Sometimes Milk Is Not In the Budget

JD and I have a pretty iron clad budget. There is enough cushion for the unexpected expenses and the occasion splurge, however we never live like the cushion exists. We follow the budget religiously and it has never failed us. Every so often though, we have a few too many unexpected expenses and the cushion gets a little tight. During these times, we get really creative with our resources. Especially meals.

We haven't had milk in the house in four days. I could care less. I hardly ever use milk except for coffee and the occasional bowl of cereal. JD however, drinks the stuff like a five year old boy. He almost prefers it over any other beverage choice in the house. But don't try to take a sip of his milk, he says it tastes like fish if it's shared. So weird. No milk means no cereal, no coffee for JD, no mashed potatoes, no creamy pasta sauces. That's okay though because when we get down to the scary number in our checking account, I get creative.

I think we almost eat better when we're broke. JD is Mr. It's Not A Meal Unless There's Meat On The Plate so I have to carb it up to trick his stomach into feeling like it received a protein laden meal. So we eat lots of potatoes, pasta and bread. You'd think we live during the Irish Potato Famine by all of the things I can make with potatoes. Since we couldn't eat cereal I made blueberry pancakes for breakfast. This morning I made brownies. What? I'm going grocery shopping today, relax. 

We may run out of staples like milk and meat but we never ever run out of toiletries. I am a coupon queen and have mastered the art of stockpiling my cupboards with the necessities. I counted four tubes of toothpaste, eight sticks of deodorant, twelve rolls of toilet paper, and no soap (oops) this morning. And that's just in our bathroom. I have over fifteen boxes of cereal, ten boxes of rice, five brownie mixes, a bazillion canned goods and fifty million granola bars in the pantry. We could really get away with not grocery shopping for another month and live like kings on that stuff if JD would let me. If only we had milk though....

I don't mind a little penny pinching every so often. I think it really strengthens me and not take for granted the things that we do have. Payday is today so we are rich yet again. The first thing JD said to me this morning as I gave him the choice of dry cereal or a brownie for breakfast was "please get some milk today." Babe, I got this. I'm gonna buy so much milk you're gonna mistake our fridge for a dairy farm. It'll be nothing but milk and cookies, milk baths, milk mustaches, milk chocolate and cafe au laits. Until we run out and then it'll be water. From the tap. Because bottled water isn't in the budget either.