Eek and Groceries

Eek!  Four days have gone by since I last blogged.  Howthehell did that happen?

Admittedly, I typically honor an Internet-free weekend to give my eyes and fingers and technology a breather; they all get major work-outs during the week.  Even so, I last wrote on Friday and here it is Tuesday.  Wow.  Time flies.

Credit

It was a good weekend:

• Games with friends on Friday night overlooking a busy waterway;
• A cleaning day Saturday, picking up where I left off on Friday, and I also joined Weight Watchers under the proverbial wire to take advantage of their $1.00 joining fee special (a relative is sponsoring me on this; she wanted a buddy, knew I couldn't afford it on my own, and asked for my assistance in exchange for her footing the bill);
• A get-together with some beloved gal pals on Sunday, which started off with a thirty-five-minute trek taking two hours thanks to one wrong turn and horrific traffic, and ended with one of us happily passed out on a gravity chair; always the sign of an excellent gathering.

Yesterday was a standard "work day" for me as I continue my job search, then I attended my first Weight Watchers meeting last night and got the skinny on the hooey of the new Points Plus program, which I like already; it makes sense to me, especially since it allows me to indulge in a glass of Cupcake wine, should I choose to do so.

My challenge is going to be my grocery budget.  I have gotten my grocery bill down to $30.00 or less per week.  No joke.  That is an average which includes the additional, less frequent expense of toilet paper, paper towels and cleaning supplies.  I always come home with proteins, dairy, condiments, spices, carbohydrates and fruit (my last shop, I came home with four pounds of bananas to accommodate my daily smoothie and two pounds of cherries).  I will also buy potatoes on occasion.  I rarely buy wine of any sort - even an $8.00 bottle of Cupcake wine - because it will put me over budget, and I'm not going to go over budget just so I can have a glass of wine at night; I'll stick to water, thanks.

What I am not good about buying, even though I love so many of them, are vegetables.  They tend to be so expensive that by the time I get to them, having just grabbed bananas and cherries or grapes, I am at the top of my budget.  I have a coupon for $1.00 off a large container of Annie's Organics greens, so I will be sure to get a large container when I go shopping on Thursday.  By the way, I only go grocery shopping every two weeks.

On Points Plus, five servings of fruits and vegetables are expected to be consumed daily, and rightfully so.  Not only that, as long as they're whole (not dried or otherwise re-routed to change their basic construction), they're free; they don't tally points.  I love that.  I just need to figure out how to get everything I need and not go over my budget, which has near-zero wiggle room.

Any thrifty suggestions?  I would be grateful.  Tomorrow, I'll blog about the thriftiness I've discovered in myself since being unemployed.