The New Leaf I Am Peeking Under

I have returned from Las Vegas. It was an interesting trip. I watched one of my BFFs jump out of a plane from 3 miles in the air. I went to a gun range and shot a glock (and was unexpectedly shaken up by the experience). I saw first-hand that Liberace was a megalomaniac. And I learned that going to Las Vegas with people who don't want to spend a lot of time eating, drinking or gambling is kind of dumb...on everyone's part. 

So here I am, home again, with an intensified focus on the lose weight/spend less challenge. Obviously my trip to Las Vegas ran counter to both of those goals (although I won $346 on a Monopoly machine!!!), but I am ready to get back on the horse. I am proud to report that today I both exceeded my grocery bill goal (as in, I was under $75) and I launched a weeklong calorie counting experiment. 

It's pretty much what it sounds like: I'll be counting the calories I eat and trying to stay under a certain number. (I know you're thinking that this is something most normal people do but, like exercise, it's new to me.)  I suppose that makes it a diet, but since I don't really do diets, I prefer to think of it as an experiment. We'll see if I can make my goal for 7 days straight and then I'll think about whether I want to continue it. 

As day one draws to a close, I can report that I successfully met my goal and that I already don't like it. However, I'm accepting the unfortunate fact that it is highly unlikely that I will ever follow an exercise routine intense enough to let me eat whatever I want without continuing to gain weight, so I have to reign in the calories. Bummer. 

In anticipation of starting this experiment, I had my first anxiety dream about it last night. I was at a movie theater, holding the popcorn in my hands, ready to put the butter on it, and I thought, "But wait! I'm watching my calories!" And then I slathered the butter on and ate it anyway. 

Sign of things to come? Stay tuned. 

Grocery Neurosis

I wouldn't call it a resolution exactly, but I've decided to make an effort to trim our grocery bill by 25%. I've been told that our grocery budget was pretty lean already ($400/month for a family of 4), but I think I can do better.

Any of you who watch Jon and Kate + 8 regularly have probably seen the episode where Kate goes grocery shopping and explains that she spends $150/week to feed her family of 10. She is meticulous about clipping coupons and recording how much things cost at various stores so she gets the best deals, but that is still an insanely low number for 10 people. That's $15 per person for an entire week. In my new plan I'm giving us a luxurious $18.75 per person. 

Today was my first attempt. I finally gave into my OCD urges and started working on an Excel spreadsheet listing every grocery aisle of SuperTarget so that I can make my list in order. I actually took photos of the aisle signs with my cell phone today so I can ensure accuracy on my next trip. It's freaky, I know, but it's always such a bummer when you get to aisle 7 and realize you forgot something that was in aisle 2. 

I also clipped coupons for today's visit. I used to love clipping coupons and then I would always forget them when I went to the store and so I gave up. But not today. Not only did I bring the coupons, but I made little asterisks next to all of my coupon items and had the boys help me find them using the pictures on the coupons. Yes, it took longer, but if I get the boys onboard the coupon train, it will help me remember to bring them and encourage me to keep clipping them, even when saving 35 cents seems like a big waste of paper. 

So, the good news is that I saved $6 today with coupons. The bad news is that I didn't make my $75 goal, but I was close. Next time I'll do it.

Why am I going through all of this trouble? Is it really worth saving $25/week? Well, since that's $1300/year, I'm going to say yes. Plus, despite my interest in home cooking, I don't think I'll ever love to eat at home. I'd much rather put that $1300 toward Hawaii...or a weekend trip to Las Vegas...or a handful a really nice dinners in town...or, oh yeah, my steadily rising property taxes. Wait, aren't we in a recession?

The Spending Diet

As we near the end of birthday madness, I'm renewing my efforts to become a teensy bit more financially solvent...or rather, I'm trying to find ways I can save some cash without drastically altering my life. 

We're not exactly one of those families you see on Oprah yet -- you know, the ones who don't have health insurance, but the mom gets her hair and nails done every week...or the ones who eat out three times a day(!), but we aren't exactly sticking to the budget, either. 

The problem is really that we're playing catch-up, only not very well. When we moved into our new house about 14 months ago, we had fully anticipated selling our old one. It's in a nice neighborhood and just getting its taxable value would have been okay. But after 6 months on the market, we not only hadn't sold it, we had begun to accumulate credit card debt fueled by the notion that as soon as we sold the house, we could pay it off...just one more month, then another. 

Sadly, it's a common story these days. However, having been raised by a mother who became a CPA for fun (seriously, she's never actually worked as one), credit card debt is a source of great anxiety for me...not to mention a really huge drain on the family budget. 

So anyway, the bad news is that we still own the old house. The good news is that we started renting it out back in October, which allowed us to begin our game of catch-up...and that brings us to the present, where I'm trying to find ways to cut our living expenses so that we can A) pay down the credit cards, B) start saving some money, and C) travel. I realize my compulsion to travel works in direct opposition to saving money, but we all have our vices, right? Let's save that one for another blog entry.

Alright, so I know there are plenty of things I could do to save money - cancel the cable, for one. I read The Simple Family and admire Rachel and her efforts to live more simply. But as I said at the beginning, I'm trying to find ways to save without drastically altering my life (and as we know, Bravo, A&E and the Food Network are important to me). I realize this means it will take me longer to reach my financial goals, but this is something I can accept as long as I know I'm moving in the right direction. 

So my current focus is on how to cut our grocery bill. I am really bad with coupons - I like clipping them, but am notorious for forgetting them when I go to the store. I'm considering using a grocery delivery service purely because it eliminates the possibility of impulse buys -- and since I do my grocery shopping at SuperTarget, the impulse buys can get out of hand. 

I'm also looking for cheap meals I can make that my kids will eat...and I'm trying to break out of the spaghetti, mac 'n' cheese, chicken nuggets and repeat routine. Unfortunately, my little Owen fears unknown foods so unless it can be marketed as one of the aforementioned foods, it could be a battle. Is a diet of ramen and soup the answer? Is winning the lottery the answer? Is getting some willpower the answer? Maybe, maybe and probably...but I'm hoping one of you smart people has a more useful suggestion.