February Finances

As I have written before, I am continuing to track my monthly grocery/household expenses, as well as eating out expenses. My goal for 2018 is to bring the monthly grocery/household expenses down to $175.00 a month, and to keep the eating out tab as low as possible.

Our groceries/household expenses for February edged up from the January figure. We spent $168.57 on food and $17.49 on household (such as laundry detergent, toilet paper) for a total of $186.06. Some of our grocery expenses were higher due to the circumstances of this month. Warren was juggling Symphony, rehearsals, day to day life, and my being homebound from surgery. That meant more groceries were purchased at Kroger, often quickly at the end of a long day, and less at Aldi.

There is a price differential between the two stores.

Being the math geek I sometimes am, I immediately calculated what we have to hit monthly for the rest of the year to come in at $175.00 per month. The formula would be $345.50 (the money spent to date) plus 10 months at x  divided by 12 months to equal $175.00.

Solve for x. 

And the answer is?

$175.45.

How great is that? I can hit $175.00 a month by spending $175.00 a month from here on out.

Eating out was only slightly lower this month. Warren had a series of rehearsals and a concert out of town early on in February  and spent some money there ($10.00 over 3 days). We took my parents out to lunch for their wedding anniversary, with our share of the meal coming to $14.58 with tip. The monthly total came to $38.11 (counting tips). It would have been under $24.00 but for the anniversary meal and under $14.00 but for the out of town rehearsals and concert. I point that out because out of town rehearsals/concerts are infrequent. The meal out with my parents was slightly different. As my mom's dementia deepens, her comfort level in restaurants decreases. She is happiest now at McDonald's and Bob Evans. Out of concern for mom, we went to Bob Evans, which ranks really, really low on my "let's eat out" list. (Who am I kidding? But for mom, I would not be eating there at all.) With my still not being "out and about" this month, I predict we'll really drop the cost of eating out (which, remember, includes takeout as well).

I am back at work (thanks to my trusty scooter) and have even ventured with Warren into Kroger and Aldi (and Meijer), so we can share more of the grocery shopping once again. I predict we'll hit the $175.00 mark in March without even breaking into a sweat.

March came in like a lion, so it should go out like a lamb. I'm hoping to keep the financial front as meek as a lamb as well.