I had to go to the store today and boy did I get a glimspe of how this recession and increase in gas prices is going to wreak havoc on my budget. I had to get necessities today( milk, bread, juice, etc) and a couple of deals that I found and the price nearly knocked me back when the cashier said it.
One example was the wheat bread that I got today. The new phantom rock bottom price is 1.29 with the new rock bottom being 1.19 a loaf. The rock bottom used to be .99 and I even saw it down to .89 a loaf a few times! Never again will we see those prices. I got 2 loaves at the 1.29 price because the 1.19 price was just 2 weeks ago, so I know that I won’t see it for a while. With Hubby taking sandwiches to work almost everyday, its not like it will go to waste. Plus, now I have a loaf waiting in the wings, so to speak, in the freezer.
Because I live with a growing boy with all of a sudden picky tastes and a Paul Bunion Husband, there is no way I can cut back anymore on the amount of groceries I get. I have already done this for the past 8 months, I can feel a mutiny a-brewin amoungst the crew lol. Hubby wants more than one sandwich in his lunch, Sonny Boy begs for more soy milk everyday and even the cat is now meowing for more food around dinner time. I used to be able to fill my furry baby’s bowl once a day and he would be set for the whole day, sometimes with food left in the bowl for the next day.
So, I have decided to increase the food budget from 250 to 270 a month. Seems like a lot? Yes, it does. Do I think I will use the whole 270? No, I don’t, but I have been trying to reach 250 a month and have gone over budget pretty much every month so I think that 260 seems like a great budget for us and giving myself a cushion of 10 more dollars will help me to finally be under budget for once. So no, I won’t need the whole 270(hopefully) but being under that every month will help with grocery self-esteem, so to speak. We’ll see how it all turns out.