I guess I'm not the only one who hasn't been frugal if we've made it this far into the month without a frugals thread. I think it's easy to have the attitude that "summer is short so live it up!" especially in the northern areas.
For household spending, my main focus needs to be meal planning and good decisions in the grocery store. Yes, there can be lobster, but not all meals can be lobster. We did come in within budget on groceries this past week, but that was after several weeks of exceeding the budget (which is pretty generous for 2 people, btw).
The hot weather makes food more challenging too. DH made chicken stock and soup from 2 rotisserie carcasses, which was great, but it went right into the freezer because it hasn't been hot-soup-eating weather. I made a caprese salad this weekend and a large pasta salad yesterday. Salads are my thing! Also a pitcher of real iced tea, which is the only kind I like and is good to have in the fridge.
For personal spending (from my allowance), I need to keep sight of the things I really want to accomplish with my funds, and not fritter money away on lunches out and recreational shopping. There can be lunches out, but they need to be well considered and not just thoughtless impulses. I love to spend time with my sister, but she always wants to go shopping. That is really her idea of a good time, and it's hard to get her enthused about activities that don't have some type of a shopping component. We are planning to try a yoga class tonight, so although it will cost money ($10 each), I think it will be a more fulfilling way to spend time together. I feel fine about spending $10 on that.