nsa wrap up

to see how miserably i failed.
the guidelines were quite strict. i don't know what i was thinking but here's how i made out:
this was the plan:

•  $50 from a previous bonus.  my money allowed for the hospital fair. 
• $100 that will be my spending money for the month. (aka $25 per week in wine.)
• i was going to try to limit my grocery money to $200 which i might do anyhow but we'll see how that goes considering i'm going to be
• limiting all extra food money and all extra money. that means no presents for emily. no itunes. no extra stuff at the grocery store. 
• meal planning. yuck. 

here's what happened: 

• i did totally fine with my hospital money. i even used the left over to treat myself to ice cream one day. and i totally didn't count it. my bad. 
• all was well. i was keeping track, staying good.. all until i bought an 88 cent gatorade. it was the beginning of the end. i had made it 16 days with no extras. well, very limited extras. serves me right for choosing to not spend in a month with 5 weeks. by day 16 i had spent $19.35 on me. that included a $1.69 rug i got from kohl's, $16.78 on wine, and my gatorade. i had spent $16.06 at the local grocery store and $128.71 at the actual store which meant there was no way i was getting under $200 for the month. under $300 maybe. but not $200. (actually i didn't make it under $300 either, but i digress...) 
• anyhow day 19 came around. day 19 and a trip to lowe's! i got a lamp shade and a hawaiian spider plant, then i had to get a new container because you know when you buy plants at those big chain stores they don't really give them room for roots! and then i needed dirt. thankfully that was free. and then i needed wine for my hard work.  that day alone cost me $51.65 and then i needed to get lunch meat! in town! oh no! there goes another $11.90!  the whole month is ruined! 
• actually, i thought i could make it back. it would require a lot of sacrifice but i could do it. oh what's that you say? email from urban outfitters? free shipping you say? on that rug i've been loving/longing for months? why do you do this to me??!? bam - hello new rug, new wallet (it might get lonely in that big box, i had to buy it company...right?) well while you're at it, i probably need a new curtain for the kitchen, a new letter 'e', and obviously a new pillow. (fyi. technically i haven't received my new rug/wallet yet so ... does that mean it doesn't count?) and while i'm on my downward spiral i might as well get a new song on itunes right? oh and i bought my dad gas for his truck for my parents 39th anniversary... so my total for this mess? $95.29! ($50 in gas goes far too quickly.) 
• since this month is obviously spent, i went to the grocery store for the third time (5 weeks! not my fault!) and went wild on a $34.39 wine trip and 99 cent prints from snapfish. 

so how does that add up?

i spent: 

• $76.07 on wine alone. (don't judge)
• $172.69 on me. this includes the $8.70 i spent on itunes that didn't post until the first, the gas for dad, but not the anniversary present for erik that also hasn't come yet. i'd say the urban outfitters and gas for dad day was my biggest fault. (but the rentals were so happy! so who cares.) 
• i spent $395.23 on groceries. this includes the two times i had to stop at the store in town ($27.96) and my 3! grocery trips. i'd say i did pretty well. as much as it pains me to say, meal planning helped... 
• the necessities were typical. though our electric bill was higher. ac. needed. 
• i paid more in loans since i could. 
• and i paid $56.53 in gas for my own little vehicle. 

would i do it again? yes. i obviously need to give myself a little more freedom when it comes to groceries and it would make more sense if erik did a no spend month with me because every time i got lazy i leaned on him (he paid for dinner out with my rentals and the random times i got so cranky we had to buy food or wine.) . but i think it was a good idea to keep track of things. and meal planning. ugh. but yes. keeps food from going bad. so maybe i'll continue to keep track of things and figure where i can take it easier and where i need to shape up. but yea. it was ok. i should probably stop online shopping so much but how else does one make it through the day?