Grocery goal still not met, but I am getting better!

I'm improving, I'm improving!

I am not hitting my grocery goals of $49/week, but I am under my normal weekly budget of $66 so at least I am not making it worse?  Over the last three weeks I averaged 53.61, this was better than the previous three weeks (those weeks averaged $55.33).  This means I have cut the $400 overage by $69.18 to $331 over the last month and half.  Still not good enough, but slowly we are getting there.  I might even have a three week period of spending less than $45/week by the end of the year. However, if I don't I need to now aim for $48/week, not $49.

We were able to cut our spending at the meat market to $4 but we were out of town for one of the weekends.  I do expect it to go back up to $6 for the next three weeks.  However we spent $23 at grocery stores while we were out of town, to avoid eating out all the time.  Given that we won't be out of town for the next three weeks, I'll count this as a win.

We did very badly at Wegmans and spent $109.81 and I had wanted to only spend $92 max.  I am not sure what I can do to cut this down farther, but I am going to try.
I did cut BJ's warehouse to $5 in this three month period, but for the next I have a couple stock ups so I expect to spend about $20.  I also doubt we will be going to the asian grocery store in the next three weeks, like we did this round ($10) because the items we bought should last more than a month and half.   We only spent $8 at trader joe's but because we will be home, I assume that will doubt for the next round.  I spent $9 at Tops and expect to spend a little more because just for this week the deals look good, so let's say $30 for the next round. 

Based on all the other spending, if I was to aim for $48 average, I'd only get $72 to spend at wegmans this weekend.  However, if I only looked the budgeted weekly amount of $66, I'd get $132.  I'll be making my list (and checking it twice) and we will see how low I can go!

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BUDGETING AND ECONOMICS

Ben Luthi @ The Wealth Gospel writes You Might Be a Personal Finance Blogger If... - Let’s face it. We the personal finance bloggers of the Internets are a completely different breed of human beings. We spend basically all of our waking moments thinking about money and scheming new angles to take on this or that. We range from the commonsensical (that’s totally a word! yay!) to the ridiculous. Here are some fun examples of it

Michelle @ Making Sense of Cents writes How To Get A Cruise For FREE! - Cruises do not need to be expensive. There are many different ways to score a cheap or even sometimes a free vacation.

John @ firststep finance writes How To Choose The Best Auto Insurance – Part 1 - Car insurance is at the top of the totem pole for anyone who owns a vehicle. You may find yourself completely overwhelmed when you are searching for insurance. Read on to find some useful tips on how to sort through all the information so that you can get the right amount of coverage for the best price. If you drive fewer miles per year, your insurance rates will decrease. The majority of car insurance companies offer a discount for drivers who log less miles. When purchasing auto insurance fo

Alexa @ Defeat Our Debt writes Should You Take a Vacation if You’re in Debt? - Your debt is stressing you out. Work is stressing you out. And you just need a little break from the normal day to day grind.

Brad @ Enemy of Debt writes Don't be sloppy with your money: make sure to get what is due to you - I lived with debt for quite a few years before we reached a crisis point and dealt with it once and for all.

Monica @ Monica On Money writes The Top 10 Tips for Finding Extra Work to Pay off Debt - If you want to pay off debt, finding extra work is a great way to go about it.

Cat @ Budget Blonde writes Become a Paid Freelance Blogger Coaching Program - Have you ever wanted to be a writer online? Like, a real, legitimate people-pay-you for your words type of writer?

Danielle @ TeacHer Finance writes Top 5 Ways to Save $100.00 this week, and every week - These days $100 might not seem like a lot of money but, if you are able to save $100 a week, at the end of the year you would have $5200 that you could put towards paying down debt, putting towards an emergency fund or towards your 401(k) or IRA.

Justin @ Edward Antrobus writes The Habits of the Rich, Part 2 - Unless you're part of the 1% of people that are born into wealth, there's simply no way to become wealthy by accident.

Marissa @ Finance Triggers writes What is the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) initiative? - The Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) is a global initiative that aims to create a global reference data system that can identify each individual legal entity or structure that is party to a financial transaction, whatever its jurisdiction.

Katie @ IRA Basics writes When and How to Start IRA Withdrawals - Hopefully, when you went to open an IRA, you did so with the intention of using it for long term retirement needs.

Bob @ Dwindling Debt writes Getting ready to Grill? Here are some Tips to help you Save Money - Another Fourth of July has passed us by, heralding the start of the summer season and the grilling season as well.

Hadley @ Epic Finances writes Three Sectors to Invest in Now - Experts say that here in the United States a manufacturing renaissance is beginning to take off.

Amy @ Money Mishaps writes Windows or A/C? Annual Summer Debate - A gallon of gas is just about four dollars anywhere you go in the United States, meaning that families will be shelling out more money this summer when they hit the road for summer vacation.

Matt @ Budget Snob writes How to Meet Your Retirement Goals - Retirement is an all too elusive goal for many people today.

Jay @ Daily Fuel Economy Tip writes Do your Tires really affect your gas Mileage? - Did you know however that the size of your tires, their weight and the type of tread that they have all impact fuel efficiency as well?

Daniel @ Make Money Make Cents writes How Online Trading Platforms Work - If you're taking your very first steps as an online trader then you've probably already come across trading platforms, but you may be wondering exactly what they are and how they work.

Gretchen @ Retired by 40! writes Why Should Everyone Elope? - Our elopement was born out of circumstances, but I believe that eloping is beneficial for everyone. Find out why!

CAREER AND INCOME

Erastus @ Sprout Wealth writes Dividend Paying Stocks: One Way to Make Money in the Stock Market - Dividend paying stocks provide a great way to make income from your investing. I share some things to look out for when looking to earn money through them.

INVESTING AND SAVING

Here is a brief explanation: A stock is an investment in the equity of a company. When you purchase a stock, you become @ The Money Template writes How to Understand Stocks and Use Them to Make Money - http://themoneytemplate.com/how-to-understand-stocks/

John @ firststep finance writes How To Choose The Best Auto Insurance – Part 2 - Try removing coverage items from your policy. If you have a car that is not of high monetary value, you may just want to cover your car with liability insurance. Remove this coverage from your insurance and you could save a large amount every month. Also consider getting rid of liability coverage and comprehensive coverage. Investigate monthly insurance rates before deciding which car to purchase. Keep in mind that the safer your car is, the lower your insurance rates will be. Sporty cars, howe

RETIREMENT AND TAXATION

Michael Kitces @ Nerd's Eye View writes Shiller CAPE Market Valuation: Terrible For Market Timing, But Valuable For Long-Term Retirement Planning - The Shiller CAPE has never been a great indicator of market timing, yet it is valuable for long-term retirement planning. This post explains the short-term and long-term predictive values of CAPE as well as the value of CAEP (Cyclically-Adjusted Earnings to Price ratio) before providing a conclusion as to the relevance of the Shiller CAPE for financial planning decisions. Hint: the Shiller CAPE can help provide insight as to whether or not a prospective retiree will be facing a “headwind” or

Updated Millionaire Plan August 2014

This month we increased our retirement savings from $625 per month to $722/ month by decreasing our costs.  We changed daycares on July 21st and our daughter is now a toddler, both of which saved us some money.  We also, if you remember, called and asked for a discount on our internet (saving $5).  I also reviewed the budget and noticed that I was spending less in school costs so moved that savings ($18) to our retirement savings.  We also had $67 sent from our credit card rewards into my Roth IRA.  Yet, all that only ended up raising our savings $215 because the market dropped.  We have $20971 in retirement.  So close to $21000, but not there.  I really just wanted to call up Fidelity and add in the $29.  :)
Honestly, though, a little drop in not an issue for a young investor because all that means is that you are able to buy more shares, cheaper.  Since our daughter will be in the cheaper daycare all month, our retirement savings amount is going to be higher in August ($793) so I am sure we will break the $21000 mark.  What I am not sure about, is if we will break $25,000 this year.  I am very hopeful that we will by December but I am not sure.  Hopefully the market will be nice to me in the end.