Grocery Store

So I broke down and went grocery shopping. Ugh, I know but it was sort of necessary. I was basically out of soy milk, which I use for creamer in my morning coffee, and trust me, the world is a better place when I have my morning coffee. I've been having a daily cup of joe since I was 13 and the caffeine headache I get when I don't feed my 12 year habit is insane. Also, I had no fresh veggies or fruit. I was a vegan for 4 years and before that a vegetarian for 2 and even though I now eat everything I still need a pretty hefty serving of fruit and vegetables.

I wanted to be a frugal as possible and honestly I think I did pretty well because I only spent $15!! I can't remember the last time I have spent that little for food (besides take out). Even on a quick run in to pick up snacks for Girl's Night I spend around $20. So, for 15 bucks I got a pretty good selection: head of lettuce, 3 peaches, 3 bananas, 2 large cucumbers, 1 large tomato, yogurt, 1 large can of tuna, box of mac n cheese, 2 cartons of soy milk, 3 packages of ramen noodles, and a store brand sprite. I needed (or craved) the ramen and sprite because I have a pretty gnarly hangover from too much whiskey and the mac and cheese was free with the purchase of the can of tuna.

If I can manage to shop like this more often (only buying small amounts, buying store brands, and using coupons) I think I can definitely get my spending under control.

Also, my boyfriend decided to be an absolute sweet heart and buy me lunch meat and cheese (which is why I wanted the lettuce and tomato) which will taste delicious on the fresh bread that I'm in the middle of making.

EDIT:

Look at this delicious, fresh, homemade bread. As soon as I was done snapping this photo I cut a slice, slathered it in butter, and ate it up. Amazing!
I used this recipe but modified the time. My oven cooks very quickly so I baked the bread at 375 degrees for 15 minutes and then at 250 degrees for 10 minutes.

The Begining

I am broke as fuck.

I'm not even being dramatic. I'm not really sure how it got to this point. Okay, that's a lie. It was excessive shopping and ill-advised spending that got me here. And honestly? I'm really great with money. I'm just not as great as I could be. Not as great as I SHOULD be.

So here's the breakdown. I just started a new government (aka low pay) job. Don't get me wrong, I'm in love with this job. I get full medical, dental, and vision for less than 5 bucks a month. Suck on that private sector. I won't get my first pay check until September 30th. Until then I have $27.88 in my checking account. I want to go as far as I can with out dipping into my savings ($702.04) but I doubt I'll make it all the way as my cupboards are close to bare.

After checking my back account online I started to realize a few things about myself and my shopping habits and I really became disappointed in the person that I am. I tell myself that I'm too broke to pay my cell phone bill, car insurance, and car payment (thanks Mom!) but I can still afford going out to eat constantly, expensive cable, and grocery trips that routinely run around $100 a week (I live alone; what can I say, I can pack a lot of food in this little body).

So I figured that since I'm 25 (almost 26) that it's time I get my shit together. I've got to shape up and take some of the burden off of my awesome Mother.

Here are my current monthly expenses:
Rent: $606
Water: +-$30
Utilities: +-$80
Cable: $127
Phone: No bill but I'd like to pay my Mom around $50-$100 bucks a month
College Loans: $300
Netflix: $16.23
Gold's Gym: $17.31
Total fixed bills: $1251.54

YIKES. This doesn't even include weekly expenses that vary like gas, food, and the possibilities of having a social life. I typically spend about $400 a month on food/social events (shut up, I know). My goal is to cut that in half. I haven't gone grocery shopping in about a week which is huge for me. If there is food in the fridge I'm eating it even if it's not what I was craving. For instance, last night I had canned tuna, and a cut up cucumber with dressing and croutons.

While I know my hourly rate I'm not sure what my pay checks are going to look like after taxes and my new and awesome retirement fund but I doubt I'll get more than $1000 a pay check. I'm hoping for around $800-$900. All together I'll barely be scrapping by and that just won't cut it. I want to have a substantial amount in my savings, I want to be able to travel one day, I want to pay off my ridiculous student loans before I'm dead. There's also some back bills that I have to pay off before I can really see any sort of difference.

Visa Credit Card: $17.31 (gym membership)
Target Credit card: $20.40
Dr Office (no insurance): $281
Clinical Labs (no insurance): $200
Total bills due: $518.71

Ugh, excuse me while I thank God again for my new awesome insurance. The best part about the medical bills (that once amounted to around $800)? I had to go to the doctor to get a physical for a job I DIDN'T get. So not only did I have the pain of not getting the job, I didn't get the job plus LOST almost a grand. Life's hysterical.

So, like I mentioned before I'm cutting my food and going out budget. I just started seeing a great guy and we've been eating out/drinking a lot. Luckily, he's broke too so he supports my decision to stay in more. Also, I plan on calling my cable company tomorrow and canceling my cable. This kills me, it really does. I love cable. I love my shows. But it'll cut around $50 bucks off of my cable bill (cable + DVR service). To be perfectly honest I'm hoping the cable company won't let me leave. A girl I work with tried to cancel her cable and they ended up allowing her to only pay for the first 100 channels and she cut her bill substantially. I know I'm weak but I'm trying.

I honestly can't think of any thing else that I can cut (I know that I'm not looking that hard). If I maintain the strength to end the cable then Netflix will entertain me. I'm going to see how the first round of cuts go and then if I have to I'll take more things to the chopping block. Hell, just quitting my ridiculous random splurges at Target should help me out. Also, I want to start some sort of side project where I refurbish old furniture for profits. I've started by fixing up my old place on the cheap.

So this blog is dedicated to getting me out of debt, saving up for a trip (dream=Hawaii or a weekend in Vegas with my girl friends), and my new adventure in repairing old furniture.

Good luck to me!!