Over Budget & Underfed

When I first moved to New York City six years ago, I barely had enough money for rent, let alone for food. There were many late nights at the office, not because of the amount of work I had on my plate, but because if I stayed late enough, I could have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on my plate compliments of Annaly. I never turned down an opportunity to dine with clients or go on a dinner date, and got ridiculously happy when mac and cheese or tuna fish went on sale at CVS. Frequent trips to Pennsylvania to visit my uncles kept me sane. Not only was their home a sanctuary away from the city, but they are both excellent cooks and entertainers. It was there that I was able to hone in my cooking skills and gain confidence in the kitchen, and my late evenings at the office were suddenly due to recipe digging online. Over time my pay rose to more livable levels and I was off the mac and cheese/tuna diet and Whole paycheck Foods became my grocery store of choice.

Fast forward to today. Cameron is a full-time MBA student and I haven't been working for the past three months. We are back to being poor college students, but somehow that adjustment is not going so well. My only comfort is that my fellow poor college student partners are having the same trouble as I am making the switch. I keep a meticulous budget and have forecasted the exact date that my savings account will hit critical levels (yes, I am Type-A). Luckily I got the Taste Carolina job, but as we all know, passion doesn't pay, well not at first anyway. So the goal is to spend less than $100/week on groceries. Cameron and I aim to eat 20 out of 21 meals from home each week. I pack him lunch every day and even send him with dinner if he's pulling a late night at school. Seems like we are on track, right? Nope, spending only $100/week is tough!

I got the idea for this blog yesterday after spending $139.15 at Target and Harris Teeter combined. As I combed the isles of each store, with my grocery list in hand, I thought I was being so good. Sure I was picking up an impulse item here or there, but enough to push me 40% over budget, no way. When I got home I was so mad at myself for going over budget that I decided to line up my purchases on the kitchen counter and reflect on where I went wrong.

First thing I decided to note was that buying essential items like paper towels and Ziploc baggies are budget killers. Ten dollars for six rolls of paper towels, geez! Second thing I decided to note was that there were quite a few pantry items that my semi-new kitchen had not yet acquired like balsamic vinegar, rice wine vinegar, hoisin sauce and ground cloves. However, upon further inspection I realize that these essentials and pantry items are not the reason I'm over budget (they are the excuses I feed Cameron). It's impulsion and laziness that breaks the bank week after week.

On an impulse I decided to get the makings for pumpkin pie and butterscotch/chocolate chip oatmeal cookies (dessert craving much?). While I was in that isle I figured I should get some marshmallows in case I need to whip up Rice Krispy Treats at some point in the coming weeks (you'd be surprised how often the Partners are asked to bake). I thought, what's another $1.19? Well, the ingredients I've already listed add up to over $15. Toss in the items that I bought out of laziness; pre-shredded parmesan cheese at $3.64 (I hear all of you foodies tisk tisking me), pre-chopped butternut squash at $3.99 (have you ever peeled and chopped a butternut squash? It's no easy task), frozen pizza on sale for $5.00, and frozen chicken pot pies for $0.54 each (c'mon, those were half price! I know they were on sale for a reason, but that and a glass of white wine (also a budget killer) is dinner when I'm on my own) and boom the bank is broke.

Aside: I joke about wine being a budget killer, but it really is. My girlfriends and I recently had a wine tasting party where the only wines we bought were under $5 from Trader Joes. Believe it or not there are actually some drinkable wines for under $5 from TJs. If you don't have a TJs in your area then I recommend the Wine Cube from Target - $15.99, and its the equivalent of four bottles. Okay, so I have no intention of cutting wine from my shopping list so back to the budget discussion...

Other than calming my feelings of guilt over going over budget, again, what else did I learn by putting my budget woes in black and white for all of my friends and family? Well for one thing, all this stress just makes me drink more wine, which kills the budget. Therefore, lesson one: stress less. Lesson two: stick to the list. Lesson three: eat dessert before grocery shopping. If you have any tips for staying on budget, please share. It looks like I could use some help.