DId you ever add up what you REALLY spend on things like food, eating out and stuff?
Dh and I are in the process of house hunting and we think we may have found something. So this is forcing me to tighten my budget and I'm always complaining to DH about his Starbucks addiction and the money he spends on food, etc.
I just went throughour bank records for January and I spent almost $800 freaking dollars on groceries alone !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I feel like such a loser!!!! I thought I was being sooo good by always bringing lunch and not shopping (for clothes), etc!!
I'm sick...
Jennifer907
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Re: OMFG!!!
I did this once for two weeks and was sick to my stomach. We barely go out and I barely shop. It's all living expenses and it's disgusting. I'm planning on doing it againf or the month of February because we'll have DHs new income so I want to see how much mroe we can save each month. So NOT looking forward to doing it.
MrsQ-in2007
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Re: OMFG!!!
It's AMAZING how much we spend on things each month!!!! I added up our groceries bill for the last couple of months recently and almost fainted!!! I was like, WHAT THE F*? We can't POSSIBLY eat that much! lol. I bring lunch just about every day (maybe 2 or 3 days out of the entire month that I don't) so I know we're saving money there, but still!
MJDoc12
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Re: OMFG!!!
yeah it adds up BIG TIME.
DH was the type that just spent his money and never tracked it. so once i told him he should track every dollar---he realized how much $$ he blew.
grocery shopping is a biggie---sometimes you don't think about it---but you really have to cut corners and shop sales and use coupons. i make most meals at home---so we go food shopping and get as much as we can.
we went 2 days ago--and spent $145 -- amazingly enough that will last us nearly 2 months.......we will of course have to ocasionally pick up some milk or cat food now and again----as well as meat sometimes...but as for basic foods---we only buy when stuff is on sale---or get the 'no frills' brand of stuff.
buying store brands or cheaper no names for things in the kitchen makes a huge difference!
HamptonsBride
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Re: OMFG!!!
I've never added it up but we've pretty much cut it all out in the last few months and it suucks big time!!!!!
portjeffbride
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Re: OMFG!!!
yep, I'm another $200 girl. no matter what I do, it always ends up being 200
rfilipofornow
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Re: OMFG!!!
yup, i know what you mean. when we first moved to tucson, my job paid me just enough to live and barely at that! DH's stipend was decent, but i kept track of every single penny that left our hands. i created this huge budgeting spreadsheet in excel, with like, 30 different categories of 'spending' and at the end of each month, i would total it up and compare to the previous months to see where our money went. it was insane, but necessary, since we were living on such a small income! i was always SHOCKED at how much we spent on food though. we used coupons and everything, but that was always our most expensive category. i'm sure it still is!
SylvieB
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Re: OMFG!!!
Posted by MJDoc12
grocery shopping is a biggie---sometimes you don't think about it---but you really have to cut corners and shop sales and use coupons. i make most meals at home---so we go food shopping and get as much as we can.
we went 2 days ago--and spent $145 -- amazingly enough that will last us nearly 2 months.......we will of course have to ocasionally pick up some milk or cat food now and again----as well as meat sometimes...but as for basic foods---we only buy when stuff is on sale---or get the 'no frills' brand of stuff.
buying store brands or cheaper no names for things in the kitchen makes a huge difference!
Yeah, I cook at home mostly everyday also. But I've also been realizing how much we waste also. Sometimes I'lll buy fruit and no one eats it so out it goes! Or leftovers in the fridge for 2 weeks.
I used to use coupons all the time, I guess I'll be going back to that!
GraceAndAdam
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Re: OMFG!!!
I know what you mean! The bills just keep coming and it's ridiculous! Just thinking about all of our bills makes me sick. Mortgage, electric, oil, water, tv, internet, phone, cell phones, food, gas, etc, etc, etc! Plus it doesn't help that living on LI can be so expensive!!! I've been trying to be really good about shopping, but somehow I get huge credit card bills every month, mostly just for gas and food!
bettybcafe
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Re: OMFG!!!
DH and I are doing this now. Now that we are no longer living with our parents we are now forced to pay rent and bills so its forced us to cut back on luxury items and on lunch lol. So we now have to bring our lunches to work and it sure does add up when you really look at it.
curiousgeorge
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Re: OMFG!!!
We go food shopping together and we have a strict budget....If we are going out to dinner that week we calculate that in the budget. DH eats what he wants for lunch and I eat free. So its no biggy!! We are very very good with our money...we ahve been living together for 5 years though!! It takes time. We keep our bank accounts seperate, he pays all the bills and I put in savings. We have NO debt, and itsstill so expensive jsut to eat!! And keep up with luxuries that we dont want to give up haha!! We have no choice but to budget...we are in the process of house buying...
PegaLega
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Re: OMFG!!!
yep, we spend about 200 a week on just groceries. My MIL was here for Christmas and she did a hell of a job cooking for us.
Buy LARGE is what she said, get your normal stuff but also buy a turkey, a ham, make a platter of Lasagna....then freeze it.
We did our normal food shopping and added these few things and wound up spending almost 400 less this month on food then usual.
AeroJenn
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Re: OMFG!!!
We're in the process of buying a house right now too. When we started, we figured out our monthy expenses. OMG....i never knew how much we spend in food each month. We've been trying to cut back, but honestly, I dont know where else to cut down anymore. The fact is....its expensive to LIVE. doesnt matter where you live....its expensive everywhere. I basically try not to go out to bars or restaurants -- we eat at home everynight. If we go out one night, we pre-game at home first. I buy store brands and try to use coupons as mucg as possible. and even with all this....it barely helps
Bridelikewhoa07
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Re: OMFG!!!
urghh.. i knowww!! ITS SOOO ANNOYING! we talked last week & decided to try to cut down on going out to eat to only one nite per week (we usually go out fri & sat) bc its costing us soo much money.
and we dont even like fancy places..we usually go to places like chilis or bar/restaurant type places!
urgghhh!! i cant wait until we win the lotto & dont have to worry about money! haha
