This is How We Do It......

I have gotten some questions on a Facebook post I posted about us eating for 9 days on $42 and in my previous post, when I said our grocery budget is usually $40-$50 a week.  Lots of people wondering how we do it.  I never really thought that much about it, since I do not consider myself to be a super budgeting wizard, I am no coupon cutter (though I would love to learn it!), and Neil and I often fall off the wagon I feel like.  But, in spite of that, I guess we do kinda keep our grocery budget in check and we manage to eat pretty well!

Our Tricks:

1. Meal Planning- when we don't meal plan, we fail. I used to post them and list them out day by day.  That doesn't really work for us and stresses me out more if I "fail" to make what I said I would make on Tuesday.  So our meal plans generally start in our kitchen with what we have.  Then we plan 7-8 meals for a 5 day work week, cause stuff happens, tastes change, so we don't make all of them.  We pick some meals that require a lot (i.e. grilling, pan frying, baking) and some that require little to nothing (i.e. crock pot, or making grilled cheese)  Our meal plans are a loose kind of conversation and list.  "How bout tacos, pot roast, grilled cheese and soup, steaks and salmon?" Done.
2. We buy meat in bulk.  This is why it is *sort of* a misnomer to say we only spend $40 a week on groceries.  We do, but we don't.  If it is a $40 week, we are only buying sammich meat, eggs and maybe one other meat purchase.  Other than that, we have meat at home.  So when we "fall off the grocery wagon" it is generally because we found chicken at an ridiculous price and bought 12 packs, buy one get one free pot roasts, one time Neil spent $45 on a beef tenderloin but had it cut into 14, 10 oz filet mignon steaks (we share).  That averages to $3.21 for a filet mignon steak.  Not too shabs.  But the $45 is a hit.  Gotta think long term.  We also get a lot of manager's special deals and freeze them right away.  It makes it easier, if you have a tight month lemme tell ya!  You still eat well.
3. We make dinners that make lunches.  I cannot believe how much moolah we used to spend going out at lunch time! YIKES! We try not to.  We budget to go out to lunch once a week and it is usually $20 or less. Sometimes this is a major downfall for us.  It is our date, since it is harder to find a sitter at night and we never go out at night. Ever. Anyway, lots of our dinners become lunches.  From chili, to scalloped potatoes and ham, I usually make enough to make a few lunches.  If I have two dinners a week that do this, I am set lunch wise.  I only really have to pack and worry about one day that way. So dinner costs are absorbed into lunches too.
4. We buy only the stuff we make a lot of in bulk.  Costco is a dangerous store.  I think it can save you money and cost you money.  We are a family of 3, only 2.5 real eaters. Costco can be tempting but also encourage waste too.  So, we have it down to what we know we will use and what we don't.  What we do use, saves us money.  That is generally sliced cheese, shredded cheese, ground beef, raw tortillas, dog food, eggs, mushrooms, sandwich rounds, ravioli's and the like.  We get our staples and freeze what we don't need right away.
5. I quit buying Bountiful Baskets for the most part.  Sigh.  I love them.  I do.  But we were throwing away too much and it was costing more than it was worth.  So maybe once in a blue, when I know what they are getting and I can plan for it, we get it.
6. We gave up the need to cook fancy every night.  That doesn't mean we gave up health.  Generally, I HATE pre-made/canned food.  Blech.  I didn't grow up eating that way and I don't wanna feed my family that way.  I don't do the Hamburger Helper thing, we eat no TV dinner's, no Lean Cuisines, no frozen pizzas. It is not our thing (mkay it is not MY thing, and hubby goes along.  he prefers my cooking anyway).  In fact, I laughed this past weekend when I made a Rice a Roni thing that had been sitting in our cupboard for over a year, just to get rid of it.  I don't think you have to sacrifice health for money.  Could we eat more organic... yes but do we do pretty well not having processed stuff..... yes.  The most processed we go is usually pre made raviolis we get at Fresh and Easy.  They have no artificial anything, preservatives, additives etc and they are a P-man favorite. We do keep it simple.  Taco's are easy, grilled cheese and ham (on homemade bread and Earth balance butter, yum!), I make a mean "fancy" bagel sammich the my hubby loves.  I make homemade baked french fries that are easy breezy and potatoes are .88 a bag.  Stuff like that.  We kick it up a notch or two a couple times a week, others, we aim to fill our bellies and move on.
7. We don't buy booze.  That may sound funny or kind of like, duh, but you don't realize how much that adds up.  We don't normally spend more than $10 on a bottle of wine, but now, for obvious reasons, we aren't really buying much in the way of booze and if Neil does, it generally comes out of his personal money.  I (proudly) created a beer snob.  He drinks the good stuff on the occasion that he drinks at all, but at $8.00-$9.00 a six pack, it can make a dent (none of that Bud Light crap here). Let's just say if our friend Travis is over, 21 year old behavior ensues and much expensive beer is consumed.  But, me and his wife Andra don't mind our 30+ year old husbands occasionally reliving their youth in one of our backyards.  The next morning is usually a good reminder of their actual age :)

This week, I can honestly say I haven't even begin to touch the $42 of stuff I bought for the week and it is Wednesday.  I did eat at my mom's last night, but mostly we have been eating leftovers and I made a sandwich for lunch.  So it will be easy to push through the weekend if we want.  We may need to buy milk for P-man but that is about it.  We try to be good for Porter's sake.  He drinks only organic milk (at $5.00 a gallon.... gulp) and we don't give him juice or anything else like that.  Flavored coconut water on occasion.  We just don't see the need to fill him full of that stuff right now, so we don't. Plus it is expensive. Water and milk.  He is 15 months old.  He'll live.

I told Neil I was writing this and he thought it was funny.  His words were "I don't think we do that great, we still spend a LOT".  Ha, ha. So we are both kinda surprised.  We still allocate a decent amount to food/miscell. income but things are always creeping up that eat it up, so we still eat on pretty little money. We could really see the savings if we didn't eat out at all.  I would love to do that for a month, but life seems to get in the way and laziness overcomes!

 We act on a modified envelope system.  Meaning, money goes in, we pay all of our expenses/savings, we leave $160 each check for gas (we buy at Costco, so you need a card, cash doesn't work) and the rest we take out in cash.  So, if we are doing good one cycle as we call it, then we may spend more, or we may go out or stock up.  But for the last 2 months, I haven't spent more that $50 a week I don't think.  We usually end up with enough left over to have a splurge or two or have money to put towards vacation.

So that's it.  Our "crazy" life.  Meal plans and budgets.  We have come a long way from the people that used to spend $800-$1000 a month eating out (yes, you read that right) plus what we spent on groceries.  Those were pre kid, pre three mortgage days.  But I wouldn't trade it or this spot and I never want to go back.  I am hoping even in more bountiful times, we spend better ways to spend our money than slacking off and eating out.  I have found much better places to spend money!

C'mon June.......

I realized that I have not written a blog post in a long time.  And I love blogging.  I just plain don't have much to say really that isn't a repeat.  Or maybe it is that I have too much to say.  I am not sure which at this point.  Things are busy, busy at Casa de Smith and I can hardly keep up.  Neil and I knew this would be a rough year in many aspects.  We also knew that the first 6 months would be the hardest.  Thank GOD we are going into May.  As Neil says, we are "counting down" once June hits.  We knew it wouldn't be easy, but nobody thought it would be this hard!

What going on? Well, everything. And don't misunderstand me, it isn't all bad (and I don't mean to make it sound that way).  There is a difference between ALOT and BAD, I have realized.  Our biggest obstacle thus far..... fiercely sticking to our debt elimination and budgeting.  We decided we want no debt.  As in none, nada, zip, zero, ziltch other than our mortgages.  No cars, no credit cards, no loans, no nothing.  In January, we started off just wanting to pay off the money we put into the new house and the rest of our wedding.  Then, with our new baby addition and desire for a lifestyle change, we decide nope, we want as few obligations as possible. So, we decided to get rid of everything we could.  All cars, all debt. We decided to be anti-consumers of sorts.  Live on less to have more.  Great concept, difficult to execute.

From now on, we are (and have been) as "cash" a family as we can be.  Even if that means driving old cars, staying in our smaller house,  not taking lavish vacations, whatever it takes, we will save and pay cash.  Obviously, huge purchases, like a house, we will finance, but not much else.  And that is good right? Well, yes...... and no.  We put ourselves on a self imposed fast track.  We cut down on any and everything possibly could ( like $40.... maybe$50 a week to ten days on groceries).  We operate on a cash basis for all miscellaneous expenses, when it is gone, it is gone.  We have put any and every extra towards our elimination goal.  So we watched a healthy tax return amount go in and out of our account, a bonus and our monthly large payments.  The result? After May we will be 65-70% there.  Whew. By December we will be done.  But it has taken some creativity when Porter has gotten sick and needed a breathing machine, $200 here and there for fixes and repairs (OK, OK and my speeding ticket), Porter's first birthday, DIY'ing our backyard, Valentines Day, birthdays. Am I glad... yes.  Will I be happy when we don't have to scrutinize every $20 spent..... YES, YES! I am all about a budget, but it is important to have a life that includes splurges and "cheats" if you will.  We knew that it would be tough, that the first half of the climb would be much, much harder.  But we are feeling the pressure.  It is tempting to give in and do things to make our life "easier" though long term, it won't be. So far, we have stuck with it, but it hasn't been stress free!

There are so many things to look forward to and sometimes I find myself needing a major attitude adjustment.  I am tired,  I am working 40-45 hours outside the home, Porter started waking up at night again, we have had several bouts of major sickness, I am 17 weeks pregnant, Neil is gone a ton and I could go on and on. This is also a difficult and fun stage in Porter's development.  His tantrums are awful.  Really, really bad.  But, 90% of the time, he is the loviest, cuddliest, cutest bug ever.  He makes me laugh every day.  But he is challenging me more everyday as well. Sometimes I feel spread too thin and I can't do anything great so I just get everything done. I don't have the patience I want to have.  I don't have the time to do all the little things I used to for myself or for others. I don't return phone calls in a timely manner, every time I turn around the mess I cleaned up is there again.  In my heart, I know it is for the greater good, that this is very temporary.  I have a great job (as does Neil) that provides very, very well for our family. But in the moment, I am selfish.  I get swallowed up and I know Neil does too.  So many things to do and only a finite amount of time to do it. We want to be everything for everyone and for each other. Most days we are pretty good others not so much.    I have my eye on a goal and we are taking it a day at a time to get there.  We decided it was worth the months of crunch time for years of freedom. There are big things in store. Many I cannot talk about just yet openly.  And in the thick of it, I lose sight of that.  I can't imagine the freedom that is coming and how that feels.  I can only imagine what it feels like now.  And I am not so whiny or entitled to think I am the only one going through this or that many, many people have walked down this same road. My hat is off to each and every one of you.  It is the sacrifice we make (and tons have made) for our family. And while I know I won't get the past 6 months I spent stressed out back, I also have faith my future is bright, bright, bright.

So, I am sure it sounds more bad than good.  But I assure you it isn't.  We are at the light at the end of the tunnel, people!  We scrimped, saved and were savvy Internet shoppers, so we are taking a family vacation to San Diego for Memorial Day.  We are taking our boy to the zoo and the beach.  Our backyard is finished pretty much and we can now enjoy it with friends instead of have it suck up our weekends.  The house.... well it is getting there.  One project at a time.  We are looking forward to our ultrasound for New Baby in two weeks. Neil's birthday is this Thursday and I am so excited for his gift.  We will have a great (and hot) summer bbq'ing and enjoying our pool. I am hoping I can finally open my sewing machine and make something fun.  I am hoping to take a little more me time and focus on New Baby.

 As I write this, I see even more how much we have.  How plentiful and blessed our life is. It is hard to see the forest through the trees sometimes.  It is hard not to get swallowed up or jealous of people that seem to have it "easier".  I feel guilty for giving into self pity some days because I know a million people would switch places with me in a second. I get that. The truth is, my cup runneth over.  I need to be more grateful, more appreciative. I tend to want it all and want it now.  I strive for perfection in everything.  I have full blown Super Mom Syndrome where I think I can do it all when I am merely human. And frankly, "doing it all" makes this girl no fun.  I believe life gives us two things.  Gifts and lessons.  This last five months has been a humbling amount of both.  It has been the biggest growing experience of my life, big 'ol slice of humble pie. So, tonight, when I finally stop around 7:30 PM (Neil is gone again), my dishes probably won't be done, my floor certainly need serious sweeping, plastic toys will strewn about, instead of feeling overwhelmed or guilty, I will tell myself I am exactly where I need to be to get where I am going.  I will (try) and trust I will be provided for no matter what.  The end is near yes, but today...... not so bad.  I can do this.  One day at a time.

Less Is More........

Mkay. It is no secret that Neil and I's life is KA-razy. From the second we met practically. But, now that we are settled in the house some, we are tackling little things bit by bit. When we moved in, it was a just-get-the-stuff-in-the-house and we will deal with it later, type of thing. Which is anti-Linsay personality. My mother in law, bless her heart, did tons of unpacking for us (while watching our son, mind you) and we even said then, that at some point we may have to re-do some stuff. We just unpacked everything, and I figured I would go back and re -do. I just never did, I left it. But lately, we have noticed we have far more than we need, stuffed into a small kitchen, with little cabinet space. I am a minimalist by nature. I only want what we need. I don't like clutter or having a bunch of stuff we don't use out. I didn't realize how much we carried over from our single life and the other house. Yeesh! For 2 people that have already donated garage full of stuff, we still have a ton! So, my friend Sarah is doing some spring cleaning around her nest, so I thought I would join in the fun!



After



Before



First stop, spice cabinet. Man alive, it was B-A-D. And we had SO many duplicate spices, it was ridiculous. No wonder, stuff fell out of the cabinet all. the. time. But there are a couple spices we will not need to replace till we retire. Sage (3 containers), salt (5 containers of various coarseness), lemon pepper (salt free, grinder and a restaurant sized container), baking powder,cinnamon, seasoning salt. If anyone needs to borrow some, I'm your gal.

After...... only the stuff we use a lot on the bottom shelf!

And, I didn't stop there, I just kept going. I mostly got rid of excess. No need for 18 plates in both glass and plastic. Or 36 glasses of various kinds or the 6 french onion soup crocks I have and I made soup in them twice. I had 6 platters. SIX! At least 8 mixing bowls..... yeesh! It just is too much in this tiny kitchen. SO I trimmed it down and put some in the garage in a dedicated spot/container, so when I need it, I know where to go. I just thought, it will make dishes easier when we aren't shoving stuff out of the way and making piles to make room for things we don't use often. Now, pretty much all my cabinets are done. And the flow is much better, makes much more sense. I threw out a lot, re-organized more and stored some away. Kinda boring, but here are pics anyways!



BEFORE: Above the Microwave... dun dun dun



Bottles everywhere!



After- stuff we use. Shortest to tallest.

After, much much less!



BEFORE:  This is just embarrassing.

AFTER:  Whew. Needs to stay like this!

Before: Side deep cabinet, otherwise know as the "junk cabinet"

Dumping spot for anything and everything

After: doen't look much better, but it really is!

Holds our seasonal and not often used things

Buh Bye Corning Ware and Mixing Bowls. 

These are some of the cabinets.  I know, I know not riveting stuff, but it will make my life SO much easier!  Now gotta tackle the coat closet and upstairs.  Eventually the garage and we will be just about done.  Only took a year!