March is a month where we seem to hemorrhage money because we have the property taxes due, both our life insurance premiums are due, and we typically need to buy another ton of pellets for our pellet stove to keep us warm. Add to this a rather large unexpected medical bill (that I thought was covered by my insurance but turns out not to be) that needs to be paid and planning to go out to a nice dinner for our anniversary this month to a new Japanese teppanyaki style restaurant and we have to cut the budget drastically. In looking at where I can make some cuts, it seems to come down to our grocery budget because I find that is where I have the most "wiggle room" due to a very well stocked pantry, fridge and freezer.
My plan is to try to utilize the foods that we have on hand as much as possible and build menus around that. We will be picking up fresh produce, milk, cheese and a few other things this month because those are important to us and we rely on them as part of our regular diet. We will also be picking up a few treats here and there. Chris and Heather brought us over more elk and venison and will also be giving us some pork from the pig they raised and just had processed. Yes, I do realize just how blessed we are by their generosity and I know that most people do not have this "resource" like we do. During the growing and gardening season, I provide them and the rest of our friends and family with all the cherries, raspberries, blackberries, lettuce and beans, tomatoes and cucumber they could ever want. ;) It saves us all money and is so much healthier since I do not use chemicals on our garden unless absolutely necessary and that only happens once in a blue moon.
I'm going to try to keep track of what I spend to keep myself accountable. I'm not posting a target amount to stick to but am going to try to keep it way below what I normally spend. I want to post and share my progress as an encouragement to myself and to everyone who reads this little blog of mine. :) I know that Becky at https://beckyathome.wordpress.com/ is also doing this type of challenge for herself and her family this month along with some other fellow blogger friends. :) Anyone else want to join in?
I think we could all shave our grocery bill down a bit, happy to follow along. I changed my grocery budget (in Canadian dollars) for two adults from last year $550 per month to this year $525 as felt I was getting a bit lazy. That includes all over the counter meds (a lot as we have 3 medical conditions that are not life threatening but we deal with daily that we prefer not to take prescribed meds for), cleaning supplies, personal products including makeup and all food. The dog is not included though, he has his own budget line :)
ReplyDeleteI agree and I think you are doing well shaving $25 off your budget. My hubby and I both take OTC meds also along with lots of supplements. I'd much rather take them than prescription meds, many of which do not work for me anyway and have horrible side effects. Our fur babies have their own budget line also. ;) Be blessed!
DeleteI'm sure you can do it, Debbie. March and February are hard here too. That's great that you have hunters in the family. The meat is so much healthier.
ReplyDeleteHUgs
Jane
It sure is Jane. It seems that this is a hard time of year for a lot of people. Be blessed!
DeleteSame here!! I need to clear out the freezers and pantry and cupboards and cut WAYYYY down on my grocery budget! All those fresh veggies run my bill way up, so sad that the unhealthy food is cheap and the healthy foods are so pricey.
ReplyDeleteI know...I had to throw out a container of baby Spring Greens today because they had gone bad really quickly and I cringed as I did it.
DeleteMe, too, count me in. I've been working hard at eating down the contents of my freezer and working on pantry meals. I need to start shopping at the non-profit grocery store again. I can get a loaf of bread there for $0.10 that is just as good as the full price one at Safeway.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that you have the unexpected medical bill on top of known bills coming in. I'm holding my breath a bit to see what my electric bill will be. My apartment only has electric heat. The next few months will be my highest electric bills of the year. Yikes.
Take care. SJ
Oh SJ, those electric bills can be budget killers. I hope your's will not be too bad. We switched to heating with the pellets because our bills were horrendous during the heating season.
DeleteThis is funny -- Husband just seriously rebuked me because we spent about $140 this month on groceries for the two of us! "Just too much food," he admonished. (And that included 6 months worth of coffee on sale, as well as my Valentine roses.) He cooks once a week now, and has suddenly been paying attention to grocery prices -- I thought I'd done a good job keeping it so low this month. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteHI Cindy, I think you are doing a great job keeping the budget so low, especially when it included all that coffee and the flowers. :) BTW, I looked at your profile page and it shows a bunch of blogs...which one is your's? Be blessed!
DeleteI'm sure you'll do well with planning around what you have in the pantry and freezer and keeping the grocery spending low. Take care.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning Bless. :) Thank you for your confidence in me. :)
DeleteGood Morning, Debbie,
ReplyDeleteA well stocked pantry is such a blessing when one finds themselves needing to cinch up the budgeting belt. It enables your family to continue eating well even when there's not much money available. I look forward to hearing about your savings.
Blessings,
Mrs.B
Hi Mrs. B . It really is and we are so thankful for it. I look forward to sharing my savings with you too. :)
DeleteYou can do it!!!!!! Great goal to set for yourself - you have things to cover - so cut back on groceries. I have done that many times too. what a blessing on having a source of such wonderful meat.
ReplyDeleteGood luck - I know you will succeed!
Thanks Cheryl! We really are blessed to have hunters, fishermen and now pig farmers in the family too. ;)
DeleteWe too think the same about March, this March we had lots of medical bills, extra dental stuff!! (Sooo expensive!) and also I needed new lenses this month. We don't have dental or eye insurance. You are a great example on how to make the money go further. We have people who gave us some meat this Christmas so that was nice! You do a great job! P.S. Thank you for your visit and comment!
ReplyDeleteAngela, when it rains it pours with all the things that we need that cannot be put off doesn't it? I'm so glad you were gifted with some meat this Christmas also. I am enjoying your blog! Be blessed!
DeleteYou can do it!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Chrissy!
DeleteMy husband and I recently graduated from college and the first thing we did was make a budget for ourselves because we didn’t have a lot of money to spare. It wasn't too hard to stay in budget but we had a little bit more food waste than I wanted so we began food-prepping up to twenty meals at a time. That solved the problem.
ReplyDeleteGood for you and your husband! I'm glad that you found something that saved you both money and time. :)
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