Skip to main content

DAY 21: Early celebration brunch!

Last week I told my family that the spending freeze has been successful so far and if we continue and finish the month strong that we could go out to eat. We voted and decided to have brunch at El Torito. Plus I had a coupon for $15 off. The plan was to go to brunch Sunday March 1st. But we had a surprise visit from some friends that drove up for the weekend from LA. They stayed the night Saturday and we had brunch together on Sunday at El Torito. It was nice to be there and spend time with our friends. And it was as yummy as I remember it. But it will be a long while before we got back for brunch again. The price has jumped up. Last time we were there it was $15.99 per person now, its $17.99. Plus, Leo is still at the childrens price at age 12. In a few weeks he is going to be 13. Most places have childrens pricing for 12 and under. Although, this past year anytime we said he was 12, I am pretty sure no one believed us. He is 5'8" and around 165 lbs.

I can say that eating out is one of our favorite things to do. But not eating out has been the biggest money saver. It's probably been the hardest thing to give up on the spending freeze. But eating out with a family of four is not cheap. The cheapest thing we do is pick up a pizza or chicken wings and eat them at home, which is around $20. Eating out at a sit down restaurant with drinks and tip can be around $40-$50. To me, I see that dollar amount now and think about how many groceries I can buy and how many meals that will make. Plus I feel like the portions are too big and I over eat. Making the sacrifice of not going out is worth it to me. But I am not convinced my family feels the same way.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#2-Korean Restaurant

This a blog about trying new things. Reaching beyond my comfort zone, exploring and making the most of life. My goal is to try 52 new things. One per week for a year. When I told my husband Joel that I was starting a blog about trying new things, the first suggestion he had was "you should try new types of food".  Of course... he would say that. I do not like trying new foods. Let me repeat that: I do not like trying new foods. Ask anyone who really knows me. I go to the same restaurants and eat the same things, over and over. My husband, on the other hand, will eat anything. No, really, I mean ANYTHING. He always says, "if I went on Survivor I would be the only contestant to gain weight". It has always mildly annoyed him that I am not more adventurous when it comes to food. Luckily, I have other positive traits that help him get over it. He suggested Korean and Indian. Our friends and family have been talking about a new Korean restaurant that recently opened....
8 comments
Read more

#5 Body Wrap

This a blog about trying new things. Reaching beyond my comfort zone, exploring and making the most of life. My goal is to try 52 new things. One per week for a year. A few months ago I was at the gym. Upon entering there was a table with two young women sitting there promoting a spa package deal. I bought it, $60 for 5 different treatments including a "spot" body wrap. It also included a one hour message, facial and acupressure. My second trip to the spa I decided to do the body wrap. The only wrap I had heard about, besides the one you eat, was being wrapped up like a mummy then covered in cellophane wrap as you proceed to sit in a sauna a sweat off the pounds. That's called a compression wrap. I did not get one of those. What I got was a lot different. Vicky took me into a room with a massage table. She asked me where I would like the spot wrap done. I said "my muffin top, my stomach". She said, "that's what most ladies get done". She to...
6 comments
Read more

DAY 8: How did this happen?~Part 2

Today I made a small purchase of eggs. They were on sale at Walgreens for $1.29 and I bought the max amount, 4 cartons. I eat eggs every day. Its a staple in my diet, a must-have! So I broke my grocery budget a little more. Next week I will do better. Time to continue my story about how we got to the point of a spending freeze. Continued from DAY 4 Blog. Once I quit working selling new homes I decided to hang my license with a Real Estate broker. One that I could do real estate transactions and loans. I also got certified as an Accredited Staging Professional and started my business The Wow Factor. I was the CEO and a Property Merchandising Consultant and Joel was the President. Well, my timing was terrible. No one wanted to stage their home, they were all foreclosing or short selling. We had two rentals we owned and had to pay out of pocket each month to make the mortgage. Plus we now had to pay for our own health insurance. We had to pay out $12,000 per month on all our bills. An...
2 comments
Read more