Fiscal Fridays: Accountability 10/18-10/24

I blew my budget three ways to Sunday last month, so this month I'm trying really hard not to eat out at all. To help with this goal and hold myself accountable, I'm blogging each week about how I did.

First week, $8. Last week, nearly $40. This week? Somehow, even more, sadly. Like last week, I didn't want my self-imposed spending cap to make a wet blanket. My friend Emily came up from West Virginia, and I got to go back to Athens again to pick up Anna because our other sister (Abby) was in town from South Carolina. So lots of travel and people visiting = eating out. It couldn't be helped. Fortunately, my temptation to buy breakfast and lunch at work was at a minimal all week, so my slip-ups weren't too bad.

Friday, October 18
Met Emily at Panera for lunch. I guess I could have taken her back to my house and cooked something, but come on. How lame is that? $10.46. We both drove down to Athens, where we met Anna for dinner at the Court Street Diner. Which, by the way, has the best mac'n'cheese ever. Picked up Anna's meal because college. $27.40. (We then drove up to my parents' house, where they paid for everything. Thanks, Mom and Dad!)

Sunday, October 20
Grabbing brunch at the super-awesome Northstar Cafe just before Emily heads home is a long-standing tradition. The menu is very local and mostly organic, therefore it's very pricey. Fortunately I had a coupon for a free entreé and only paid $4.82 for my fresh-squeezed orange juice; without the coupon I would have been looking at a nearly $20 price tag.

Rest of the wee
Actually, I didn't spend any of my own money! Packed lunches like a champ, ate snacks and breakfast at home or brought from home, and powered through the week. It didn't hurt that I got a $25 Starbucks gift card from my friend's mom; she owns a bakery and I shot a few snaps of her desserts for her website. How nice of her is that? I used part of it to get a breakfast sammie and a salted caramel mocha latte (OHMYGODYUM) on Thursday.

Total for the week: $42.68. Thank god for that gift card and self-control, eh?