Summer Exhaustion

Okay, not much to do with summer, but I think I'm funny sometimes.

Summer is starting to takes it's toll on me.  It was a hot day, but didn't get above 90 which is good.  There is talk about a storm coming soon.  I wanted to go to Aldi's today because we are short on toilet paper and milk, but I just wasn't in the mood.  ( Crazy,I know, me skip out on a good excuse to spend money).  My husband had a meeting today so I had to drive out to my sister's house to pick up the kids.  When we got home I heated up some leftovers and cut up some more watermelon.  The summer sucks my energy and appetite so I just plan on using what is around here at the spur of the moment for meals.  I did bike to the library with the kids today so I didn't totally crash on the couch.

So my challenge to myself to stick to the list just wasn't working.  I'm a sucker when it comes to my kids and buying them things.  Most of the time I take my kids with me shopping because my husband is at work or I just feel the need to enjoy the little time when have together.  I know soon they will be teenagers and will be avoiding me at all cost.  I swear sometimes I black out when we are together.  My son was being a little hell raiser Saturday when we were running errands.  I was trying not to spend money, but when I'm out and already near shops I like to go around and look anyways ( I guess just to torture myself ?!?).  So I was swearing in my head that I wasn't going to buy him anything, yet he really wanted me to go back to the party store for a $20 green lantern costume.  Then we got to Joann Fabrics, I saw my sister there shopping, so we starting looking around together.  We wandered into the summer clearance section which was 70% off.  There areas are like my kryptonite.  They had a kid's rake on clearance for around $3, and I have been wanting to get some so my kids could help in the fall.  Before I knew it I was loading the kid and the rake into the care, thinking "What happen?"

So I found a new inspirational blog: $12 a day
We aren't in the same situations, but she would like to spend $10 a day and save $2 for future purchases.  My budget ( I use that term loosely because is it really a budget if you never stick to it?) for grocery shopping is $70, which would be $10 a day.  I have 4 people to feed, which isn't too hard to feed for $10 a day but I always end up buying non food items.  So far this week I have spent $5 on kettle corn at the fireworks show.  I have even been places this week and have not spent money, which is a big deal for me.  I have also a few rewards at work: $5 off a $10 purchase and $10 off a $10 purchase, plus I still get my employee discount.  I think I am going to buy some curtains for my son's room.  They are black with tabs on the top, and I want to put some kind of batman symbol on them and do his room that way.  If I can do it so it is removable, they will work for when he is older, which could save me money in the future.  They are on clearance for $8 each, so I think I can handle that this week.  My nieces and nephew also are staying with us on Thurs and Friday, so I have to plan on their eating too.  I'm confident I can do this this week, as we do have a good supply of food in the freezer.  Only time will tell.

Is There hope?

This week I haven't really wanted to stick with my menu plan.  I haven't been sleeping very well.  I attribute this to the longer days of summer, it just makes me uneasy for some reason.

This week for dinner we have had burgers, and scalloped potatoes, breakfast for dinner, hamburgers and mac and cheese, as well as pork ribs, pineapple, rice, with bacon.  Tonight I will see if I can make some things out of the freezer or pantry for dinner.

So far I bought bread, milk, and a package of band-aids, scrapbook stickers and pop on Wednesday, and I bought pork ribs, bacon, pineapple, grapes, and clearance buns on Thursday. Definitively a fail for sticking to the list since I really didn't make list when I went to the grocery store, but I was thinking what I was making for dinner that night.  When I bought the scrapbook stickers I was really going to buy a scrapbook album and paper, but I didn't see anything I like.  The stickers were on sale, which isn't a good excuse, but I could justify them at the time.  I would say I am doing better since I went to Gordman's, Micheal's, Office Max, World Market, Best Buy, Sports Authority, Marshall's, and Kmart and spent less than $20.  I would have spent less than $8, but then my husband called and asked for pop so I spent $5 on some at Kmart.

I'm not going to give up.  I wanted to do a bunch of buying this weekend, but I'm pushing my mind to be over it. I would like a rug for the living room since we pulled up the carpet to expose hardwood floor, and I also would like to buy at least 5-6 more curtains for the dining/living room area.  I have no decor pillows, and would also like to darken the rooms some more to keep the heat out.  It would be nice to buy a tool belt for work, and some sort of chair covers so I'm not cleaning the couches all the time.

I read in a magazine to surround yourself with things you have already bought and sort through and touch them, to stop any compulsions to shop.  I might try to sort through some things this weekend to stop myself from spending.

Do I really need anything?  Maybe toilet paper.

"Stick to the List" Challenge

My full intention today was to stick to the list when I was at the store.  I put the list on my cell phone so I wouldn't forget it at home.  Here was my list:
Scrapbook 8x8 size and paper to go inside (part of my father's day present)
garden shears (the bushes are needing trimming)
baby decorations (for a friends shower)
Xbox 360 live 12 month membership
tennis balls if under $2 ( for t-ball practice)

So I get to the store and start with the Xbox membership.  Online they are $46.94 at Walmart, then it said that I could buy the same thing at the store for $48.94, so I was thinking I would like it sooner than later.  They said it was in stock, but when I got to the store they only had an empty space for a $59.94 card, which it is sold for $59.99 online.  I was disappointed, but right next to the display was an EA Sports Active 2 game.  It was on clearance for $25 from $59.94.  I couldn't pass it up and therefor veered from my list.

So I walked out of the store with no Xbox membership, but a new game.  Walmart also only has 12x12 scrapbook supplies so I wasn't able to get those.  I plan on going to Micheal's and using a 50% coupon, plus they have scrapbook paper on sale too.

I also wrote down some items for future shopping list:
tomato plant $1.65
pepper plant $1.15
plastic pitcher $2.00

So here is a challenge:

I'm starting a challenge for 30 days.  I want to make a list before I go to the store and stick to it.  I will not be able to add items when I'm in the parking lot.  If I find something I think I need, I will write it down and consider it for the next trip.  It is especially hard for me to stick to the list when I have my kids with me, but I think if I get them involved in helping me shop with the list it will help.  I sometimes tell them if they see something they want I will put it on their Christmas or birthday list.  It's not saying no so they seem to like the idea.  At the end of the 30 days I"m going to compare my figures to last month to see how much money I can save by doing this.

So far today I would call this a failure. -$25 in the hole.