Last week, I budgeted for a party.
It’s a good thing.
Food = $223.20
Alcohol = $224.46
Eating out = $46.16
Formula = $25.00
We were under budget on food, even with having to run out for an ingredient or two at the last minute. However, my father picked up the crudite tray, cheese tray, and cake, and he hasn’t told me what I owe him yet. So I either came under budget there because of his generosity, or I’m probably over by about $80.
Dan blew the alcohol budget out of the water. I should know better than to send my oeophile husband to the state store unchaperoned. He bought a bottle of red wine, three bottles of white wine, and a bottle of scotch. And I made him go back for another big bottle (reasonably priced) of red. Plus, we got two cases of beer, the increasingly rare (because they aren’t shipping to Western PA anymore) Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA and the standby Yuengling.
Of course, we’ll have plenty of wine and beer for a while.
This coming week is Thanksgiving shopping (we will go over to my in-laws, which means I can probably get away with bringing mashed potatoes or cookies), and probably some odds and ends. And we’ll need a Costco run soon, too.
Food = $75
Costco = $100
Eating out = $50
I promise to get my husband to hue closer to these totals!
Who’s more of a foodie spendthrift, you or your partner?
Let’s see how everyone else did!
* Emily Levenson
* Dairy-Free Cooking
* Test Kitchen Tuesday
* Acquired Tastes
* Fit Flexitarian
* Warm As Pie
* Katy Rank Lev
* My Inner Healthy
* Little Blue Hen
* xox, b
* What da Health?
* Project Food Budget 2.0
* Ignition Nutrition
* A Nice Heart and a White Suit
* Because Hobbies Happen
* Primary Focus Health Coaching
* Chicken Tender
* Fresh…A New Chapter
* Whole Living Gal
* Chandeleah
* Two Eggs Over Easy
Red Pen Mama 
I definitely hear you on the partner blowing the budget sometimes! We went grocery shopping as a family a few weeks ago and spent much too much money, but we bought a lot of things we still aren’t out of yet, so maybe it was a good thing in the end? I still haven’t decided. He’s much better than me in thinking long-term for pantry purchases.
I am getting better about honestly assessing what we need for the pantry. That’s something this project is helping with, no doubt. Which is good, because I don’t end up with 10 cans of garbanzo beans or 5 boxes of penne.
I am definitely the more spendy one at the grocery store. If The Hubster has to go, he gets the one or two items on the list and then gets out (he hates grocery shopping).
Though, he is much worse at the eating out budget. He opts for eating out over cooking every day. So maybe it’s a wash?
I definitely spend more at the grocery store because I’ll add a recipe in my head or pick up convenience food. Making a good list and sending Dan keeps me honest and keeps our costs down.
The state store is clearly another matter!
We both struggle, constantly. Ha. My husband LOVES spendy Belgian beers (and I do, too, when I’m not pregnant!) like La Fin du Monde (about $10/bottle), and he will pick up thirty dollars worth of cheese (which I can’t eat) and then another 10 dollars worth of dairy-free dips with 20 dollars of expensive olives (for me!) and the fanciest crackers ever if he goes to the store alone. And then sometimes I do the same. So we’ve decided that it’s best if we go together to talk each other out of our over-indulgences. (We have to keep each other honest!!!) 🙂