The first step I have been focusing on in my daily life is my budget. Nathan and I have gotten a financial planner and have worked really hard on some different budget things. I will save that for another post though because that is a TON of information.
One big fault in my budget is food. Did you know that the average American spends around $1200 a year on food outside of the home? What a huge number. Nathan and I are totally victim to this. We enjoy eating out and sometimes it is just easier to go out or grab something through a drive through or delivery. When we do that we spend $20 or more where if we had just eaten at home it would have cost us half or a quarter of that.
More than eating out, we are wasteful. I spend so much money at the grocery store and then feel like we are tossing so much food out. Hardly ever do we throw away food that hasn't been touched like veggies that have gone bad before using them or expired pantry food. I have worked hard on that. BUT, we do throw away a lot of leftovers before they go bad or when we just get tired of the same food. I'm working hard on reducing the amount I cook (i.e. a casserole). I'm also working really hard on reducing my grocery bill. My friend Rachel started a meal planning blog that I read each week and she feeds a family of four on $50 a week! She exclusively shops at Aldi and they eat less meat than we typically do. Nathan also eats huge portions (tsk tsk) and enjoys taking leftovers to work. Either way, I'm going to start pricing out my meals so I can get a better handle on what I'm spending.
This week we went to Sams Club and I also already had a lot of different meat in the freezer, so my bill was lower. My starting goal is going to be $100 a week but I really hope to get that down to $75 a week. My plan to do this is to meal plan (and stick to it) so that I only go to the grocery store once and I'm not finding random Pinterest recipes that I HAVE to try which usually includes buying lots of ingredients. I also write down a grocery list and don't let myself buy a single thing unless it's on the list. My goal is intentional spending and not getting impulse buys.
I start my list and meal planning by looking up the store circular for the week. I look at every page and then choose meals based on what meat is on sale that week. I have a big recipe binder that is divided by meat type and will find meals from there. Then I will write down every single ingredient that I need for that meal (minus typical stuff like spices). I will go to my pantry and check each item and cross off things that I don't need to purchase because I already have them, then I will rewrite my list so that it is neat. I'm thinking about creating a document that I can use as a grocery list that is organized by the aisles of my grocery store so that it is an even quicker trip to the store. This is key when I have a toddler in tow that likes to remove items from my cart and throw them on the ground!
So here is my grocery haul for this week with meals included.
Sunday: We had some leftovers from last week so we ate those.
Monday: Sausage and cheese tortellini - Total for this meal: $17.72 (YIKES!)
- I already had cream cheese, so I had to buy diced tomatoes ($ 1.48), sausage ($3) , tortellini ($9.98) , and chicken broth (1.78) . *This recipe also needs some tweaking as it was really runny and never thickened. I think next time I will make it on the stove top because it had great flavor and Nathan enjoyed it, but it was more like a soup.
Tuesday: Ranch cheddar chicken with asparagus - Might be my favorite chicken EVER! Total for this meal: $1.94
- I already had chicken and all of its ingredients, so I only had to buy asparagus ($1.94).
Wednesday: Crunchy beef casserole with squash - Total for this meal: $7.50
- I already had beef, so I had to buy noodles ($1.29), fried onions ($3.49), and squash ($2.72).
Thursday: Tacos - Total for this meal: $4.99
-I already had meat, cheese, and shells, so I had to buy pico (2.99) and lettuce (2.00).
Friday: Shepards Pie - Total for this meal: $4.49
- I already had most stuff, but I had to buy frozen veggies ($.50) and potatoes ($3.99).
Saturday: Family reunion!
I also bought milk, dried beef (on sale), chips, and a package of sugar free cookies for Wilson. Total spent at the store: $54.75.
One big fault in my budget is food. Did you know that the average American spends around $1200 a year on food outside of the home? What a huge number. Nathan and I are totally victim to this. We enjoy eating out and sometimes it is just easier to go out or grab something through a drive through or delivery. When we do that we spend $20 or more where if we had just eaten at home it would have cost us half or a quarter of that.
More than eating out, we are wasteful. I spend so much money at the grocery store and then feel like we are tossing so much food out. Hardly ever do we throw away food that hasn't been touched like veggies that have gone bad before using them or expired pantry food. I have worked hard on that. BUT, we do throw away a lot of leftovers before they go bad or when we just get tired of the same food. I'm working hard on reducing the amount I cook (i.e. a casserole). I'm also working really hard on reducing my grocery bill. My friend Rachel started a meal planning blog that I read each week and she feeds a family of four on $50 a week! She exclusively shops at Aldi and they eat less meat than we typically do. Nathan also eats huge portions (tsk tsk) and enjoys taking leftovers to work. Either way, I'm going to start pricing out my meals so I can get a better handle on what I'm spending.
This week we went to Sams Club and I also already had a lot of different meat in the freezer, so my bill was lower. My starting goal is going to be $100 a week but I really hope to get that down to $75 a week. My plan to do this is to meal plan (and stick to it) so that I only go to the grocery store once and I'm not finding random Pinterest recipes that I HAVE to try which usually includes buying lots of ingredients. I also write down a grocery list and don't let myself buy a single thing unless it's on the list. My goal is intentional spending and not getting impulse buys.
I start my list and meal planning by looking up the store circular for the week. I look at every page and then choose meals based on what meat is on sale that week. I have a big recipe binder that is divided by meat type and will find meals from there. Then I will write down every single ingredient that I need for that meal (minus typical stuff like spices). I will go to my pantry and check each item and cross off things that I don't need to purchase because I already have them, then I will rewrite my list so that it is neat. I'm thinking about creating a document that I can use as a grocery list that is organized by the aisles of my grocery store so that it is an even quicker trip to the store. This is key when I have a toddler in tow that likes to remove items from my cart and throw them on the ground!
So here is my grocery haul for this week with meals included.
Sunday: We had some leftovers from last week so we ate those.
Monday: Sausage and cheese tortellini - Total for this meal: $17.72 (YIKES!)
- I already had cream cheese, so I had to buy diced tomatoes ($ 1.48), sausage ($3) , tortellini ($9.98) , and chicken broth (1.78) . *This recipe also needs some tweaking as it was really runny and never thickened. I think next time I will make it on the stove top because it had great flavor and Nathan enjoyed it, but it was more like a soup.
Tuesday: Ranch cheddar chicken with asparagus - Might be my favorite chicken EVER! Total for this meal: $1.94
- I already had chicken and all of its ingredients, so I only had to buy asparagus ($1.94).
Wednesday: Crunchy beef casserole with squash - Total for this meal: $7.50
- I already had beef, so I had to buy noodles ($1.29), fried onions ($3.49), and squash ($2.72).
Thursday: Tacos - Total for this meal: $4.99
-I already had meat, cheese, and shells, so I had to buy pico (2.99) and lettuce (2.00).
Friday: Shepards Pie - Total for this meal: $4.49
- I already had most stuff, but I had to buy frozen veggies ($.50) and potatoes ($3.99).
Saturday: Family reunion!
I also bought milk, dried beef (on sale), chips, and a package of sugar free cookies for Wilson. Total spent at the store: $54.75.
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