Lost All Self-Control At The Grocery Store

Yup, I lost my self-control. I went to the grocery store with a big long list and only bought 3/4 of the items but my bill was still $135. That's way above the $20-$30 that I could have spend on just necessities. I used the 'stocking up' excuse to rationalize my extra purchases. For example: I wanted cashews. They are very expensive in those tiny little cans so I bought the giant bucket for $10. I'll be eating cashews for quite a while. Soda was buy 2 cases get one free so of course I HAD to buy 3. I shouldn't be drinking that much soda. Definitely a want, not a need. My favorite brand of ice cream, Dreyers, just made their containers smaller. They were 1.75 (I forget the unit of measure) and now they are 1.5 containers. They look sooo small and they are the same price as before. I bought Safeway brand instead which was buy one get one free. That was not a 'need'. Granola bars were on close-out for $1.50 a box so I HAD to buy 4 boxes. Popcorn, buy one get one free. Bagels and Hawaiian bread...just wants. And watermelon, not on sale for $7. But I NEEDED it along with the apple sauce, pudding cups, honey, and bittersweet chocolate chips that I eat like candy.

Looking back on my purchases I see that I bought a lot of snack food and no real main dishes. Interesting. Well, if I can make 2 chicken breasts and a package of hot dogs last for 2 weeks supplemented with tuna or cheese spaghetti, then I will be on vacation and then it will be June. That means I will only have gone over my food budget by $35. Then if I buy a Fry's gift card for $300 and get the $30 bonus I will have only over-spent by $5.