October is my month of attempting to squeeze every extra dollar out of our budget and see how much I can save (goal $1,250). I have found that I do not possess a true frugal spirit, and am still sometimes carried away by the thrill of certain purchases. I'll elaborate in the following paragraph.

I reduced the amount available for living for two weeks by $110, bringing us to $440. I should add that I've deposited my "goal" + $110 to the money market account, so I should be on track if I don't need to transfer anything back to checking.

Here is what I've spent thus far:

$440 Start
-$173.75 on groceries/household/pet/personal care
-$70.01 on gas for two minivans
-$15.00 donation
- $32.38 Misc

$156 REMAINS

The $173 on groceries includes a replenishment of staple items that we were out of (milk/coffee/sugar/butter/eggs/flour, etc). I also included dog food for two weeks and turtle food/bird supplies for a month. I also included a purchase of shaving items using great coupon savings. $10 for soccer game snack/water contributions. I have the mean plan in place with main dinners for this week and some of next. I'll need to buy milk and produce next Friday for the week of the 8-14. DH's diet is also running a bit more than usual (he's starting a training program and wanted Activia and Fiber One bars which were on sale and I stocked up).

The $70.01 represents our weekly fill-ups of $35 each vehicle.

The $32.38 Miscellaneous was my "carried away moments". A $10 off coupon at Kohl's yielded me a handy-dandy Rachel Ray plastic food server complete with little compartments and a cover. My Boy Scouts are heading to the woods today and needed to bring fruit/veggies. Seemed the easiest way to send them, plus I wanted one. My daughter was waiting anxiously for the 2nd book by Ingrid Law and she was delighted to find it was available. Sadly for $16.99 in hard cover, but I found a 30% off coupon for our local indie book store and got it for $12 out the door with tax. Well worth it though, books are a luxury I usually indulge! And then my 8 year old got his pictures taken at JC Penney Portrait Studio with a coupon and cost $8.62. OK, shopping dept. is done.

The weather here in the Midwest took a turn for the cold this past weekend (I was at my son's soccer game in a wind breaker with the hood up under a flimsy blanket wishing I had wool or fleece!) This means that it is time to see where there are holes in the kids' wardrobe. I WISH I HAD TAKEN BETTER ADVANTAGE OF THE $10 ITEM SALE AT OLD NAVY! Note to self: plan better next year!