Season is changing, it is getting cold. I am back to work...

It is so tempting to update my wardrobe with something fresh. But I know I have to fight it - these things are very expensive. I'll exercise restraint, sit on it until there is a sale, than maybe allow myself one.







Which one do you think is the nicer one?

Since I came back from our vacation I cooked dinner every day. I was so proud of myself... until I added up grocery expenses.

If I think of it in terms of "per month" it is very high.
I buy quality food (organic whenever possible) and mainly shop at the farmers market(extremely expensive) so it adds up.
There are no coupons for these things. I don't know how to cut it.

Oct.20-Oct.27
Groceries $220
cat food $8
pharmacy $9
gift for moms birthday $200
1 tequila, 1 contreau, 1 wine $88
1 brunch out $41
new cell phone $194
keychain $6
basic pearl earrings(wardrobe staple) $75
wireless headphones ( to hear TV in every room when cleaning/cooking) - we only have 1 tv in the house $120
total: $971 per week
That does not even include utilities/bills.
And I thought I was doing so well and was so restrained until I added it up and saw the number!!!

I am back from our month in Europe - and even with 25 nights of free accommodation between free hotel rooms(reward points) and friends we only had to pay for 5 nights of hotel rooms.
Yet our cost came to 10.7K!!!!!
It is a lot. We had fun though, and are inspired by what we saw to modify our lifestyle in many ways. I will write on it in more detail - it will be my big "Quality of Life" project to take place over the next few months.

Anyway, this time I was able to keep track of cost by using only one credit card and only one debit card for cash withdrawals. I also added up the cost of tickets we bought prior to leaving.

So now I really need to save more - to build back spent reserves. But there are some changes I want to make that will cost some money. It is always a balancing act.