Don’t wise people, sages and people like that, talk about the connectedness of all things?  Yeah.  Well, this week I had a nice illustrative experience along those lines.  Our Jeep was misbehaving over the weekend, and that simple fact screwed up my food budget for the week.  So here’s the story.  On Friday, the Jeep seemed off.  We noticed a smell.  Not good.  On Saturday, we noticed significant noise and weird shimmying.  That’s never good.  As we jiggled down the highway, I had a sinking feeling in my gut.  When we prepared to move, I had two things on my “Please NO” list:  illness and car trouble.  On the way home from the botanical gardens, the “check engine” light blinked steadily like some kind of red S.O.S.  Car trouble, great.  We decided to risk the drive to Sunday School and church, and that evening, my hubby asked if he should run to the store to “get some things” in case the Jeep ended up in the shop for a time.  Normally I make my weekly menu and grocery list on Sunday night, and I grocery shop on Monday.  I didn’t have a menu or list ready, so I quickly jotted down some of the basics and a quickie menu for Monday and Tuesday.  We have dinner at church on Wednesday ($6), so I figured I could get the rest of the week figured out later.  Error one:  I let one impromptu shopping trip alter my whole routine.  I like routines, and apparently, a routine is essential for food budget success.  Cory came home with the items on my list and a few “extras” for a grand total of $75.  Hmm…not great for a menu of only two dinners.  Error two: I let someone else do our shopping.  I’m stating that but not complaining one bit!  I’m thrilled to have a husband who shops.

So anyway…I just never got on track.  We made several stops at the store, accumulating about 30 extra dollars and only a vague sense of how accurate that number really is.  When you aren’t mindful about shopping, money seems to slip from the bank account like spaghetti through a too-big collander.  (How’s that for a foodie simile!)  Error three:  Too many stops at the store.  I’m currently reading Save More Clip Less (available for download from The Peaceful Mom), and the author discusses the relationship between time spent in stores and money spent.  I learned about that relationship this week.

And I still don’t know what we’re eating on Friday or Sunday, nor do I have the food to create anything.  More money will be spent.

So far, the project looks like this:

Week 1 ($168) + Week 2 ($90) + Week 3 ($75 + $30 + $6 + $9 {quick lunch out}) = $378 (for now)

Let’s see how the others are doing:

• Emily Levenson
• Dairy-Free Cooking
• Test Kitchen Tuesday
• Red Pen Mama
• Acquired Tastes
• Fit Flexitarian
• Warm As Pie
• Katy Rank Lev
• My Inner Healthy
• Little Blue Hen
• xox, b
• What da Health?
• Project Food Budget 2.0
• Ignition Nutrition
• A Nice Heart and a White Suit
• Because Hobbies Happen
• Primary Focus Health Coaching
• Chicken Tender
• Fresh…A New Chapter
• Whole Living Gal