So it’s been an ugly week. Ugly because the car broke down and needed $900 to fix it. Ugly because work has just blown up into proportions that my three-person team can’t handle. Ugly because the weather just won’t stop being hot.

But on the upside today, I was informed that we’ve “made” $26 at Costco as a result of our buying. This because our membership gives us a refund after a year on a percentage of our purchases during the year. We’re guaranteed to get $50 back with our membership so we can use that to plow right back into next year’s membership, but maybe we can go past that and get more cash back! Or not…Really, I guess it doesn’t matter.

Gadzooks, I’m pathetic.

Yes, I admit that I like going to Costco. I’m ending up buying almost all of my meat there, and for that matter, a bunch of other food items that keep the family happy while not running my budget into the ground. It’s to the point today that it dawned on me that I’ve probably got a little more stuff in the freezer than I need for the next two weeks. It’s not a bad problem to have, I guess.

Jenni likes to needle me about my hesitation in joining, because I’d thought about it for the better part of about 3 years but never jumped in until just this past spring. But I still go over the receipt when we get home and do some quick mental arithmetic to make myself feel good about my purchase and see just how much I saved. Today, just on 9 of our 17 or so items, I figured up about $40 saved.

Of course, we have 12 mini pizzas for the kids lunches, or 50 individually sized bags of chips, or 15 more boxes of mac and cheese for Patrick, but it does save us money in the long run because I’d be buying that stuff anyway.

I was nearly giddy today as I packaged up the 9 pounds of pork I bought for $16. Yes, I got 9 pounds of pork today. But that’ll translate to probably 5 meals. Not all in the coming week, mind you–Jenni and the kids would kill me if that were the case–but down the road, I’ve got it available. And a bunch of beef roast. And chicken tenderloins. All joining the ground beef and ground turkey I got last time.

The toilet paper hasn’t been a bargain there lately: it’s been cheaper at Cub or Walgreens for the last month or so. So that’s sadly a kind of let down.

But my pride and joy today was kind of a bargain, maybe only a couple of dollars worth, but it’ll make me happy: a 2 pound jar of Clausen pickle spears. They’re a guilty pleasure and indulgence, but at $5, I just couldn’t pass it up.

I know. I’m a sad, sad human being.

See you tomorrow.