Chili Jr

I guess I still haven't told you the story of last chili cook-off. It's not the only thing I promised to tell you about but haven't got around to, so we'll just put a dog-ear in that for now. What matters for today's post is, there was another one. Another chili cook-off, this afternoon.

I got third place. Made the same chili, basically, as I'd made last time, so I knew it would place, or at least suspected it would (it tying for first last time.) It being third just meant it was called first, which means the suspense was least, so I'm thrilled. My prize, $50 off of rent for next semester, nets me a $25 value after spending about $25 on ingredients. Hold on, I've got my receipt right here... $19.32, spent on ingredients, not counting tax, also providing me with a good meal or two's worth of leftovers.

I'd said I wasn't going to be buying anything else this month, but I technically have $45 more this month after paying tithing, if I'm able to donate plasma both Monday and Thursday of the week after Thanksgiving. I tapped into that fact to pay for ingredients: $45 is more than the $41.71/$41.62 of the budget I'd had, which means that I still was able to use the old card to pay for groceries, knowing I'd just cover the difference in the due balance using the new card. 

Which would be cleaner, anyway, also, since I'd only have to figure out how to transfer money from my new card to pay for everything (both grocery cost of this Monday, and the tithing cost of the Monday after next,) instead of figuring out how to transfer money from the new one and the old one, and pooling from both (the old card to cover the price of last groceries and the new card to pay tithing due.) Now, I just have to pool the new card into my bank account, and cover the grocery cost AND the tithing money in the same transaction. Linking the old card up, only to need to use it for one transaction, that's not very efficient. This idea is way better. If it works.

And if it doesn't... birthday money will probably be in the mail on Monday?