 should see the end of the normal payments on the Budget-Mobile. Even with the repairs we were going to do, there should be some left over to put into fixing up the Budget Truck and/or socking away into a savings account. I'm giddy at the thought of that. This also doesn't take into account any yearly adjustment my comapany might make on my salary come review time at the end of the year.
Regardless, it boils down to not being ready. I think a lot of what puts people into debt and keeps them there is not being ready.
I'm not really sure if this counts much as a showdown, but it's certainly on my mind. I think by writing it out, and by looking at what we might be able to do would certainly help in the future. I know that the FSA is good, but this year we tapped out too early. It's only fault is that we can't plan for emergencies such as this one. Really we need to make sure that we have some sort of solid savings accrued. Otherwise we just perpetuate the vicious lending cycles that led up to the challenge to begin with.
This is where my catchy catchphrase would go.
B.R.
Showdown!
Budget Ronin vs. the Dental Dragon!
"In the mouth of danger, floss, Ronin, floss!"
One of the Budget Clan needs some dental work that we totally can't afford. Steadfastly, they have been holding out so as not to tax our already strained accounts. We went to get an estimate at the dental surgeons and planned to add it to our next year Flexible Spending Account that I get as a benefit of my job. I consider myself lucky to have this benefit and it has already proven itself invaluable. Luckily for us, we can spend any amount of the FSA at the beginning of the year, allowing to schedule as soon as the next calendar year rolls around.
Budget Naginata was called this morning with the estimate on the surgery. It is close to $2000. Perhaps it's my own unfamiliarity with the cost of some things, but it just seems like a lot of money. It seems like a lot of money we already don't have, so I got a bit depressed about it over the phone.
That's pretty much where I am with it. I don't have a good plan other than going ahead to extend our FSA by the requried amount to cover the procedure. It really needs to be done now, but we don't have a lot of choice, barring a lottery win or a surprise inheritance from a long-lost uncle Stan (wherever you are, lost uncle Stan, we really wish you no ill).
I've been trying to think of what can offset the cost. Thinking positively, this should be a one-time occurance, so we'll only need to expand our budget for the upcoming year (2008). The year after (2009), should see a reduction and more money back in the general funds. Also, 2008 should see the end of the normal payments on the Budget-Mobile. Even with the repairs we were going to do, there should be some left over to put into fixing up the Budget Truck and/or socking away into a savings account. I'm giddy at the thought of that. This also doesn't take into account any yearly adjustment my comapany might make on my salary come review time at the end of the year.
Regardless, it boils down to not being ready. I think a lot of what puts people into debt and keeps them there is not being ready.
I'm not really sure if this counts much as a showdown, but it's certainly on my mind. I think by writing it out, and by looking at what we might be able to do would certainly help in the future. I know that the FSA is good, but this year we tapped out too early. It's only fault is that we can't plan for emergencies such as this one. Really we need to make sure that we have some sort of solid savings accrued. Otherwise we just perpetuate the vicious lending cycles that led up to the challenge to begin with.
This is where my catchy catchphrase would go.
B.R.
Big News and New Feature!
Wow. I need to be flogged with some sort of flogging device. I've missed an important milestone and have not posted about it.
The Budget Clan is 1/3rd of the way done with our challenge!
I'm very excited by this. 1/3rd is a pretty hefty chunk of a year. Four months down and eight to go. I think that in this spirit of revelry that I should rededicate myself to keeping current on all things by starting a weekly feature:
The Weekly Budget Ronin Financial Showdown.
The Showdown will be where I stand and face my current worst financial anxiety with you, my audience and try to make some sense of it. I'll also be recapping any things I might have missed during the week, but I'll try to keep the Showdown about tough decisions and what the Clan and I are doing about them.
I'll be posting by the end of Friday, so hopefully that should add some consistency to the blog as well (warm, thick, sugary frosting like consistency - yum!).
Let me knock out some old expenses here. It seems on 8/4 I missed $29.03 worth of gas for something. Shopping on 8/25 netted me the following:
Bananas $1
Tortillas $2
Cheese $3
Eggs $2
Salsa $2
Chicken $2
Beans $4
Tomatoes $1
?? $2 <- I can't read the receipt on this. Serves me right for not entering it promptly.
=total $19
The great thing about this trip is that I took the tortillas, cheese, beans and salsa, mixed it with some rice and ground beef we had at home and cooked up a weeks worth of burritos for lunch. I froze a good chunk of them and doled them for maintained deliciousness. So for like $10, I got a weeks worth of lunch. Not too shabby and something I'd like to do more of.
Shopping on the 29th sent me scrambling for gas first ($38.00 worth). At the normal grocery and bulk warehouse store(s), respectively, I stocked up on the following:
Cat food $11
Apples $3
Cat litter $4
Snack crackers $5 <-For work. !Yay snacks!
Goldfish $2
Yogurt smoothie (for the Budget Edamame to snack on) $1
=total $26
Bulk toilet paper $16
Bread $5
Peppers $6
OJ $10
Butter $7
Milk $7
Potatoes $9
Cheese $6
Ground Turkey $12
Chicken $15
Cereal $8
Bisquick $4
Fruit $14
Sugar $4
=total $132
Ok... almost there. On 8/30 we made one more run to the store:
Peas $2
Carrots $2
Lettuce $1
Ketchup $3
Syrup $2
Napkins $2
Mac & Cheese $1
Grits $2
Pasta $2
Cat Litter $4 <-The last time out, I got small sizes of both, so I got more.
Cat Food $7
=total $29
Whew! Ok. So now that I've gotten all those receipts filed, I can tell you about the resurrection of the Budget Truck. We sprung $40 for a battery and replaced it. We deemed it a necessary evil for occasionally making our schedule work now that we have our wonderful Budget Edamame attending tiny-person pre-school during the week. During the swap, I, your normally quick fingered Ronin, dropped and lost a nut for one of the retaining bolts. I had to buy a pack at the local autostore for $2. But it works and I've driven it and for the short while, it is of no further problem.
Hottub update: None. No more answers from the online ad either. I'm trying to restrategize this. Please let me know if you have any ideas.
I'm actually going to try start off on a good foot and pen a quick Financial Showdown here in a few minutes, so you may get two posts today.
The Budget Clan is 1/3rd of the way done with our challenge!
I'm very excited by this. 1/3rd is a pretty hefty chunk of a year. Four months down and eight to go. I think that in this spirit of revelry that I should rededicate myself to keeping current on all things by starting a weekly feature:
The Weekly Budget Ronin Financial Showdown.
The Showdown will be where I stand and face my current worst financial anxiety with you, my audience and try to make some sense of it. I'll also be recapping any things I might have missed during the week, but I'll try to keep the Showdown about tough decisions and what the Clan and I are doing about them.
I'll be posting by the end of Friday, so hopefully that should add some consistency to the blog as well (warm, thick, sugary frosting like consistency - yum!).
Let me knock out some old expenses here. It seems on 8/4 I missed $29.03 worth of gas for something. Shopping on 8/25 netted me the following:
Bananas $1
Tortillas $2
Cheese $3
Eggs $2
Salsa $2
Chicken $2
Beans $4
Tomatoes $1
?? $2 <- I can't read the receipt on this. Serves me right for not entering it promptly.
=total $19
The great thing about this trip is that I took the tortillas, cheese, beans and salsa, mixed it with some rice and ground beef we had at home and cooked up a weeks worth of burritos for lunch. I froze a good chunk of them and doled them for maintained deliciousness. So for like $10, I got a weeks worth of lunch. Not too shabby and something I'd like to do more of.
Shopping on the 29th sent me scrambling for gas first ($38.00 worth). At the normal grocery and bulk warehouse store(s), respectively, I stocked up on the following:
Cat food $11
Apples $3
Cat litter $4
Snack crackers $5 <-For work. !Yay snacks!
Goldfish $2
Yogurt smoothie (for the Budget Edamame to snack on) $1
=total $26
Bulk toilet paper $16
Bread $5
Peppers $6
OJ $10
Butter $7
Milk $7
Potatoes $9
Cheese $6
Ground Turkey $12
Chicken $15
Cereal $8
Bisquick $4
Fruit $14
Sugar $4
=total $132
Ok... almost there. On 8/30 we made one more run to the store:
Peas $2
Carrots $2
Lettuce $1
Ketchup $3
Syrup $2
Napkins $2
Mac & Cheese $1
Grits $2
Pasta $2
Cat Litter $4 <-The last time out, I got small sizes of both, so I got more.
Cat Food $7
=total $29
Whew! Ok. So now that I've gotten all those receipts filed, I can tell you about the resurrection of the Budget Truck. We sprung $40 for a battery and replaced it. We deemed it a necessary evil for occasionally making our schedule work now that we have our wonderful Budget Edamame attending tiny-person pre-school during the week. During the swap, I, your normally quick fingered Ronin, dropped and lost a nut for one of the retaining bolts. I had to buy a pack at the local autostore for $2. But it works and I've driven it and for the short while, it is of no further problem.
Hottub update: None. No more answers from the online ad either. I'm trying to restrategize this. Please let me know if you have any ideas.
I'm actually going to try start off on a good foot and pen a quick Financial Showdown here in a few minutes, so you may get two posts today.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)