Who gets sick in 90 degree weather?? This gal!!!
I have the worst head cold right now... It started on Saturday but didn't fully "blossom" until yesterday. I stayed away from the computer most of the day but I'm still pretty miserable. I got all the fixings for the "Magic potion" but I just can't make myself drink anything even remotely warm right now. WAAY to hot!!! Bleh... So I've been mostly just enjoying a teaspoon of honey here and there and hoping that it will do some good. I really want my sense of smell back...
But thank you all who left comments here the past few days. And especially for those who shared some ideas on the last "Frugal Friday" post. As I mentioned before, it's getting tougher and tougher for us to stay within a budget. So I decided to take the last $25 of our May grocery budget and try to stretch it through this whole week. Yeah, I know, quite ambitious of me :) But, honestly, we don't need much. I did not have a chance to organize our fridge or make a menu like I usually do on Mondays (believe me, even if something died there, I wouldn't be able to smell it... It makes it harder to go through leftovers and such). But I think, we should be mostly set. I already know that half of this will go towards milk because I found a great sale this week for a gallon for only $2.39 (Walmart sells milk for $3.08 right now!!), so I'll be buying a few gallons.
Then at the end of the week we will do a huge assessment and really crunch some numbers to see whether or not we need to adjust our budget... I'd rather not do it but it might be inevitable. Summer is usually a little more expensive for us but we will also have some bigger expenses this year (more on this later), so it's very important to do our best to stay within a certain amount.
And this is our master plan for now :)
Are summers more expensive for you or less? Did you have to make any adjustments to your budget recently?
It has been our normal for budgets to shift. For example our grocery budget was seriously lower feeding 3 little kids than it was feeding 3 teen boys ( Talk about a huge shift!) When our kids were at home we scheduled a quarterly budget meeting and tallied our prior 3 months spending. We would then adjust accordingly, including additional monies needed for holidays or months of endless birthday parties. I have found that over the years the basic amounts put into savings never really change that much. It's just where the monthly use money goes that changes all the time.
ReplyDeleteThat's how we feel too. As kids get older, they eat more (duh :), they need more - like clothes, shoes, schools stuff etc. But we try to keep our savings on the same level every month but sometimes it changes.
DeleteGreat find on the milk and hope the cold is already getting better.
ReplyDeleteThank you! And yes, I'm excited about this price of milk!
DeleteHi Lena. I am also a person who gets a cold when the rest of the world is sweating and swimming, so you are not alone there. I feel for you- I don't mind being sick as much as the nasal congestion. Your "magic potion" gave me relief when you told me about it- hope you feel better soon!
ReplyDeleteI had to spend the last of our grocery budget for the month so now we are living out of our pantry and freezer, which really isn't a sacrifice because we are blessedly well-stocked right now. It is frustrating though because I find that I am not making our budget stretch like it used to- the prices of everything just keep going up but our paycheck isn't. I am stubbornly trying to get away with simply adjusting our eating habits and the way I shop and plan meals just to keep from increasing our monthly budget, but in the long run I may have to just make some adjustments there to make it work out. I have thought about just having a separate "stash of money" put aside for the months that I go over budget a little bit instead of actually increasing the budget every month. That way it wont be there to use up each month- it would be more like an emergency fund for when I completely run dry- know what I mean? I don't know- I'm still trying to figure it all out too. :)
Summer is a little more expensive for us too- this year we are trying to do what we can to keep it as frugal as possible wherever we can. We are planning to have a lot of summer fun at home and instead of going away for a vacation like we were planning, we decided a couple of months ago to have a camping trip instead. We bring everything from home so it doesn't cost us more than the basic campsite fees. We used to travel over 2 hours to go camping in the mountains but this year to save gas we are staying much closer to home- we actually are going to try out a place about 15 minutes away. We also are going to make tons of use out of the kids pool in the backyard this summer. :)
Maybe you and your husband can plan some thrifty fun for the summer and, if you do have to increase your monthly budget, maybe you wont have to increase it by too much if you can find other ways to save some money this summer.
I bet your kids are having a blast at that pool! We would never get enough rain here to fill in the thing :) We try to keep most of the fun free or cheap. We do plan to go to the new aquarium this year but we will skip the zoo since we went for that free day back at the beginning of spring. Our biggest expense this summer will be a small getaway for hubs and I. No Hawaii or Bahamas (I wish...) but we will fly to California and spend a few days there. We won't be able to have our Anniversary this year, and we just desperately need time for us...
DeleteI recently redid my whole budget to accommodate changes in my lifestyle (mainly, the car loan). I still need to come up with a plan to get my savings back up! And I'm not ready for hot weather yet... it was 86 with t-storms yesterday (which did nothing to cool the ground!), and it was muggy and yucky. Bring back spring/fall! Feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteI'm not ready for this weather either :) I wish we could get some rain here but alas...
DeleteHope you feel better soon!!
ReplyDeleteWe need to make some adjustments in our budget.
Thank you, Kathy!
DeleteI think summer costs less for us just because we don't have air conditioning in our house :) Also, we eat a ton of produce which is cheaper in the summer and we can play outdoors and go for drives and stuff where as in the winter it's too cold to be out so go places that are "in" which cost money. :)
ReplyDeleteFeel better soon! Apple cider vinegar!!!!
Thank you for becoming a new follower! We eat a ton of produce too! Our summers are more expensive because our oldest is off school (add activities and lunches here), and then, before you know, we have school preparation shopping, and the older kids become, the more expensive it gets... Ugh!
DeleteSummer is usually more expensive for us too. With a teenage daughter (and her friends always visiting), it can get pricey. The thing is, when I take her somewhere, like an exhibit at a museum (or elsewhere) she wants to bring along her best friend. Well, this best friend never has any money to pay her own way ... so we are always picking up the tab for her. I wish her parents would put in some forethought and either reciprocate, or at the very least make sure their daughter has money.
ReplyDeleteThat doesn't seem right that her parents wouldn't give her some money for outings like this. Do her parents know where you, guys, are planning to go? I agree with you, they definitively need to step up but it seems like they don't care, unfortunately. It's sad!
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