Moxie Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 FYI--I started this challenge as a way to help keep myself on track in these two areas. Misery loves company, right?!? So, January is almost here. Do you have your financial goals for 2015 set? Is your budget on paper?? Please share! What about January meals?? Time to write those down too! I have house guests until tomorrow. I fully intend to get to work once they are gone and I'll update here. Anybody else?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 Mine isn't done, but it needs to be, we have an expensive year ahead! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 My financial goal is set for the year and it's just one thing... Pay off the minivan we just bought. It's not going to be easy but it will happen. I still have to make the plan for it and fiiddle with the budget to make sure it is possible but that will happen later this week. Basically the money will come from our tax refund, my payment for homeschooling my nephew, my pet sitting money, and any money I make selling things on eBay and Amazon. So hopefully our budget won't actually have to reflect that goal since those things aren't calculating when making the budget. As for food menu I'll have to update once I've figured that out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 I tend to do my menu one week at a time because I mostly base it off of sales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeghansMom Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 For the month of January, With hubby's second job: Car payments caught up Bills caught up Deposit paid in full (moved in Sept, still owe landlord some deposit, the man is a saint) His small bonus late January One of my doctors paid off. Curriculum for daughter New glasses for me. they have become .75 worse in each eye since my stroke. My birthday is in late January. I would like our gym membership back (doctor just gave her okay, highfive!) I would also like to get a makeover. A good skin care regime, simple yet effective and a good foundation. However that is not a priority. Foodwise, it is just myself, my husband and my daughter. (I say that because we have six kids in total and the rest are grown :p) We eat pretty healthy and inexpensive, but we do eat out too much. Cheap places such as Wendy's (six bucks for daughter and I), places where kids eat free, etc. So I really need to stop that and gain my health back. I am planning on making healthier versions of things we enjoy at home to save money and be more healthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 FYI--I started this challenge as a way to help keep myself on track in these two areas. Misery loves company, right?!? So, January is almost here. Do you have your financial goals for 2015 set? Is your budget on paper?? Please share! What about January meals?? Time to write those down too! I have house guests until tomorrow. I fully intend to get to work once they are gone and I'll update here. Anybody else?? Can I say I love your miserable company?!? :lol: I need to stock my freezer. It is the one on top of the frig but I lost everything that was soft from when our power went out from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day. I usually have a couple batches of cooked meatballs, cooked shredded roast beef portioned into sandwiches and some preformed uncooked burgers and sliders. So that is my plan for now: start making those items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaraby Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 No changes to the budget this year, but my biweekly spreadsheet for 2015 is halfway done. I have the meal plan done for January, but haven't gone through and written the grocery list each week, but that's in my to-do list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethel Mertz Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 I'm in. We have two pairs of expensive glasses to buy and we may be buying a house this year. Orthodontia costs loom in the future - either this year or next. January will be our eating out of the pantry and freezer month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmvaughan4 Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 We'd really like to sell our house and move this year, so we're trying to spend as little as possible. We use You Need A Budget to track/budget. I haven't made a meal plan yet, as I try to go for the sales. We do eat breakfast for dinner on the weekends (cheaper!) and rice bowls with refried beans once a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readinmom Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 We have some expenses left/coming up: 1. New dryer It kindly fell apart on Christmas eve. 2. Car repairs (persuading dh strongly to not buy new car) No new credit, please. 3. Bathroom renovation Had to stop halfway through. 3. Student loans I would love to pay these off this year. I tried meal planning last year but it failed miserably when I tried it monthly. My best bet is to do it weekly by sales ads. The goal is to use Dave Ramsey's envelope method and use cash exclusively. We have paid off so much debt in the past two years, it makes me dizzy just to think about it. I never want to be in that position again. Ever. Thanks for setting up the thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 OK well my post jinxed me!!! We have a plumbing leak again! This is probably the 12th leak in a year and a half, some causing huge damage. My father has been slowly replacing all the plumbing but he's been traveling so much that its been a slow process. Well with this leak we've decided it's time to just get it done all in a few days so we're going to have someone come finish it. That will be $1800 that was supposed to go to the car. What a way to start off the new year. Feeling frustrated and pissed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 It's strange, this time last year it seems we really struggled but this year we seem OK (as in we are able to pay all bills) and we have 1 more kid. Hoping this coming year is much like this or better where we can actually save money. I will be doing online classes for prereqs in nursing so our main expense will be my books (if something is data heavy I will go to inlaws, dh's work or library to do that part). Oh and we are using part of our tax refund to pay down dh's truck so that it will be paid off next year. I was going to get a new car in 2015 but we've decide that right now it would be easier to just have my Taurus fixed and then save money (especially after truck is paid off) to put on new one when the Taurus decides to have a major issue (really if motor or transmission goes). Other projects we hope to accomplish in 2015 are: replacing the flooring (9 different coverings in a 6 area home), put more gravel in drive way, put a roof over our front deck and build a back deck, put in a carport or another shed for dh's man toys (lawnmower, motorcycle...), make pop up camper 1 into a trailer and fix up popup camper 2 to use for camping, and paint inside house 😠Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 We don't have a budget. We're just cheap and do our best never to buy anything unless we absolutely have to. After our Christmas extravaganza, we're just Not Spending for a while, except on things we have to buy like food, water, and shelter. And heat. And transportation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 We are working on some debt in the coming year. We only had a minimal amount before, but my husband taking 3 months of unpaid leave this year was a bit rough on the books. We changed our withholding numbers to reflect that we have a tax credit rolling over and eliminating any owed taxes for the next few years, and we also cut retirement funding a bit. I hate to do the second part, but it just doesn't make sense to pay a higher interest rate on the debt than the return we are getting on that account. We already have that extra money per paycheck allocated. I'm hoping we can cut in a few more areas through the year, but there isn't a ton of fat in the budget to begin with. We are working on meal plans. We have tons of food in the house already, but not much that can be thrown together at 4:30 after a long day. Meat in the freezer needs to be thawed ahead, beans need to soak or cook in the crockpot, etc. For me, making the meal plan is easier than following through on the plan every single day. *If* I can stay on top of things, we should be able to make it through the month only buying milk, fruit, and a few odds and ends. It would make things much easier to start out the year if I can put the extra money from the food budget into paying down debt. I can't guarantee it will actually happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Condessa Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I sat down with my Christmas-present calendar, blocked out the two weeks I will be visiting my folks with the kids, and wrote in meal plans for the rest of the days. Then I went through and noted which meals planned before I leave would work well to double and freeze (at least, those that my husband might actually make use of while I'm gone). Knowing my parents and their generosity, the kids and I will have very little in the way of food expenses while we are there, so we may likely save money from the budget on this trip. Then I sat down with the list of meals for this week, noted things like when to put beans to soak the day before and when to cut 2 or 3 times vegetables because they'd be used in subsequent meals, too, and I made a grocery list. I'm defrosting an extra turkey I got on sale at Thanksgiving with the plan to roast it, portion out the meat in meal-sized portions, freeze them, and then make turkey carcass soup. Next up: to wrap up this month's budget and get my 2015 budget spreadsheet ready to go. This wouldn't normally require much since I have my blank form saved, but between moving and Christmas, I still haven't worked out the new budget since the job change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anneinco Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Overwhelmed just reading this thread. My goal this week is just to sit down and figure out what we are paying out each month. I have never put it down on paper (at least not recently). We need to figure out whether MIL is contributing enough, or not enough. We looked at Directtv tonight to see about lowering the package (can't cancel due to MIL) and canceled Hulu which we rarely use. Baby steps... I also want to start meal planning better so that I am only shopping a minimum of once a week (minus if we are low on milk), and so that we aren't spending as much on groceries (I am going to assume I am). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Well, January us always my " pantry" month so I have this week figured out. The goal this week was just to avoid grocery shopping except milk. I'm going to put $20 /week in my vaca fund. We have a Christmas club account already. I just want a little put back for spontaneous zoo/museum/activities with the kids. If $20 proves to much I'll move back to $10. For the heck of it here's the food: Sun-chicken fajitas Mon-veg soup& grilled cheese Tue-beef stir fry Wed-mac&cheese w/ham, green beans Thu-baked potatoes with ham,broccoli or salsa and sour cream Fri-tuna casserole, peas&scar rots Sat-beef barley soup, hm bread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbecueMom Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Overwhelmed just reading this thread. My goal this week is just to sit down and figure out what we are paying out each month. I have never put it down on paper (at least not recently). We need to figure out whether MIL is contributing enough, or not enough. We looked at Directtv tonight to see about lowering the package (can't cancel due to MIL) and canceled Hulu which we rarely use. Baby steps... I also want to start meal planning better so that I am only shopping a minimum of once a week (minus if we are low on milk), and so that we aren't spending as much on groceries (I am going to assume I am). We're in a similar situation with a parent living with us and contributing expenses. One thing we did was lower her contribution this year, but made her responsible for more of her own food expenses. She doesn't like a lot of the cheaper, filling, healthy foods, so this frees us up to have more lentil and bean and stir fry dinners. I'm anxious to see how much the grocery bill drops. I don't know if you can do this with DirecTV but I called U-Verse and hung around on the line with a service rep until they could get me an introductory rate on our current Internet and TV package. We're saving nearly $40/month now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsRobinson Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I'm not going grocery shopping this week either. I don't have it all worked out but I know I have enough food. Mon- Asian rice and eggs Tues- chicken thighs in slow cooker with some sort of sauce Wed- eat at in laws Thur- ham n beans Fri- something else with ham Weekend- leftovers There's also plenty of salad fixins, frozen bread dough, potatoes and frozen veggies for sides. As far as budgeting for the month, my goals are to pack dh's lunch every day, stash my weekly cash allowance to hire someone to help with cleaning near the end of my pregnancy and setting up new spreadsheets and savings plans. I'm excited to challenge myself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I'm having a baby this week, so I'm not really on board at the moment, but we will be having to do some serious budgeting and planning in the coming months. I'll join in after I've recovered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I plan on joining in but not until after January 15th. We have no money to budget/buy groceries with since DH's company shut down for 2 weeks (luckily I have a full freezer and pantry) but I also have 3 extra teen boys staying with me through the end of next week. This should be interesting. My goal this year is to pay everything on time and try to save at least $1000. With a brand new car and lots of DR's visits coming up that's about all I'll be able to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Condessa Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 I made lentil tacos last night. I've been searching for more meat-free recipes that my family will eat happily, including my carnivore husband. I knew that if He expected ground beef tacos and then there was no meat, he would not be likely to appreciate the change. (Not that he is ever rude about the food I make, but he will eat only a small portion and say he's full, then go foraging a few hours later). So when he asked what I was making, I told him it was a new recipe I wanted to try, kind of like tacos but different. He loved them, and so did all the kids, even Miss Picky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 I just subscribed to Fresh 20. So I'm going to try that out for awhile. They offered some discount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 I just signed up for the meal plans from Don't eat the Crumbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 I just signed up for the meal plans from Don't eat the Crumbs. Are there any samples for that? I can't seem to find any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 I'm having a baby this week, so I'm not really on board at the moment, but we will be having to do some serious budgeting and planning in the coming months. I'll join in after I've recovered. slacker.... :hat: I hope things go smoothly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Are there any samples for that? I can't seem to find any. Haha. Don't waste the crumbs, I mean. There is a 14 day sample here on the FAQ page. Grrrr. Trying to link. Try Mealplans.dont waste the crumbs.com/faqs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Haha. Don't waste the crumbs, I mean. There is a 14 day sample here on the FAQ page. Grrrr. Trying to link. Try Mealplans.dont waste the crumbs.com/faqs Thanks, I found it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 That one looks quite complicated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Condessa Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 This week I thawed and roasted an extra turkey ~20lb. I had frozen from the Thanksgiving sales. We had a great dinner, plus some leftovers, plus 5lbs of cooked, shredded meat portioned out into bags and frozen for other meals. I cut up the carcass and shoved it down into my Christmas-present big crock pot, covered it in water, and made stock. After picking out all the small bones and other waste and pouring off the fat, then adding more water and cooking again with just the large bones, I had 5 more cups of meat and 13 1/2 cups of rich stock, half of which I froze for later and half of which will be turkey soup for dinner tonight + leftovers. Pretty good haul for $17.50! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb in NZ Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Things will be really tight this month budget-wise as we have a couple BIG bills coming due from our renovations & no income until February at the earliest as I am a relief (substitute) teacher & we are on summer holidays until the end of January. We just returned from our National SeaScout Regatta & as I was helping in the kitchen I was able to get 3 big bags of ham bones put aside for me. Today I am boiling down the bones so that I can freeze the stock & meat for soups, etc. It's a bit messy, but well worth the savings I'll get in both money & time. The first bag of bones gave me over 5 litres of stock & 4 pounds of shredded ham. The second bag is in the stock pot now. I need to inventory our freezer as it is stuffed, but with what I have no idea. Currently it is in the back of the garage & hard for me to get to, so I have put off cleaning it out. I've challenged myself to cook mainly from the freezer / pantry / garden this month both to save money & use up what we have stored. I know I have a big frozen chicken in the freezer & dh found a huge lamb roast yesterday when he was trying to make room for the ham bones, so I'm relieved that we will be able to have a bit of variety & not be limited to soups for the month. Budget-wise we need to get more serious in 2015. Last week we made a decision to allow ds#2 to accept a hockey scholarship to a school 9 hours away. This will be for his final year of high school. We'll drive him down the last week in January to get him settled in with the family he'll stay with for the year. All his expenses will be covered by the scholarship, except for a bit of spending money & possibly one hockey tournament. We had decided a few months back to pass on the offer as we didn't feel we could afford for ds#2 to go away for school, but the school came back with an offer that covered almost 100% of his expenses. our goals for 2015: Finish our home renovations (hopefully before mid-year) Have dh return to work (either part-time, full-time, or self-employed) as soon as the house is finished Aim to work at least 80% of the school days as a relief (substitute) teacher. If I don't get enough days at the school where I've worked for the past 4 years, I will put my name down at a couple more schools in the area. When dh returns to work, aim to put all of one of our incomes into paying off the renovations loan. When that loan is paid off, start a new car fund. Give the veggie garden more attention so that we can be almost self-sufficent in fresh veg. Declutter a room each month & donate or sell the excess stuff we have. Draft a realistic budget to know where all the $$$$ goes each month. We haven't done this for years & really should have when dh lost his job almost 5 years ago. Draft a household plan (menu, cleaning, maintenance, etc.) for 2015 If I can get even half of what I aim to accomplish done this month, the rest of 2015 should be less stressful. I should have tons more time on my hands with ds#2 away at school, but I know from past experience that without a plan the hours slip away with nothing getting done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Mostly like every month I'm just trying not to spend. I did rent ds's college books. Ouch! Sun- meatloaf, 2x baked potatoes, carrots, baguette Mon-crockpot veg soup, garlic bread Tue-ravioli, green beans,salad Wed-pork chops and apples, brown rice pilaf, broccoli Thu-chicken and veg quesadillas, corn Fri- individual pizzas, raw veggie and fruit tray Sat-broccoli quinoa soup, ham sandwiches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 January is my annual eat-from-the-freezer-and-pantry month :) (This year is a little easier because we're going on vacation Jan 22-31 :lol:) Anyway, this weekend I took inventory of the chest freezer, the above-the-fridge freezer, and all pantry storage areas. Today I made a list of ~30 dinners I can make from what we have on hand (I would need to get a lime, more onions, more garlic, and cheddar). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharonM Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 This month is my no spend month. I am the one that ends up spending, as I am the only one who goes shopping!. I have set out my grocery jar with cash for the 2 week period so that my kids can get stuff as needed. Made a pot of chili today as it is windy, rainy and cold. My big thing this month is a promise that the 3 of us, adult kids, will not eat out all month. That will save me at least a couple hundred. We are saving it for camping later on. I did buy a kindle book by mary hunt for 1.99, and found a Gail Vaz-Oxlade book on kindle unlimited to read for free. Both books cover budgeting and money management. I do have a couple of goals. 1. Save enough money for Christmas next year. 1200. 2. Pay down debt as much as I can. I don't know how much that can be yet, but am working on budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsRobinson Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 We are remodeling some to get our house listed for sale. We needed to take out one wall and put up a new wall in a different place. Dh is re-using the lumber from the torn down wall to install the new wall and he even cut the drywall off nicely rather than ripping it off. So he is going to re-use that as well. (Drywall finishing is his trade so I am sure he can make it look good, for those of you raising your eyebrows.) He also convinced his cousin to help with the framing with payment of dinner. So I'm making a nice dinner for him and his wife this week using meat given to us by FIL. Oh, I almost forgot. We salvaged 3 interior doors from a jobsite a while ago and FIL said we could store them in his out bldg no problem. Well, apparently they got thrown in a burn pile during the last out bldg. clean out. So this new wall needs a door and guess what??? Dh told his dad he has to buy it!!! I couldn't believe he confronted his dad like that!! Woohoo!!! So this major renovation project is costing next to nothing!!! Dh has his cash for the week. I'm packing his lunches and we have a full tank of gas. I can't think of a single thing I need to spend money on this week. So hopefully there will a pretty good chunk of change leftover from this week's budget to put in the savings. We shall see... Another eat out of the pantry week: Sun- Sunday Night Stew with Mashed Potatoes (Pioneer Woman recipe-was yum!) Mon- Spinach & Ham Quiche, fresh fruit Tues- Ham 'n Beans, Cornbread (didn't happen last week) Wed- Beef Carnitas, refried beans, big salad Thurs- Clam Chowder, Buttered Rosemary Rolls, salad Friday- eat at in-laws Sat/Sun- leftovers unless I'm in the mood to make something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Condessa Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 I also finalized our new budget for 2015 a few days ago. (My husband took a new job and we moved a couple of months ago, so it needed some major adjustments). I was hoping to be able to shave off of other categories to add more to the debt repayment category, but despite a higher salary, expenses are higher enough here that I had to really squeeze down just to meet expenses without lowering our debt repayment amount. It's somewhat discouraging to see how long it will take us to pay off the medical debts before we can go back to working on student loans (and that's if we don't incur any more, which is not at all certain with our little guy's health). But there's nothing else to do but be as frugal as possible and just chip away at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbecueMom Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 I made a menu for the whole month, and I'm going to post it in this thread because I like seeing everyone else's menus too. Also, when my paper menu is pilfered and turned into a boat or weapon, I can find it again. We have a theme every night, which makes menu making pretty easy: Soup/Salad/Sandwich Sunday (for lunch -dinner is leftovers) Mostaccioli Monday (pasta) Taco Tuesday (Mexican) Waffle House Wednesday (breakfast for dinner) Tater Thursday (baked potatoes) Fu Yu/Fish Friday (Asian recipes or fish, named after a local Chinese restaurant) Special Saturday (DH, mom, DS6, and I take turns making a favorite or new meal and dessert). Sometimes nights get swapped if needed (missing ingredient or going to be out late). Unfortunately, I did not stay in my grocery/household budget for this menu though. I spent exactly the whole month's budget, and I still have to buy milk, steak, and produce over the next few weeks. Crud cakes. 1/1 - Baked Potato Bar, Salad 1/2 - Salmon, Savory Rice, Steamed Veggies 1/3 - Homemade Pizza 1/4 - Zuppa Toscana Soup, Salad, Sandwiches 1/5 - Roasted Vegetable Lasagna or Homemade Mac n Cheese, Salad 1/6 - Quinoa Stuffed Peppers, Chips and Guacamole 1/7 - Bread Pudding, Bacon, Honey Carrots, Fruit 1/8 - Baked Potato Bar, Salad 1/9 - Pad Thai, Red Cabbage Slaw 1/10 - Steak, Potatoes, Roasted Veggies, Homemade Frozen Yogurt 1/11 - French Onion Soup, Salad, Sandwiches 1/12 - Chili 3-way, Salad 1/13 - Huevos Rancheros, Chips and Guacamole 1/14 - French Toast, Eggs, Sausage, Fruit 1/15 - Baked Potato Bar, Salad 1/16 - Beef Broccoli, Rice, Roasted Veggies 1/17 - Some sort of Chicken dish, Apple Pie 1/18 - Pizza Soup, Salad, Sandwiches 1/19 - Herb Roasted Chicken Penne, Salad 1/20 - Black Bean Quesadillas, Roasted Corn Salsa, Chips and Queso 1/21 - Waffles (or something), Eggs, Bacon, Fruit 1/22 - Baked Potato Bar, Salad 1/23 - Salmon, Rice, Roasted or Steamed Veggies 1/24 - Pot Roast with Veggies, Pie 1/25 - Broccoli Cheese Soup, Salad, Sandwiches 1/26 - Cajun Chicken Pasta, Salad 1/27 - Pork Carnitas, Chips and Salsa/Queso 1/28 - German Apple Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage 1/29 - Baked Potato Bar, Salad 1/30 - Meatballs in Curry, Rice, Roasted Veggies 1/31 - Chicken and Rice Risotto, Steamed Veggies, dessert TBD Yesterday I made 11 homemade bean and cheese burritos and 9 breakfast sandwiches for DH to take to work. And there's always breakfast and lunch and snack stuff somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 We just moved a month ago, so I'm still trying to figure out what our bills are going to be like in the new house. Really hoping to set a basic budget soon. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Subbing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb in NZ Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 To help limit grocery costs, I'm considering buying gift cards to our local grocery store in the amount that I budget for each week. Using cash doesn't work for me as I have no record of where the $$$$ goes, but by using grocery gift cards I could see that that amount of money was spent on groceries. Has anyone else done this? I will be using gift cards for our grocery shopping in January as my m-i-l gave us some for Christmas & we used some of our loyalty points to get a few others. This is the only $$$ I aim to spend this month on groceries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 LOL Heartlikealion! That's my dh and me. Except we are about 15 years (maybe more, I don't know) older-- but the Die Hard convo! and every single thing. lol Except, I never spend more on dh at Christmas. But he does. lol (Wasn't always, but he's changed a bit in the gift-giving dept. ;)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anneinco Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 To help limit grocery costs, I'm considering buying gift cards to our local grocery store in the amount that I budget for each week. Using cash doesn't work for me as I have no record of where the $$$$ goes, but by using grocery gift cards I could see that that amount of money was spent on groceries. Has anyone else done this? I will be using gift cards for our grocery shopping in January as my m-i-l gave us some for Christmas & we used some of our loyalty points to get a few others. This is the only $$$ I aim to spend this month on groceries. I am thinking of doing this as well. Mainly just to keep track of what I am spending so I know if what I budgeted is high or low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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