I allocated $50 per 2 weeks per person. It's the 7th of the month, and we have spent about $27 per person so far. We are quite close to our goal this time, however we did eat out of the pantry for a few days. So far no lunch spendings for both of us, and no breakfast out apart from the 2 coffees we got. We want to have this work even when we start the university soon.

If you are cheap like me and do not have cable and require the converter box when TV goes all digital, here is a link to apply for a coupon. People, be honest and apply only for the number of TVs you have. Why does a household need more than one TV anyway? From what I hear the converter costs about $60 and I "think" the coupon is for $40. I am not sure if the coupon takes off $40 and lets you have it for $20, or it lets you have it for $40. Anyway, here it is:

I have been bringing my own lunch/bkfast for 2 WHOLE days now saving me at least $15 so far. This weekend we have to do a lot of cleaning of the house, laundry and cooking. We budget $50 per person fortnightly for grocery. I haven't really been grocery shopping this month and instead eating out of the pantry. We also have been incorporating fruits into our meals/snacks. I am not really a big fan of fruits unless they are the exotic types already peeled and cut up. But I have been buying them and peeling and cutting them up to grab and go. Hopefully we can stick to it. I want us to eat healthy balanced with enough servings of fruits and veggies everyday. Getting there slowly.

I have two credit cards. One of them annoyingly has "annual fee". I called them up and asked them to waive it and they did! I called the other to lower the apr and they did!! There is no harm in asking after all. I have marked to call them again in 4 months. I did all of this as my SO was dozing off in the couch "watching tv". He has no idea we are a little less poorer within 10 minutes.

I saw this woman in the streets all decked out in fur from head to toe..She looked quite disgusting sauntering in the shop in front of me like a big fat bear on a prowl from behind. I think her hat had squirrel tail attached to it and she gave out some moth repellent scent as she walked around. It was very nauseating. But then I thought wait a minute, I have leather coats and shoes and bags. How much better am I than her?

Today I will sit down and write down our meal plans and go grocery shopping accordingly. We will also have to budget for university expenses since it will start soon. 2008 is going to be a year of no waste. No wastage of food, no wastage of money, no wastage of time. I want to learn and achieve a lot in 2008. I figure I alone spent about 70 dollars just eating out lunch in the month of December. Give or take a few dollars here and there, that's about 1K just on lunch a year! Yikes!

I still have 50 dollar gift certificate from Christmas to an electronics store that I have to use up. I am thinking of what we need to buy. There are a couple of things we need, but will have to prioritize.