Cents and Sensibility, Day 7. A hot day of cool retrospection.

A week ago today, I'd purchased everything that I needed for this project. So now's a good time for a bit of a mini-retrospective.

I spent $197.23 at Costco last weekend. I spent a total of 135.64 at Safeway exactly a week ago. From that Safeway total, I distributed the walking-around cash for this project, as well as $30 in gift cards for two birthdays I knew were right around the corner. Pick apart that total further, and everything else in the cart was fresh stuff.

I filled up my car with $33 of gas. My tank contained enough gas to drive around for a hundred miles or so before I filled it up.

So what's happened in a week?

I thought the gas or Diet Coke would be the first to go. Not so.

I've driven a total of 85.9 miles in a week. I presently have more than 3/4 of a tank of gas.

Even after today. I drove to work today, and it was wicked-hot on my drive home. I turned on the air conditioning during rush hour, wondering all the while just how much gas I was sucking out of my tank by staying comfortable.

I did a bit of digging when I got home, and it didn't take very long to find this bit of information on slate.com about just how much gas I was consuming by staying cool http://www.slate.com/id/2194536/. Apparently saving gas by opening windows vs cranking up the AC is debatable. Who knew that trying to conserve energy could be such a drag?

As for the other stuff we still have, there are a few Diet Cokes left, but I don't think Logan knows about them.

But he's retained his $20 stake in this project. I have a feeling he'll spend part of his ching on a 12-pack.

And I have my money, too.

Then there's the garden.

Unfortunately, I don't have a mango tree or a crap-ton of assorted canned or frozen fruit on hand. Because we're running a bit low in the fruit department.

But we do have lettuce, spinach and arugula growing like weeds in the backyard.

Long and short, this week has been so good. I've learned some fiscal self-control, and it's been almost effortless.

Almost.

I was thinking about this project on my air-conditioned drive home from work today, wondering how far what we'll have will take us; which domino will be the first to fall.

At this point, regardless of the entertaining, the moments of silence, the frustration, we've gone a week without going without.

And I think we can go a few weeks longer. Maybe more.