Dreadful Penny

This is the unseen side of financial stress in a family doing the “right” things: a weeping woman sitting on the floor of a closet, surrounded by piles of paperwork, as her husband tries to comfort her and undoubtedly feels a heavy burden on his own shoulders.  That was the scene at our house less […]

Here goes.  Estimates below, updates will be in orange.
Rite Aid - Nothing special this week, so I’m not stopping in.
CVS - Expected spending of $3 for a couple of American Greetings cards and 2 packs of gum, after coupons.  I’ll pay with ECBs and should be able to make up the difference with pocket change. […]

On Friday night, we took Kid Dreadful to see Weird Al Yankovic in concert.  I packed a picnic dinner, we had a great location in the lawn seating area, the weather was beautiful, and the concert was terrific.  As we walked to the parking lot, we were all in excellent moods.
Then I saw a look […]

Woo.  I got a call to be an extra in a horror movie next Wednesday.  Yes, please.  The token payment will cover my gas and it’s a fresh credit, so I can’t wait.
Clint Eastwood is here in Royal Oak today, filming a scene for Gran Torino in a barber shop.  I went to an open […]

Today we had my husband’s colleagues over for lunch and I’m happy to announce that everyone survived!  Here’s what we had.

Beverages:

soda pop
bottled water
berry lemonade

Appetizers:

fresh vegetables and dip
potato chips
pretzels

Main:

hamburgers and rolls
chicken kabobs

Sides:

caprese salad
potato salad

Desserts:

grapes
stuffed strawberries
rocky road brownies

The potato salad and dip were purchased as is — I don’t have particularly impressive recipes for either, so I […]

Just when I get to a point where I’m satisfied with what we’re spending for food and household expenses, I find something like this: a blog written by a woman who buys the same for a family of 4 on an annual budget of $800.  $800 per YEAR, I said.  Criminy.
Now, we’ll never eat the […]

Last week, I posted my estimated and actual weekly grocery/house/personal care spending.  While that was probably boring to anyone else who saw it, I thought it was a useful exercise to help me stay on track, and I’m doing it again.  This week, I’m forgoing most stock-up purchases (unless the product will be a net […]

Things tend to pile on all at once.  Good things, but eek.
Wednesday, I’m hosting lunch for about 20 people — my husband’s co-workers — and I’ve gotten out of practice at entertaining.  Everything will be fine, I’m keeping the menu relatively simple, the house is pretty clean already, but it still makes me tense.  Want […]

Last Christmas, we gave gifts that included both store-bought and homemade items — crabapple candy (including fruit from our own tree), spiced apple syrup, cinnamon apple wedges, and dolls that I designed and sewed.  This year I intend to do the same and it’s not too early to get started.
I don’t have many ideas yet, […]