this week's menu

To stay inside my grocery budget it's a must to plan ahead for meals.  Here's what we are (and have been...) eating this week!

Monday:  Leftover pizza from Sunday's Super Bowl and Mac & Cheese
Tuesday:  Spaghetti w/meat sauce, salad, bread
Wednesday:  Sour Cream Chicken, Rice, Peas, Salad
Thursday:  Out to eat after Talent Show
Friday:  Sloppy Joes, fruit, chips
Saturday:  Out to eat for my birthday
Sunday:  Steaks, Veggies (whatever looks good and is on sale...)
Monday:  For Valentine's I'll make the boys favorite:  Ribs, Beans, Mac & Cheese, Cornbread, Chocolate cake

As of today, I've spent $62 on groceries and I'll need to spend about $40-50 for ingredients I don't have on hand for Friday-Monday meals.  I should be under my $125 grocery budget for the week and that makes me very excited!   I'm still "shopping" from my pantry and freezer to plan my meals.  For our menu above these things I already had on hand:  spaghetti, chicken breasts, peas, chips, steaks, and cake mix.

In two weeks we take our vacation, so next week it'll be much easier mentally to be frugal and tell the kids (and myself!!) that "we need to make frugal choices this week so that we can have the extra money for our vacation next week!"

commission updates

Last week I transitioned my children from an allowance to a commission based chore system. They were THRILLED to have the opportunity to earn more money.  Instead of giving them each a $25/month allowance, we're giving them the opportunity to earn $9/week for my 9-year old and $12/week for my 12-year old!  But, they weren't quite as thrilled when it came down to them actually working for it!  go figure...

So, how did they do?

My 9 year old earned $4.70 for the week and my 12 year old earned $3.20.   Hopefully they'll work more next week so that they can earn more, but I do feel better about giving them more control over what they earn, and having them actually earn it, versus me simply giving it to them!

day 7 - no spending month

We've made it through a full six days on February's No Spending Month.  This past Tuesday, I withdrew $170 cash which was to last me through yesterday.  The cash was to be used for food, gifts, gasoline and any incidentals that should come us.  I must say that I did better than I expected!

Here is a run-down on where the $$ went:
$20 - gasoline (half tank)
$11 - tennis court fee
$41.11 - groceries
$33.78 - eating out
$12.69 - birthday gift
$8.29 - household
$16.21 - school supplies

Which leaves me with $30.42!

My grocery bill has never been as low as it was this week!  What did we do different?  For starters we ate a lot of food that we already had in the freezer, refrigerator and pantry.  When the kids ran out of cereal and frozen waffles/pancakes, for breakfast I made them French Toast, muffins and bacon.  There was only one complaint during the week on what was being served (Thursday night's dinner).  In fact, my kids were thrilled with the homemade muffins this morning!  I woke up in a panic when I realized the cupboards were bare of breakfast food, so I had to get up in a hurry and make the muffins.

Another area that helped was simply eating at home.  I mentioned last week that I considered it a small victory to say no to my husband to going out to eat at lunch.  On Friday I did cave in to going out (he'd been the one to complain about the dinner the previous night), BUT we went to a restaurant where we had a gift card and ended up getting $5 back in change!  Woo Hoo!  He was out of town this weekend, so I treated the kids to lunch out after their ball games Saturday and to pizza last night for the Super Bowl. 

So ...Week 2 in upon us.  We've got more activities and parties scheduled for this week which is going to require more cash.  Also, Valentine's Day goodies will need to be purchased this week. 

Here is my budget for the week:
$125 - groceries
$125 - Three celebratory out to eat dinners (one for my oldest who is performing in the school talent show, one for my youngest who is receiving a special Cub Scout award, and one for a basketball team party)
$20 - Birthday gift
$60 - gasoline
$50 - Valentines Day - includes VDay meal, party at school, VDay cards for classmates, and surprises for my family
$10 - Scout badge for my son
$20 - talent show tickets

After having such a "lean" week this past week and spending only $140, spending $460 in a week seems a bit much.   I haven't sat down to do a meal plan for the week, so I'm going to work to get the grocery bill less than $125...I'm sure I can do it!  So anyway, off to the bank today to get cash to last me through the week!

***disclaimer*** on $3900 savings

After reading back through my posts and reading the comments left about my goal of saving $3900 for the month of February, I realized that something was amiss.

I didn't take into account that our cash flowing for January and February is a bit "off".  My husband paid my AMEX bill (normally due mid-February) in January out of our savings account.  He did this to help us (me...) get back on track by using cash for everyday expenses.  So...while my hope is to save $3900 in February, please know that some of this is simply replenishing what came out last month to pay the American Express.  By the way...my AMEX card has not been out of my wallet since we started the challenge. 

3 days without using AMEX...now that is a new record! 

update #1 - february's no spending month

So, I've made it through 2 days with the "No Spending" challenge.  I ended up getting $170 in cash on Tuesday with the intention of it lasting through next Monday.  The cash is being used for gas, groceries, gifts, etc.

So what have I spent it on?

$20       gas for my car
$12.71  school supplies
$11       tennis court fee
$7.41    groceries for lunch
$12.69  birthday gift for son's friend
$2.64    travel bottles for husband's suitcase

This leaves me with $103.55 for the next 5 days!


Small victories to celebrate!!!

• I said "no" to giving my oldest son extra lunch money and instead had him take a lunch kit to school.
• I said "no" to going to out to lunch with my husband and instead spent $7.41 and made a "fun lunch" at home for us.  (This was a hard one to do!!!)
• I spent less on the friend's birthday gift than I normally would...I normally spend around $20.
• I made dinner "out of the pantry" two nights in a row...Tuesday we had a steak salad using leftover steak from Sunday night, and last night we had sauteed shrimp, couscous, and a salad.

Unexpected expenses?

• $11 on the tennis court -- because of bad weather our team chose to play our match at an indoor court instead of trying to reschedule.
• $12.69 on the birthday gift -- it is a fairly impromptu party.

commissions vs. allowances

For the past year or so, we've given our kids an allowance.  The allowance goes towards after school snacks, renting video games, school book fairs, the concession stand a the ball-park, "teen night", and of course, anything that they want to save up for.  I have given each of them $25/month.

This past month when my oldest came to me with his hand open and asked for his allowance, I had a very unsettling feeling that this allowance was simply a "hand out".  This uneasiness was validated on Sunday at my FPU class when Dave Ramsey talked about this very subject in his Kids & Money speech.  While my boys both do quite a bit around the house to help me and my husband, they're essentially doing nothing for the money we give them.  Also, I haven't been consistently teaching and encouraging them to SAVE and GIVE. 

This month we're transitioning from an Allowance to a Commission.  I'm anxious (and admittedly, a bit nervous) to see how it works.  We're giving them the opportunity to earn more....my 9 year old can earn up to $9/week and my 12 year old can earn up to $12/week IF they complete all of their chores.  But, with this "raise" we're also expecting them to both SAVE and GIVE.

Here's a peek at what their chores chart include for the month of February:

9 year old:
clean his room, vacuum and dust it 1x/week -- $2.00
clean the basement bathroom's toilet, sink & counter, 1x -- $2.50
empty the recycling bin daily, 7x.20 -- $1.40
bring his laundry to the laundry room, 4x.50 -- $2.00
take the recycling and trash bins to the curb on Mondays, 1x -- $1.10

12 year old:
clean his room, vacuum and dust it, 1x/week -- $2.50
clean his bathroom toilet, sink & counter, 1x -- $3.00
empty the kitchen trashcan everyday, 7x.20 -- $1.40
bring his laundry to the laundry room, 3x.25 -- $0.75
if he...
washes, dries & folds it (his laundry only), 3x$1.25 -- $3.75

We'll expect both of them to continue with the "basics" of helping out around the house.  Things like feeding the dog, keeping their room tidy, helping to do the dinner dishes are just expected and aren't included in the commissions.

So, what about you?  Do your children get "commissions" or "allowances"?  What are some of the chores they do to earn their money?

February - No Spend Month

I'm joining Sharon in her No Spend Month!  Here are my goals for the month...

Objective - 
Spend less than our "normal" budget.  My goal is to add $3900 to savings this month.


How we'll get there --
I have alloted $800 to be spent on ourselves.  Normally, this wouldn't cover our grocery bill, but because this is a short month, and because we'll be out of town for a few days, AND because this is a CHALLENGE, I've decided on $800 as our "magic number"!


So, what does $800 go towards?
Food!  (Groceries and eating out)
Gasoline
Valentine's Day
Scouting expenses
Entertainment

What's not covered in the $800?
Fixed bills, offerings to our church, and expenses that were pre-planned such as a haircut and our vacation.

Where I am today--
I'm starting with $895 in checking.  Next payday is February 11th.  I'm thinking of withdrawing $400 now and $400 on the 11th and simply live on cash for the challenge.   Both cars are almost on "empty" so we'll need to spend close to $100 on gas this week.  The pantry is somewhat stocked.  I'll need to take inventory of what we have and see how we can make it stretch.  I see lots of homemade snacks in our future!  :)'

I hoping that with this challenge I'll become more intentional with my spending!  And, if we save my goal of $3900...well, that would be totally amazing!

track first, budget second

Because we haven't been tracking our expenses lately, it's hard to tell what a realistic number is to budget.  For instance, I would think that about $500 would be a good amount for us to use each month for groceries.  After doing some  homework though, I found that we spent almost $1500 at the grocery store in December alone.  Add to that $425 that we spent eating out and we're at nearly $2000 in food for the month!  While $2000 in food is an ungodly amount for a family of four...even with 3 different sets of guests during the month, it's a real number and shows what we spent.  $500 wouldn't have been realistic to budget for food last month.

I'm realizing that one reason I get frustrated with my budget is that I tend to budget what I think is a reasonable amount.  When we are unable to meet these numbers, I get frustrated and my husband wants to know why we're over budget.  But...the budget wasn't necessarily realistic.

So, over the next couple of months, I'm not going to be budgeting per se, but tracking our spending.  Beginning April 1st we'll have our budget in place with a new system of paying bills.  More about that later.

But, just for fun...I'm joining Sharon in her February No-Spending Month.  The rules will be posted on January 31st.  I'm participating, but won't be doing it at 100% like others.  We have a vacation planned for the 3rd week of February.  So, while there will be spending going on with that, my goal is to have a "no spend" month for items that were not already in the budget.

repeat post

I realize after posting my goals that this post is very similar to my post about being intentional.  I wish I could say it was "intentional" but it wasn't.   More than anything I wanted to write my specific goals down so that I could post in the future what steps I'm taking to meet these goals.

goals for 2011

I have been thinking of my goals for a while now and need to get them written down.  More than ANYTHING, I want to "have a plan and work my plan".  It's something my husband says to me over and over again.  And you know what?  It works!

Finances -
Make a budget & work my budget.

Save 15% towards retirement.

Health-
Eat cleaner. 
Since this is something we have always wanted to do, but just haven't turned it into a lifestyle, I'm starting with a smaller goal.  Eat "clean" at least 50% of the time.

Lose weight. 
I need to lose 15 pounds.
I want to lose 3 by Winter Break (that is in 4 weeks)
Lose another 8 by Easter. (that will be a total of 11 pounds in about 3 months)
Lose the last 4 pounds by Memorial Day.
That's a weight loss of 15 pounds in 4 months...a definite challenge, but possible IF I have a plan and work my plan. 

Drink less wine.
I love to have a glass or two...sometimes three (I'm being honest here...) at night.  And when the one glass turns into 3, it's because I might have a glass while I'm cooking, a glass with dinner and then a glass with a piece of chocolate after the kids go to bed.  Drinking more than a glass of wine a night is definitely not helping me lose weight.  So, my goal is to open a bottle of wine on Monday night and still be drinking from the same bottle on Thursday night.  (DH will have to have his own bottle.  :)  ha, ha!)

Get outside more!
I absoltutely love where I live.  There are trees, trees and more trees.  We have both paved and non-paved trails through our woods.  I need to get out and enjoy it more.  My goal for this is to start by going on a weekly walk.  Once I get into the habit of truly getting out, then I'll change this goal to get out more than 1x/week.

Family & Personal-
My main goal here is to be intentional with my time.  When my husband and kids are home, I want to be in the moment with them.

And the same with me.  When I have the house to myself during the day, I want to be intentional with my time.  Do housework and desk work when it's time to do that, but when I have "free time", I want to use it wisely.

So - that's it for my goals.  How about you?  Have you made all of your goals for the new year? 

jane eyre

I just finished this book last night!  And...wow!  I absolutely loved it and could not put it down.  I joined a Book Club last month and this was my first book to read.  I don't remember ever having to read it in High School.   I'm glad to have joined the Book Club group and am looking forward to reading some good books.  Next on the list is Still Alice. 

Have you read any good books lately?

i resolve to be intentional in 2011

Do you ever feel like you're doing too much "stuff" and not getting done what (1) needs to be done and (2) what you really want to get done?  I feel like I've been in this rut for the past year.  I hate to complain too much about it because I'm doing fun things with my time, but these fun things aren't necessarily what is most important to me.  Curious?  Well...I play on a tennis team.  If you have ever played team tennis you know that it's fun AND it's competitive.  AND....it can be a bit more expensive than what one would like.  I enjoy tennis, but I've gotten to the point where it's taking up too much of my thought process.  I plan my week around lessons and matches.  If one of those days gets rained out then they have to get rescheduled.  So...something that I wanted to do (like go to the gym, go to lunch with a friend, take a walk, try out a new Farmers Market, etc.) all of a sudden gets bumped due to tennis.    You can see why I've not complained too much about this...it seems a bit petty.

Here are some things that I've neglected this past year and I'm taking a stand in 2011 to do my best to make some changes.

#1 - Our Finances - We continue to be debt-free (except for the house), which I'm very happy about.  But...we lost some momentum in saving money in 2010.  We were able to get several things accomplished (like getting our wills completed and getting the correct amount of life insurance for me and my husband), but we didn't save near as much money as what we would have liked.

So - after years of wanting to do this, I'm finally taking the Financial Peace University classes at our church.  Classes start this Sunday!  I think starting off the year with this class and having people to hold ourselves accountable to, will really help get us back on track.

#2 - My health.  I have struggled with this for the past couple of years.  My health is okay, but my weight is higher than what it should be. I need to lose 15 pounds.  We purchased an elliptical and home-gym and my goal is to exercise.  Note that I didn't say "exercise more", as I'm not really exercising at all now.  (I don't count tennis as exercise...)

I've also started going back to my Tuesday Weight Watcher meetings, and my husband and I have agreed that we need to eat more "clean foods" and drink less wine during the week.

#3 - Things that bring me peace - Often times I feel selfish doing things that clear my mind.  Whether it's taking a walk through the woods, scrapbooking, or sitting on the back deck and reading a good book.  Since I'm not being productive while doing these things, I rarely take the time to do what really makes me happy.  This year I'm changing this.  I realize that I can't do these things 100% of the time (or even most of the time) because our laundry would never be clean, the house would be a wreck and my children wouldn't ever be fed.  But still...I REALLY like to scrapbook and when I'm wanting a "break", wouldn't my time be better spent scrapbooking than playing Internet Spades on the computer?

This is enough for now.  I'll be playing less tennis in 2011, and focusing on what is truly important to me in my family.  As a result, I expect to be much more INTENTIONAL with my time.  And with that said, I'm now going to get on the elliptical for 30 minutes, as tennis was rained out today.

project 365

I have been spending some time dusting the cobwebs out of my mind and really think about the priorities in my life.  I'll be pack to posting...soon!  In the meantime, I've started a 365 project.  Many bloggers have them and I have been envying those who do, as I LOVE to take pictures and do so almost every day.

If you're interested, check it out steady plodding 365!