Sunday, February 27, 2011
Budget Bummer
I'm totally bummed out because I spent my entire grocery budget yesterday at Kroger. I have plenty of food so it's not like we'll have to go with out it's just that I'll still need milk, water and I'm sure a few other things and that will push me over budget. I have to understand that with a budget that low ($200 a month, $100 every two weeks) I'm going to go over sometimes. I decided I rather aim to keep it low and just take the chance of going over than raise it and be spending more because I have it, because that's what I'd do. Last night I watched Suze Orman and Until Debt Do Us Part, I love watching those shows on Saturday night, it keeps me inspired throughout the week. I know several of you have been working on menu planning and budgeting for groceries, how's it going?
Thursday, February 24, 2011
My Dirty Little Secret
The past five years since we've lived in this house I've been struggling with mildew in the shower of my master bathroom. Even though both bathrooms in my house have the same tile only the master has proven hard to keep clean. It had become so bad that I would just let it go completely until it made me sick to look at, it was my dirty little secret. I was so frustrated because I had tried every cleaner I could find to keep it clean, even those Scrubbing Bubbles automatic shower cleaners. When I was reading America's Cheapest Family they suggested keeping a spray bottle with a little bleach and some water in the shower and spraying it a couple of times a week to keep the mildew away. I figured it was worth a try so I started doing that last week and I noticed today that my shower is cleaner than I have ever seen it! This may be something that everybody else already knows but I am so happy to not have my dirty little secret anymore!
I Did It!!!!
I completed this past pay period without going over my grocery budget. Although I was VERY tempted by some good deals at Kroger I really wanted to stay within budget so I passed. Now hopefully that won't reflect negatively on my stockpile in weeks to come. I've got my menu planned for this week and I'll need the following.
- lettuce
- tomato
- Bread
- Alfredo sauce
- Beef Ribs
- Shredded Cheese
My menu for the week:
Friday- Turkey and Dressing (yes, this is leftover from Thanksgiving, I had it in the freezer)
Saturday- Rollatini (ended up with roast leftovers so we didn't have this last week)
Sunday- Eat @ Church
Monday-Tuna Salad Sandwiches or Chef Salad
Tuesday- Beef Ribs (in the crock pot)
Wednesday- Smothered Steak
Thursday- Taco Soup
Friday, February 18, 2011
Menu Plan and Grocery Budget
This week's Menu:
Supper
Fri- Ribeyes
Sat- Hot dogs
Sun- Make Italian Sandwiches for Church
Mon- Roast
Tues- Hot Wings
Wed- Meatballs
Thurs- Chicken Rollatini
Breakfast will be cereal, poptarts, pancakes ( still have some in the freezer) and waffles.
For lunch will have sandwiches, Mac and cheese, frozen pizza and nachos (I'm planning on using some beans from the freezer.
All I need from the store this week to make these meals is; syrup, Alfredo Sauce, french fries, carrots and shredded cheese. This brings me to my grocery budget, I still have $20 for this week. That should cover what I need to buy to make the meals on my menu. The only problem I'm finding is my stockpile of meat is running low, after this week I have about a week or week and a half worth of meat left in the freezer. I'll have to use next pay periods grocery budget to stock back up so hopefully it will be on sale. There are some good sale items at Kroger and HEB that I'd like to take advantage of but I really don't want to go over budget so I'm trying to decide whether I should or not.
Supper
Fri- Ribeyes
Sat- Hot dogs
Sun- Make Italian Sandwiches for Church
Mon- Roast
Tues- Hot Wings
Wed- Meatballs
Thurs- Chicken Rollatini
Breakfast will be cereal, poptarts, pancakes ( still have some in the freezer) and waffles.
For lunch will have sandwiches, Mac and cheese, frozen pizza and nachos (I'm planning on using some beans from the freezer.
All I need from the store this week to make these meals is; syrup, Alfredo Sauce, french fries, carrots and shredded cheese. This brings me to my grocery budget, I still have $20 for this week. That should cover what I need to buy to make the meals on my menu. The only problem I'm finding is my stockpile of meat is running low, after this week I have about a week or week and a half worth of meat left in the freezer. I'll have to use next pay periods grocery budget to stock back up so hopefully it will be on sale. There are some good sale items at Kroger and HEB that I'd like to take advantage of but I really don't want to go over budget so I'm trying to decide whether I should or not.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
My Menu Plan For The Week
Yesterday Aaron earned some serious husband points. While I was out with Raegan all day running errands he was at home cleaning and BBQing. He cooked pork ribs, pork chops, drumsticks, sausage and smoked a ham. All but the ribs went in the freezer for later meals.
Supper
Fri- Ribs
Sat- Eat Out
Sun- Eat @ Church
Mon- Frozen Pizza
Tues- Chicken Drumsticks
Wed- Lasagna
Thurs- Tacos
All I needed from the store to serve these meals were lettuce and shredded cheese. I bought milk, bread, eggs and grapes for the week along with other sale items I stocked up on (see previous post).
Breakfast will alternate between cereal, the pancakes I (successfully) made last week and waffles.
Lunch is the usual, sandwiches, mac and cheese and Ramen noodles with some leftovers mixed in.
Supper
Fri- Ribs
Sat- Eat Out
Sun- Eat @ Church
Mon- Frozen Pizza
Tues- Chicken Drumsticks
Wed- Lasagna
Thurs- Tacos
All I needed from the store to serve these meals were lettuce and shredded cheese. I bought milk, bread, eggs and grapes for the week along with other sale items I stocked up on (see previous post).
Breakfast will alternate between cereal, the pancakes I (successfully) made last week and waffles.
Lunch is the usual, sandwiches, mac and cheese and Ramen noodles with some leftovers mixed in.
So Far So Good!
There's lots on my mind today so bear with me while I ramble on. Last night Aaron and I had a MUCH over do family budget meeting. I feel very firmly that we both need to be on the same page if we're ever going to be successful in our finances. It's hard to make a family budget work if we have different ideas about where the money should go and how much should be spent. If both of us spend the same $10 on different things then all of the sudden our checking account is thrown off. It went well and I'm hoping this year is off to an even better start than the last 6 months have been. As far as my grocery budget for this pay period of two weeks I've spent $75 dollars of the $100. If I average my budget out that's $50 a week so I've already dipped into next weeks by $25. That should be fine, I don't see why I'll need to go over. My grocery money was spent this way:
Walgreen's $14.50 ( Starbucks Frappuccino 4-pack, 3 cans of Ripe Olives, 4 packages of Poptarts and 4 snickers bars)
CVS $7.50 ( 2 Skintimate Shave gels, 2 canisters of Planter's trail mix)
Kroger $53.00 (too much to list)
Walgreen's $14.50 ( Starbucks Frappuccino 4-pack, 3 cans of Ripe Olives, 4 packages of Poptarts and 4 snickers bars)
CVS $7.50 ( 2 Skintimate Shave gels, 2 canisters of Planter's trail mix)
Kroger $53.00 (too much to list)
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Beanie Business
My kids love greenbeans but I personally haven't been happy with how mine have been turning out. I've experimented with steamed, which I love but the kids hated. Then I tried the Duggar's recipe:
SPECTACULAR SAUTEED GREEN BEANS
Sauté on high till bubbly:1/2 c. Bragg’s™ Liquid Amino 1 whole bulb garlic, pressed Add:1 5lb. bag frozen whole Green Beans Stir well, Cover & Cook on high, stirring occasionally until desired tenderness.(Bragg’s™ is much better than soy sauce, & makes a big difference in flavor.) Everyone’s favorite including company!More of the Voeller’s healthy recipes can be found at http://www.thetwosisters.com/
I love it but the kids.....yep, they hated it. So tonight I tried something different. I cooked the greenbeans in chicken broth with a little butter and The Lady's House Seasoning. I was so good and everyone loved it!!! Success at last!
The Lady's House Seasoning:
Ingredients
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
SPECTACULAR SAUTEED GREEN BEANS
Sauté on high till bubbly:1/2 c. Bragg’s™ Liquid Amino 1 whole bulb garlic, pressed Add:1 5lb. bag frozen whole Green Beans Stir well, Cover & Cook on high, stirring occasionally until desired tenderness.(Bragg’s™ is much better than soy sauce, & makes a big difference in flavor.) Everyone’s favorite including company!More of the Voeller’s healthy recipes can be found at http://www.thetwosisters.com/
I love it but the kids.....yep, they hated it. So tonight I tried something different. I cooked the greenbeans in chicken broth with a little butter and The Lady's House Seasoning. I was so good and everyone loved it!!! Success at last!
The Lady's House Seasoning:
Ingredients
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Success With Pancakes!
I have a history of not being very good with pancakes but my kids love them and I knew it would be great to make a double batch so I could freeze some. Yesterday I was feeling pretty confident that I could make it happen, so confident in fact that I went a head and whipped up a double batch. This is scary to me because I really hate waste of any kind so if I hadn't been successfull I would have wasted not just one batch but two. Now mind you it's just Bisquick and I do have an awesome from scratch recipe from my mom but I'm not going to push it. Well much to my surprise they turned out beautifully. Raegan even helped cook most of them (maybe that's why) she experimented with sprinkles and chocolate chips. I now have three freezer bags with pancakes in the freezer for another morning!
Also yesterday I made several batches of Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas for The Kitchen Fairy, one was our supper. Instead of boiling all of the chicken I grilled three of the breast on the George Foreman (this takes 6 minutes, amazing!). I've been meaning to do this because I love that already cooked chicken at the grocery store, it's great for quick salads, which we love and other things. My one problem is I'm super cheap and it doesn't fit into my $50 a week budget. I did put them in the freezer but I'm afraid I should have flash frozen them. Isn't that what you call it when you lay them out in the freezer to freeze up quickly before you bag them up so they won't stick together? Well I think I should have done that and I didn't, I guess I'll find out.
My mom has managed to not only create an amazing Enchilada Sauce recipe (which is now a top secret The Kitchen Fairy recipe:) but also an equally amazing Spanish Rice one as well (not top secret:)
So yesterday I tried my hand at it and although it was not as good as hers it was good enough. It made so much, like I hoped it would, that I was able to freeze two more meals worth!!!
So at the end of the day and I know it sounds like I spent all day in the kitchen but I didn't, I put away the following in the freezer:
Pancakes (2 meals)
(3) Grilled Chicken Breast
Spanish Rice (2 meals)
I also made 4 pans of Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas, one we ate last night (we do have leftovers) and the others to be delivered today.
These are the things I am hoping will keep me within the budget I'm wanting and create more ease at meal time.
Also yesterday I made several batches of Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas for The Kitchen Fairy, one was our supper. Instead of boiling all of the chicken I grilled three of the breast on the George Foreman (this takes 6 minutes, amazing!). I've been meaning to do this because I love that already cooked chicken at the grocery store, it's great for quick salads, which we love and other things. My one problem is I'm super cheap and it doesn't fit into my $50 a week budget. I did put them in the freezer but I'm afraid I should have flash frozen them. Isn't that what you call it when you lay them out in the freezer to freeze up quickly before you bag them up so they won't stick together? Well I think I should have done that and I didn't, I guess I'll find out.
My mom has managed to not only create an amazing Enchilada Sauce recipe (which is now a top secret The Kitchen Fairy recipe:) but also an equally amazing Spanish Rice one as well (not top secret:)
So yesterday I tried my hand at it and although it was not as good as hers it was good enough. It made so much, like I hoped it would, that I was able to freeze two more meals worth!!!
So at the end of the day and I know it sounds like I spent all day in the kitchen but I didn't, I put away the following in the freezer:
Pancakes (2 meals)
(3) Grilled Chicken Breast
Spanish Rice (2 meals)
I also made 4 pans of Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas, one we ate last night (we do have leftovers) and the others to be delivered today.
These are the things I am hoping will keep me within the budget I'm wanting and create more ease at meal time.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Stromboli Recipe
This recipe is a little gem I found several years ago in Taste of Home magazine. It gets rave reviews from family and friends and is frequently requested for birthday meals.
Three-Meat Stromboli Recipe http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Three-Meat-Stromboli-2
32 Servings
Prep: 20 min. + rising Bake: 25 min.
Ingredients
4 loaves (1 pound each) frozen bread dough, thawed
1/2 pound thinly sliced deli salami
1/2 pound thinly sliced deli ham
1/2 pound thinly sliced pepperoni
1/2 pound thinly sliced provolone cheese
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon pepper
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
Directions
Let dough rise until doubled, according to package directions.
Punch down. Roll each loaf into a 15-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Arrange a fourth of the salami, ham, pepperoni and provolone cheese over each rectangle. Sprinkle each with a fourth of the mozzarella cheese, Romano cheese, garlic powder, oregano, parsley and pepper.
Roll up each rectangle jelly-roll style, beginning with a long side. Seal seams and ends. Place seam side down on two greased baking sheets. Brush with egg yolk.
Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 4 loaves (8 slices each).
Marinara Recipe (we like to dip ours in it)
14 oz can of petite diced tomatoes
140z can of tomato sauce
1 clove of garlic, minced
chopped onion
1 tsp Italian seasoning
3 Tbs of brown sugar
Simmer all ingredients together about 20 minutes.
Three-Meat Stromboli Recipe http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Three-Meat-Stromboli-2
32 Servings
Prep: 20 min. + rising Bake: 25 min.
Ingredients
4 loaves (1 pound each) frozen bread dough, thawed
1/2 pound thinly sliced deli salami
1/2 pound thinly sliced deli ham
1/2 pound thinly sliced pepperoni
1/2 pound thinly sliced provolone cheese
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon pepper
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
Directions
Let dough rise until doubled, according to package directions.
Punch down. Roll each loaf into a 15-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Arrange a fourth of the salami, ham, pepperoni and provolone cheese over each rectangle. Sprinkle each with a fourth of the mozzarella cheese, Romano cheese, garlic powder, oregano, parsley and pepper.
Roll up each rectangle jelly-roll style, beginning with a long side. Seal seams and ends. Place seam side down on two greased baking sheets. Brush with egg yolk.
Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 4 loaves (8 slices each).
Marinara Recipe (we like to dip ours in it)
14 oz can of petite diced tomatoes
140z can of tomato sauce
1 clove of garlic, minced
chopped onion
1 tsp Italian seasoning
3 Tbs of brown sugar
Simmer all ingredients together about 20 minutes.
My Last Shopping Trip For The Week....Hopefully
I ran to HEB this evening while the kids were at church which turned out to be a bad time to shop, it was c-razy in there! I was planning on this being my only shopping for this week and I knew I'd probably not be able to stay within the $20 I had remaining in my grocery budget to spend. I really only "needed" a few of the items I bought but there were some great deals I wanted to take advantage of. I'm hoping I'll be able to create a snowball effect and eventually be spending less but we shall see, it's all experimental. I came away spending approximately $60 putting me $40 over the $20 I wanted to spend. I came home with the following:
(2) Red Baron Pizzas (2/$5 used two 55 cent of coupons)
Red Baron French Bread Pizza (free w/purchase)
Ceaser Dressing (Free with purchase)
Pork Spare Ribs ( $1.77 lb. Aaron loves to put these on the pit so I buy them and other items he likes to smoke when they are on sale and when I get several he cooks them all in one day and I freeze it for individual meals later on)
Tyson Chicken Fries (used a $1 off coupon and got some freebies w/ it)
Zatarain's Rice (no coupon but it's the only kind I like and I was completely out)
Wing Sauce ($1 coupon made it $2.15)
HEB Orange Soda 2 ltr. (free w/purchase)
(4) 12 pack cans of Dr. Pepper (4 for $10)
Hot Wings ( Regular price but came with freebies)
Salsa Bowl (free w/purchase)
Canola Oil (regular price but I was out)
2 lbs of Sausage ($6 my family likes the "good" kind)
Bottled Water ( regular price but we're very picky)
Ranch Dressing (free w/purchase)
Potato Chips (free w/purchase)
I don't plan on going back to the store for the rest of the week, especially since I've already spent more than I wanted to.
(2) Red Baron Pizzas (2/$5 used two 55 cent of coupons)
Red Baron French Bread Pizza (free w/purchase)
Ceaser Dressing (Free with purchase)
Pork Spare Ribs ( $1.77 lb. Aaron loves to put these on the pit so I buy them and other items he likes to smoke when they are on sale and when I get several he cooks them all in one day and I freeze it for individual meals later on)
Tyson Chicken Fries (used a $1 off coupon and got some freebies w/ it)
Zatarain's Rice (no coupon but it's the only kind I like and I was completely out)
Wing Sauce ($1 coupon made it $2.15)
HEB Orange Soda 2 ltr. (free w/purchase)
(4) 12 pack cans of Dr. Pepper (4 for $10)
Hot Wings ( Regular price but came with freebies)
Salsa Bowl (free w/purchase)
Canola Oil (regular price but I was out)
2 lbs of Sausage ($6 my family likes the "good" kind)
Bottled Water ( regular price but we're very picky)
Ranch Dressing (free w/purchase)
Potato Chips (free w/purchase)
I don't plan on going back to the store for the rest of the week, especially since I've already spent more than I wanted to.
This Week's Menu
I had a request to post my menu and explain how I'm planning on doing it with a $50 a week food budget. I'm only going to post Monday through Thursday but I've been making my menu plan Friday through Thursday. Aaron is off on Friday's so that is kind of the start of my weekend.
Mon- Enchiladas and Beans ( I'll be making several pans of Enchiladas for The Kitchen Fairy http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Kitchen-Fairy/289155151121 so I'll make a pan for us. The beans I have in the freezer, I cook a big pot at a time and freeze them in bags. Beans freeze wonderfully and thaw quickly)
Tues- Spaghetti ( Saturday night I made Strombolli, we like to dip ours in Marinara sauce so I'm going to add the leftover marinara to some ground beef and cook some pasta. The canned tomatoes used in the marianara were bought for 25 cents to 50 cents a piece when on sale and were in my stockpile so they didn't come out of this week's budget. The same goes for the ground beef and pasta, it too was bought during a previous sale I had stocked up on. I'll probably make some garlic bread, I have that in the freezer too because Kroger keeps a clearance bread rack so I stock up everytime I'm there.)
Wed- Mini Meatloaves ( When I make these for The Kitchen Fairy I put some aside and freeze for us because they too freeze beautifully and thaw quickly. I'll probably make some mashed potatoes to go with it, potates have been on sale a lot lately and they keep in the fridge for a long time so I've got plenty. I'll pull a bag of frozen veggies out to steam also, they rarely go on sale but the Kroger brand is only 88 cents a bag.)
Thurs- Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches & French Fries ( This is a new recipe I have yet to try, I got it from a fellow menu planner of Facebook I'll repost it below. The buns are in my freezer I bought them clearanced out at HEB for 50 cents a bag. We'll have french fries to go with it, even when the name brand is on sale it's still not as cheap as the store brand and store brand french fries are one thing I don't mind.
Lunches will be leftovers for Aaron and for us it varies between sandwiches, canned or Ramen Noodle soup and sandwiches. I always keep fresh veggies and fruits that I cut up and serve with most of our meals.
Breakfast will be alternated between cereal (I stockpile that when it' on sale and I have coupons to combine with it), waffles (I have a freezer full because they were on sale last week) and I'm going to try my hand at making pancakes again. If the pancakes turn out well I'll make a bunch on my griddle and freeze them for quick breakfasts in the future.
Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches in the crockpot.
Recipe:
4 boneless & skinless chicken breasts, a bottle of buffalo wing sauce (about 17.5 oz), 1/2 of a 1oz dry ranch salad dressing packet. Mix the dry ranch & hot sauce together. Put the chicken breasts in a large freezer bag & pour the sauce on top, then freeze.
Thaw in the fridge or on the defrost setting in the microwave. Dump it into your crockpot & cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred with 2 forks, & serve on a bun. This is also really good as a buffalo chicken pizza!
I'll post the following weeks menu when I get it planned.
Mon- Enchiladas and Beans ( I'll be making several pans of Enchiladas for The Kitchen Fairy http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Kitchen-Fairy/289155151121 so I'll make a pan for us. The beans I have in the freezer, I cook a big pot at a time and freeze them in bags. Beans freeze wonderfully and thaw quickly)
Tues- Spaghetti ( Saturday night I made Strombolli, we like to dip ours in Marinara sauce so I'm going to add the leftover marinara to some ground beef and cook some pasta. The canned tomatoes used in the marianara were bought for 25 cents to 50 cents a piece when on sale and were in my stockpile so they didn't come out of this week's budget. The same goes for the ground beef and pasta, it too was bought during a previous sale I had stocked up on. I'll probably make some garlic bread, I have that in the freezer too because Kroger keeps a clearance bread rack so I stock up everytime I'm there.)
Wed- Mini Meatloaves ( When I make these for The Kitchen Fairy I put some aside and freeze for us because they too freeze beautifully and thaw quickly. I'll probably make some mashed potatoes to go with it, potates have been on sale a lot lately and they keep in the fridge for a long time so I've got plenty. I'll pull a bag of frozen veggies out to steam also, they rarely go on sale but the Kroger brand is only 88 cents a bag.)
Thurs- Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches & French Fries ( This is a new recipe I have yet to try, I got it from a fellow menu planner of Facebook I'll repost it below. The buns are in my freezer I bought them clearanced out at HEB for 50 cents a bag. We'll have french fries to go with it, even when the name brand is on sale it's still not as cheap as the store brand and store brand french fries are one thing I don't mind.
Lunches will be leftovers for Aaron and for us it varies between sandwiches, canned or Ramen Noodle soup and sandwiches. I always keep fresh veggies and fruits that I cut up and serve with most of our meals.
Breakfast will be alternated between cereal (I stockpile that when it' on sale and I have coupons to combine with it), waffles (I have a freezer full because they were on sale last week) and I'm going to try my hand at making pancakes again. If the pancakes turn out well I'll make a bunch on my griddle and freeze them for quick breakfasts in the future.
Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches in the crockpot.
Recipe:
4 boneless & skinless chicken breasts, a bottle of buffalo wing sauce (about 17.5 oz), 1/2 of a 1oz dry ranch salad dressing packet. Mix the dry ranch & hot sauce together. Put the chicken breasts in a large freezer bag & pour the sauce on top, then freeze.
Thaw in the fridge or on the defrost setting in the microwave. Dump it into your crockpot & cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred with 2 forks, & serve on a bun. This is also really good as a buffalo chicken pizza!
I'll post the following weeks menu when I get it planned.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Update On Things...
We started our second week of meal plans. I was surprised at how easy it was to do. I sat down with my calendar, a list of things I could make and in less than twenty minutes had a seven day meal plan. My family is really getting into, they love going and seeing what we're having to eat. Even Aaron is liking it, he gets excited when stuff he likes is on the schedule and thanks me (whoa!). Today the kids and I were gone during lunch and when I got home he had eaten what was on the schedule, awesome:) Last night I went to a Homemade Gourmet party, I hadn't been to one in years. It was very inspiring, they have all sorts of seasoning mixes and recipes that you can use to plan ahead and freeze which is right up my alley. I think I'm going to look into a little more and see if it fits in with my budget.
Speaking of budgets I realized that I was never going to be able to stick to my $50 a week grocery budget if I included household and cleaning items with it. So I decided to make a separate budget of $40 every two weeks for that. I'm not sure if that will work but it's something to start with. After adjusting that if gave me $50 back for my grocery budget which is what I have to work with this coming week. I'll probably be cutting it close because I've already spent $30 of that but I think so far I've done well with this being my first pay period to try it.
Speaking of budgets I realized that I was never going to be able to stick to my $50 a week grocery budget if I included household and cleaning items with it. So I decided to make a separate budget of $40 every two weeks for that. I'm not sure if that will work but it's something to start with. After adjusting that if gave me $50 back for my grocery budget which is what I have to work with this coming week. I'll probably be cutting it close because I've already spent $30 of that but I think so far I've done well with this being my first pay period to try it.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Menu Planning and Grocery Budget Cut Day Five
This is the fifth day of on my all meal planning schedule. It's been going even better than I anticipated. It turns out the kids and even my husband like going to the refrigerator, looking up the day on the schedule and seeing what we're going to be eating. Not only has it cut back on waste and meal time mayhem but the best part is I don't have to constantly hear, " I'm hungry, what's there to eat?". This is something I will definitely keep doing, I wish I would have started it a long time ago.
Today also marks day 5 of my grocery budget cut, the bad part is I've already spent all of my grocery budget for the next 9 days. In doing this it has occurred to me that even though I don't want to, I might have to either include more or create a separate budget for household items such as cleaners, paper goods and misc.
Today also marks day 5 of my grocery budget cut, the bad part is I've already spent all of my grocery budget for the next 9 days. In doing this it has occurred to me that even though I don't want to, I might have to either include more or create a separate budget for household items such as cleaners, paper goods and misc.
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