My husband and I rarely carry cash. That's bad because we just slide the debit card when we want something. That's good because we have an accurate account of where our money went. Too bad that I was never really paying attention too much before now. And let me just say that I am embarrassed to have been saying we are gazelle intense when clearly some of our expenses are out of control. This WILL change....TODAY. I cannot, after really taking a hard look at these numbers and realizing how stupid it is, continue to budget and waste money in the manner that I am. Keep in mind this is for two adults, no children.
Fast food for March:
Taco Bell once for $4.21
Jack in the Box - $21.24, $12.19, $20.49, $20.36, $20.36 again, $3.56.... total of $98.20
Popeyes once for $18.39
Sonic- $11.97, $6.24, $2.05, $11.98, $9.18.... total of $41.42
Wendy's- $6.37, $7.44.... total of $13.81
Spring Creek BBQ once for $24.55
Scotty P's once for $8.74
McDonalds- $6.59, $7.44.... total of $14.03
Chick-fil-A once for $4.21
Flying Fish once for $31.11
Taco Delight once for $16.10
Fortune House once for $27.49
Subway once for $8.64
Donut Express once for $9.50
Maggianos once for $42.48
Total spent on eating out- $362.88
Ok, now we get to grocery/household good spending. I don't go anywhere except Wal-Mart and Albertson's occasionally. This month I went to Wal-Mart 10 times and Albertson's once.
Total spent at Wal-Mart and Albertson's- $477.97
Did anybody's else's stomach just turn? Oh, just me?
I don't want to beat myself up too bad even though I probably deserve it. It's just depressing, that's all. The positive thing is that I am going to share this with my husband and I know that we can make drastic improvements. I am a firm believer in "When you know better, you do better".
Please feel free to give me a talking to or a pep talk. I think I need both. 
I'm depressed
March 30th, 2007 at 03:11 pm
March 30th, 2007 at 03:18 pm 1175267935
The extra 500 could have gone towards your debt payment..
Is that enough pep talk??
March 30th, 2007 at 03:25 pm 1175268338
Don't be too hard on yourself. Each revelation is a good thing--it points out something to work on--don't beat yourself up!
March 30th, 2007 at 03:40 pm 1175269229
March 30th, 2007 at 03:48 pm 1175269683
March 30th, 2007 at 03:58 pm 1175270286
We have spent (I just checked by YNAB overview) just about $400.00 on average over those three months for groceries and eating out. However, DH eats out once a day paid for by work and that is not included in the totals. I eat three meals a day at home with an average of once a week lunch out with a friend. I eat pretty cheap, oatmeal or peanut butter toast for breakfast, occasional cold cereal. Lunch is usually salad with lettuce from the big bin from Costco and whatever else is around.
Dinner is usually meat and fresh veges or pasta. We eat very well I think, not truly organic, but fresh foods. DH shops like three times a week. So you can do better, but I think $300.00 a month for all food is a bit unrealistic, but depends on where you live I guess.
Good luck, half the battle is knowledge!
March 30th, 2007 at 04:04 pm 1175270679
Here are a couple pieces of advice I can give you from my own experience. I did all of these things and they really worked for me:
1. Stop using the debit card! Talk with your DH and decide how much each of you will get as a weekly "allowance" to cover "frivolous" expenses like fast food, snacks, magazines, cigarettes, whatever your particular ones are. Then on "allowance day" once a week, put that much cash in a small coin purse that is completely separate from your regular wallet. Any time you want to buy something that is not part of your budget for necessary items, pull out that coin purse and use the cash in there to pay for it. There is something eye opening about having to use cash, and also it will make you think twice about those purchases if you see with your own eyes that the week is only half over but your allowance is almost gone! As you get better about controlling those purchases, you can reduce the amount of your allowance gradually without feeling too deprived.
2. Trips to Wal-Mart: Cut back on the number of trips. Perhaps once a week would be enough? You can keep a list in your kitchen (or somewhere else) where you and your DH write down anything you need. You'll end up buying less and will also use less fuel!
3. Delayed Gratification: Carry a little calendar in your purse. If you see something you want that is not an essential item, write the item, the location where you saw it, and the price down on the calendar one week from the date you thought about buying it. If in one week it still seems like a good idea to buy it, go ahead and buy it. 95% or more of the time in a week you will be thinking "Why did I think I 'needed' that?"
Good luck to you!!! You really are off to a good start.
March 30th, 2007 at 04:33 pm 1175272397
March 30th, 2007 at 07:08 pm 1175281702
March 30th, 2007 at 07:41 pm 1175283696
For my family, we chose to make eating out a treat, rather than doing it in response to being 'too tired to cook' or having 'nothing good or easy at home to eat'. For those sorts of days, we have our own version of 'fast food', ie. the makings of a few meals that are tasty, quick and easy to get on the table. You'll come to figure out what will work for you and your husband. Best wishes!!
March 30th, 2007 at 10:10 pm 1175292659
March 30th, 2007 at 10:48 pm 1175294938
March 31st, 2007 at 12:10 am 1175299814
I would make a weekly meal plan so you know what you're eating for every meal and then maybe you won't be so tempted to wander out for fast food. Maybe buy a few quick and easy frozen meals for nights when you really don't feel like cooking.
I think I'd be more concerned with the junk food over the money aspect...there's very little nutritional value in fast foods.
On the other hand, you should be very proud of yourself for recognizing that this needs to change-you are doing a huge favour for you and your family!
March 31st, 2007 at 02:31 am 1175308287
March 31st, 2007 at 08:41 pm 1175373716
I second the meal planning. It is very important for getting a grocery budget under control. As is leftover management so that you don't waste food that migrates to the back of the fridge. I keep a list on the front of the fridge of what is in there and when it went in there, and I have one half of a shelf dedicated to leftovers. I'm a bit overly organized on this one, because it helps so much. However, I wasn't always this way. We used to spend for food much the way you have described above. But its not that way anymore.
Our grocery budget is $250 a month for a family of four, and I make almost everything from scratch. We eat out once a week, to the tune of about $80 a month. We used to have a grocery budget of $500 and eat out at least 3 times a week. We eat beef, chicken, fish, turkey, pork on occasion, eggs, dairy, lots of fresh vegetables and in season fruit, home made bread made in the bread machine unless I'm in a lazy mood. I also make homemade goodies. About 1/3 of the food we buy is organic.
Now, I'm a stay at home mom with both kids in school so I have the time to do all this. But you and your spouse could try cooking ahead for the freezer. Maybe every Saturday you could do up several meals ahead of time and just thaw them out through the week. That sort of thing helps to override the convenience factor of eating out.