Sunday, June 26, 2016

Sunday: June Grocery Shopping Week 4

This morning, daughter and I went to one of the ethnic stores to do our grocery shopping.  Fresh produce is much cheaper down here than up in Berkeley, so daughter picked up some produce to take with her.  She fully intended to pay for her groceries, but I just went ahead and paid for it all.  The total came to $33.33.  I didn't take a photo because daughter was already separating her items and packing them up. 

We bought:

Small white potatoes, $.25/lb = $.67
Red bell peppers, $1.29/lb = $1.14
Spaghetti squash, $.99/lb = $.71
Italian bread = $2.39
2+ lb. Ground beef, 15% fat, $3.29/lb = $7.04
1+ lb. headless white shrimp, $4.99/lb = $5.14
6 oz. chili powder = $1.99
Chestnuts, grilled & peeled = $.99
2 Variety packs chicken cold cuts, @ $1.99 = $3.98
.2 lb green beans, $1.69/lb = $.34
2 bundles green onions, 7/$1.00 = $.30
Broccoli crowns, $.99/lb = $1.31
4 cans coconut juice, @ $.89 + $.05 tax = $3.76
4 mangoes, @ $.50 = $2.00
Apples, $.49/lb = $.58
1 doz. large brown eggs = $.99
Total = $33.33



Total spent on groceries so far in June = $9.78 + $11.16 + $7.35 + $33.33 = $61.62
Amount left in June grocery budget = $75 - $61.62 = $13.38

Daughter wanted me to pick up several more packets of the chestnuts for her plus cherries will go on sale for $.99/lb. on Tuesday only, so I am planning to go back on Tuesday to buy more chestnuts and some cherries.

We stopped by a friend's place on the way home after doing the grocery shopping to pick up a jar of "seeni sambol", a spicy onion relish, she had picked up for me from the Sri Lankan store.  

Brunch was bread with the onion relish.  Afterwards, I oiled and trimmed daughter's hair at her request.  Then, it was time to take her to the airport.  She called me later to let me know she arrived safely.  She'll be down again when I am scheduled for my radiation treatment.

It was 97F outside, when I drove to the airport.  But I managed to keep the house at 80F for most of the day (it went up to 84F later in the afternoon).  I haven't needed to turn on the a/c unit in the bedroom, yet.  But tomorrow is supposed to be 101F, so I might need to turn on the a/c then.

After I came home from dropping daughter off at the airport, I went on-line for a bit.  Later, I took a nap.  Unfortunately, I didn't feel very motivated to do anything after I woke up.  As a result, I have a long To Do list for tomorrow!

To Do List:
- Office work
- Laundry (Started!  Writing out the list motivated me to do a load tonight!)
- Dishes/run dishwasher
- Tidy kitchen
- Tidy family room
- Cook/freeze shrimp
- Cook/freeze ground beef
- Water the garden
- Water houseplants
- Empty kitchen trash/waste baskets
- Take trash cans to curb
- Daily decluttering
- Call radiation clinic
- Call medical insurance
- Call auto insurance
- Pay bills

I did do my decluttering for today:

June 26 Decluttering

7 magazines (the last of the stacks of magazines)
1 quilt (one that I made as a stash busting project, several years ago; I have plenty of other quilts)
1 crocheted shawl
1 Universal Studios autograph album (daughter said she didn't want it)

Dinner was a previously cooked and frozen pork chop with some of the white potatoes and salad.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Daughter had a safe flight back and a safe trip from the airport to her apartment
- Being able to cool down the house at night
- Getting some good bargains at the grocery store
- Daughter is able to take both groceries and cooked (frozen) food in the plane
- Afternoon naps

Today, I spent:

$33.33 for groceries
$266 for daughter's renter's insurance

All in all, it was a good Sunday.  How was your day?  What are your plans for tomorrow?

12 comments:

  1. That's extremely high for renters insurance. I know the cost of living is high in Berkeley but how much would it really cost to just replace the possessions that are truly valuable? Can you lower it by increasing the deductible? I know I'm in Idaho but my insurance that covers that those types of things is only $10 a month and insures a full household of possessions, computers, etc. Is she required by her lease to have this much?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think everything is expensive in Calif. :( The amount I pay is with a discount for having my homeowners and car insurance with this company!

      I neglected to say that the amount I paid was for the entire year, so it comes to a little over $22 per month. Double what you are paying, but considered reasonable over here.

      She's simply required to have renter's insurance. The lease doesn't specify the amount.

      The rates are dependent on the zip code. But after the "fire" last year (someone left a pan of something on the stove over the weekend and it burnt and the smoke set off the sprinklers) and resulting water damage in her building, and the balcony collapse which killed several students in another building a few blocks away, the rate went up from last year.

      Delete
  2. I hope I don't sound too gloomy, and I'm sure that you know this, but watch out for a low. You've had to be so strong and brave for the chemo, and it takes so much out of it, that when you no longer HAVE to be strong and brave it can lead to quite an emotional slump. I suggest that if it does hit, go with what helps. You have shown amazing courage and attitude. I'm sure you'll get it right.

    I hope it cools down for you soon! x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, you don't sound gloomy at all and I appreciate the alerting to watch out for a slump.

      Actually, I did experience a low point a couple of months ago. It caught me completely off guard and worried my poor daughter, who made me promise I'd discuss it with my doctor. The doctor was very understanding and told me that counseling could be made available should I wish it, but I decided I didn't need it. I've been fine since then. :)

      Delete
  3. You got some really good grocery deals.
    Proud daughter got safely home. And was able to take her produce with her on the plane.
    Today [Monday].. has been a busy one.. I swept and mopped the house . Washed a load of clothes[intended to hang them on the line to dry, but we got rain showers which we really needed- So I put them in the dryer. Also put some porkchops and cream muschroom soup in the crockpot for supper. Now... I need to do my decluttering.
    Hope you have a good day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So glad you got some rain! Wish we'd get some rain, too, but we probably won't. You're having a very productive day! Your supper sounds yummy! Hope you have a little rest and relaxation scheduled in your busy day.

      Delete
  4. $0.99/lb for cherries?! I wonder if it would be cheaper for me to buy a plane ticket for your daughter to come deliver them to be in Florida than to buy them here, lol. Also the price on the shrimp was excellent for fresh shrimp, if they were fresh. I think fresh shrimp here is about $11 a lb if I remember when I looked at them at Publix the other day. Well, at least $8/lb. I only buy frozen shrimp from Aldi or Save A Lot, nowadays.

    I think $260 is pretty cheap considering what it would cost her to replace all her stuff if she were burglarized or there was a fire of water damage from another apartment. I think my renter's insurance on a 2-bedroom apartment 15 years ago was about $20 in Central Florida. But now that she has a job, why doesn't she pay for her own insurance? I'm being nosy, forgive me. I was nosy on Susan's blog too earlier today.

    I'm amazed that you're able to keep the house at 80F despite the outside temperature being 97F outside. You must have much better insulation than I do. Of course my house is 86 years old too. Even if I close all the curtains, it still gets much hotter than that indoors without the AC running. So that's great that you're able to keep it at 80F, that probably saves you tons of money on your electric bill, compared to mine. I've been pleased with my ability to leave the AC set for 78F, though. I could try 80F but why suffer needlessly? hahaha. I hope that you got tons of stuff knocked off your to-do list today. I haven't really done anything and it's 4:20 p.m. Yikes. I think I'll cheat and put the laundry in the dryer after all, otherwise it might never get dried.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The $.99/lb. for cherries is a one day only special. This particular store has specials like this on Tuesdays only. Another store does daily specials, different things on sale on different days. The shrimp was previously frozen and thawed; 50-60 count size.

      I paid for her insurance for a number of reasons, the main one being I can afford it more easily than she, especially now that she has taken over paying the rent.

      Delete
  5. I wish I could send you some rain. We did have some yesterday evening but are hoping for more tonight. We were in the city at our son's at the weekend and they have a drought there which is threatening the gardens. We all went for a lovely walk in a nature reserve with a lake, and even saw a huge wild turkey right by the path! Yesterday (Sunday) was DGD's birthday party at a place with zip-lines and obstacle course in the trees! 6 little girls around 9 or 10 years old had a real adventure, followed with hot dogs, sodas and cake.

    We are getting the same heat as you and the sun just burns down. I shall certainly be thinking of you and saying some prayers when I feel that heat on my skin.
    Bushlady

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy birthday to your granddaughter. Sounds like it was a fun birthday party!

      Hope it cools off a bit for you. Today was a bit humid, so it was a sticky heat. Trying to cool off the house, now, but it is still a bit warm.

      Hope you have a lovely week, Bushlady.

      Delete
  6. You got some amazing deals at the grocery store! I wish we had more ethnic grocery stores here that had great deals. I do shop at 2 of the Asian markets because some of their prices are lower and I find some of my "comfort foods" from growing up in Hawaii there. ;)

    Oh the heat...I have to keep cool and am so thankful for our swamp cooler. I wonder if that would work in your area? They are so much cheaper to run and they do add some much needed moisture to the air in our dry heat part of the world. It was 93 in the shade on our back porch today so I had mine running for a good part of the day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Debbie, there is a Hawaiian market in one of the nearby cities that some friends of mine go to occasionally. I've never been there, but my friends say they find things like breadfruit, etc., there.

      There used to be a swamp cooler when I bought the house. It was fixed to the top of the roof and I had it taken down, because I couldn't climb up on the roof to maintain it. I was told I had to fill it with water at the beginning of summer and drain it in the fall, etc. One of my neighbors did it for me that first year, but I couldn't continue to ask him to do it every year and, in any case, he and his wife sold their house and moved out of state. Maybe I should have kept it, after all.

      Delete

Thank you for visiting my blog and commenting. Your comments are much appreciated. Please comment in English. Thank you.