Argh. So, I have gone from several posts per week to about one per month. What can I say? Sometimes, life just gets in the way of living.
However, today was quite a financially exciting day. For the first time in I dont know when, I spent ZERO DOLLARS today!! I always buy lunch and get afternoon snacks and such. But today, I actually brought my lunch to work (leftover Chinese from Sunday), and I managed to stave off my cravings enough to avoid Walgreens and the store. So, yeah. Go me!
Then, in a flush of inspiration when I got home, I rolled all my change. Honestly, I am totally surprised at how much change I had in my change jug. $139.50!! There is about $3-4 that I didnt get to roll, but I do fully intend to take my change to work tomorrow and annoy the crap out of the people at BofA and deposit it. It is sad, because there is more money in change on my coffee table than there is in my checking account. But I had been worried about how I was going to make it to Monday. Now, not so much.
WOO HOO! Anyway, I am going to try to be better about posting more, but until things settle down IRL, I doubt I will be able to keep up with myself. =(
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Fun for Cheap
Yesterday, SS4BC and I went with my friends J&L to Six Flags. OMG! So. Much. Fun! But, amusement parks are known for sucking the money out of your in exchange for said fun. However, I think the way that we handled it was perfect.
We got discount park tickets through L's work ($25 each). Parking was $15. We rented and shared a large all-day locker ($16). We managed to get a large, good lunch for about $15/person. Plus, instead of getting lots of drinks all day long, we splurged for the souvenir cup ($13), but it came with free refills all day! So that $13 covered all the drinks for the rest of the day for all four of us. And that's all it was for spending for me. L got a snack at the end of the day and shared. And for some reason, adrenaline or excitement or the heat (who knows?), none of us were hungry for dinner.
So, total cost for me at one day of awesomeness: $51 (Plus, an extra $28.75 for me, because I paid for SS4BC's ticket and parking for her birthday)
Seriously, not bad. We would have paid around that much per person just for tickets at the gate!
The downside of living in a region of the country where the park isn't open year round (curse you WINTER!) is that it's PACKED as all hell in the Summer. And Six Flags capitalizes on this by offering "Flash Passes". For a tiny fee of $159, you and a friend can skip ahead to the front of the lines for the big roller coasters at scheduled times. If money were no object (dare to dream), I would have been on that like screams on a little girl, but I was totally okay NOT spending an extra $159 to wait in line for about an hour. Really, on one line was totally horrible in the grand scheme of things. And judging by the facts that (1) I can't talk today, (2) my face is sunburned, and (3) I'm totally sore, I'd say that we had an awesome time!
Now to relax today enjoying a lazy day with SS4BC and recuperate from all that fun.
We got discount park tickets through L's work ($25 each). Parking was $15. We rented and shared a large all-day locker ($16). We managed to get a large, good lunch for about $15/person. Plus, instead of getting lots of drinks all day long, we splurged for the souvenir cup ($13), but it came with free refills all day! So that $13 covered all the drinks for the rest of the day for all four of us. And that's all it was for spending for me. L got a snack at the end of the day and shared. And for some reason, adrenaline or excitement or the heat (who knows?), none of us were hungry for dinner.
So, total cost for me at one day of awesomeness: $51 (Plus, an extra $28.75 for me, because I paid for SS4BC's ticket and parking for her birthday)
Seriously, not bad. We would have paid around that much per person just for tickets at the gate!
The downside of living in a region of the country where the park isn't open year round (curse you WINTER!) is that it's PACKED as all hell in the Summer. And Six Flags capitalizes on this by offering "Flash Passes". For a tiny fee of $159, you and a friend can skip ahead to the front of the lines for the big roller coasters at scheduled times. If money were no object (dare to dream), I would have been on that like screams on a little girl, but I was totally okay NOT spending an extra $159 to wait in line for about an hour. Really, on one line was totally horrible in the grand scheme of things. And judging by the facts that (1) I can't talk today, (2) my face is sunburned, and (3) I'm totally sore, I'd say that we had an awesome time!
Now to relax today enjoying a lazy day with SS4BC and recuperate from all that fun.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
I'm SHOCKED! (July food "budget")
Oh. My. Frakking. Gods.
So, Dr. Faith just posted an excellent blog about food budgeting. This inspired me to take a look at how much I actually spend on food.
My thoughts were this... I'm a HORRIBLE person, and I rarely eat dinner or breakfast (I know. I'll be dead by age 50.) My main expense is lunch at work and what little groceries I buy for at home snackage. My guess is that I would come in a tad over the $125/month that Dr. Faith discussed.
I just scrolled back to my recent Where'd my money go? post for the past two weeks and added up what I spent on food.
$136!
Holy crap. I spent $240 for the two weeks, so I spend 57% of my money on food? Really?? Then again, when I think about it... what else do I buy? Where does the money go REALLY?? ALL of my cash spent the past two weeks was on food ($102). $112 of the food money was spent AT work or ON MY WAY TO work. The rest ($24) was spent on actual groceries. Mind you, my "groceries" for the past two weeks were a box of cereal, 20 bottles of Powerade (this doesn't count Powerade purchased at 7-11 or at work), two boxes of toaster strudel, and things I forget from my trip on the 1st. Oh and a case of Raman Noodles for $2.
I think I could fill a swimming pool with the Powerade that I drink in a month. Shit.
Okay, things I've learned tonight. (1) I spend WAY more money on food than I think I do. (2) I should eat better.
I find myself wondering (and not just tonight) if cooking at home and bringing lunch to work would really be cheaper than buying lunch at work from the carts outside. IF my now famous (or infamous) casserole of death (it has broccoli so it's good for you, despite the fried chicken strips, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, and cheese) costs roughly $25 to make. I pulled that number out of my ass; the major expense here would be the chicken and the veggies. And I get say four lunches out of it, I'd about break even. However, I'd eat a bulk of it at home and not save 100% of casserole for lunches. So, if only half of it went to two lunches... I'd still about break even. This is how I justify it to myself that it's okay to buy lunch every day. I'm going to have to make said casserole of death to get the exact cost, eat dinner once, and divide the rest into lunch-sized portions. See, to me, the "extra" hidden cost is eating the dinner at home. If I didn't make the casserole, planning to bring it to work for lunch, I wouldn't eat anything for dinner (most likely). So, there's no money saved, and the casserole actually has cost me the money I saved on lunch by eating a lunch portion for dinner at home. But I don't know if this is ACTUALLY true, or only what I tell myself to justify my hatred of going to the grocery store.
Hmm. Lots of things to think about here. The other variable here is the dread of having to deal with the endless comments and questions from people at work who would be shocked to see me bringing my lunch to work. I hate that. On the rare (read 5 or 6 times in 3.5 years) occasions that I have brought a lunch to work, it's been a horrid experience, simply because of the comments and conversations that ensue.
Anyway, this has become rambling. (Click "Publish" you jackass!)
Laters.
So, Dr. Faith just posted an excellent blog about food budgeting. This inspired me to take a look at how much I actually spend on food.
My thoughts were this... I'm a HORRIBLE person, and I rarely eat dinner or breakfast (I know. I'll be dead by age 50.) My main expense is lunch at work and what little groceries I buy for at home snackage. My guess is that I would come in a tad over the $125/month that Dr. Faith discussed.
I just scrolled back to my recent Where'd my money go? post for the past two weeks and added up what I spent on food.
$136!
Holy crap. I spent $240 for the two weeks, so I spend 57% of my money on food? Really?? Then again, when I think about it... what else do I buy? Where does the money go REALLY?? ALL of my cash spent the past two weeks was on food ($102). $112 of the food money was spent AT work or ON MY WAY TO work. The rest ($24) was spent on actual groceries. Mind you, my "groceries" for the past two weeks were a box of cereal, 20 bottles of Powerade (this doesn't count Powerade purchased at 7-11 or at work), two boxes of toaster strudel, and things I forget from my trip on the 1st. Oh and a case of Raman Noodles for $2.
I think I could fill a swimming pool with the Powerade that I drink in a month. Shit.
Okay, things I've learned tonight. (1) I spend WAY more money on food than I think I do. (2) I should eat better.
I find myself wondering (and not just tonight) if cooking at home and bringing lunch to work would really be cheaper than buying lunch at work from the carts outside. IF my now famous (or infamous) casserole of death (it has broccoli so it's good for you, despite the fried chicken strips, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, and cheese) costs roughly $25 to make. I pulled that number out of my ass; the major expense here would be the chicken and the veggies. And I get say four lunches out of it, I'd about break even. However, I'd eat a bulk of it at home and not save 100% of casserole for lunches. So, if only half of it went to two lunches... I'd still about break even. This is how I justify it to myself that it's okay to buy lunch every day. I'm going to have to make said casserole of death to get the exact cost, eat dinner once, and divide the rest into lunch-sized portions. See, to me, the "extra" hidden cost is eating the dinner at home. If I didn't make the casserole, planning to bring it to work for lunch, I wouldn't eat anything for dinner (most likely). So, there's no money saved, and the casserole actually has cost me the money I saved on lunch by eating a lunch portion for dinner at home. But I don't know if this is ACTUALLY true, or only what I tell myself to justify my hatred of going to the grocery store.
Hmm. Lots of things to think about here. The other variable here is the dread of having to deal with the endless comments and questions from people at work who would be shocked to see me bringing my lunch to work. I hate that. On the rare (read 5 or 6 times in 3.5 years) occasions that I have brought a lunch to work, it's been a horrid experience, simply because of the comments and conversations that ensue.
Anyway, this has become rambling. (Click "Publish" you jackass!)
Laters.
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