21 Aug
Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk
I usually like going to the grocery store with the kids. It gives us something to do together. It’s controlled.
It’s air conditioned.
But today was rough. Really rough. The girls were a handful. There was running and squealing and three trips to the bathroom and spilled milk and… You get the idea. I was exhausted half way through the store!
As we went through the aisles other customers kept telling me how beautiful my children were, how helpful they were, how good they were. Humph! This is good?! I was on high alert the whole time. One child knocked over a couple of air freshener bottles with her flinging elbow. As I quickly turned to her she said, ” Nothing broke!”
Going through the produce section an understanding woman with two daughters of her own approached me and said, in her European accent, that I was not alone. She too was struggling to get through a shopping list without losing her mind or her children. She said she thought I was doing very well. That my children were being pretty good. That when she got home she was sure she would have two of something she didn’t need and none of something she did. It was a very nice chat and I really appreciated meeting someone who saw it the way it really was. Crazy!
With $90 in the budget for food, I had followed an eMealz menu plan for the week to create my shopping list. However, as I approached the cashier I knew it was going to be big. I thought I would be close, but I was wrong.
The grand total was $120! Thirty dollars over the cash I had in my hand. Ouch. Now what? I dug in my purse and pulled out my blow money. I know. Totally against the rules. I made the choice. It was either that or start putting things away and I had no way to go through my list and take out just the items from one planned meal.
I got home and called the Dad. He reminded me of the rules — that the “food” envelope was the only source in the budget for food and I had blown it… or I could take stuff back to the store. So, I went through the receipt to find the high ticket items to return. As I went through here is what I found:
- $50 in meat. A lot, I admit, but I am trying to go low-carb and that’s what you get!
- 1 item over $4
- 3 items $3-3.99
- 11 items $2-2.99
- 16 items $1-1.99
- 3 items under $1
I don’t think I can return the meat! Besides, I will use it. It might take 10 days instead of 7, but I will get through it. I had been planning my menus with two fish, two meat, two vegetarian dinners, and one night for leftovers. The menu I used this week was a low-carb plan with four meat dishes. Yow!
I know I went way over budget today, but I also know that I won’t touch that price next week since I will still have food leftover. There are times when I nail the budget thing and times when I totally blow it (today!).
I know that getting debt-free is important and needs to be urgent. But, I also believe that there needs to be some flexibility in it for me. I go shopping with two crazy people and I don’t always have my head on straight when I go. In an ideal world… but that is not where we live. I am doing the best I can and that will have to do.
In the mean time, I will try to not cry over spilled milk.
The Wife
Posted by Karen on 08/21/09 at 9:08 pm
I am 46 yrs old and just started the e-mealz plan. I am afraid that I am going to go way over but I will learn to adjust. But I wanted to make a suggestion about going shopping kids-free. I had 3 children all within 2 years of each other and I found in order to keep my sanity and spare them a spanking, I began leaving them with their father–even if this meant going to Kroger’s at 11:30 on a Saturday night. It gave me some “me” time, well, as much as you can have while Krogering! It stopped a lot of fights with the kids and a lot of resentment with the ex-husband for not offering to watch them for an hour. I actually began looking forward to going grocery shopping!
Posted by rtc on 08/22/09 at 2:12 am
How great that you had the blow money to supplement! I think your view that you will adjust by spending less next week is appropriate. This is a learning process!
Posted by Sharon on 08/22/09 at 4:17 am
I think $120.00 is an awesome price to pay for a grocery shop that includes $50.00 of meat! It is very difficult to stay on budget without kids along, let alone the added distraction.
I joined E-meals last year, but never really followed a complete menu. The prices they gave as to what food cost never matched our areas. But, there are some good recipes, which I’ll use.
Now, I must make my own list and hope that I only spend $120.00!
Posted by Kelsalynn on 08/22/09 at 5:19 am
Couple of things- as long as you don’t plan to replenish your blow money, it can be used for food. It’s what you choose to do with it. Now, if you’re planning to go to the bank and get more money out for your blow money then yes, that’s cheating.
Our budgets are all for the month, so if we go over one week, we have to be under the next. Maybe next week this is something you can shoot for. Also, if you’re changing your eating habits, you may need to evaluate your food budget as a result. $90 may not be enough.
$90 for a family is quite impressive… Even $120 is impressive!
Posted by KSR on 08/24/09 at 11:53 am
Wow–we love your blog and I just finished reading every single post from the beginning! We are on a VERY similar journey and can’t wait until this time next summer! It is so hard and yet so easy! Keep the great posts coming…we are behind you every step!
Posted by Kim on 08/25/09 at 5:56 am
Good for you!
I know exactly what you mean about the flexibility (and the kidlets and the craziness) – and I think you are RIGHT ON in your perspective. Having some grace in there for yourself is a very needful ingredient because that elusive ideal world is only in our heads. I think your solution was excellent – to you it was worth your blow money not to have to put stuff away after having a less than ideal shopping experience. Also doing a fairly radical change in your menu plan is going to involve a learning curve.
All in all, good job with the resources you had and with keeping your head above the water!
Posted by Tam on 10/05/09 at 5:44 am
I agree with Kelsalynn. We finally have the flexibility in our funds that we are not down to the penny on a weekly basis and we are never overdrawn (wOOOhOOO). Take it out of next week and have Bean Soup with Kale and more beans…. Our biggest challenge is that I like to shop at BJ’s and I like to buy in bulk and buy for the month. It took us a while to figure out that we could make groceries $300 for one week and $25 a week bread, milk and fresh veggie runs for the other 3 weeks…. Ohhhhhhh….right…..I’m in charge of MY money. Cool.