Drum roll please. Dude, we stayed under $100 for the month of November's dining out budget. Stick with me while I tell you how I spent it. Just Joel's: We stopped for breakfast on a Sunday morning because I have been dying to eat at this new local establishment my friend raves about. Breakfast out is my favorite meal. The hubs and I split a veggie omelette and skipped coffee since it was later in the morning. With a tip, it was $15.45. Bangkok Thai: I snagged a buffet lunch there twice this month. It is my weakness. Total $27.46. Yummie Pho: Lunch for one with a tip: $11.76. The price of pho has gone up. Note to self ... this is not a good deal for soup. Greek Island: Met a former work friend for lunch. $12.32 Bacon & Eggs: On a Sunday drive to Walla Walla, we split an omelette and had 2 coffees at this great local spot on main street. $17.61. DINING OUT TIP: If you are like me and love the experience of eating out but you hate busting your budget, try splitting a meal with your loved one. Another item that will kill your budget is drinks. Who couldn't use more ice water in their diet?
TOTAL SPENT IN NOVEMBER
DINING OUT: $84.60
My monthly budget is $100 and I'm feeling good about it. However, I am going to have to be careful in December because I spent $82 last night for a pizza party to celebrate the hubby's birthday with friends. This leaves me $18 for the rest of the month. I feel fairly confident I can do this. I have a Friend Day on my calendar this Sunday. A bunch of us get together for lunch and shopping at a different mall every year. We're meeting up at a local crepe place. My diet doesn't allow for flour & sugar and I really blew it last night on pizza so I may just be having some of their fantastic coffee. That'll help keep me under budget. The rest of the month, I am done eating out. Can I do it? What I learned in November: I eat lunch out too much. I think I'll try to pick one day that I want to go out for lunch with work friends and try to stick to that. The way my budget looks right now, I won't go out to lunch until January. But, that gives me something to look forward to. Guess I'd better go now and make my lunch for today. That's my favorite excuse for eating out ... oh, I didn't have time to make a lunch.
In other budgeting news, in November I paid my home and auto insurance for the year. It was $2,011 ($168 a month). I have budgeted $250/month in this category so I have some wiggle room where I can take some money out of that line item and move it somewhere else, if needed. I like to pay my insurance in one lump sum because I don't want to have to think about paying it every month. It also saves a monthly service fee that I can always use somewhere else.
One last thing I want to tell you is that I am loving the budget feature on my credit card account. If I use my card for all my purchases, it is easy for me to see where my dollars fall in my budget. Love that. My local grocery store only takes dedit cards so I have to keep a good eye on that by hanging on to my receipts. I only go the store on Sundays so that's easy for me.
If you've read this far, I thank you for dropping in. Hope you found something here that might be helpful to you. If you have any tips for me, please share them in the comments. I love hearing from you!
love, susan
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