Adventures in Budgeting

Something that has been on my mind a lot lately with my upcoming move to Bend and other parts of Oregon is my need to learn how to budget better and stick to a consistent and much cheaper weekly grocery shopping regimen.

Today, externally motivated by the fact that I had exactly $67 left in my checking account, I made a master plan of how to accomplish all I needed to do today with that amount! Usually, I do not think too much about how what I want to do fits into what I should be spending, other than to make sure it fits into a "ballpark" figure, the ballpark figure often being of course sometimes quite a bit off. Never off so I run out of money, but off enough that I should have perhaps been saving that money. So, I was quite proud of myself for thinking ahead this time.

I figured out that the therapist I saw this afternoon would cost $11 for a copay. Then I would want some applesauce as a snack from O'naturals, which would cost $2.50. Then I figured I'd want some other kind of small but tasty snack to give me energy while I was wandering around Portland, and figured a few dollars, exact amount to be determined, for that. That left me with the groceries. I had *exactly* $50 to spend and not a penny more. As much as I have been trying to get them down, my shopping trips are usually about twice that much (it's Whole Foods, you can see why) but this time I was determined to both get what I needed and not spend a penny over $50. And if I could spend less, that would give me more money for a snack when I got there, I thought.

So, instead of blindly grabbing as many bananas as I felt like off the shelf and cushioning it generously in case I ran out (I would sometimes get as many as 30), I counted exactly how much I would need in the four days until the next time I would have a chance to go grocery shopping: three a day and one for breakfast the fifth day. 13. I threw in 3 for good measure, but hey, that's better than 15, right? And then I weighed them to try to see how much they would cost. It was 5.5 lbs. Trying to multiply that by 1.25 in my head proved a little difficult, so I was probably off by a few dollars, but I tried.

Then I figured out how many apples I needed. I already had a few left at home, and this was a shopping trip for only half a week instead of a week, so I realized I didn't need many. I figured I needed one a night for four days as well as two for breakfast. I thought I had one or two at home. So I got five. Later, I came and put one back and exchanged two for a less expensive kind that I still liked (2.50 for Fujis and only 2 for Braeburns) in an attempt to save a couple more dollars.

Then I got only exactly the number of Attune probiotic granola)bars ($12) I needed, instead of buying two boxes (which I usually do need, but not this time). I bought 8. Then I got some Odwalla ($9), some lettuce ($3.50) and a bottle of dried oregano ($4.50) I had been coveting since I had run out several days ago. Oh, the beauty of those flakes! I think a bottle only lasted me about two weeks, or maybe less. Maybe I should use less oregano. I like to put it on my chicken and especially in my salad. Yum! I even like to have a banana rolled in oregano. You can't go wrong using this spice.

Oh, and I also got a container of cut fresh watermelon, since I think watermelon is absolutely to die for and ever since I had the delight of discovering that they carry this on a regular basis and unlike traditional grocery stores, IT ALWAYS TASTES GOOD (fresh and not preserved or old), I have been getting it every week and having it with breakfast. It definitely makes me feel better - my mind seems more alert and more able to think after eating watermelon. I looked at the prices on the bottles and chose the smallest one, which was about $4.20.

I had to pass on the strawberries, which I love to death but did not fit into my budget. Strawberries are probably my favorite tasting fruit when they're good, but they're often not, and they don't fill you up as much as apples and bananas, nor do they have the positive cognitive effects of watermelon, so of the four kinds of fruit I like, I chose to leave this one out for the sake of my budget.
Actually, I couldn't resist putting it in my cart just in case I had enough after all, but was fully aware I'd most likely have to put it back at the register.

Then I was done! Except I was coveting some soup. Some nice, hot soup, some chicken soup with real chicken pieces, something healthy that would be such a great pick me up and so tasty and salty and yummy.... But I did the math in my head three times; as far as I could tell the total came to around 48 or so and then there would be tax. So that's when I decided to get less expensive apples and hope that maybe after I went through the register I'd still have enough left over for a $3 cup of soup. Mmmmm.

I chose a friendly looking cashier (most of them are), and started the checkout process, paying close attention to how much the fruit rang up as. The bananas were about $6.70, I believe, and the apples surprised me by being only about $4.25 (1 lb at 2.50 for the Fujis and just under a lb at about 1.75 for the $2/lb Braeburns), so that was around $11 for the (bulk) fruit, which wasn't bad at all. The grand total was only about $43! And that was WITH tax! I was shocked. And very pleased. I thought it would be just under $50. So I tried to think if I had enough even for my beloved strawberries, which were sitting in the cart so lonely looking at me, and a cup of soup as well. It turned out I was about fifty cents short - I was about 6.50 under 50. So, the friendly cashier suggested I take a couple bananas out, and even patiently waited while I went through my head again to figure out how many bananas I needed for the rest of the week and concluded I could take two out. That bought me 80 more cents, almost exactly for my soup AND the strawberries. The total came to be $49.85. I left feeling extremely satisfied and good about myself. I had achieved my goal of spending not a cent over $50 and really thinking about what I bought, while still buying everything that I needed. And I even got soup on top of it. The soup was really good. :)

The grand total for the day came to about $67.30, and I had $67.76 left. Not bad! Not bad at all! I stayed exactly within my limits while still making the most of it.

And, to boot, I even HAD more money in my account, but it was spoken for with checks I had written someone, so I even remembered to subtract that from what I had and resist the temptation to think "Well, maybe they won't cash them for a few days" and not go over my limit.

So, that is my adventure in budgeting for today! Who knew - whoever knew - that watching what you bought and staying within a budget could be more satisfying, intellectually at least, than just buying whatever you felt like without paying attention? Freedom has its price, literally. Watching what you buy: a smarter idea, and one that will become quite necessary when I move to Oregon.

I should reward myself for staying within my budget each time I shop, ha. As long as the reward doesnt cost money!

ALSO: HOT TIP: How to make the most of an ice cream shop when you don't feel like getting ice cream, for UNDER TWO BUCKS!

Budget Treat of the Day: get a waffle cone at Cold Stone Creamery, get a dish of hot fudge, and dip pieces of broken off waffle cone into the rich, creamy hot fudge. Waffle cone fondue! For only $1.20 too: sixty cents for each piece.

I didn't actually do that to save money, I did it because I didn't feel like ice cream but wanted something sweet and crunchy, and that definitely qualified. But even if I had gotten ice cream, the kid's dish is either 1.99 or 2.50 I believe, so it wouldn't have been much more (and I would have adjusted the amount I spent later of course.)

So, yeah, some apple sauce, Waffle Cone Fondue, and some soup, not bad for inexpensive and *mostly* healthy snacks for an afternoon in Portland!

I have to go now, though. I have some strawberries to eat. And some apples and bananas and.... :)

Kate