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Making a realistic budget

September 26th, 2007 at 06:27 am



So, I've been working on my new budget, trying to come up with a realistic one.

Originally, I'd budgeted $100 a month for food. I'm slightly over that for September and the month isn't over. But the grocery money is gone so I'll make do with what I have for the next six days. And I really do think I can do with $100 a month as long as I'm very careful about what I buy.

I registered at thegrocerygame.com and will see if that helps. Of course, after I registered and paid, I found groceryguide.com which is almost the same but free. Argh! I talked to a few people who have tried both and they all prefer the grocery game. I'll try it for the few weeks I paid for and if I don't like it, it's worth the money to know that.

Most of my expenses are fixed and I'm trying to keep the ones that aren't fixed under control. One of the big concerns I have is paying the electric bill. For nine days in September it was almost $37. Of course, those were nine very hot Texas days!

That doesn't sound too bad until you multiply it by 3 and see that a month of electric usage is about $120. That might not seem like a lot to some people but that's more than I can handle right now so off the AC went and off it's going to stay for some time. Unfortunately, the unit that cools is also the unit that heats so once it's cold, I'll have to use it unless I come up with an alternative. There's always layering clothes and hot coffee, though.

Here's to cooler weather and low grocery spending... may they be with me for awhile. Smile

6 Responses to “Making a realistic budget”

  1. reflectionite Says:
    1190790310

    wow that's a lot for electricity. i suppose its different in australia but 3 months of electricity for 3 people at our house is around $250!
    maybe you could buy a pedestal fan and use that instead of the ac? they are cheap, usually around $20, and so much cheaper to run, plus they are so much better for the environment. we dont have ac but we have about 6 pedestal fans which are all in different rooms, and they are usually on for a good 5 hours every day in summer, and we hardly notice a difference in our power bill. just a thought!!!

  2. fern Says:
    1190815367

    If it makes you feel better, this month i've spent $270 on food and i'm single too.

  3. denisentexas Says:
    1190820336

    I have a pedestal fan in the bedroom but I can certainly move it around the house. I spend most of my time in the living room so I can just take the fan with me when I start my morning. I'll try that.

    Fern, ouch! That's about what I spent per month to feed two adults and one to three teens! No way can I afford that. As it is, $100 is pushing it and dependent on the sales at the local groceries!

  4. payitdowngrrrl Says:
    1190833886

    I'm amazed that you can spend only $100 a month on food. I am always overspending in that category so your spending is inspiring to me.

  5. denisentexas Says:
    1190834172

    Well, I get the sales circulars and make a list from those. I buy what's on sale that I know I'll use and generally buy a large amount of it - enough to last until the next sale. I don't know how much of that I'll be able to do now that I don't have the large pantry and freezer but I'll do what I can. Also, I don't buy much processed food. Most of what I eat is from scratch, fresh and pretty low in carbs. It isn't easy keeping it under, at, or slightly above $100 but I can do it! Smile

  6. reflectionite Says:
    1190844727

    good on you for not buying lots of processed food, i really admire mums (and everyone, of course) that make their food from scratch. my mum used to make everything from scratch, including bread! when we lived on a farm she used to grow most of our veges too.
    i'd say $100 is probably what i spend on food in a WEEK! you're doing a great job, keep it up!

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