Bunco: Budget Buster?

Tonight was my quarterly outing to play Bunco, an easy and fun dice game.  I feel fortunate that I have been able to attend a lot of social gatherings this month, but one of the reasons that Scott and I chose to change our food budget in the month of January was because of the many social gatherings that we had planned.  It would have been easier for us, by far, if we hid ourselves away in our house and emerged 31 days later like hibernating bears with a better understanding of our food budget but without sharing what we're learning with others.   By actually living our lives, I think it will be easier to maintain our new budget as our norm. 

I had just attended a book club on Tuesday, and really enjoyed the brownies that I made, but one of our goals of eating less expensively is eating more healthfully.  I decided that even though I was attending Bunco, and had plenty of room in our budget to make a delicious dessert to share, I would not eat or drink anything other than water.  This group of Bunco women are talented cooks and the food that we pot-luck is always a bountiful feast of yumminess.  I knew this would be a challenge, but this month is all about challenging myself to do things that are difficult or are things that I'd rather not do.  It was hard not to indulge in salted-caramel brownies and chocolate chip and pretzel cookies, and the other wonderful things that the guests brought and the host provided.  I caught myself several times absentmindedly reaching for a bowl of toffee nuts on the table.  I guess when forced to be honest about every bite you put into your mouth, the unnoticed bites that are snuck throughout the day are suddenly in focus.  I didn’t want to spend food dollars on food that my family wasn’t offered, it doesn’t seem fair.  Scott had another lunch meeting today and although he'd much rather enjoy the delicious catered meal; he found pleasure in the lunch that I packed.  He is my moral mirror, and our efforts and challenges should be equal.  He has shown extreme dedication when faced with several lunch-meetings, and when faced with my own food challenges, I have to be equally diligent.   I didn't win at Bunco tonight, but because I'm learning self-control, the night feels like a victory.

Here's what we ate today:

Breakfast
- S Cereal with Milk
- KC&G Oatmeal with Brown Sugar
- C&G Milk
Total $0.53

Snack
- G Milk & Cereal
Total $0.16

Lunch
- S Healthy Choice frozen meal, Orange, Corn Muffin, Carrots
- KC&G Chicken Tortilla soup, Corn Muffins
- C&G Bread and Milk
Total $3.18

Dinner
- SKC&G Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Homemade Skillet Potatoes
- S&K Tea
- C&G Milk
Total $2.22

Dessert
- SKC&G Cookies
- C Milk
Total $0.66

Total Spend $6.75

Tomorrow: Eat-za Pizza