Low Spend January Update

Low Spend Update 1/10

We're ten days into our Low Spend January so it's time for an update. We started with a total of $950 to spend for the whole month broken down like this

                                                

Gas	290
Spending	290
eating out	30
Groceries	300
misc	40

 

Remaining Balance

Gas 230

Spending 160

Eating out 30

Groceries 75

Misc. 40

Total 600

Also I was on Beg, Barter, Buy, Sell and bought some things, but don't worry I didn't blow my budget, I sold some stuff as well along with the fact I made I made some extra money dog sitting. I had a total of $220 unbudgeted funds and spent $145 of that. The leftover money went to buying a part for my broken washing machine, bummer, but at least my budget was spared.

Menu Update

Friday I tried making Baked Cheese Sticks for lunch and it didn't turn out well. They were more like cheese patties, but don't worry, I ate them anyway. Then for Supper I made Buffalo Chicken Garbage Bread and I did much better with that! I cooked the chicken in coconut oil instead of olive oil, used part skim cheese and light ranch ( we're not Blue Cheese people). There isn't much you can do about all the bread the chicken and cheese are wrapped in except not eat too much. My daughters LOVED it, I thought it was pretty good too. I served it along with some steamed broccoli from my neighbors garden, yum!

Saturday I made English Muffin Mini Pizzas, my kids and their friends LOVE these! I cut an English Muffin in half and lay it open face on a cookie sheet. I spread some tomato sauce on top and sprinkle with Italian Seasoning. Then sprinkle with part skim mozzerella and whatever toppings you like, we use Turkey pepperoni, black olives and mushrooms. I bake them on 425* until cheese is melted and edges of muffin are toasty. Right before I made lunch I put some Chicken Teriyaki in the crockpot and sprinkle some sesame seeds in with the mixture. I let that cook all afternoon while we were at a birthday party and then served it over some parboiled white rice. Unfortunately my kids didn't even try it because I was super nice mom and let them each get a $1 hamburger when we stopped at McDonald's on the way home from the party for a potty break. I felt bad because I knew they were starving and it was still going to be a couple of hours before supper. Well it was a mistake on my part because they claimed they were too full to eat their supper after that, lesson learned!

New Recipe Hailed a Success!

I made the Homemade Crunchwrap Supreme last night and it was really good, my family approved as well! I used ground turkey instead of ground beef, low sodium taco seasoning, whole grain chalupa shells, light sour cream and 2% milk shredded cheese. Another thing you could do that I did not is use light or low carb tortillas instead of regular tortillas. I have been using ground turkey to make taco meat for awhile now and really prefer it, it's much less greasy and has a better flavor.

This Week's Menu

I've been asked to post my weekly menus with recipes and how I altered some of them to be healthier. I plan my menus from Thursday to Thursday because it just works best for us and coordinates well with groceries shopping/pay days. I'm just posting the menu but please let me know if you want a recipe and I'll post it. Oh and one more thing, since I've been working on a lot of Pinterest projects, several of these recipes are from there and I haven't tried them yet. My family is going to love me...not!

This week's menu

THURBreakfast- cereal Lunch- leftover broccoli cheese soup Supper- Homemade Crunch Wrap Supreme FRI Breakfast-Pancakes Lunch- Baked Cheese Balls and leftover Lentil Soup Supper- Buffalo Garbage Bread, Steamed Broccoli         SAT Breakfast- Mini Frittatas Lunch- English Muffin mini pizzas Supper-Chicken Teriyaki and Rice              i     SUN Breakfast-cereal Lunch- Ruben Sandwiches, Fried Potatoes Supper- Fagioli Soup, Salad       MON Breakfast- cereal Lunch-Chicken Roll ups Supper-Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce, pasta, green beans       TUES Breakfast-cereal Lunch-Mac n Cheese Supper- Chicken Pot Pie, salad (Daughter's night to cook)         WED Breakfast-cereal Lunch-Grilled Cheese sandwiches Supper- Sour Cream Enchiladas

January **Low Spend Month**

Our Family is declaring January a Low Spend Month instead of a No Spend Month. Since January is a relatively quiet month it seemed like a good time to have one. Our hope is to be able to save a little and and maybe pay down some bills, so yesterday we sat down and made a plan for the month. We figured about how much we could resonably scrape by on, made a budget for the month with all of our bills due, and now have a plan. Here is what our Low Spend Month looks like:

Gas-$290

Spending money ( lunches out, sonic drinks, ect.) $290

Groceries $300 ( know this is a terrible stretch but I'm up for the challenge)

Eating out $30

Misc. $40

Total $950


Honestly I'm a little nervous to take this on, because the numbers don't look low to me but I also feel I have to be realistic or I'll set myself up for failure. Ultimatly, my goal would be to come in under budget by January 31st but I guess we'll see how "low" I can keep my spending. I will update this throughout the month on each line item and how it's holding up.

***Update

1/2/2013 Spent $170 on Groceries, Spending money was issued, my husband got $80, I got $50. I have $25 left of my $50 after a trip to Baskin Robbins and one to McDonalds. I also spent $50 on gas, this is what the numbers look like now.

Gas $240

Spending money, not issued $160 (I still have $25 of my $50 issued, I don't keep track of Hubby's, it's not my problem if he runs out:) he's pretty good a stretching it though)

Groceries $130

Eating out $30

Misc $40

Total Remaining for the month $600

No Spend Challenge Update

I've always wanted to do a no spend challenge but was always afraid to bite the bullet and do it. My friends are asking me what a no spend challenge is, apparently not everyone is a money/budgeting nerd like I am. I explained it like this; you set a time limit like a week, month, whatever, I chose 10 days. During the time you set you cannot spend any money beyond basic necessities, you know like groceries, gas, bills or things you have previously committed to. I started my challenge on Tuesday, this means I completed day #3 without spending anything. Has anyone else taken a similar challenge and were you successful?

The Grinch

I am such a grinch, that's right I REALLY don't like Christmas! Now don't get me wrong, I love Jesus and love celebrating his birth but what I don't love is how the holiday season hijacks my sanity, calendar, bank account and at times my credit card balance. Why can't it just be a simple time to relax, read the story of Jesus' birth, to reflect on the past year and reevaluate what you'd like to do in the coming year? Instead it gives my children a bad case of The Gimmies, everyone decides to have a Christmas Party and I have to figure out how I'm going to find all the the extra time and money. So that's it, I'm going to start researching creative ideas to take the focus off of all the commercialism, which causes me to be a grinch, and to bring the focus back to what's really important. I'm thinking less gifts, less parties,less running around like a decapitated chicken,  more cookies, more crafts (yes I said crafts, I hate crafts), more relaxing and more thoughtfulness. Ideas appreciated!