My employer is the real MVP today as my paycheck hit my account early. That provided the opportunity for me to fiddle with my Excel spreadsheet where I am working out the numbers and to organize some important things before another crazy week begins.
Organization on the weekend is crucial because I am, apparently, more exhausted than I realized. I collected empirical evidence on this when I awakened from a dead sleep at 12:30 p.m. today. That is not typical 40-something behavior.
Catch up with what I’ve accomplished already this weekend after the jump!
I have watched a couple YouTube videos that I found somewhat inspiring and extremely helpful to conceptualize what it is I am trying to do with our household budget. I especially liked the 70% rule discussed in this video as well as the super simple envelope system outlined in this video.
I’ll admit it–the idea of having cash in an envelope and approaching a cashier at the grocery store filled me with a grave level of dread. My anxiety meter is not calibrated to handle such a roulette wheel of chance. I decided to the best way to handle the $100/week for groceries would be to meal plan and then use Kroger’s ClickList service and my local market’s drive-up service. I like Kroger for some things, but for my meat and most produce, I feel much more comfortable with my local market. Plus, by purchasing the bigger ticket items at my market when they are on sale, I earn points that allow me to purchase eggs, milk, and other staples for pennies on the dollar.
I started my Meal Plan by assessing what I had in the freezer, the fridge, and the cupboards. Our meal plan for this week looks like this:
- Breakfast for dinner — specifically eggs, sausage & toast
- Spaghetti & garlic toast night
- Beef Taco Night
- Homemade pizza night
- Instant pot pulled pork & corn on the cob
- Instant pot lemon chicken and garlic chicken
Nothing exotic or overly creative made it on to the plan and that is by design. These are things I know everyone will eat, my husband would be willing to prepare, and that even after a 14-hour day at work, I could trudge through making if I had to.
We will also have food on hand for lunches, breakfast and some select snacking. I decided to make cookies rather than buying them this week. My cookies are better than packaged cookies anyhow.
I was able to take care of all our groceries for less than $100 and I didn’t have to change from my pajamas. Tomorrow I will pick up my order at Kroger (and go through it before I ever leave the lot based on some interesting stories I have heard regarding adventurous substitutions my friends have received) and then do the same at DLM. It is super amazing that I will be ready to go before Monday dawns.
I budgeted more on the “other” side of my envelope this week because my youngest needed to purchase a homecoming dress. Her older sister took her shopping and they found the perfect dress for $70. I had thought it would be $100, so there is a chance I can do the dress AND shoes for what I thought we would spend on the dress alone. And, this is a dress she can wear again…if she will–she’s not much for dresses. Also from the “other” side of the envelope came a fill-up for my oldest’s car and her trip through CVS trying to find something to relieve her current congestion. It may be that with a college sophomore I may need an envelope just for her each month…or perhaps she should have an envelope of her own. We will discuss ASAP. I am trusting that it’s never too late to teach good budgeting.
I also divided my younger daughter’s final ice hockey fee by the eight weeks between now & when it’s due so that I can sock away equal smaller amounts for eight weeks and not choke writing the check on November 1.
And, rather than willy nilly paying bills or sitting around holding onto money wondering what I should pay when, I’ve already mapped that out and have begun paying bills from my paycheck. And the craziest part? I have 30% of my paycheck that will be available for our “crushing debt” as described by Jordan Page in the videos I linked above–and we will restart that emergency fund that never seems to stay funded.
If you’re an experienced budgeter, I’d love to hear your tried and true tips. If you’re climbing back on the wagon with me, tell me what changes you’re making this month and we can compare notes!
