Friday, January 9, 2009

Want

The problem I always have with being able to live within our means has a lot more to do with managing my "wanting" impulses than my ability to budget (you know, subtract). For me, it's always like those old cartoons of an angel and a devil on your shoulders, "Don't buy that. You can't afford it." vs. "You deserve a little treat every once in awhile, don't you?" Also, I think that devil lives at Target. Seriously.

Last night, I got home from work kind of late. And SuperDad wasn't feeling very well. And we all wanted to just go get some takeout (Qdoba! Woot!). But then I looked in our cash envelope. $105 to last us until NEXT Thursday. And we're running out of groceries. And the van needs gas. Sure, we could go spend $20 on Qdoba, but then what? Then try to spend $20 less on groceries? Good luck. I know we'd end up borrowing from next pay period, and we all know where that leads.

So, I bit the bullet (what IS that expression anyway?), sat the kids down with a yogurt "appetizer" and made soup and french fries (seriously, cupboard is bare, people). And it felt good.

12 comments:

Carrie said...

You go girl!! I really need to try the "envelope" idea. We would probably save a lot more money that way!!

The devil does live at Target. Target is evil because I am SO tempted every time I go there!!

RonaldJ said...

If you really want to know, check out what Wikipedia has to say here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bite_the_bullet

Way to "stick to your guns" on the budget. ;-)

Lindsey J said...

Target, I love that evil big store with the big red circle. They named it correctly -- i feel so targeted when I'm in there. Compelled to spend. Good thing we don't have one in town.

But seriously, way to go on avoiding the Qdoba temptation. I also love Qdoba, despite being "meated" there (the vegetarian version of being glutened).

Li loves David said...

Way to fight off temptation, GFF! Good for you!

Anonymous said...

Good for you...

We wasted $27 on eating out tonight. (Which for our crew is relatively cheap, but still).

Bare cupboards make it so much easier to eat out... I'm trying to stock up when items are on sale so that there's always something handy! It's a slow process. Our last run to Costo netted us $501... but our freezer is full. *sigh*

Gluten free Kay said...

Yes, the devil does, indeed, live at Target! If I go there to buy a bar of soap, it ends up costing me $50 to get out of the store.

Jenny's Vegcafe said...

My cupboard is far from bare yet lately I have had "I want Qdoba" moments more than I should. In fact, I need to be up making stir fry right now when I really want to call hubby and tell him to bring home Taco Bell. Do I want Taco Bell? No, I just don't want to cook.
I'd better get at it.
Good for you. Yogurt, soup and fries- it sounds good to me.

Apostle to Suburbia said...

Good job on beating temptation! I have had many of those moments as well. But you never really miss those easy meals after you've conquered the pantry to come up with something else. I suppose it's fortunate for me we only have a McDonald's, Taco Bell and Subway in town. Nothing to tempt me there! Oh, I forgot Taco Time. Yes, I do miss their Crispy Bean Burritos, but that's a gf thing, so permanently off the menu!
My food budgeting is going through a major trial now. My husband has started a special diet which requires a bunch of protein drinks and a lot of lean meat. I recently figured out that our family of six would consume 60 pounds of meat/chicken/fish, etc., a month. That's going to change the shopping for sure.

Unknown said...

How much do I love Wikipedia? Lots!

Jennifer said...

Good job! That has to feel good. Maybe next pay day you could work a trip out to eat in the budget.

I restrained myself tonight too. I found some great sale items at Hickory Farms online. I love their stuff. They have huge gift baskets that were originally $50 on sale for $12. Yum. I started to check out. I got to the shipping page and my total was going to be around $20. I woke up and closed the window. I don't need to spend $20 on sausage and cheese when I have a roof that needs to be replaced. I just wish I could restrain myself every time I am tempted.

Unknown said...

Jennifer - you have no idea how many full online shopping carts I have floating around out there. I fill them way up and then close the window and shudder. ;)

huddtoo said...

Good for you!

I'm on a "grocery exile" right now. Haven't done a major shopping in weeks. I'm using up what is in the pantry. I buy milk, eggs, bread, fresh fruit/veggies as needed. Haven't done one in a while, it was needed! Granted when you are done, you have to do a big shopping to fill back up...but, I don't eat *everything* we have, just try to pare down, clean the freezer up some and the pantry.

I feel good that we are just eating what we have, rather than what we may want. I'd LOVE some pizza right now, but we'll wait till Friday.

And yes, Target = devil!! :)

Blog Widget by LinkWithin