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Home > February No Spend: 'Groceries Don't Count'

February No Spend: 'Groceries Don't Count'

February 6th, 2016 at 06:06 pm

So my husband did go to the commissary yesterday after work to get groceries. I made a VERY SPECIFIC list. He did get everything on the list, but he ADDED to it. Ugh. He bought an extra bag of chips, another box of crackers, a second package of tortillas, and ice cream! I reminded him it was a no spend month, and his was reply was I didn't think groceries counted! Well the goal is to spend the least possible across the board, so YES groceries count. By the way those extra items cost us $10.52, which is nearly 15% of the total bill.

I really do appreciate that he went as it will keep us from making a separate trip over the weekend to shop. It's going to be crazy busy there with the Super Bowl coming up on Sunday!

He spent $72.37 at the commissary. I think except for a couple more items, this can get us through next Sunday, which is the day before payday. I set aside $175 for groceries for this pay period and we still have $39 left. I think we can make it. And the extra snacks might keep us out of the store just a bit longer!

He spent $19.10 on wine. The equivalent of four bottles. And earlier in the day he bought candy for the office because he had been eating quite a bit of it because he forgot his lunch! It would have been healthier to spend the $8.98 on an actual lunch.

He also bought fuel for his truck which amounted to $29.79. Last time he filled up was 10 days ago. This is about average for him. I still have half a tank, although we are going to take a little road trip late this afternoon for a free activity. We may fill up before or after. I budgeted $150 this pay period for fuel, but that is probably too high considering we range between $170-230 each month. Maybe we'll try to stay on that low end! It does help that fuel prices are low right now.

So far I feel really good at how we have done with our low spend month. I will say a lot of the groceries have been fresh vegetables since my husband takes salads for lunch everyday. We also use some of it some nights with our dinner. I'm just trying to use up with what we have on hand. Last night we had pasta with ground beef and sauce that we had on hand. I used up some fresh broccoli and got out a can of beets.

Original plan for dinner tonight was chicken breasts, roasted potatoes and salad, but we may end up postponing that to tomorrow night. We may be out around dinner, so instead we will come home and have our super bowl snacks a day early.

Next week we will be having some of these meals:
soup and cheese bread
eggs or waffles
meatloaf and beets
bean dip (need sour cream and can of refried beans)
homemade pizza and apples
tuna melts and apples
and one night will be make your own (ie leftovers)

I'm planning to eat a combination of leftovers and tuna sandwiches for lunch. I'm also currently using up the Cream of Wheat packets in our cupboard for my breakfast.

7 Responses to “February No Spend: 'Groceries Don't Count'”

  1. mjrube94 Says:
    1454782203

    LOL, the same thing happens when my husband does the shopping. Things like Pop-tarts (?!) get thrown in the cart and totally blows up the bill!

  2. creditcardfree Says:
    1454782379

    I really did try to trust him. It could have been worse I guess! It's not like I never go 'off list'. If I did, it wouldn't have been those items. Smile

  3. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1454786347

    Have you ever had cream of wheat over a piece of jelly toast? My mom would make that for us sometimes when we were sick. So good, and easy down the throat.

  4. My English Castle Says:
    1454805185

    You're cracking me up, CCF. My husband went to Costco today, and my daughter reports they have enough food for a year, even if aliens attack.

  5. creditcardfree Says:
    1454805380

    @MEC, I'm glad you can relate!!

  6. livingalmostlarge Says:
    1454813124

    My DH is the strict list shopper and I'm a grazer buy on sale and improvise person. He's that's not on the list or it wasn't on the list and why not??? Arrgh. But yet he's the on that used to shop only once a year. Oh well.

    By the way I filled up at a ridiculous price of 1.99/gallon. OMG I haven't seen that in 20 years since the 90s when I started driving. I blinked and did a double take.

  7. VS_ozgirl Says:
    1454816837

    Hopefully you don't need him to grab any more groceries this month, might be the safest option Smile

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