Budget Shopping

 I calculated that I could buy 12.8 items at the Dollar Tree with $17. This amount included tax just in case. We were in walking distance of another discount store so we took our money there instead.  My first thought was look for items that were a $1 each.  First problem, I did not see a dollar area.  My two shoppers were on board and one took to using the calculator.  We spent $14.89.  Not bad.  The only item for a dollar was a loaf of bread.  We did get two Ramon items for 56 cents.  A couple items were less than the Dollar Tree, red sauce and spaghetti with meatballs.  Eggs were $3.05 for a dozen.  I did find a clearance section at the store.  I am not sure if they had a food clearance section.  

For comparison, I would like to go to another store and buy similar items.  I know that milk has increased in price recently so I would expect that eggs might be on the rise also.

Grocery Shopping 2020

 I came across a breakdown of a food run from January 10, 2010.  I decided to breakdown a receipt from 2020.

Food 2010 / 2020

41.02 / 83.20; Including Milk 3.68 / 4.30

Drinks 2010 / 2020

21.18 / 16.41

Snacks 2010 / 2020

28.73 / 17.48

Household Supplies 2010 / 2020

25.92 / 15.97

Baby Products 2010 / 2020

82.26 / 0

Interestingly both food orders contain Lemonade and Pink Lemonade.  The price was pretty similar although in 2020 I needed to buy 3 bottles to get the sale price. The Lemonade was 1.49 in 2010 and 1.66 in 2020 buying 3 for 5 dollars.

The bread category varied.  One loaf was priced at 1.29 and one was 2.19 in 2010.  The bread in 2020 was 1.99.

Dishwasher detergent was 4.19 for 20 count in 2010 and a bottle of the same brand was 4.99 in 2020.

Diapers were 18.99 for 96 count size 3 in 2010.

Happy shopping!

Buying a Car During a Pandemic

Car dealerships are open.  Now what?  Does everyone need a new car?  Probably not.  If you do need a new car how do you go about it?
Chances are you will probably not be test driving a ton of cars.  Many dealerships and other companies will bring cars to your homes or places of employment.  You can have a contactless transaction. 
We bought a car during a pandemic in June 2020.  The vehicle was brought to us but we were not allowed to test drive it while they were there.  Luckily we had already test drove the make and model of the vehicle back in January. 

Happy car buying!

Halloween Costumes

Growing up I had three costumes that I put together rather than buy the costumes.  There was a cowgirl, a gypsy and an angel.  I also borrowed a costume one year and was a clown.  All of the other costumes from what I can recall were store bought.  Normally a plastic mask and a plastic costume were involved.  I enjoyed getting the candy but probably did not enjoy the costumes very much. 

Two of my children have made their own costumes but for the most part they are still store bought.  We have had a candy, leprechaun and a pot of gold, bat man, bat man and a princess.  A duck, Pokemon, dragons, Superman, a ghost buster, star wars characters, Harry Potter characters, scream ghosts, and a werewolf.

We have never had family themed costumes.  I do remember getting a shirt from a shirt transfer place so I could be a Pokemon Catcher for my Pokemon children.  Two of my children have a Halloween parade at school and would prefer not to dress up this year.  Maybe they could dress up for a career. 

I still enjoy the candy part of Halloween.  My daughter enjoys the decorating even if she starts in August.
Happy ghosting!