Here we are on Week 26 of this project, the half-way point (well not quit my halfway point as I joined a little late, but close enough).
To review who we are - a family of 4: 2 adults, an 8 year old and a 13 month old. My current spending goal is $200 every 2 weeks; split $150 week one (pay week) and $50 the other week. We try and do one "meager meal" a week donating our savings to charity. We also try to do one meatless meal a week, as well as breakfast for dinner once a week.
I've learned a lot doing this project; mainly that when I started I had no idea what we spent on food and how much we were wasting on eating out. We've (and I mean WE as a FAMILY) have become a lot of accountable in regards to our eating and spending habits. We're making better choice.
I've also learned you need to have a plan. Planning is critical. If you don't have a plan in writing you at the very least need to have a framework for your weekly meals. Planning meals not only makes evenings and cooking easier, but you spend less at the store.
And speaking of shopping, going with a list and a calculator on a regular schedule is really helpful. I guess this goes hand in hand with planning.
But I've also learned that no matter how much you plan you need to be flexible and have back-ups plans. If the family is sick or there is an emergency it's OK go with a simpler dinner, or eat out and go over budget (and if you've stayed in budget the occasional overage is do-able). Keeping essentials in the house for quick meals like soup stuff and bread and cheese are a must. There is nothing like so chicken noodle soup or dry toast when you have the stomach-flu.
Goal: $75 (because I went so over last week)
Actual: $72.64
Meals:
Monday: burritos (Turkey's pick)
Tuesday: we were suppose to eat at my mom's - had to change plans ended up with sandwiches
Wednesday: homemade pizza* and salad
Thursday: breakfast wraps
Thursday: fish, mac and cheese and green beans
Saturday: hamburger steaks
Sunday: pumpkin pancakes
* I made my first from scratch pizza crust and it was super yummy and easy. We're already talking about other ways to use this recipe. Turkey has a cinnamon sugar desert idea he wants to try this weekend. You can find the recipe here.
Don't forget to check out these other participants and see how they're doing.
2 comments:
GREAT post - and I love your blog title:)
We've been making our own pizzas for the last few years - it's a great budget saver and the kids love Friday pizza night. "meager" meal is a fantastic idea - I may have to "steal" that from you.
Smart to bring a calculator to the store. I'll try this next week and see how I do!
Post a Comment