We have a group of friends that we get together with frequently. It's great because we all get along, the kids all get along, and it's always a really fun time.
The downside of all this fun is the hit on my entertainment budget. Every time we get together, even if we're not hosting, we bring something toward dinner (pasta salad, corn on the cob, watermelon, something like that). We also bring a bottle of wine or a 12-pack of beer. So we easily spend $20. Of course if we're hosting, it ends up being more, even if we're just doing burgers and dogs.
I guess because summer is coming to an end, we've been getting together more frequently, so my budget has taken a hit. (I refuse to call these "grocery" expenses, and put it toward my "entertainment" budget instead).
I told hubby we need to be creative about this going forward. Think about an inexpensive meal we can serve when we host, and plan better what to bring. Today, we're bringing a watermelon, on sale for $3.88, and maybe a bottle of wine we already have in the house. Always a challenge.
Speaking of challenge, I did the 3rd week of grocery shopping yesterday. I went to one store and spent $72. I wanted to go to a 2nd store to take advantage of the sales, but didn't get around to it. If I get there, I'm going to limit myself to $28 to keep within my $100 budget. This is a big change in mindset for me, because normally I'd take advantage of whatever sales I wanted to, and it cost what it cost. This time, $100 is the limit!
I also have to run August numbers and plan for September. That's on the agenda for this evening...
All this fun is killing my budget!
September 1st, 2008 at 02:33 pm
September 1st, 2008 at 02:57 pm 1220281052
However, perhaps it's worth it eh? Good friends are very hard to find, especially ones where everything seems to click nicely.
September 1st, 2008 at 11:03 pm 1220310188
September 3rd, 2008 at 03:56 pm 1220457380
Good friends are hard to find and this seems to be something that you and your family really enjoy so I wouldn't get rid of it completely. You might want to scale down the amount of times that you meet by making sure that you have another event sceduled on the day that you want a night off. It may just be something as simple as going to the park with your family