Managing Your Own Debt = Freedom

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Jim Fitzsimmons

I was thinking about all these “debt consolidation” companies and I keep on thinking: what a scam. Far as I can tell, all they do is tell you to stop making the minimums on your  debts, and make the payments to them for 6-9 months or so. Then they negotiate with your creditors and negotiate a deal with the funds that they have accumulated. The banks or creditors usually go for it as its better for them to get some money than no money.

I guess for those that for some this seems like an easy way to handle  or manage your debt. It sounds great, right? You don’t have to pay back your entire debt, only a part of the money you owe. It’s advertised as you being the winner, but are you?

If you stop paying your bills for a year or close, the calls will start – you might even get sued (you did sign a cardholder agreement at one time after all) and your credit rating is in the crapper with all the bills you didn’t pay which means getting a new loan or even renting an apartment might very well be difficult in the future.

I’d like to think a better way would to be the debt snowball. Who cares if it takes a long time to pay off your debt? Yes, you could have paid for a small island in FIJI with all the interest you’ve paid over the years, but it will keep your credit score in relatively good condition and I think the best part is: you will have paid off the debt by yourself with just one ingredient: hard work.

The sense of accomplishment you get from banging off the debt by yourself far outweighs any savings that you might see by using credit counseling or debt reduction scams.  Will it be hard? Yup.

One could argue that your creditors don’t really care. They knew in advance that there’s  a chance you’ll default and they’ve factored it in to the bigger picture. They’ll sell the debt to a debt collection agency for pennies compared to what you owe and the debt collector won’t leave you alone for like forever.  This is all true, but at the end of the day – dollar amounts aside: is that the life you want? Do you want  to know that you defaulted because it was easier?  Yes stuff happens and that’s why we have systems such as bankruptcy  in place so that folks can start over with little damage and have a chance to rebuild their financial lives and that’s great.

But I can’t help think that the greatest reward will be the payment of the debts by yourself. Because you CAN do it on your own. It just w0n’t be as easy as some other debt reduction techniques.

But the reward you get by paying off your debt by yourself regardless of how long it takes is the fact that you managed your own debt by yourself. You can do it.  It might make time but we’ve got that. Add some hard work into the mix and your debt could be gone faster than you think and you’ll finally be free of all debt.

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Too late to turn things around?

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Jim Fitzsimmons

I’ve got a bit of a defeatest attitude going on here this afternoon on a Friday the 13th. I figure if there’s no better way to feel like you’re getting nowhere.   debt fatique, they call this.

I just paid some bills today. Minimum payments and just enough to keep the lights on otherwise. I’m down $1000 for my efforts and the needle just doesn’t feel like it’s moving some days.

I knew there would be days like this and to say it’s depressing would be an understatement. Perhaps depressing isn’t the right word – disappointed or discouraged.

A hampster on  a wheel is what debt freedom feels like sometimes I won’t lie to you. I shouldn’t be disappointed I suppose as I’m growing every so slightly my fund for emergencies..  I know where next month’s groceries is coming from and we’re doing our best so that next month, the grocery bill will be even less so instead of seeing red we’ll see black.

I have to remind myself  that this is a long term goal and I’ve still got work to do. Heck, just a few short months ago I was just burning through my grocery budget. I didn’t even have a grocery budget. So small victories.

This isn’t a woe me post per se, so nobody out there call 911. We’re fine. But sometimes I feel just like there’s not a whole lot of progress being made.

Anyway enough.

Groceries! It’s really hard to save money when it’s summertime and it’s all fresh fruit season. Peaches, blueberries are all in season and on sale. Not cheap, but priced much less than December. No coupon use to report but I did blow through another $26, which seems to be an average grocery run for me. The problem is,  that can be per day..  No spend  today though I don’t think. ..nope.

I’m off for the weekend, so no updates to speak of here.  I’ve got a motorcycle to ride. Save for gas, at least it’s paid for.

Who knows,  maybe next week I can turn things around. Never say Never, right? :)

Today’s grocery spend: $26.46

Total Grocery Spend: $211.04

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A day missed…

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Jim Fitzsimmons

Hey…how did that happen? somehow I managed to miss a day posting here. Not that it really matters much but I am trying to find some sort of update schedule here. The goal was not to miss a day. I’ve tried writing first thing in the am about the day before but you know how you can’t remember what you had for dinner but you can remember some silly little event that happened years ago? This happens a lot I’m finding.  Updating what you spent the day before isn’t working for me. So what to do?  I guess a pen and a pad of paper or keeping receipts would be a good idea… that way you’re forced to track your spending which is really the entire point of this exercise.

On the grocery front not much to report. It’s mother hubbard here though so that’ll have to change some later today…my guess is I’ll come in at about $500 for this month. Not great,  but it’s a third less than last month. I’m still at the training wheels stage with this experiment. It might take me another 90 days to find the ‘sweet spot’ of  grocery savings and  spending.

What I’m finding is I have a hard time writing about what I eat and spend  on because  it’s boring to me.  I prefer to eat, not cook per se… but that’s changing too. When did everything become so fancy? Why do I need a power drink when water will do?

I guess I’ve already won in a lot of ways. I buy stuff on sale. I look for coupons. This didn’t happen just a few short weeks ago…

Debt Exercise Kit

Some body out there in the internet found me with that phrase. I guess I’ve mentioned exercise and debt at the same time enough that I rank for that search term, which considering how much little visitors I get…yay for me.

But, that’s not what I want to talk about today. When I saw that term my first thought was: That’s  it! I’ll create a debt exercise kit of some sort and get rich beyond my wildest dreams. Think about it – what’s the  two biggest problems almost everybody has?  They could use a few pounds and  money problems. Even those with money or are thin have money problems  (too much maybe, a nice problem to have) or weight issues to deal with.

How cool would that be if you could get rid of your debt and exercise at the same  time?   I wonder if you could find somebody to sponsor you? Find a company to advertise on your shirts while you exercise. Be a human billboard – you’re going to exercise you might as well profit from it at the same time. Forget the crap with the Nike logos – wear a logo where you benefit from the wearing. Heck, if you managed this well you could  get the shirt free and  get paid – all by exercising. It’s out there and if it’s not you should  be on it before I get there. This is a goldmine, I tell you…

I can see the late night TV ads: “I lost 30lbs and 30 thousand in 300 days”  The 30-30-300 plan….book Oprah,  I’m on this. :)

Daily Spend: nothing! :)

Total Spend: $184.58


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The Coupons Have Arrived

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Jim Fitzsimmons

The title of  this article says it all: The coupons I ordered a while back from the good folks at save.ca have arrived so now I’m ready to shop. The problem I suppose is at a glance, they’re for hard goods like batteries and razors, which while good are not as good as food coupons.

Actually, I’m doing pretty well with the shopping challenge. I’m substituting a lot of stuff. Cereal is better for you than bacon and a bit cheaper. That said a lazy sunday morning with a bacon sandwich with a latte is hard to beat – especially on those cold winter nights.

But it’s far from winter here in the big smoke – in fact, it’s downright hot out. I was out tooting around on the motorbike this afternoon as I had to go get it serviced out of town  and 30 degress and a leather jacket is some kind of fun let me tell you.

I was thinking that motorbike of mine sure is  good value. I had it serviced for a grand total of $75 and it runs just fine and I’ve had it for 18 years.  I bet it you figured out the $$ per hour for the entertainment factor that bike would be hard to beat. I could, but rarely do – use the bike for transportation too . I don’t as  it’s a toy. I don’t commute (and glad of it)  but if I did the bike would  have even more value I would imagine.

Now, the bad news.  A slot opened up  to get this bike serviced to and done while I waited today so I grabbed it, but that meant a lunch out. It  was just a sandwich at timmy’s but I was  a little miffed at myself  for having to spend the money on a lunch out when I had perfectly good sandwich ingredients at home.

Back home, and once I wrung myself out from the heat I popped over to the grocery store  and plunked down $31.24 again today. The culprit: $16 worth of coffee to get me through a few more days. I’ve been really good with the coffee I can’t remember the last latte I had and I make coffee at home, but I draw the line at instant.  I’ll save the money on the things that aren’t important to me like, I don’t know a trip. (though  that would be nice – maybe next year).

Add a few fresh veggies and fruit to my coffee and I’m at $31 for my grocery adventures. This gets me kindof stocked up, but I might have to pop over tomorrow again,  I don’t know.

Today’s lesson: you don’t need much to be happy.  A nice motorbike ride on a sunny (but super humid) day with a stop at timmy’s for lunch is just as much fun as lunch at some fancy restaurant. Actually, I’m cooking at home so much these days that everything else seems greasy or super rich when I eat out…everything has so much sauce and grease. Even nachos which before seemed pretty harmless to me are pretty rich these days.

Today’s spend: $31.24 + 6.00

Total spend: $184.58

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How to Eat for Free

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Jim Fitzsimmons

This is a bit of of a Monday Morning wrap up on the weekend and my grocery shopping challenge as I try to cut my grocery spending from the ridiculously high $750 month that it was for July 2010.

Friday I used a technique that I haven’t used yet since I started this challenge, and it’s called eat what you have in the fridge.  I guess one method that I might explore further along in this challenge would be to load up on groceries for a longer period of time and then you’re done. One and done, if you will. Hit the grocery store once a month and buy everything you need (and in my case I’d need some containers/plastic wrap/tools to keep it all fresh) and then just eat what you have. If you don’t have it, you don’t eat it.

Maybe you could keep a small top up budget for fresher stuff that doesn’t keep but some stuff would keep just fine in the fridge. I think that this might be easier to do in the cooler months when you aren’t so attracted by the fresh fruits and vegetables that the summer months offer.

I bet if did do just one large large large grocery shop you’d get better at it too the second and third months as you would spend less and less over time. Once you have mustard or ketchup or any condiment or spice or sauces you wouldn’t need  to buy them again the second time around for most items. I’m still using some spices that would probably get me through the next decade.

How To Eat For Free Tip 2

Help your friends move! Yes, it’s hard work slugging boxes and furniture but you’re with your friends so as lousy as moving is.. you’re still with friends and the bonus is there’s usually free food  and drink involved as it’s the unwritten rule for the most part: those that help with the move get fed.

Two days without any grocery spending is a small victory so far in my books. I’m almost a third of the way into the month and I’m at about $140 or so for the month which would bring me to approx $500 a month which while still a lot is much much better than $750 spend for July.

All this not spending had to stop eventually though as I burned through about $50 on food and cleaning supplies. I wish I could tell you I haven’t spent at all over the weekend but I’d go pretty pretty hungry.

Food spend: $28.56

Cleaning/Toiletries: $22.91

Total spend to date for August: $147.36

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Grocery Store Adventures Day 5

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Jim Fitzsimmons

Well, not really much adventure, but it makes for a nice headline, no?

I’m on somebody’s mailing list as I was suprised to see I got flyers in the mail from the folks at Loblaws.  What do you want to bet that the folks at save.ca sold my mailing list info. I used to be so against air miles, or aeroplan rewards because they’re all ‘rewarding’ you for your data and information and that’s where the money is.

My thinking has been that no way am I going to use the info of what I buy to line somebody elses pockets, I don’t care what the reward. Look at how many million air miles points you need to get a reward. I’ve got my Bank of Montreal mastercard tied into air miles and the thousands and thousands I have spent with them over the years has rewarded me with  about enough points for a $100 flight. Big deal.  I get a ‘free’ flight while they get years and years of data of where I shopped, what I bought, when I bought it, what city I was in…

I guess now that we’re facebooking and tweeting  about what we had for lunch I can lighten up about privacy a bit. Heck,  I’m writing for the entire world to see that I bought peanut butter online so I guess my privacy concerns are a little less valid. But at least when I write about peanut butter or my debt the only one that benefits is me, not some rewards program. I get the information  about who’s searching for pink kitty litter boxes, not some corporation. But perhaps I should change my thinking and just start to use every points card I can find and admit defeat when it comes to shopping and privacy and grab every point I can get.

Coupons are just air miles too. We’re saving  $1.00 off tide but makers of tide get data when we use that coupon. It all adds up and after the promotion is over the folks at air miles or tide can analyze that data and say oooh, look.  Toronto did way better for us in coupon use than Alberta so we’ll promote more  in Toronto and forget about Calgary. Actually even neighbourhoods can be broken down. Ever been to a store where they ask you for your postal code or phone number? They want to know where you live. If it turns out 90 percent come from an area where there’s no store, you can bet that the big wigs will be seriously thinking about putting a store there. At least with air miles you get a reward for sharing your data on spending.  With the phone number thing you’re giving away your personal information for free!

Anyway, rant over. Every day it seems privacy is becoming less and less important these days.

And for lunch : peanut butter sandwich with dempster’s whole wheat bread and kraft sooth peanut butter. Do with that information what you may.

Today’s Spend : 11.37

Total Spend: $95.89

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Spending Money on Groceries Day 4

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Jim Fitzsimmons

You know,  I’m not doing all that hot in the spending so far.  At the rate I’m going I will be right about where I was which is obviously not where I want. I also don’t think I can still squeeze out enough words every day to write about my grocery spending. Heck,  I’m bored. I can only imagine how you must feel.

Still no sign of my coupons from save.ca but that’s OK as I’m doing pretty well on my own without so far. I think the coupons tend to help more with the stuff like TP, toothpaste and household stuff. But I’m still a coupon newbie and the first to admit it.

One problem I have is lack of transportation when grocery shopping so I end up just popping over every day  for groceries as it’ only a block away for  the grocery store. I don’t know if this is a blessing or a curse.  It’s good because I can only buy what I can carry so automatically a 2 litre bottle of pop is out just due to the weight alone – forget that it’s bad for you.  Instead I look for lighter fare to buy and although I paid in the weight I found an amazing deal on strawberries and salmon so that’s what was on the menu here.

But even when saving on pricey items like strawberries and salmon i still managed to drop $20+ and still have not much to show for it. I tried to have the chips last night for  a later snack but I found they were too rich. I’m so used to eating fruit I’ve completely lost the  taste for  pop, junk food etc. Habit is a funny thing and I’m finding  more than half the battle in both this grocery challenge and personal improvement in general.

Take exercise and habit: I have found that if you get outside and out the door, the rest  is pretty much easy.  Another example  is the writing too. Oh, it’s hard to start when you stare at the cursor and you’re thinking how can I write something interesting about the fact that I went to the grocery store? Well, this is a few paragraphs long now and I’ve rambled on a fair bit about something mundane as shopping for groceries and  saving money. And I’m here becuause I broke the habit of  not writing and just started to do it.

I think a lot of times we’re too hard  on ourselves and think we have to be the next william shakespeare for writing or dave ramsey or gail vaz oxlade for debt freedom and we don’t. We just have to start doing something and do it regularily and before you know it you’ve lost the debt or the taste for buying expensive CD’s if that’s one reason you’re  in debt. Or cooking at home. It can be a pain at first. I have no idea what I can cook and how but I’m learning  and that’s half the battle.  I’m not ordering a pizza because it’s easy. I’m grabbing some pots and pans and creating. My meals aren’t  going to be on the cover of any glossy magazine any time soon, but it’s a start and  it’s cheaper and better for you than pizza and after a while pizza is a treat, not the default. Or, maybe you realize that the pizzas you can make far outweigh what you can buy.  And this all happens because of good habits replacing  bad.

The hard part with debt freedom is that it takes time and it’s hard. But if you chip a bit away at it every day it does get easier and better over time. Every body can change  but it’s not instant. It’s bit by bit.  It’s 6:30 am as I write this. I could very easily been lulled to surfing  instead of writing.  Surfing is easier and as much fun as writing is if not moreparking myself on the end of the couch is way more fun than working and creating. And I like writing and once I get into it I can write and write and write and write. But boy, the habit of starting sure is hard to get into.  Like anything worthwhile, if you want it it’s going to take some new habits and hard work to get there.

What habit are you going to start to break today?

Today’s spend: 21.70

Total August Grocery spend: $84.52

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Grocery Shopping Challenge. Day 3

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Jim Fitzsimmons

As I take a break this morning I thought I’d update all 2 of my readers on my great grocery challenge 2010 as I’m into my 3rd day of attempting to eat at home, save money and who knows – maybe I’ll shed a few pounds along the way,  though I’m really just concerned with eating healthier than I am with losing weight. But, that said – at mid forties I’m starting to feel gravity’s pull.

I’ve had a few thoughts about this grocery challenge so far:

1. screw it. does anybody but me really care if I save money on groceries? This is usually the the time I quit stuff.  I get all excited

2. Speaking of number 1, it’s really hard to squeeze out an article about my day and my grocery adventures. I bought stuff, the end. But we’ll try. It’s either this or I’d have to get a cat and write about it instead. :)

Which brings me to this assumption about my grocery shopping and saving money with coupons which is only part of the many ways I am trying to achieve total debt freedom in Canada and that’s this: I cannot lose. Even if I fail spectacularily I will still win as I’ll be cooking at home, eating better, etc etc. All good stuff. No subs, no burger king, no nothing.

I’m not much for eating  out and all the junk food, but I will miss one thing this next 27days and that’s subway subs. Lunches are where I drop the ball. I’m usually in the zone  with work and have a hard time breaking away to eat lunch. I usually pop out  for something quick and easy at lunch and being right downtown there’s a selection of ways to get something quick and cheap.

See, that’s the thing:  A pizza slice is only three bucks and a half foot sub is just a few dollars too..but this is some of what I’m attempting to cut out and plan for lunch even if it’s just a peanut butter sanwich. Breakfast is pretty easy for me..some cereal, maybe a bagel and add litres of coffee and I’m good. And dinner isn’t that hard too. I can have pasta, or bake something or fry something and call it a stir fry  but it’s the lunches where I drop the ball. Anyway, no more eating out for a month anyway so kiss the pizza slices and submarine sandwiches goodbye.

Groceries and Coupons

Rome wasn’t built in a day. For the most part I did pretty well on the grocery store run and only bought things on sale or in season. I did drop the ball on  a few things though. I thought I’d buy a pound of coffee from the grocery store as it has to be cheaper than buying from starbucks, right? Well, apparently not so. no coffee savings  there. I’ll have to start looking for coffee coupons.

Next up – I impulse bought  a bag of nacho’s as they were on sale, or so I thought. They were 2 for five bucks but when I hit the counter I was charged full load as I needed to buy two  to get the deal it seems. Two bags of chips in the house is just a recipe for fat pants in the future so I thought I’d just cough up the full load. The funny part is I haven’t had nachos or chips of any kind that by the time I had them, and for the price I paid it wasn’t worth it.  I’ve been eating fresh fruit for a snack and it’s so much better for you. I’d much rather spend $4 for a pound of cherries than $4 for a bag of chips. Habit in doing anything truly is  half  the battle I’m finding.

What I didn’t do is use any coupons as I don’t have any. With condo living I don’t get the paper or flyers of any kind so it’s going to take some effort on my part to actively look for coupons. But I did register and order coupons from save.ca and I suggest it. I click the coupons I want and they come in the mail! A few I don’t  care for either way but I did find some coupons for razors and four bucks off an overpriced razor in the first place is a good deal. It’s still ten bucks for something that I think is still over priced. I don’t need  five blades and a vibrating handle. I  need a tool for trimming hair off my face that’s it.  In my next life, I come back as the guy that invented the disposable razor.

So, baby steps. The first wave of coupons are on their way. :)

Grocery Spending and Bad Planning

I had some administrivia come up yesterday morning and I needed to pop out of town to sign some papers and buzz back – all  due to my poor planning. (this trip was the result of bad planning too – lessons learned all round yesterday) .  This led me to be out and about at lunch, so I ended up dining at chez starbucks. I had the protein pack which is a hard boiled egg, a handful of grapes some cheese and some crackers I think. Healthy and good for you but it cost six bucks! add a black coffee and I had a nine dollar lunch which could have been avoided had I planned better. Oh well, could be worse. It wasn’t McD.

Spend Today: $53.32

Total August Grocery Spend: $62.82

If anybody has tip for Grocery shopping in Canada please send them in as I’m the first to admit I’m learning here.  I need all the help I can get when it comes to saving money on groceries in Canada.

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Holiday Monday Grocery Spending. Day 2

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Jim Fitzsimmons

It was a holiday here in the big smoke (happy simcoe day)  so not a whole lot to report on the grocery front: $4 for a sub at subway and some pasta with sauce and a salad. The lettuce cost 69 cents and I had a tomato and celery to spice it up a touch.

I’ve been thinking: The goal with this challenge is not to see how much money I can save or how cheap I can eat. I’m quite happy with plain noodles and some pepper so it’s without a doubt I could live on carbs cheaply. I’d probably have to buy new pants which would kind of defeat the purpose.

My goal is this: To eat a balanced and healthy diet  but save a few bucks too by spending smarter. I think wise money management is a lot of ways just like exercise. Instead of exersing where the goal is ‘abs of steel’ the goal in personal finance is to spend wisely. A loaf of bread on sale this week tastes the same as that same loaf of bread that wasn’t on sale last week.  The difference is you saved some money this week because you made a little change to your lifestyle and after a while it gets to be a habit.

And that’s all personal finance really is I’m finding. You get in the habit of smart spending so bread on sale or coupons or  buying  in bulk, or even just working a few hours overtime so you can spend on whatever is just second nature.  It’s not ‘cheaping out’. It’s realizing that if you don’t go out for dinner every night every once in a while you can treat yourself to something even greater. Maybe it’s a trip or a new bike all you’re doing is becoming more and more aware of your spending.

But bad spending is a habit. And habits are comfortable and hard to break. Rome wasn’t built  in a day. I’m not some crazy coupon clipping maniac – yet.  But what I trying to do this month is to eat better and for less if possible. The goal isn’t to dine on frozen dinners and boxes of cheap cereal because it’s the cheapest thing I can eat.

So I thought a few ground rules for this challenge might be appropriate.

1. I’ll try and buy only stuff on sale. If chicken’s on sale then it’s chicken ad nauseum. Even being  aware of the sales can make a difference

2. It’s August so I get to eat what’s in season. It’s silly not to eat fresh lettuce that’s healthier for you because it might cost a dollar more than the ‘garden salad’ that comes in a bag.

3. No packaged foods . This isn’t going to be too hard for me actually as I’m not much for cookies and treats. Where  I’m known to get lazy is the frozen pizzas. But for a month  I’m going to do no packaged foods. Fresh or bust

4. No eating out. Life might get in the way of this but I’ll do my best to eat at home most if not all the time.  With a fridge full of groceries and some planning there’s no excuse to eat out.  And who knows – I might end up learning to cook. :)

4. I’m allowed a treat every now and then. Life is too short. When it’s 30 degrees  outside and an ice cream cone and a walk is a pretty nice way to spend a summer’s eve I’m not going to begrudge myself the 3 bucks for the ice cream. It will be February soon enough.

I guess that’s it for Day 2 of this grocery shopping challenge.

Today’s  Spend $5.75. $3.75 for a sub (so much for no eating out. grocery stores we closed  and that’s my story) and $2.00 for a black coffee. Quiet day on park bench enjoying these: priceless

Total Spend: $9.50

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Grocery Saving Challenge. Day 1

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Jim Fitzsimmons

I find the best way to learn how to do anything  is to just do it and see how you make out. Sometimes I’ve had great success and pretty much on accident. Today’s effort is to start a challenge and to keep up with it. Saving money on groceries really just means better planning on how you spend on food. Easy is fast and I’m a big fan of easy but it’s not healthy or cheap. A latte is fun, but it’s not a need and five bucks is five bucks, which is how I got into this mess in the first place..five bucks here and there add up.

My Goal is to spend less than $750 (last month’s numbers)  on food and drugs/toiletries. I’m including stuff like shampoo and TP in this as it’s what you need to live. You need to eat and be clean..add housing and you have a trinity of what you need pretty much to get by. Everything else is gravy. The gravy might make your life easier or smoother but it’s still gravy all the same.

I had thought of  having a clear goal in mind but I think that’s too limiting. The trick is to just use your brain and do the best you can when trying to save money on the stuff you need every day. Everybody has different values of what a good deal is anyway.. A year ago I wouldn’t have thought of using  a coupon but if it means I spend less money on things that aren’t really important enough to me and allows me to spend more on the things that are (hello, debt freedom) than that’s a pretty good goal I’d say.

I’d like to tell you a month from now I’m in the $100/week area but I dunno…it’s awful pricey here in  the big city especially where I am in downtown Toronto.

So how did I do on day 1? well….not so hot. It was awfully nice out here in the big city so I went for a walk as it’s free entertainment and I brought my camera along with me too. But I had so much fun that I lost track of time and ended up splurging on a bag of chips and a water.

Which brings me to the next question:  Where does frugal cross the line into just being a cheap bastard?  It was a lovely summer day here in downtown TO by the lake and I made some fun photos, got some exercise and some sun and even made it back home for a bit of an afternoon nap. :)  I had a late breakfast thinking that would do me but when you’re out and about walking in the sun you get to feel the need for refreshment.

What’s a guy to do? I hit a variety store and sprung for $3.75 for a drink and a bag of chips. If I’ve decided to budget $100 a week for groceries,there’s five percent of my food budget for the week on a snack so probably not the best spend of my grocery dollar.

I could argue that  heck 3 bucks  is pretty cheap entertainment in downtown Toronto and I shouldn’t be so hard on myself. But with some planning I could have tossed a backpack on my back  with some peanuts or something and had a healthier snack that would have been cheaper by a bit and healthier too.

The good news is I made a home made dinner with ingredients I already had on hand and were bought before the start of the month so I’m not including these in the total yet.

Today (the 2nd) isn’t going to be a banner day as it’s a holiday and there’s not a whole lot in the fridge. The goal is to not eat out for the month. It’s easy but expensive.

If nothing else this will give me something to write about this month.

Today’s Spend; $3.75

Total Spend: $3.75

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