Savings this week

Our budget for groceries was $200/week (including diapers) back when we were both employed - I've been reducing that as much as I possibly can - only shopping if/when I can get a good deal.

This week I spent
<$20 on produce/groceries/papers (Saved $0) $43.16 on gasoline (saved .36 vs. TX average gas prices) $15.16 on clothes (saved $10.01) $6 at Chick-fil-a (saved $3 with coupon for free kids meal) $30 on date night @ Olive Garden (saved $4 with rollatini coupon) All in all, I only "saved" $17.36 this week. But I also didn't spend money - which counts for something.

Chad did a great job spoiling me for my belated Mother's day without spending much.
2 hour massage (prepaid @ massage envy, so I only had to pay a tip)
trip to the chiropractor (paid for by insurance)
Local coffee shop for coffee and a muffin and hanging out (around $10)
Lunch and Dinner above (we used coupons for both!)
We just hung out today, and I had a chance to take a glorious 3 hour nap.
Cori babysitting kids in the afternoon, and PandA in the evening (free childcare!)

I gotta start somewhere! :-)
M

More date night ideas!

http://smallnotebook.org/2009/05/09/20-pocket-change-date-night-ideas/

http://loveactually-blog.blogspot.com/

grocery spreadsheet

Here it is!

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=rBmT9dpxau8A0S1HUk9nAsg

Now its time to bathe the kids. :-)

Thank you Erin!

I found a spreadsheet that is going to help me track my savings on Hot Coupon World. I am a firm believer on not re-inventing the wheel so this was created by another CMO somewhere and of all of the spreadsheets I've found, I like this one the best. I just got it posted on http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=rBmT9dpxau8A0S1HUk9nAsg - just so y'all can see it too (and encourage me).

I think the thing I like least about being CMO is the feeling of being an island. This blog helps me to reach out and get the feeling of accountability.

Also, thank you for the website and book info on how to make baby foods.

I just printed out a $4 off per person coupon for Olive Garden - yay for date night coupons! :-)

Off I go to get my spreadsheet started. I went to Walmart this morning to pick up a couple of extra papers for coupons and some produce, so I can get some numbers in there.

How do I keep track of this?

You can't improve what you can't measure --Jeff Hook, Fellowship Technologies

My former CEO used to say this all the time. It was the cornerstone for my ability to consult churches and help them get a higher Return on Ministry at the churches. We would measure the effacacy of what they were doing so they could make informed decisions on where/what was improving and how to proceed.

Now I am the CMO at my house (Chief Maternal Officer). That was the only title I could think of that encompassed all of the jobs I do for our houshold. I have goals - but I need to be sure to measure where I am so I can see what works and what doesn't.

Goals for this quarter (April - June)
1. Increase Chad's fruit/veggie intake to 3 servings a day + Hybrid vitamins
2. Decrease grocery/diaper spending to <$100/week
3. Study homemade baby food; pros, cons, methods

I am going to measure #1 in the calendar. I know I can't make Chad take his vitamins - but I can make sure they are within his reach. I also pack his lunch and dinner each day for work - so I can track what he eats there too. I want him around for a long time.

I am struggling with a way to measure #2. I know I can measure the total that I spend, but I want to build an excel spreadsheet/program to help me track trends for the next quarter. I think I'm going to end up writing out the scope of the program and work in from there.

#2 is going to be tracked at the Macro level with my participation in the ChaChing-challenge. Each Friday or Saturday, I'll post about what deals I cashed in on this week.

Not sure how I am going to organize info from #3 yet. It's a work in progress. Probably in a notebook, or another blog.

Do you have any tips or tricks to share?

Thanks for your support and prayers as we go on this journey as a family!
M