First trip of the month on the first day of the month just makes things feel nice. Gratifying. Like, that satisfying feeling when you watch paint ripple or when Mulan’s makeup is perfectly applied during “Honor to Us All.” I don’t know why small things done in a precise way is so fulfilling, but it is. It. Is.
(Also, now I have “Honor to Us All” stuck in my head, so there’s that.)
Let’s start with my Kroger Budget for the month of August.
- Total Budget: $392
- Total Spent: $404.50
- Over Budge: $12.50
I will take this turn of events for the Kroger budget. Last month, I was $77.44 over budget for Kroger, so this is much more doable. On to Costco!
- Total Budget: $300
- Total Spent: $347.02
- Over Budge: $47.02
Total over budget for the month is $59.52.
Our entertainment budget is $100 and we got pizza at Costco, making our pizza night $21.10 vs the $36 when we get it from the local place. It seems so weird to me now that we used to go to Costco twice a month and get pizza every time. It’s been less than a year but it feels like a different life.
$100 minus the $21.10 for pizza night and the $47.02 for being over budget leave us with $19.38. $19. 38 left in our entertainment budget! Hoorah! This means we don’t need to touch our stimulus back up this month AND we get to roll over our $19.38 to next month’s entertainment budget.
Tangent time: In a time before the rumpus, that surplus of entertainment funds would have been moved to the Disney Fund, no questions asked. But if the rumpus has taught me one thing, it’s that prices are dynamic. You know that moment in school when you’re like, “Ugh, when am I really going to need to know about supply and demand in the real world?” Well, 16 year old KB, if you wipe some of that glitter off your face and move your chunky highlighted bangs out of your eyes, I’ll tell you a tale of the Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020. When you’re an adult with three children, on her second to last container of Clorox Wipes, you’ll dream about these halcyon days when you thought supply and demand was just a term you needed to know on an Economics quiz. All that to say, we’re going to hang on to that entertainment surplus just in cases.
Pre-rumpus, our budgets were precise by store and by category. In a rumpus world, you take what you can get where you can find it. This made our budgets slightly less specific (see above) but it hasn’t been the total chaos I feared it would be. This is where those Saving to Disney budgeting sheets have come in real handy. But I also have the luxury of being able to examine the developing budget system because I just so happen to blog about my weekly grocery trips. I’m examining the data as I mine it. What a time to be alive.
The question I keep retuning to is: will we continue this system after the rumpus ends?
Because let’s be real, there are some things implemented during the rumpus that are actually working for me. Working so well that I don’t want them to go away. I love the “where to stand” markers in stores and banks and other public areas. I am a nervous person who often feels awkward in large groups. Am I too close? Am I taking up too much space? Having a clearly marked spot on the floor has really been a game changer for my delicate nerves. I also like the new system at my Starbucks, where I handle my card and my steaming cup of chai tea is handed to me from within a mug. I would like to continue this forever.
So it’s possible that the new ways we find of doing things might, in some ways, work just as well moving forward. If, and when, we transition from a rumpus economy to a post rumpus economy, it might be that the rumpus budget system stays in place. I think we can all agree that we won’t go back to the way things were. Establishing a new normal based on supply chains, prices, and item availability, things will looks different. But maybe they won’t? I don’t know. If there is a second thing I have learned from the rumpus, it is that nothing is certain.
- Annie’s Mac and Cheese (4)-$1. Manager’s Special, $.25 each!
- Avocados (4)-$2. In-store sale, two for $1.
- Bananas, 2.42 lb-$1.43.
- Barella Pasta (6)-$6. In-store sale!
- Blackberries, 6 oz (4)-$5. In-store sale!
- Boar’s Head Pepperoni, .75 lb-$6.93.
- Fuji Apples, 3.80 lb-$4.90.
- Heritage Farm Chicken Breasts, 8.46 lb-$16.84.
- Honey Bunches of Oats-$1.99. Buy Some, Save Some!
- Kroger Heavy Cream-$3.39. *Digital Coupon* for $.40 off.
- Kroger Milk, .5 gal-$.99.
- Kroger Sausage, 2 lb-$6.
- Pepperidge Farm Milano Cookies (2)-$4.98. After last week, my family demanded more of these. Which, okay, with Buy Some, Save Some.
- Private Selection Bread (2) -$3.98.
- Private Selection Honey Turkey, .75 lb-$5.17.
- Roma Tomato, .81 lb-$.80.
- Salmon, 1.93 lb-$13.56. In-store sale (ish), $6.99 a pound.
- Simple Truth Baby Food Pouches (5)-$5.95.
- Silk Almond Milk (2)-$2.98. Buy Some, Save Some brought these down to $1.99 each, stacked with a *Digital Coupon* for $1 off two.
- Spice Island Spices (2)-$8.54. Spice Island Spices were Buy One, Get One Free, stacked with a *Digital Coupon* for $1.25 off two. Each spice ended up being $4.27. A steal!
- Apps I’ll submit to: Fetch Rewards, CoinOut
Total Budget: $98
Total Spent: $102.43
Deducted from Next Week’s Budget: $4.43.
How has your budgeting system changed since the rumpus? Is this system working as well as the old system? I would love to hear what new practices are changing the game for you!
Kristen B. is wife to the best Prince around, mama to the spunkiest little princesses, and lover of all things Disney. She started her savings journey five years ago and is now dedicated to making her family’s wishes come true one coupon at a time. She is so excited to take her love of saving to the next level and share her journey with you! Click here to catch up on Kristen’s Savings and join in on your own savings adventure!
Linda says
Wow you got a gallon of Milk for .99 cents I cannot believe it. It over 3 bucks here in Maine