But I did NOT post a MPM this week.
DH was out of town most of the week.
Daughter works evenings, 4 nights a week, so if she doesn't like what I am serving she either makes her own dinner or skips it and eats at work or eats my meal as a leftover if any is left when she comes home.
#2 son often doesn't eat at all, since he will gorge himself as soon as he gets home from school or he'll not like what I am serving and just do without.....even though he is hungry. Oh to be a teen again and be able to do that....
Some nights DH and I are the only ones who eat my dinners. If that happens and we are left with lots of leftovers, we then eat those leftovers another night. Since I could have potentially made meals all week and had NO ONE except me here to eat them, there would not have been room in the fridge for all the leftovers.
So I just said screw it to the meal planning this week.
Besides I was just tired of cooking and thought I would enjoy the break for that chore.
However with no plan in place I was flying without a net. After meal planning for going on 1.5 yrs, that is a scary place to be for me.
But it didn't seem that big of a problem until Friday afternoon.
That's when I just went plum loco and the wheels went flying off the truck.
Yah see....Price Chopper NE had fresh Maine Lobster this week for $5.99lb. A most excellent price for lobster in this landlocked state situated squarely outside of New England.
After ignoring the siren song of those yummy water bugs for the better part of a week, I finally couldn't hold out any longer and jumped into the car to head to PC.
And I bought 6 lobsters. Say hello to my little friends.....
I heart lobster!
Nom, Nom, Nom....................
Since daughter was off to work and #2 son had filled up on 89¢ burritos at Taco Bell, I threw the other 4 in the fridge. They are destined for lobster rolls or lobster Newburg or something in the next couple of days.
The damage to the grocery bill for 8.70lbs. of lobster?
$52.11.
Eek!
I also picked up a few things while at PC that I found good prices on. And I used No coupons. **Sluggy hangs head....**
1 x Tortillas--had $1 instant savings Peelie on it=$2.29
4 x Shredded Cheese on sale BOGO($2.99) plus 2 bags had $1 instant savings Peelies on them=$3.98
2 x 10lb. Red Potatoes on sale BOGO($3.99)=$3.99 **Not Pictured
1 x Gallon of Milk=$3.15**Not Pictured
The cheese was $1 a bag, the tortillas(something we needed)were $2.29 & the rangoons were half price.
Not too bad in the savings dept.
Grand Total spent with lobsters.....$75.51
I saved $22.96 on the groceries and $26.10 on the lobster for a savings total of $49.06.
I went to the local market earlier this week for ricotta, deli cheese and frozen veggies(all on sale) and spent $17.73.
So my grocery spending for this week is $93.24.
Considering the only other money I've spent this whole month of April was $4.80 last week for milk at the convenience store I don't feel so awful.
My April spending is at $98.04 and there are exactly 2 weeks left in the month.
Even though I'll be picking up some more grated cheese Saturday at Weis, I'm still well below my $250 monthly budget for food/toiletries.
I think this got the Splurge thing out of my system now! It just goes to show that by being frugal for the most part, you can allow yourself some splurges now and again and still stay on track. It's when the splurges start to outnumber the frugal times that leads you into trouble.
Would I have still spent $52 on lobsters if I had spent more of my April budget to this point?
Maybe.....it all depends on how much was left in the monthly budget or if I had extra funds I could cover the purchase outside of the food budget(would NEVER put this on a credit card!). I might have bought fewer lobsters if the money was tighter.
But it wasn't.....because I am frugal in most everything else.
Do I regret now spending that much on a luxurious want?
Not really.....I didn't put the purchase on credit and I have more than enough cash to cover it.
It was weird however spending that much at one time, on 1 purchase. I don't think I've spent $75 in a single transaction in ages....lol
Sluggy
Slug, no don't regret it, I spent $40 on lake Erie perch for a fish fry on Good Friday and would do it again in a heart beat, nom, nom, nom!
ReplyDeleteGood for you! I think people lose track on their frugal journey and think it's ALL about the money. But really, it is (or should be) about saving as much money as possible where it doesn't matter so that you can splurge and enjoy yourself where it does matter.
ReplyDeleteEvery now and then - a frugal girl needs to splurge on something. Like me telling my less than frugal pals what I spend on my jeans. Even on sale, it's high (close to $40 a pair), but I only do that 2-3 times a year.
ReplyDeleteI crack me up--I just thought--wow what big crawfish!! Yeah, I have a cajun mom and I'm from southwest Louisiana. I've never had lobster but I sure would like to some day. I think it's okay to spend a little more than we normally would just as long as we don't make it a habit.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy every bite of those lobsters. Life isn't worth living if you can't splurge once in a while!
ReplyDeleteMmmmm, what a great reason for a well-deserved splurge! :)
ReplyDeleteLOL @ Sheila. I'll take crawfish over lobster any ol' day. :)
ReplyDelete