Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Since it is the last day of February I thought I would go ahead and wrap with my spending diary.
I did an Uber Frugal January challenge and I decided to keep it up for February. I was not as restrictive in February, but I still did pretty well, and maybe I did even better. Go figure! Want to be a voyeur and see what I spent on gas, groceries, items for the household, meals out, takeout, happy hours, and clothing? I did not include any other household bills or what Tom spends.
Feb 1 – $10 toward a baby gift card at school, $46 Napa dinner with my friend Beth
Feb 2 – $140 Kroger pick up
Feb 3 – $19 happy hour
Feb 4 – hair $85 plus 20 tip, Kroger 56, 1.40 scarf
Feb 5 – Sunday Funday with Tom $38
Feb 6 -$0 No spend day
Feb. 7 – $114 Kroger pick up (had to do it a day or two early because we were out of some things/poor planning on my part – The Lazy Genius does two pick ups per week. There is no fee so I guess I could do that – sometimes it’s hard to plan for a whole week at once )
Feb. 8 – $14 Amazon (two new phone chargers for J and M’s Valentine’s gift bag – already bought fun socks and will add some candy)
Feb. 9- $74 gas, $0 Starbucks, $33 dinner
Feb. 10- $22 happy hour at Brick House with E and E
Feb. 11 – $154 Kroger, $15 wine, $15 donation to flamenco society
Feb 12-$72 including tip Selena’s V day dinner
Feb 13 – $25 Amazon e gift card Nora
Feb 14 – $0 Spend Day
Feb 15- $0 Spend Day
Feb 16-$177 Kroger pick up
Feb 17-$27 Drake’s, $46 Whole Foods
Feb 18 -$0 Library (4 books), $29 Dollar Tree, $17 TJ MAxx, $26 Liquor Barn, $26 Chick Fil A
Feb 19 -$56 Trader Joe’s, $12 Panera, $22 Texas Roadhoaue
Feb 20 $14 Con Huevos for lunch break during conferences, $20 Kroger andouille sausage and shrimp for Tuesday’s Mardi Gras cajun dinner at home
Feb. 21- $48 Driver’s License Renewal
Feb. 22 – $74 fondue restaurant Galentine’s special
Feb 23 – $0 Spend Day
Feb 24 – $114 Kroger pick up (cooked at home and no happy hour)
Feb 25 – $0 Library, $18 Sassy Fox – took my spring and summer and did a little looking around and found a graphic tee
Feb 26 – $38 Target – got some travel toiletries for M for conference, wood glue for Tom, dog treats for Ernie
Feb 27-$0 Spend Day
Feb 28 – $30 Lunch with my kids because I took off for their Spring Break (help M pack and spend a little time). At the time of this posting, I haven’t done this yet, but I am budgeting for it!
Totals:
No Spend Days – Only 5 this time! I think I had 9 in January.
Groceries – $877 – Kroger, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s
Gas – $74 – I think this is the second month in a row that I have only filled up once!
Happy Hours – $114 (one of these was a full dinner with Beth)
Meals Out – $239 (higher than last month)
Take Out – $26 One dinner from Chick Fil A where I bought extra food for the next day
Clothing – $1. 40 consignment scarf, $18 graphic tee. I got my full amount back from the Vaugu order, I am waiting on Athleta flare split hem yoga pants, and two pairs of wide leg cropped yoga pants from Old Navy. We will see if these three things work – If they don’t, these are super easy returns to make in person. I have both stores very close by. I also ordered some pants on Amazon that may go back. So, after a big clothing month in January, look at my February!
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 
You did a great job! I noticed when I was paying off my credit card bills this month that we spent a whole lot less on everything. I don’t track much or break it down into categories but I do always check the current month’s bill total against the previous month and if it’s high take note of why (January’s grocery bill was HUGE because we had emptied and clean out and defrosting the chest freezer and I was working on filling it back up), sometime in the next month or two the balance of our trip is due so I know that bill will be high, etc. If it’s just high because we’re spending too much on “fun” stuff like clothes, eating out, the movies, etc. then we make a real effort to cut back.
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Thank you! This has been eye opening and I am considering a third month of tracking. I just want to be intentional, you know? I think it’s interesting to see how others spend their money so I hope people like this post!
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It’s always interesting to read these. I said I was going to track my own this month, and I forgot. I think I’m going to try this just to see where I spend money. My grocery order this week was over $200! I don’t even know why. I mean, I guess I’m cooking more this week/weekend? I don’t know, but wowzers.
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I think so, too! Wow – I feel like groceries are not going down at all. I definitely am cooking more with kids home and they are going through more snack foods. Tom and I don’t keep that many snack foods anymore for us.
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Nice job friend- very inspirational!
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Thank you! I can work on some areas, but I was pretty happy.
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I didn’t really spend much on myself this month but groceries and entertainment were where our money went. It was my husband’s birthday and I picked up the bill for our trip to Drive Shack.
I hope you have fun today with the boys!
xo,
Kellyann
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As you can see, my entertainment budget is just food lately! Birthdays always cost a lot around here even without trying to be extravagant.
Thank you so much!
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You did great! I want to go back on the Kroger app and see what I spent on groceries this month. I try to stay at $150 or below every week. Drivers license renewal…now I need to check my license 😂
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It is depressing how the prices of things I buy at least just keep going up! I try to stay below $150, too. We do buy chicken and veg for Ernie, too, but still you would think for 2 people it would be less.
My DL expired in December and I only happened to look because I needed my number for something. I got the 8 year REAL ID so that is why it was so expensive.
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Oh! Next time, maybe I will get that.
I looked back at my Kroger app – and every week was around $140…but then I always spend $30-40 more on fruit and something I’ve forgotten 😂then, I also usually hit TJ twice a month and at least spend $50. It all adds up
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I didn’t even broach the subject of Costco. We go there once a month or so and drop $250-300 on dog food, a few foods, and household supplies.
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We don’t live near one so it’s not convenient but the practical side of me knows we don’t have lots of places to store bulk and it’s more money. But I know it’s worth it for those who go
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I think it just helps you stock up and keeps you out of the store for those things, but I’m not sure how good of a deal anything is.
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I’ve been spending like a sieve lately. I’m terrified to do something like this, but maybe I should! I did track groceries for February and got about $800, which is pretty good, I think.
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This tracking has really helped me to be more intentional. I think $800 is the lowest I can get it since I do cook almost every day. I am ok with it as long as I’m not wasting food, you know?
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You do such a good job of tracking and accountability! Groceries are so expensive right now!
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I’m on a SERIOUS spending budget… I need to do this to hold myself more accountable!!!
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