I have been spending some time this week looking at other frugal blogs out there, looking for inspiration for both my family and to share here. Unfortunately, no one has discovered a new magic frugal hack, haha. They all boil down to the same thing. Keep meticulous track of your income and outflow and adjust accordingly.
Knowing where every penny of your income is going is crucial when there is barely enough to go around. Using it wisely is the second half of that. The problem is though, that after those two truths, the rest is subjective! There is no formula for success that, if we would just follow it, guarantees us the results we want. Every family has different circumstances, different struggles, different obstacles, different support systems. We basically have to figure it out by trial and error.
Through trial and error, I figured out that the envelope system of budgeting works the best for me mostly. Over time I figured out that some things it really helps to take cash out and put into an envelope for, and some things it is better to leave that money in the bank. I also figured out that if I give my husband cash just in case he stops for groceries, he will end up spending it on something else. So now, I don’t prepay for potential grocery stops, I repay. If he uses his own cash or puts a grocery purchase on the debit card, I repay that from the envelope. That keeps us all honest 😉. I also figured out that if I take the money out for the car insurance and put it into an envelope, I will forget to redeposit it on time for the automatic payment more times than not, costing us late or overdraft fees. So rather than fighting and failing myself in this department, I just leave the insurance money in the bank but mentally subtract it from the total balance when I look.
Picking and choosing, trying and succeeding or failing, is how we come up with systems that work best for each of us and provide some comfort in knowing exactly what is happening with our money. It also helps me spot trouble in advance, hopefully. If I am keeping track, then I can foresee a shortfall coming and take action to try to mitigate it. I can choose to figure out how to bring more income in, stem the flow out, or what help I need to seek out. Sometimes it is so frustrating to have to be so focused on our budget and money decisions, but it is definitely one of those hard truths in life that we just need to suck it up and get own with. Kind of like dishes. Washing dishes is my absolute least favorite chore of all household chores, but just because I don’t want to do them doesn’t mean they go away. And the longer I ignore them, the more trouble I make for myself, both in time invested and not having what we need to eat when we need it. The exact same thing goes for maintaining our budgets and finances.
I know February is a tough month for most people, me included. Take extra care of yourself if and when you can, and keep putting one foot in front of the other. There is nothing wrong with doing the bare minimum for a little while so we can rest and regroup, especially in the dark days of winter. You’ve got this.
Here is this week's menu plan
Monday-
- Breakfast- leftover pancakes, banana
- Lunch- leftovers, pretzels, carrots and celery sticks
- Dinner- Chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles and without the chicken, crackers
Tuesday-
- Breakfast- Peanut butter and chocolate chip oatmeal, banana
- Lunch- Judy's Macaroni Salad, cucumbers and carrots, crackers
- Dinner- Pot pie made with lentils instead of chicken. This is one of those
non-recipes. I mix frozen mixed vegetables with cream of chicken soup
and cooked lentils, then top with a biscuit crust made from Bisquick.
Easy and yummy., baked beans
Wednesday-
- Breakfast- Eggs and toast, banana
- Lunch- Macaroni salad, pretzels, carrots and celery sticks
- Dinner- Spaghetti, bagged salad, garlic toast
Thursday-
- Breakfast- Peanut butter and chocolate chip oatmeal, banana
- Lunch- Ramen, boiled egg, apple slices
- Dinner- Broccoli Cheddar Rice casserole, green beans mixed with a can of Glory brand butter beans, garlic toast
Friday-
- Breakfast- Eggs, toast, banana
- Lunch- Leftovers, canned pineapple
- Dinner- Smoked sausage, semi homemade scalloped potatoes, green beans, bread and butter
Saturday-
- Brunch- Biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, cooked apples
- Dinner- Pork chops with BBQ sauce, microwave baked potatoes, green beans, biscuits
Sunday-
- Brunch- Oatmeal Pancakes , homemade pancake syrup, scrambled eggs
- Dinner- Swedish meatballs (can use frozen meatballs to save time), mashed potatoes, Peas, garlic toast
Have a good week!
~ Sarah
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