Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Doctor's Appointment and April Grocery Shopping Week 2

Today, I took the day off from work because I had a doctor's appointment.  Yes, I could have gone to the office in the morning and then, gone to the appointment, which was at 1:00 p.m.   But, taking the day off meant I could have a relaxed morning.  I left the house a little before 12 noon and got to the clinic a little after 12:30 p.m.  But the clinic was running late, so I didn't get seen until 1:30 p.m.  It was a routine follow-up check; doctor examined me, noted that the treatment site was still somewhat red and swollen, but thought it looked better than on the previous visit.  I am to return in 4 months' time for another follow-up.

On the way home, I put gas to the car.  Gas was $3.40/gal.; I put $36 worth of gas.

Then, I did some grocery shopping:


April 18 Groceries

I went to the regular Kroger-affiliated grocery store, because they had advertised  strawberries for $.99/lb.  I also needed bread, milk, and bananas.  In addition to these, I bought a few other items that were on a mix and match sale (buy 5 participating items and receive $1 off each item), including a bag of potato chips as a treat!

I bought:
1/2 gal. milk = $1.99
1 loaf white sandwich bread = $1.29
1 package (6-ct.) bagels = $1.99
1 bottle unfiltered apple juice = $1.49*
2 packages meat balls @ $1.99 = $3.98*
1 package potato chips = $1.99*
2 lb. strawberries @$.99 = $1.98
4 bananas @$.59/lb = $.79
1 smoked sausage (14 oz) = $2.49*
1 roast beef cold cuts (7 oz) = $2.50
Total spent for groceries = $20.49

*Asterisked items were participating items in the mix and match deal.

I also bought two tubes of toothpaste for $1.00 each, but that is not part of my grocery budget (comes under Toiletries, budgeted at $10 per month).

April 18 Receipt


My April grocery budget is $75 - $.69 (that I overspent in March) = $74.31
Spent to date = $27.05 (week 1) + $20.49 = $47.54
Balance remaining in my April grocery budget = $74.31 - $47.54 = $26.77

There were other good deals at this grocery store, this week - asparagus was $.99/lb. and English cucumbers were $.88 each (Sandy, I thought of you).

The bagels are for breakfasts.  There is a cafe in the lobby at the new office building and I checked their prices, the other day.  A plain bagel is $2; a bagel with cream cheese is $3.  In comparison, the package of 6 bagels was $1.99 and a package of store brand cream cheese was $1.79 (I didn't buy cream cheese because I still have some leftover from the last package I bought).  Even if I needed to buy a package of cream cheese, I'd have enough bagels and cream cheese for a week of breakfasts for $.78 more than what a single bagel and cream cheese would have cost if I were to buy from the cafe in the office building.

I might go to the ethnic grocery store, later this week or during the weekend, as I want to buy some chicken and a few other things to make some soup and a few other dishes to take to my aunt.

By the time I got home, took the pictures and put away the groceries, it was about 4:00 p.m.  I hadn't eaten anything, yet (had a cup of coffee in the morning before I went to the doctor's appointment), so, I made myself a roast beef sandwich and had it with some potato chips, a banana, and some of the apple juice.    Later, I had a cup of tea.

I called my aunt and checked on her; she said she is recovering, slowly.  She feels weak, she said, because she didn't eat much when she was in the hospital - apparently, the food was not to her liking! I have promised to bring her some soup and some curries, this weekend.

Then, daughter called to say she was home and we chatted a bit.  She has apparently received a call from someone who left a message on her phone stating they were from the IRS and asking her to call back to discuss some missing information on her tax returns!  She called me to confirm that this was probably a spam, because the IRS always says that they contact people by mail.  She said she wanted to check with "an adult adult"!  LOL!  She said she didn't call them back and I told her not to.  I did tell her to send the information to our tax consultant, so she will be aware of it.  Daughter called, again, later, to say she's booking her flights home for the Memorial Day weekend and the 4th of July weekend.  She is still nervous about flying, in general, and she usually flies Southwest Airlines, which just had a situation with an engine explosion and a fatality as a result.  I usually keep the altar lights on from the time daughter boards her plane until she comes home as a prayer for a safe flight; I will definitely be doing that, when she flies, next.

Later, friend R called and we had a nice, long chat.

Dinner was another roast beef sandwich.   

I ran the dishwasher and washed a few other items by hand (my china tea cups, the pots and pans, etc.)  Took the opportunity to wipe down the stove top and counters, too. 

Today, I am grateful for:
- The doctor's appointment went well
- A safe drive there and back
- Validated parking
- Gas is available, even if the price is going up
- Phone calls and emails from family and friends

How was your Wednesday?  Are you on track with your grocery spending for this month? 

22 comments:

  1. A good shop, bagels are something I have never got to terms with, maybe I have only ever had bad ones? Are they meant to be hard and chewy?
    There are a lot of scams/spam on the rounds at the moment, I think the tax one is here as well. We have to be so wary these days.
    I think any form of travel has its inherent dangers, but I understand her nervousness I suffered badly with a fear of flying in my early twenties, but then there were a lot of hijacks at that time. My sister is terrible she has to take Valium when she flies here!

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    1. Sharon, yes, bagels are meant to be chewy.

      Flying is supposed to be fairly safe, but daughter doesn't like the whole concept of being suspended in air; it's a long way to fall, as she says. :)

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  2. I don't like flying either. One because it makes me nervous, two because it often makes me sick. But I do it because it's the most efficient way to get some places.

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    1. I'm another one who feels motion sickness. On my very first flight (at age 5 or so), I am supposed to have cried and asked my parents to tell the pilot to stop the plane, because I was so sick! In my defense, it was a very tiny plane and a very turbulent flight; my mother was feeling sick, too.

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  3. I read a headline this morning that states that gas is at a 3-year high. I'm quite sure it's going to keep climbing, as well. Great timing as Youngest Son is set to get his driver's license next week if all goes well and driving to school on his own (both ways, right now he takes the bus home). I'm going to have to increase that budget category. Food prices are definitely going up too, of course.

    It was smart of your Daughter not to panic. The call was definitely a scam, the IRS doesn't call you. Ever. Just ignore it and block the phone number that they called from.

    I'm glad your doctor appointment went well. It was surprising to read that your treatment site still hasn't healed completely, but then again they bombarded you with a ton of very strong drugs so I guess it is to be expected when I think about it. What's important is that your doctor feels that there has been progress since the last check-up. Yay!

    I still have about $85 left in my grocery budget with only 1 week to go in April as far as I'm concerned (I just shopped yesterday) so we should be OK.

    Have a great day, Bless! Enjoy that frugal bagel!

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    1. Well done on your grocery shopping! Sounds like you'll come under budget, this month, too. :)

      I still remember when gas went up to $5.00/gal. here, a few years ago! I was driving daughter to college and back and needed to fill the tank twice a week and it cost $50 for each fill up (I had a different car, then). These days, I budget $50/week for gas, so, I am still under budget.

      Yes, the doctors are a bit baffled by why I am still red and swollen. I brought up the subject of inflammatory breast cancer, but they don't think it is that, because the cancer markers in the blood tests are consistently below the threshold numbers.

      I had most of the bagel for my breakfast! I couldn't finish it, so I kept the rest of it for a snack, later! :)

      Hope you have a good day, too. I read your post, last night, but didn't comment; will do so later, today.

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  4. Your grocery budget is great. I normally include everything I buy at the grocery store, including toiletries and I spend around $150/month. I do grocery shopping twice a month. The less I shop, the less I spend. :)

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    1. $150/month is good if you include everything. I like to have separate categories because I like to see how much I am spending and on what. :)

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  5. Hi! I hope you continue healing. We fly Southwest too...we are very happy with them. Hopefully that engine problem will never, ever happen again! Your prayers are what keep your daughter safe. Andrea

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    1. Thank you, Andrea. I heard that they will inspect their planes in the upcoming weeks, so they'll probably have one of the safest fleets, soon. :)

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  6. P.S....I take a small dose of Benedryl for motion sickness before flying (and car riding also!) Andrea

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    1. Thanks for sharing that! I will keep that in mind when I need to travel, next!

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  7. Hi BLess, I am so glad your appointment went well. You are doing great on your grocery budget as usual. :) I don't blame your daughter for being scared of flying after what just happened. Have her see if she can get a seat out in front of the engines to see if that will help give her some peace of mind.

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    1. Thank you, Debbie. I will pass the message about the plane seating to her. :)

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  8. That is too bad that your treatment site is still not totally healed, but I know another lady who has had the same experience. I'm glad it is at least looking better than before.
    We have had quite a few scam calls in recent weeks. Some are quite threatening and of course our tax people do not make such phone calls either. It really bothers us because there are people who may be fairly new to Canada and others who may have some dementia, who could find themselves being cheated out of a lot of money, quite apart from losing peace of mind. Sad, isn't it?

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    1. The fact that I am taking so long to heal is a bit of a surprise to both me and my doctors. In fact, both my oncologist and I were concerned about inflammatory breast cancer, but the blood tests show that the cancer markers are normal, so it is just my body taking its own sweet time to heal.

      The scams are very sad. It's very easy to prey on those who are vulnerable.

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  9. There seems to be another spate of scams here (UK) and now the banks are changing their processes to try to identify potential payments to scammers. All very laudable but frustratingly it means that you almost have to ask their permission to spend your own money!

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    1. Eileen, I remember you had some problems with getting a payment cleared!

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  10. Those cheese Ruffles are my favorite, too! I'm glad you got some.

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    1. They and the sour cream and onion ones! Both are my favorites! :)

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  11. If you listen to that IRS scam phone call, there are clues that it is not legitimate, such as the computer speaking in a stilted, non-smooth fashion, very vague information, words like "may" and such, and the fact that if the IRS was coming to arrest me, they would not call first! We have had it so many times, it's getting old now, but we were un-nerved the first time--that's for sure!

    Right before we got onto the plane coming back from our trip, the news was full of the plane engine blowing out of that plane. We decided to not talk about it, as my autistic niece would have been so disturbed. I was a little disturbed myself. But. we got home safe and sound. Whew!

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    1. Daughter said she didn't pick up the call since it was a number she didn't recognize; but she listened to the message they left. I'm glad she didn't answer the call. I think we all tend to get flustered when we get calls like that!

      I am glad you shielded your niece from the news and made it back home, safely. I just finished reading your posts and commenting. Really enjoyed reading about your trip!

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