Frugal Grocery Shopping List

February 2009

Well, I am sorry to be putting this in so late, but we were a little busy during the month of February.

I have started to get some calls from the National Park Service, it will be interesting to see where we finally head up. We also were checking out campgrounds in the area, unfortunately, there really aren't that many that can accommodate us, with the camper (needs to stay on the truck - WHY, I don't know), the trailer (most said, can't be with the camper has to be in storage, and that of course cost extra!), and the extra car! UGGG! So we will stick with the housing situation for another couple of months, then decide where to go from there.

It is interesting to note, that the cost for a camp site was the same as our apartment, actually it cost MORE in most cases, with most of the camp sites having electricity costing extra! That is just plain stupid - If it costs $1000 for a month at executive suites for a bedroom, living room and kitchen (and all the utilities included), WHY oh WHY would I pay $900 plus electric? I have to bring my own rig? Anyway, as you can see, this area is just not RV friendly, and hi-tailing it out of here is our goal.

So we spent a bunch of time checking out campgrounds but then worked out a deal with the people we were renting from, a slightly higher price for the rent ($50) more, because we do not have a rental agreement with them. But it is still better than moving, and going to a campground.

So we went to Outdoor Express, paid our bill for the camper being fixed (no more possible leaks in the slide area) and headed to our storage area. We will be an only one car family for the next two months, but as we did that before, we were not worried about it. I would either drive Sasha to work, or I would stay home. Most of the time, I found I could drive him in, then go to a place, have something to eat, and then hit the library. But as you will see in our expenses, our meals to go got quite high. Sasha was also eating more often at work, so I would buy stuff for him there as well.

February 27th: My Mom's Birthday! Happy Birthday MOM!

February was not too bad, except for the big old federal taxes! Yikes, this is the first time we have had to pay in almost 12 years of marriage. We have always had write-offs, but this year, no write-offs of value, no house and we did not take enough out of Sasha's paycheck. But I have heard from others, that it is better to have to pay, rather than get a refund. A refund is giving money to the government without getting the interest; or another way to put it, we were able to get interest from that money for over 12 months, and now we have to pay.

But if we took out that amount $2,734 from the total, then that would be $1678.51, which was a bit higher than last month, but not too bad.

This is the last month for the rent being paid, next month we will have a slightly higher rent (no rental agreement, but at least it is not as high as $750 that they were talking about.) The utilities are still included, so not too bad. Or like the owner stated, $500 for rent and $50 for water. Although we do not spend that much in water, so I figure all the money as rent.

We seemed to spend a bunch in food, both eating in and eating out. I think because we had a bunch of processed or ready-made food rather than staples like we normally had. Our living condition is such that we are making food at Sasha's work in the evenings rather than making it at the house. We can not eat at the house, the smoke is just not good for us.

I definitely spent more at Costco, more than I would if we lived in the camper. There is no way that I would be getting huge, honking fruit juices, 2 - 3 pounds of frozen veggies, and big boxes of burritos. Nor would we be getting the pistachio chips and Kashi Bars. We might get granola bars, but the Kashi ones were over $20! It was crazy. But they have become our breakfast, so I guess the way to figure it, we won't be eating them once we are back in the camper.

We have been eating out a bunch because I can not go into Sasha's work during the day, so we can't eat lunch together anymore. I think we over-did it, me going into work with him, so we have stopped and I drive him into work, and then we eat dinner together. But that means that I eat out. Panera Bread and Corner Bakery have both been big draws because of the free wifi, although I do not need that, but it is nice to have. When there are too many people at the place, then I switch to the Sprint card.

I also bought some clothes this month, going the eco-friendly route, recycling clothing. I went to a thrift shop and got a new pair of jeans, a pair of sneakers, a new purse, and a couple of other things. The jeans would have been about $30, got for $7, the sneakers would have been about $140, got for $11, and the purse is a Vera Bradley, probably about $40-50, I got it for $8. Since I went to Salvation Army, if I had gone on Wednesday, I would have gotten everything off for 25%. But I was not there then, and quite honestly, if it is there now, I am getting it now. Being tall, got to get jeans when you can, and if they come in my size - well, that is just golden.

We also fixed the slide on the camper, that was the "camper services". Money well spent, not only did they fix it, but they also stored the camper for 3 months. So not bad. We have to totally clean the camper out before we move in, but that should not be a problem.

We paid a bunch for postage, as Sasha sold a few things and we had to pay for the shipping. But again, this was not a problem because he was able to sell some good things. And of course, the health insurance, same as always.

Taxes were the biggest expense, we hope that next year that will go down (it better, the salary is going down too.)

Check out Next Month: In March, possibly some good news from NPS?