I’ve concluded Week 1 of my “I’m spending the least amount of money humanly possible” campaign. Mostly, this campaign is focused on groceries, as that is where the bulk of my weekly spending occurs.

I was determined to get my average weekly grocery spend down to $100 per week (from about $250 per week). I wasn’t as diligent as I could have been in planning meals or clipping coupons (I actually didn’t clip any). What I *did* do is only stock up on things that: 1) My family eats all the time or 2) I knew exactly how and when I would prepare. I shopped at Trader Joe’s (cheap) and Safeway (where I have a discount card).

In the end, I spent $107 for the week to feed myself, my ex, and our two-year old. Not bad, eh?

Things I did to achieve this:

1. Ate cereal and milk for breakfast.
2. Drank free office-brewed coffee.
3. Brought my lunch to work instead of take-out.
4. Used frozen veggies in my cooking rather than fresh.
5. Purposely made extra food for dinner so I could have leftovers for the next day’s lunch - it’s all about economies of scale.
6. Cut out (most of) the diet soda I drink.
7. Bought generic brands of everyday products.
8. Bought items that were on sale at the market and planned meals around that week’s “specials.”

I’m pretty intrigued by saving money with coupons (I keep hearing about these women who get hundreds of dollars of groceries practically for free), but have yet to try it. Where do you find these coupons besides the Sunday paper? I’m not really into signing up for any type of website / service and I certainly don’t want to pay for it. Tips, please!

Share your saving tips and help inspire me - and others.

Most of you who read this blog probably know by now that I have a slightly compulsive personality. When I take an interest in something, I often become extremely preoccupied with it for a while before eventually losing interest. (Anyone who wants to guess at what my relationship with men has been like, please feel free.)

Right now, my issue of the moment is saving money. Like most Americans, I cannot help but worry over the state our economy is in. Gas prices are high and expected to keep rising, salaries are relatively flat, food costs more, etc. After a recent look at my personal spending habits and the shocking realization that I am spending WAY more than I should be on basic expenses (food, transport, you name it), I decided to put myself on a strict budget.

I also decided to put my ex on one, as well.

“C’mon,” I coaxed him. “We’ll see how well we can do on $100 per week for groceries. It’ll be fun! And I promise to do all the shopping.”

Somewhat skeptically, he agreed.

Monday was Day 1 of the $100 Per Week on Groceries Game. I went to Trader Joe’s and came home with food for three dinners, lunch for the entire week, and a bunch of snacks. And I was only $19 poorer for it.

On Day 2, it all went out the window. As I was preparing to make my cheap but gourmet dinner for the evening, my ex came into the kitchen.

“Can we have burgers tonight?” he asked, pitifully.

I shot him a death glare. “Burgers?” I repeated. “Burgers aren’t in the budget for this week.”

“But Erica, we make enough money. We can splurge on burgers.” Then, as if remembering himself, he said, “What am I saying? I don’t need your permission to have burgers for dinner. This is ridiculous.”

Exhausted from work, I decided it wasn’t worth arguing over and told him, yes, he may go to the store to pick up burgers. He smiled, realizing I wasn’t quite as crazy as he previously thought and headed off to the store to pick up his precious meat.

He arrived home about 20 minutes later and walked in without saying a word.

“Are you all right?” I asked. He was leaning against the wall, face flushed and dripping with sweat.

He stared at me for a few moments before speaking. Then he said, “We need to have a talk about rational behavior.”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you turn off the air conditioning in your car?” he asked. “To save money?” He looked like he was about to faint. Granted, it was probably close to 80 degrees out.

“Oh, yes,” I said proudly.

“You’ve gone off the deep end. That will save you probably $3 per year, you realize?”

I thought about it for a moment. “Yes, but everything counts. It all adds up.” I paused. “You’re welcome to use my air conditioning when you drive my car.”

“I am?” he asked.

“Yes, of course. Just pay me $3 for it.”

We didn’t speak for a while after that last night.

Oh, how idyllic it sounds. Listening to the crashing waves, so closely mimicking the sound of your potential crashing down around you. Lazily wasting the summer away in a glow of youth, while your ankles swell to the size of tree trunks and stretch marks sprout like roots across your belly. Ah, childhood.

As I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, I’m (not so subtly) mocking the seven or eight high school sophomores from Gloucester (pronounced “GLAW-ster” for all you non-Bostonians out there) who made a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. I actually grew up not far from Gloucester, but my town was continents away in mindset. My town had a VERY high percentage of Jews and, as such, there were very few teen pregnancies. No Jewish girl would dare get knocked up before finishing college, let alone high school. Ever. We had Jewish mothers to answer to! And believe me, when they get mad, it isn’t pretty.

Anyway, these girls in Gloucester thought it would be “exciting” to raise babies together. To me, this sounds like a really, really bad idea for a club. What happened to debate? Or band? Or good old-fashioned drinking behind the bleachers and using protection while you (sort of) had sex? On a side note, I do wonder if they’ll get a page in the yearbook for this one. I was editor of my yearbook back in the day and believe me, I would have *definitely* featured them.

Seriously, though, I do find this story pretty damn sad. At such a young age, these girls have made a decision that all but locks them into a mediocre life. It’s unlikely they’ll attend or finish college. Their earning potential will be limited. They may very well raise their babies without the support of the fathers. And, pretty soon, they’ll realize that having a baby isn’t like having a pet. It’s not a game and it’s not something to do when they feel like it. It’s a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week, 365 day a year JOB. For the babies’ sakes, I just hope these kiddos are up to the challenge.