I escaped just under $50, which is pretty good for me. Checking the flyer ahead of time was a good plan, one which I'll have to be more disciplined about in the future.

Another thing that helps is I'm pretty well stocked on spices now. When I didn't cook much from scratch, I could get away with nothing more than salt and pepper. As I make more of an effort to only eat what I cook, well, one needs a bit more to work with. Also, I'm trying to eat more fruits and veggies, which are gloriously cheap even in the winter (well, compared to meat -- I'm from a meat and potatoes family).

So, shopping is done for another couple weeks and mole chili is bubbling away in the crock pot to supplement last week's vegetable soup. I'll clean the kitchen when I go to add the last seasonings to the chili. Feeling mighty productive!

Well, if nothing unexpected comes up, I should manage to bank an entire paycheck this month.

It'll be close -- I have to get my car serviced in the next couple weeks, so if there's anything other than the oil needing changed, I'll probably go a bit into the second paycheck. But still! This isn't bad for early on.

The good:
-- I know most people feel they spend more on credit cards than handing over paper money, but me? I get cash and it goes *poof*. No idea what I spent it on. But I get really embarrassed looking at my credit card statement and seeing money wasted on it ("I paid how much for that coffee!?"), so I'm down to the emergency $20 in my wallet and charging everything.
-- Not having cash also makes me a lot less likely to eat out. I've only eaten out three times this month (Reno, dinner with some friends last weekend, and taking a friend to lunch this week when she needed to get away from her desk before killing us all).
-- Tied to the above, I've been making a point of cooking every night and putting aside a portion for the next day's lunch before I eat. I figure this is also good for my waistline. *g*
-- One roommate owed me money (I charged the room in Reno), so my share of the utilities were already covered for the month. She still owes me about $30, so I'll have that advantage next month as well.

The bad:
-- ... Damned car.
-- Speaking of which, I still need to shop around for car insurance. At this point, I may see if my current carrier gives me a decent reduction in January, as that will be two years with them.
-- I'm going through my pantry at a pretty quick clip and will have to do a serious restock soon. As I'm trying to eat healthier, this will probably be painful until I've managed to stock a healthy pantry.
-- I have to do my Christmas shopping still. Eek.

Overall, I'm feeling pretty upbeat about the financial picture. This might be doable!