Day 2 Concludes

Today wasn't so bad.  I need a break from Ramen noodles for lunch so I made tuna salad to make a sandwich at work tomorrow.  The generic cheese nips at the Dollar Store that I purchased for $1.35 are quite disgusting.  They left this film in my mouth that was horrid!  Those are now in the trash.  My dog wouldn't even eat one.  I had divided the box up into five snack size baggies.  Probably because my only snack item is now gone, I was craving something salty this evening.  I ended up snacking on a few chips and hummus that I found in the fridge.  I'll have to calculate the cost to add that into my budget.  I foresee this mishap has likely putting me slightly over my $21, considering I only had 92 cents left.

Day 2

Still missing my dunkin donuts coffee with caramel and cream.  Mistake was made today in effort to "soften" up my bread a little bit, I nuked it.  Yeah, that was gross.  It made it kind of doughy.  I cooked my egg last night and had it in a ziploc baggie to be better prepared.  Ramen noodles and saltines are on the menu for lunch.  I thought I was going to have to go to a training class Wednesday and Thursday, which would require taking a sack lunch while watching everyone else dine at the Mexican Restaurant or Chilis, but thankfully, mine was scheduled for the following week, whew!  Dodge the bullet on that one.  I don't think I would have been able to sit through that.  What I find myself missing the most is fresh produce.  I always have fresh pineapple and grapes available but there was no way my budget would have allowed fresh pineapple, maybe a sprig of grapes.  It's sad that you can't eat healthy on a low budget and you can forget buying organic if your income is limited.  I couldn't even afford to get any fresh fruits or veggies from the farmer's market.  It's sad that it cost so much to eat a healthier diet.  Not that I am a health freak by any means but what I do eat and like, I couldn't afford this week.

Conclusion of day 1

It wasn't too bad.  My sweet tooth was really missing a treat today, but I survived.   I ended up eating an egg sandwich for dinner.  It was okay.  I didn't have enough money for cheese but with spices from the cupboard, I was able to jazz it up a bit.  The cheaper bread that I bought at wal-mart, while it has a use by date of October 5th, doesn't seem as fresh or soft as the Sara Lee bread I prefer.  I think I will grow tiresome of Ramen noodles for lunch so I may have to switch it up a bit mid week.

Day 1

First day hasn't been too bad.  I woke up late, so I didn't get to cook my egg for my breakfast sandwich.  I normally don't eat breakfast until around 10 and I'm not sure I can cook the egg in the microwave (I may need to google that).  I may need to cook the egg the night before and put it in a baggie.  I made my coffee this morning, foregoing my Dunkin Donut Caramel Latte (oh how I missed thee this morning).  I'm sitting at my desk about to eat my lunch, which consists of Ramen noodles, crackers and a glass of diet coke.  I forgot to account for my water club dues at work.  I pay $5 a month to participate in the water club, so I'll need to deduct $1.25 from the little bit that I had saved ($2.17) for my ICECF (In Case of Emergency Chocolate Fund).

I think I'm ready to go...

I made my final grocery store trip today and have spent a total of $18.83.  I think have a couple of dollars left over will keep my anxiety at bay.  The following will be on the menu in some form or fashion over the next seven days.
Loaf of bread- $1.18
Dozen eggs- $0.94
Pack of six Ramen Noodles- $0.99
3 cans of tuna @ $0.39 each
Mayo- $1.44
Coffee- $2.50
Diet Coke two 2 liters @ $1.19 each
Peanut butter $1
Jelly $1.69
Ravioli 2 cans @ $1 each
Box of cheese crackers $1.35
Four pack of pudding $1
Box of crackers $1.19

Trying to be prepared...

I have in the last few days, picked up some needed items off my grocery list from the Dollar Store and Kroger.  I have a little over $8 left to spend and where will depend upon what my weekly ads reveal in the Sunday paper.  Who has what on sale and for how much.  This past week was a hectic work week for me, just really busy.  I ate out for lunch three days and dinner twice, not to mention my morning coffee daily from Dunkin Donuts.  I know there will be none of that next week as the budget won't allow it.  I am going to try to have everything planned out by Sunday evening.

Lots of thoughts and some panic

For those that don't know me, which is everyone who reads this blog from class, let me just say I'm somewhat neurotic as well as OCD and an extreme creature of habit.  I say I'm neurotic in the sense that I have little quirks and issues that most of my close friends just come to understand, nothing crazy just things like I'm weird about where I'll park/leave my car when we go downtown Nashville to eat or for drinks and don't even get me started on issues I have with restaurants and what factors I consider whether or not I will dine somewhere.  Things like everything has a place and when you use something or borrow something you should put it back in that place, I have a fear of my house catching on fire so I unplug just about everything before I leave for work in the morning, etc.  I like to have a sense of order and definitely have a routine.  I'm already panicking about my morning coffee and the massive amounts of diet coke I consume weekly.  What is said is that I'm prioritizing my beverage expense and then using what's left to buy food.  I'm thinking I could eat Ramen noodles for a week for lunch and dinner as long as I had diet coke.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do about chocolate as I don't think it's in the budget but I'm not sure I can go forego my sweet tooth.  Lets hope my groceries on Sunday don't amount to just coffee grounds, diet coke and reeeses peanut butter cups!!  :-)