"IT MAKES CENTS TO ME FRIDAY" FOR FEBRUARY 10th

Hi everyone :) :) :)

It's time for another week of "It Makes Cents To Me Friday".  Right now my goal is to simply track what I spend my money on. That includes anything I spend on items for myself, for my father, for us as a tiny family.  I had a bit of a difficult time this week. I'm still buying "treats" for myself and my dad. These are actually things that are nice to enjoy once in awhile. However, these are definitely not needs for me right at this point in time.  In any case, here's what I did for the week of February 4th (Saturday) till today, February 10th (Friday).

These are just a few things that I puchased yesterday and today.  The Cottonelle wipes and the batteries were purchased at Rite Aid.  The clementines and oranges were purchased at Whole Foods this morning:

Friday - February 4th at Whole Foods:  Total spent $46.82

--- 1.11 pounds of trail mix (from the Whole Foods trail mix bar) This is really nice, especially if you like trail mix. You can pick from all these different things, to mix it to your tastes
--- 1, 20 oz drip coffee with cream and sugar "want, not a need"
--- 2 organic dark chocolate bars "Want, not a need" One for my father & I. The other one was for the friend who gave me the ride to the store. She wouldn't take gas money from me, but she did take chocolate ;) :)
--- 1 Clementine gift box
--- 1 Classic rotisseri chicken, from the hot deli counter "Want, not a need" especially since I have fresh, frozen chickens in my freezer. Once in awhile we just don't want to cook. Today was one of those days.
--- Almond meal flour, Bob's Red Mill
--- 1/2 pound of fresh raspberries
TAX: $0.72


Tuesday - February 7th at Whole Foods: Total spent $32.44
--- 2 organic dark chocolate bars "Want, not a need" One bar for my father & I. The other bar for another friend. Same situation: this friend wouldn't accept gas money, but I could pay her in chocolate ;) :)
--- 1 jar of raw raspberry honey
--- ** Parissa cold wax strips It's a cheaper solution than going to the salon. I prefer going to the salon for waxing, but I can't afford it right now. So this is the next best option :) :) :)

--- Lemongrass deodorant (Tom's of Maine) I bought this, just in case my coconut oil dedorant didn't work. It actually turned out perfect. So now I have two options for keeping myself smelling great :) :) :)
TAX: $1.09

My camera batteries were almost gone, so I decided to buy some more batteries yesterday. My digital camera uses AA batteries. Normally I buy just regular Duracell Coppertop batteries. However, I have found that they don't last very long. At the rate I take photos, batteries that last a long time are a MUST.  So I purchased lithium batteries. They are more expensive, but they last a LONG, LONG  time.  I'm also keeping track of how long they last versus regular batteries:

Wednesday - February 8th at Whole Foods: Total Spent $21.36

--- 2 pastries "Want, not a need". One was for my father, the other for me.  Oh, and did I mention that I'm GLUTEN FREE? Well, I'm struggling with that this week, too
--- 3 squares of dark chocolate "Want, not a need"
--- Classic rotissere chicken from the hot deli counter "Want, not a need".  Oh, I just realized that I bought one of these the other day. I have fresh, frozen chickens in the freezer. So add to my list "learn how to roast a chicken for myself"
--- Local newspaper "Want, not a need"  However, I do like to keep up with local happenings every once in awhile.
--- TAX: $0.78
Apropos chicken, I've got a whole, organic chicken (from Trader Joe's) slow-cooking in my CrockPot. It will be ready in another couple of hours.  This is one of those items that I had in my freezer already, so I didn't spend any money on that this week. The price for this chicken was $2.49 a pound at my local Trader Joe's. The photo doesn't look like much right now, but it's sure smelling good in the house:

Oooopss, looking at that last photo made me realize, I need to CLEAN...sigh.. :) :)


Wednesday - February 8th at Safeway: Total Spent $10.36
--- 4 of those 2.something gallon containers of drinking water
--- $0.40 cent recycle deposit
This I consider a need, especially if you don't have a clean source of drinking water.  Our water here is clean and okay to drink. It's just the taste that I don't like. It's a little too salty for my taste. Plus we also have hard water in our area. So I purchase this for drinking. It's a great alternative.


Thursday - February 9th at RiteAid: Total spent $47.15
--- $19.99, 8 pack of AA Lithium batteries Whenever I load my cameras with new batteries, I ALWAYS have a spare set in my camera bag.  These are expensive, but they last a VERY LONG TIME. I'm keeping tracking of exactly how long they last. The goal is to see if they really do last a lot longer than a regular set of batteries. That and if they do, does it justify the cost? So far, the answer is yes. Only time will tell.
--- $7.99 ea. 140ct of Cottonelle flushable wipes, 3 sets - $23.97 I stocked up on these because my family uses them quite a bit.  That and I want to have plenty on hand, in case there's  time I can't get to the store.
--- TAX: $3.19

Thursday - February 9th at Whole Foods: Total spent $11.23
---20 oz. drip coffee with cream and sugar "Want, not a need"
---2 breakfast sandwiches (from the hot deli counter)
"Want, not a need".  I could classify anytime I buy either of these things as "wants" and not needs, especially since I can easily make these at home. My father really wanted these yesterday. However, it's something I'm working on/struggling with. It's one of those things I LOVE to purchase, but don't HAVE to have.

Friday - February 10th at Whole Foods:  Total spent $33.90
---3.76 pounds of organic navel oranges These are only $1.49 a pound. That's not bad for organic produce, in my humble opinion.
--- 1 pound of lean ground beef
--- 1 pound of bulk dry rub applewood bacon
--- 1 Clementine gift box This was really expensive at $7.99 for a box. I just threw them in my cart, because I know how much my dad loves to eat these. When I got home, I told him the price and he felt bad. I told him it was OKAY!!! I was happy to purchase them. However, from here on out, it'll be oranges, unless clementines go on a super sale!!!!
--- 2 small breakfast sandwiches, from the hot deli counter "Want, not a need".  This is a want and not a need.
--- One local newspaper "Want, not a need"
TAX: $0.41

That's everything I spent my money on for the week. I spent a total of $203.90.  Of that money, $139.63 was spent on food (including the items I classified as "wants" versus "needs") So divided between my father and myself that works out to $69.82 per person. That's way too much. So I overshot my goal by quite  a lot.  Lesson learned...and I'm just going to keep plugging away at this and move forward.

That's about it for today :) :)  It just started sprinkling outside. It's what I jokingly called a "California downpour".  I'm so glad for the rain. We really need it, even here next to the ocean. Lots of farmers in our area, who grow really good food. They need that good rain.

Thanks for coming to visit me everyone. Your visits and comments always make me smile :) :) Have a great weekend!!!  That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather :) :) :)