Pantry Eat Up and More

Hello friends! Yes, I actually have a post that is not a Pot of Possibilities update!

Our oldest daughter came for a week long visit last week. That causes extra spending. Groceries and some expenses to enjoy the town. As a result of that and just a few days left before my husband's paycheck, I decided to keep the grocery shopping on Sunday lean and use up what we already had on hand!

This week we have used up:

2 buns

frozen corn and edamame

fresh blueberries

cilantro 

hummus

green onions

2 apples

shredded carrots

tomato

can of black beans

steak fries

tomato sauce 

half a can of refried beans

three frozen everything bagels

3/4 lb ground beef

skirt steak

I meal planned around these items and made several of them into my lunches this week. I did have to supplement at the grocery store for a few things and to stock up on some normal needs. I spent less than $50 on Sunday and will go back for a full grocery run again on Thursday! It does feel good to use up things already purchased as well as to shop from the pantry. 

In other news, we received a check from USAA for $538.48. This is apparently a refund for a extended vehicle protection plan we purchased on our used truck. We made the purchase of that in 2011. USAA did a quality review and found their EVP products did not meet member expectations. I don't believe we ever made a claim with them and the vehicle was paid off a long time ago. Interesting business decision on their part. We are grateful for any money we weren't expecting. 

We should probably put this money into the Pot of Possibilities, but we are traveling by car next month and don't have a lot set aside for gas, food and hotels specifically, so just might use this money! Once the trip is over any extra we didn't use could go into the Pot! 

Have you received any unexpected cash recently or eaten down your pantry stores? 

Reflection on August Spending

I think August has to be our spendest month so far this year. As many, our spending came to nearly a complete halt earlier this year with less travel, eating out and shopping in stores. We did a little online shopping as usual. August was the month that found us traveling across the country to drop our youngest daughter off at college for her junior year. 

Our daughter was pretty well stocked with the necessities, but there are always things that need to be replenished. More shampoo and laundry, and a replacement razor for the one left at home. Because we drove our van, we had fuel, meals, snacks and hotel costs to cover. 

The biggest expense was tuition for our youngest daughter. We wrote a check (actually sent it electronically) for $9011.72. Most of that was from cash saved, including our tax return. We did take a little more out from her ESA (Educational Savings Account), too. Because of the way the school did billing for books and a couple other things we owe another $947 later this month.

Our cat was diagnosed late in July with reduced kidney function and was put on prescription food. She did not like that change, so we were buying other canned foods that were more kidney friendly to mix in to get her eating the prescription food. At this point, I think we have been pretty successful and may be able to return some cans of food we stocked up for a refund. We also had another vet visit to have her numbers checked. BUN returned to normal but Creatinine levels went up slightly. We go back again later this month to have them checked again. This is becoming a $150 increased cost to our budget each month.

We live in a hurricane prone areas of the country. Thus this time of year we always start stocking up. This month we decided to add a portable griddle to our household to create more self sufficiency. The griddle was $130 shipped. After using it on a plastic folding table and noticing some heat damage, we have now invested in a stand for it, another $85. We also bought some grilling tools that we didn't have on hand either for another $20. We actually may grill out more with this purchase than we originally thought when we bought it. It will serve at least two purposes this way. 

How was your August spending? Was it your most expensive month this year?