The Right Tools For The Job

Yay!!!!!! I made my grocery list. it didnt take that long once I actually sat down to do it. I have to do three stores today. I know for some of you this isnt really convenient but I live in a city where this isnt that big of a drive. Before really sticking to this budget thing I would do three stores each week but have changed it to once a month to keep impulse buying down. The majority of my groceries will come from Aldis, with Kroger coming in at a close second since they tend to have some pretty decent deals with coupons every few weeks. Walmart tends to be cheaper on cleaning supplies and I found some decent coupons on the Coupon.com app and was wanting to see how that works out.

A few years ago I wrote a little daily blip in facebook on wearing the full armor of God. I ladybugged it up by changing the breast plate of truth to a ladybug apron, my helmet was a straw hat I wear in the garden and you get the idea. I will have to try to dig that picture up for you if you missed it. I am a real hoot sometimes. Anyway this got me thinking about how I prepare myself for anything that I am about to do. Like if Mr Ladybug and I are going on a adventure that will take several hours is the car I take my heated blanket and snacks. We always have our water bottles and I try to remember tea bags and honey if he happens to stop to grab coffee somewhere I get just hot water. Sometimes we even take a thermos of coffee and I have one for tea.

This is what I need if I am going to be out running errands and shopping for the week. My water bottle and my hot tea. The little caffeine from the tea keeps me civil. The water to keep me from wanting to grab a drink while out. Its very tempting sometimes. My clipboard is a must for my list and to keep my coupons handy. My ink pen to  mark thing off so I dont forget anything and to jot down something if I get a phone call or see something I want to look into later. My diffuser necklace and bracelet. I love smells and associate alot of happy memories with them. Today I need good vibes and happy thoughts as I am around lots of other people out and about so citrus smells like grapefruit, lemon and orange will be in them. I also keep my phone handy to check in with Shopkicks and to see if there are any deals on that app or Ibotta. I normally write them down on my list to make shopping faster.

It may be silly but if you leave the house with a plan and stick to the plan things can run much smoother and faster. Sort of like cooking. Have you ever decided to make something and instead of getting all the ingredients out at once you just get things out one at a time and realize that you dont have something like enough eggs or baking powder?

I only need to be $15 under budget to have saved $100 of groceries this month. I am starting off with only $143 instead of my $150 since Mr Ladybug decided to order whole nutmeg off Amazon yesterday. What am I going to do with him?

Whatever you have to do today I hope you are well prepared and I hope you do it fabulously and with lots of glitter. Life is so much better with sparkles and we need more of that in our lives.