August Budget Challenge Week 1 Recap

Hi there my loyal readers. I hope everyone had a good weekend. This weekend we spent a lot of time with family which was nice. It also cut down on all trips to the grocery store; which was just an extra bonus. I’ve found that where most of our money goes is on the quick trips to the store to buy one or two things. That $5 trip quickly turns into a $30 trip. Especially with two little boys who want EVERYTHING they see!

When I was talking to my husband about this month’s budget challenge he was excited but he added “Have you budgeted for dollar cars?” (Dollar cars are what Rohrl, my two year old, calls Hot Wheels) It’s our way of getting he and his brother to sit still and not touch every single glass jar or breakable item they see. It wouldn’t be too bad if we got them one a trip but my boys have the best puppy dog eyes and they usually get 3 or 4… or 5. It doesn’t help when your husband is a car enthusiast as well and HAS to get every Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini or Ferrari he sees. Seriously, our Hot Wheels collection is ridiculous!

Where was I… Oh yes; back to the budget challenge. If you missed my first post you can check it out here.

My goal for August is to spend no more than $300 on groceries. That includes diapers, toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc. This week we took a big step in cutting expenses by getting Rohrl potty trained. This is one proud mama!! So as a treat he got to go to Target and pick out big boy undies. Out of all the choices, Cars, Jake & The Neverland Pirates, TMNT he chose plain ol’ grey boxers just like his daddy. TMI, sorry.

So, last week we only went shopping twice. We had our first monthly big trip to Smith’s and then a few days later we went to the bread store and Walmart and Target. One of the biggest way we cut expenses on a monthly basis is buying bread at Franz Bakery Outlet. It’s the same bread we buy from the store but at a fraction of the price. Plus, if they have any bread that is expiring within a few days you get a free loaf with any purchase. So I pay $.81 for 2 loaves of bread.

I spent a bit more than I wanted to but I did stock up on snacks for the next 2 months or so and we got a big bag of candy for a class my husband was teaching. Check out my post on Facebook to see how to get 20 boxes of snacks and drinks for just $.75/box!