Okay, so last post I was supposed to do the budget reconciliation for October.
(Yep. You read that right. October budget reconciliation in February. We’re all on journeys.)
But I didn’t do the budget reconciliation on the last post because I got distracted talking about my distraction.
(This is pretty common. I like to go down rabbit trails. Or is it rabbit holes? What’s the expression where you talking/thinking about one thing but then there is something interesting and you chase after that train of thought instead? I know it has to do with rabbits in some capacity.)
So we’re getting straight to the numbers today! No argy-bargy! Business business business!
(Okay, the internet has confirmed that it can be either rabbit trails or rabbit holes. I guess the original idiom was rabbit trail, after the fact that a dog would pick up on a scent from a rabbit and follow it, only to end up chasing it’s tail because rabbits move quickly. After the popularity of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, the term “down the rabbit hole” gained popularity. Both refer to diversions in a conversation or thought process that can be enjoyable but ultimately unprofitable in terms of reaching the originally intended conclusion.
Hey, did you guys know that the original book was Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Walt Disney changed the title to Alice in Wonderland for the 1951 animated film version? If you’ve read any of my Disney coverage, you probably know that Alice in Wonderland is my favorite Disney film of all time, so this was very interesting to me. Rabbit hole!)
Back to the numbers!
Kroger-October
- Total Budget: $392
- Total Spent: $426.06
- Over Budge: $34.06
Costco-October
- Total Budget: $300
- Total Spent: $365.22
- Over Budge: $65.22
Total over budget for the month is $99.28
Yikes. There were things I got on various shopping trips (hot dogs, marshmallows, chocolate bars) that I knew would send me over budget. But, I reasoned, those things belonged in the entertainment budget anyway, so I could take the money from entertainment on the flip side, nbd, right? Wrong! Big deal! What were you buying, Kristen From October? Marshmallows do not cost $100!
Our entertainment budget was $100 for the month. We spent $36.41 on a pizza night earlier in the month, leaving us with $63.59 towards my marshmallow debt. This leaves $35.69 to be deducted from our (gulp) untouched stimulus.
(One more rabbit hole trail! There was discount candy! I got some. See?)
- Avocados (3)-$2.47. *Digital Coupon* for $.50 off three.
- Bananas, 2.82 lb-$.94. *Digital Coupon* for $.72 cents off. Yes. You read that correctly. $.72.
- Barbara’s Puffins Cereal (2)-$3.48. *Digital Coupon* for $1 off each stacked with a Manufacturer’s Coupon for $.50 off two brought them down to $1.74.
- Beechnut Baby Food Pouches (1)-$.75.
- Blueberries, 18 oz (2)-$6.
- Boar’s Head Maple Turkey, .5 lb-$5.79.
- Boar’s Head Pepperoni, .5 lb-$4.23.
- Cabernet Souverain-$9.99.
- Creamette Pasta (2)-$1.58. *Digital Coupon* made them $.79 each.
- Fuji Apples, 5.44 lb-$6.47.
- Heritage Farm Chicken Breasts, 10.45 lb -$20.81.
- Kroger Cream Cheese, 2 pack-$1.79.
- Kroger Sausage, 3 lb-$7.47. *Digital Coupon* for $1 off each brought them to $2.49.
- Mangoes (2)-$2.50.
- Merry Estate Gouda-$3.19. Manager’s Special!
- Private Selection Whole Wheat Bread-$2.19. Bread is up $.19!
- Plum Organic Food Pouches (4)-$5.
- Raspberries, 6 oz (3)-$6.
- Red Leaf Lettuce, .55 lb-$.93.
- Roma Tomato, 1.09 lb-$1.08.
- Simple Truth Fruit Spread-$3.09. *Digital Coupon* for $.50 off.
- Salmon Filet, 2.2 lb-$15.52.
- Simple Truth Almond Milk, .5 gal (2)-$5.
- Skittles Fun Size Multipack (2)-$1.80. They were $.90 each because clearance!
- Starburst Fun Size Multipack-$.90.
- Thomas Bagels, 6 pack (2)-$3.79. BOGO made them $1.89, cheaper than the store brand.
- Apps I’ll submit to: Fetch Rewards, CoinOut, Dabbl, Ibotta ($.10 off Avocados, $1 off two boxes of Barbara’s Cereal)
Total Budget: $98
Total Spent: $119.63
Total Saved: $32.59
Deducted from Next Week: $21.63
Okay, while I do not love the fact that I have to use our stimulus money, I am very glad to finally be squared away for October. And you number fans out there, get ready, because we still have numbers rabbit holes to dive into for November, December, and January! Onward!
Do you say rabbit trail or rabbit trail? Tell me in the comments!
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 three 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!
Glad your squared away
Just a word of encouragement…. we were WAY over grocery budget for every month in 2020. I even upped the numbers for 2021. But the good news is that so far we are under budget in both January and February….. maybe you just need to do a single recap post for November and December to get to better times?