Leaving Broke Behind

Broke: Alright, no more messing around it's time to get with it, act right and leave "broke" in the past. Every latte, manicure and can of diet Dew counts. So to make my money longer and my savings account stronger I'm starting with the obvious: COUPONS. That's right cutting back on the grocery bill without sacrificing the diet, vino or cheese. How so? Well Sunday I sat down and made a list...just like Santa...only a thinner sexier female version of Santa, I made my list. There are two competing grocery stores near me so I went through both fliers looking for foods that applied to my new zone diet lifestyle and wrote down which store had what I wanted on sale. Then i looked through the rest of the circulars (quickly, cause this is not how I want to spend a Sunday or any other day) and ripped out (yes note my lack of scissors) any corresponding coupons. I went to the store and bought what was on the list plus 1 crusty roll (that fresh bread smell suckers me in every time, one roll, not a loaf, I'll count it as a cheat meal and keep it moving). Ok, I got a couple other things not on the list, salad dressing for DBF (he was with me and chucked it in the cart) and some Helluva Good Cheese. Why might you ask: BECAUSE It was HALF OFF!!! OH yeah, so I substituted the cheese on my list for that one, it was cheaper and I like the brand. I wanted to get more but when I asked DBF if we could freeze cheese he made an unforgivable face.

Oh, a note on cheese, don't get the store brand... it's gross. Helluva and Cracker Barrel are reasonable, but nothing beats a fresh cheese, a real cheese, a triple cream Pierre Robert but I digress. The point is, somethings are worth spending a little extra for and when you can get THOSE at a good price...celebrate ;) (one caveat...government cheese can make some good baked mac n cheese)

All in all we saved $42 on our $100 bill and then...we split the rest :) So that's $30 for groceries this week (yes, I'm sure someone is saying it could be cheaper....give me time people give me time).

I do still need to hit up the other store for Turkey Bacon (if you are into this and in Boston, StopnShop has it on sale for $2), I KNOW I can freeze this so will buy a few packs and be good for a few weeks. All in all am looking at $50 at the most for groceries this week ($5 for the bacon, DBF should chip in, and then extra for any special ingredients)

Alcohol has it's own budget and to stretch that I picked up a few bottles of Trader Joe brand wine. The Zin is amazing if you let it air ( PS if you have guests just put it in a carafe and they'll never know it's 3 Buck Chuck). I also got some TJ Sav Blanc, mix it with creme de cassis, and suddenly your hooch has turned into a KIR, so french, so sophisticated, so GOOD!!!