So I haven't had a very strict budget for about a year now. Not because I shouldn't have had one, but just because I was too lazy to give myself one. I would tell Joel that I was going to give myself one for the month, and he would say, "ok, good idea" but then I wouldn't get to the bank at the beginning of the month, or he would run to the store for me several times not using the allotted cash, or I would go to the store and shop with my emotions. This third scenario was the culprit of many shopping trips in January, and with bank account dwindling, still owning our house, and the idea of living on love and loans come August ( the Lewicki law school school adventure) I needed to reclaim the reigns on my spending. After all, live like no one else, so that later, you can live like no one else...right? :)
Well its going great...seriously. I could never have imagined in my wildest dreams that it would go this well. And frankly I think we're even eating a little bit healthier. Pause. I should clarify healthy. We are not by any stretch of the imagination stereotype health food people. When I say "healthier", we first need to understand that being healthier than we were didn't take that much...I mean we're always going to be suckers for frozen pizza...But along with our 2 frozen pizzas, homemade pizza, and pizza for the sitters saturday night, we are having TONS more fresh fruit and vegetables, organic milk, and a variety of meat. We're drinking more water and less pop, and rewarding ourselves with desert after some meals...sometimes its 5 m&m's, and sometimes its a brownie and ice cream...the point is...Its healthier.
I feel as though I've gotten off on a tangent. Yes we're eating better...blablabla. My first point is that we've done it dirt cheap. I think we're going to do it for $56.25 per person this month. We don't have any allergies or health concerns so we are pretty fortunate, and we've only gotten organic milk 2/3 of the time. Also we have a freezer full of tacos, and we will take advantage of them 4 times this month. Add to that, the short month, and the commitment to using everything we can in our cupboard's accumulating excess, and you can see this will be hard to duplicate. I have learned however, that being frugal is only a matter of necessity, and it can then happen. Also, that having a freezer and mass producing something like tacos is completely worth the investment. Find a meal that you can eat once or maybe even twice a week and suck it up. Switch it up with avocado dip one time for dinner and chips and salsa the next for lunch (or have both, both times:) My last "trick", that everyone else has been doing for hundreds of years is Chili for sunday lunch, Chili dogs a few days later, and then freeze some and have chili on your baked potato bar the next week. (I'm looking for more meals like this!)
Our meals consisted of:
- chili
- frzn pizza x 3
- turkey sandwiches
- ham sandwiches
- baked potato bar
- tacos x 3
- spaghetti carbonara
- chili dogs x 2
- lettuce wraps
- broccoli chicken soup
- lasagna
- homemade pizza x 1
- chicken lo mein
- BBQ chicken sandwiches
- jambalaya
- ramen x 1
- mac n cheese x 1
- curry chicken dish
Sides and snacks
- cottage cheese
- yogurt - endless amounts
- crackers and cheese
- broccolli - devoured by benjamin with ranch
- grapes
- bananas - violets favorite
- avocados - violets other favorite
- apple sauce
- apples
- cucumbers and peanut butter
- french bread - most meals without another bread source/bun
- homemade rolls
- potato salad - not liked by the kids
- fruit snacks - thomas box at the store, for $1...momma got them even though they weren't on the shopping list. :)
- raisins
- prunes
Other splurges:
- $3.50 Wine for V-Day
- $3.50 18 assorted brownies at Aldi...for Valentines day
- $14 on a fabulous meal with friends to celebrate their first baby!
The month is obviously not over, and so some of those meals are plans and not realities yet, but with ALL we have purchased so far, and the groceries I know we'll have to buy before February 28 - I am committed to staying under $225 for the month of February. Another notable fact is that I have not, and do not foresee having to buy any "wal-mart" items this month. We had plenty of paper products, Violets momentarily back to cloth diapers, and i had a full supply of soaps and detergents.
Well, for the two people that have read this far, my older sister, and one very bored stranger...I hope you got some good ideas, or at least were able to be excited with me for having finally learned some tricks to tackling meal time! :)
1 comment:
How did you know that I would read this? :p
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