Food and the Effect on My Budget

Look we all know I like to eat. I know it, you know it, and my bank account sure as hell knows it.

I have signed up at Mint Financial, a free personal finance and budgeting software. You link it with your bank accounts and it pulls up all the information for you, like how much money you have. You can also link it with any credit cards, loans, or other outstanding debt that you have and it will put all of that in a profile for you.

I really enjoy it because it sends you weekly statements, you can set your budget on groceries, utilities, bills, and the like. It puts it all in a pie chart or bar chart, compares your spending to others in your area, and tells you if you are getting close to going over budget. You can even look at individual transactions and put labels on them, like if your grocery store doesn't have a grocery store name (Kroger or Whole Foods) and put the correct label on it so it goes into the right category. Sometimes it puts Wal-mart under "Clothing" when I really went grocery shopping.

The one draw back though: It doesnt have any security questions if you forget your password. It just emails it to you. So either set up a private email specifically for your account or just don't forget your password. God forbid you hand it out to someone because they can get into your email account! although they can't really access your personal information, like checking or routing numbers, debit/credit numbers, just how much money you have in them. But don't give anyone an incentive to go hunting that info down.

Anyway, like I was saying, its a neat little program if you are incapable of budgeting, or if you just want a quick overview, or if you are too lazy to purchase a budgeting software (I'm all three!)

I have been looking at the pie chart recently of my food expenditure. It breaks it down into categories for me. Heres a look at what I spent in July.


That is $300 on groceries, $104 on fast food, $53 in restaurants and $10 in coffee shops (all of which is hubby's fault, he buys a soda at Dunkin Donuts at work hehe)

That is THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS on groceries and ONE HUNDRED FIFTY SEVEN on eating out. That's almost five hundred dollars. On food. On FOOD.

FOOD!

No wonder I was so damn poor I had to borrow money from my parents so my husband could get gas to go to work. No wonder we were so poor, we had to eat ramen for a few days. Good lord.

I couldn't figure out why we were so poor, we make more than enough to pay for our bills and we don't spend a lot on frivolous things. I guess I didn't realize how frivolous food really is.

I mean, I spent $20 on food and it lasted us 5 days. What the hell was I making last month that cost $300?! LOBSTER?! And why didn't I get any?! Was I going for a champagne taste on a beer budget, or was I just being Instant Gratification Girl again? Needing cookies and candies and sodas and steak and enchiladas?

Feh.

It's not an entirely new revelation, just one that I had to think about again. It was a rough month and it didn't need to be. I thought by eating at home a lot, I would be saving money as we were missing out on a paycheck last month. I guess I was paying just as much for groceries as I was on eating out, and I didn't even save any leftovers.

Live and learn. All caught up on bills now, and possibly coming out ahead too. I am going to pare down my grocery bill and see how much money I can save this month. Maybe then I'll be able to afford a lobster dinner.

LOL

Also, my mother in law's birthday is coming up on the 29th. I always have trouble figuring out what my in laws are into, as they don't really do much. I was thinking of crocheting her something nice. Fall is around the corner, so I thought a nice shawl/wrap or scarf would be good. Hubby assures me her favorite colors are pink and purple, so if she tells me they arent her colors I can blame him. :)

I found a couple patterns I'd like to do, and I just need to find a yarn I like.