Super Frugal Saturday to Saturday 7 day challenge

I have been a little spendy lately, so I want to go on a frugal seven day challenge.

My goal is to just spend 50 bucks this week. I got a 50 dollar gift for by birthday, so here is how I plan to spend it.

4$ Library Fine
3$ Bread
2$ Cheese
2.50 $ Milk
3$ Potatoes
5$ Wipes
5$ Green Salad
5$ Squash
4$ Cereal
5$ Lunch snacks
5$ Chicken
2$ Cake stuff
5$ Mailing a b day gift to a friend.

With this and my stocked pantry and freezer, I will have enough for the week for these meals:

Meals:
Pasta and sauce
Meatballs and squash
Lemmon Chicken and Mashed potatoes with salad
Egg and potato tacos
Pizza Night
Egg pie
Chocolate Cake
Lunches: Leftovers and cheese sandwhiches
Oatmeal/ Cereal/ coffee for breakfast
Starbuck's card for a coffee treat next week :)

Fun:
Sailing with my dad. Free
Library Videos for a movie night. Free
Nature walk/ bike ride. Free
Birthday Dinner made at home. (included in grocery bill)

Tasks:
Laundry
Cleaning the house, so I can save the cleaner to come before we put it on the market.
Food shopping
Painting tile

I am pumped for a frugal week and for using up some pantry/ freezer items. :)

I will check back in and let you know how it went next week.

April Budget- Spoiling me ;)

April Budget-

Tuition and childcare 700$

Utilities 250$

Cell and Internet 105$ 

Cleaner 70$ :) I am so so excited I can afford this.

Food, Toiletries, and Household 500$ 

Restaurants 80$  

Paperwork costs 350$

Debt Repayment Savings 600$ 

Dentist/ Medical Visits 150$ 

Min. Lowe's Payment 51$ 

Gifts 35$

Self Care 200$

May Budget-

Tuition and childcare 700$

Utilities 250$

Cell and Internet 105$ 

Cleaner 70$ :) I am so so excited I can afford this.

Food, Toiletries, and Household 500$ 

Restaurants 80$  

Home Repair 689$

Debt Repayment Savings 600$ 

Medical Visits 50$

Min. Lowe's Payment 45$ 

Super frugal renovation plan:

New sink top: 800$

Faucets: 200$

Crown Molding: 150$

Spray Paint: 40$

Mirror Framing: 40$

Tile and Grout Repair: 40$

Total: 1270

Minus 789

481 still needs to be budgeted. 

Super Frugal Day

Frugal Things:

1) Made coffees at home and took the kids to the park around the corner then went on a family walk.
2) Detailed the car with my son at home.
3) My dad come over and helped us with some DIY repairs.
4) I made a nice lunch with food on hand and we had leftover cake for dessert.
5) We went for a bike ride.
6) We watched a library movie as a family.
7) We ate leftovers for dinner.

We had a happy, productive, fun day and did not spend a dollar.

Week Twelve: In the groove!

March Budget-

Tuition and childcare 575$  350$

Utilities 300$ 259.13$

Cell and Internet 105$ 98$

Cleaner 70$ :) I am so so excited I can afford this. 70$ of the best dollars I have ever spent. 

Food, Toiletries, and Household 485$ So far I have spent: 241.12$

Restaurants 70$  112.34$!!!! Overage Alert!

Amex Card 440$ 448$!!!! Overage Alert!

Stay-cation spending money 100$ 0$

Debt Repayment Savings 600$ 0$

Dentist/ Medical Visits 300$ 150$

Min. Lowe's Payment 45$ 0$
Spa 165.00!!!!! This was not in the budget.

This week I was sick and got a lot off budget, but thanks to so much help from my family the damage is not as bad as I thought it was. I did end up spending half our dentist money on medical expenses; however, I will save what is left over and reallocate the surplus next month. I missed a whole week of work, so I will not be taking a day off for the dentist this month, so I can budget the rest for April. 

Also, looking ahead, I have some home repairs associated with selling the house, so I need to think about those in the May budget. Here are the over estimated costs:

New sink top: 1000$

Faucets: 300$

Crown Molding: 150$

Spray Paint: 40$

Mirror Framing: 40$

Tile and Grout Repair: 40$

Total: 1470$ 

I hope this number is much closer to 1000$, so I need to start looking for some deals.

Week Eleven: Enjoying a bit of freedom

I had another glorious week at Trader Joe's getting all the treats we love and of course the necessities for the week and beyond. I gave myself absolute freedom with selecting my items and found myself stocking up on some items, so my total was 170$. EEKK. My total March grocery budget is 485$, so that was a chunk of it. It all balanced out though because we have all been sick, so we stayed home two days, which saved us 50$ in childcare, so it all worked out to 120$ in the end. Also, I ordered Chinese food which ended up being 21$, so those were my splurges so far, and I enjoyed them ever so much.

March Budget Part 3-

Tuition and childcare 575$   I will actually spend: 550$

Utilities 300$ 

Cell and Internet 105$

Cleaner 70$ :) I am so so excited I can afford this. 

Food, Toiletries, and Household 485$ So far I have spent: 170$

Restaurants 70$ So far I have spent 22$

Amex Card 440$

Stay-cation spending money 100$

Debt Repayment Savings 600$

Dentist Visits 300$

Min Lowes Payment 45$

Next week I am preparing for a guest, which includes my cleaner coming again. I missed her so much and can't wait to walk in the house Friday afternoon and have it be spotless for the first time in forever. I will roam from room to room and be happy. 

Now it is time to peel myself off the couch and clean up this living room and get my life sorted out to return to work and life outside my house. I have not left the house in a couple of days.