Finding Frugal-Week 2

I realized last week that we already did lots of things to be more frugal, and that if I went about my days with it a constant thought, I could do a whole lot better. I wanted to share the ups and downs of this week- things I could have done better, things I did well, and some things I am not ready to do.

The failures-

I HATE bar soap, and caved yesterday and bought some cheap body wash.

I ended up buying ground beef on sale when I forgot to get food from the freezer. We went and got Little Caesars one night, but we had a free pizza coupon, so it was cheap pizza even cheaper.

We also decided at the last minute not to take our packed lunch to Cincy and we ended up going to Chick-fil-A in Lexington instead, where they just so happened to be doing a charity event for a 7 year old. It was a win-win, as there is no Chick-fil-A around here, and we helped a child.

The winners-

I underestimated our cereal stash, so I still have 5 dozen eggs, sausage and bacon for this week. I will also use the meatloaf and chicken we didn’t use last week.

We also sat down and made a spreadsheet so we could track our bills. We know have a new budget, know what we will do with every penny extra, and how we will pay our debt off.

The decisions-

I hate my scratchy toilet paper, but I will live with it. I have decided however, a few things that I am not ready to skimp on.

• Tide- just because I don’t want to. You’ll forgive me, right?
• Makeup. I only wear eye makeup, and I don’t buy it often anyway.
• Butter. I have downgraded to Walmart brand in the last few months, but will not be moving over to margarine. I love butter.
• Dish soap/ dishwasher tabs. I love mine, and am keeping them.

Overall, it was a good first week. I learned some things, and I can see where my pitfalls are. Knowledge is power, yes? That reminds me- I called the electric company to see how may hundreds we went over our budget this year- we DIDN’T!! This is the first time in seven years, and I am so relieved! We have been setting our temps above or below our comfort level and had hoped it would pay off.

What changes did you make this week? Have any advice?