I did pretty good on keeping to the budget for the kids presents. But we hosted Christmas Eve dinner and that's where everything went off into a ditch as far as the money goes.
Anyone else feel a little sick about how much money they've spent in the last few days just trying to get everything done in time?
I was bad. I don't use credit cards, but I tapped out all my cash. In fact, it's going to be interesting scraping up gasoline money for the car so I can get to work tomorrow.
The holiday isn't so bad, but we have MIL's birthday on December 30th and DD's birthday on January 1st. So, money for the holiday and birthday's can be hard.
Yea, I've learned a few things for next year. First, always plan for extra people. We had two more hungry teens than we planned on. So excited to see them, but I didn't budget the money for it.
Second - Some deals aren't deals. We made schnitzel for dinner. Basically, pork chops pounded thin, breaded and fried. I got a great deal on a max pack of pork chops earlier in December. Once we got started prepping them, it turns out they were just a mess. Too much fat, gristle and other weirdness to hold together as schitzel when we're cooking for 16 people, with two pieces per person. So I had to go out and buy another bunch of pork chops the night before so we could prep them. Not a great sale, but I got them at the best price I could considering how late it was.
The original max pack of pork will turn into stew meat for next month, so technically, that cost will just transfer onto January's food budget. But still...
We did okay... next year I plan to have an even better year, more prepared.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Frugal Village Forums
1.8M posts
47.5K members
Since 2001
A forum community dedicated to the frugal lifestyle and the enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about simple and green living, cost effective tips, life hacks, debt reduction, recycling, gardening, other homesteading techniques, and more!