Monthly Archives: January 2023

Monday Menu Planning

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Week 2 of the Pantry Challenge is guaranteed to be more complicated than the first. This week we have two swim meets.  Which means figuring out how we can work around and eat at home for at least of these evenings.  I am also trying to think ahead and make sure we use up the fresh veggies that are here already. Last week, we had enough left-over pork fried rice to use for my lunch this week.  I also have 8 meals on my list to repeat in February so far!

Breakfast- Saturday- chicken and waffles    Sunday-Pear sauce bread.  Monday, Tuesday Wednesday and Friday- find it oatmeal, omelets cereal and milk, French toast sticks, bagels, breakfast burritos and pancakes. Thursday- homemade bagels or baked oatmeal.

Lunch- Saturday-sliders    Sunday-Olive Garden, Monday- left-overs, Tuesday salad, Wednesday- sandwich or roll up, Thursday- taco soup Friday- out to eat

Dinner- Saturday-Mexican snack feast Sunday- Potato Sausage Soup from Freezer, Monday-Salisbury Steak, mashed potatoes and green beans Tuesday- KFC bowls using mashed potatoes   Wednesday- Eat on the way to or from Swim meet   Thursday- Beef and Broccoli   Friday-Leftovers or grilled cheese sandwiches.

This is another easy week for us!  I am so glad!

5 Things Friday- Budget

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  1. We practice a zero budget, which means that we plan where each of dollars go prior to the month beginning.  One exception is the Verizon phone bill, I budget to pay this entirely each month however several family members are responsible to pay their own portion. This money is not budget but I usually add to the fun money or purchase other items that are needed but not budgeted for.
  2. Several of our monthly expenses are fixed such as the mortgage payment and Tahoe payment.  I am choices at this point to only pay the required amounts as the interest rates are 2.75% and 3.49%. This allows us to focus on debt pay-off with fun thrown in as well.
  3.  For our utilities, we actually just lowered our internet bill to $49.99 a month, electricity budget is $300 and water is $44. If we manage to keep these lower than anticipated, then that adds money in for debt reduction.
  4.  This year we have increased both our grocery and gas budget. I currently have $975 for groceries and $600 for gas.  I am using any money left over even during the pantry challenge to work on debt as these are the categories that for 2022 we were most over in and we ended up using other monies to cover.
  5. Two budget categories that I rarely talk about but have been a part of our budget for the last several years are Pool Dues / Summer Fund at $50 a month and AAA/ Insurance at $150 a month.

Pantry Challenge – The Details and Week 1

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I first mention this challenge (#3RiversPantryChallenge). My goal is to share at least once a week about this challenge in order to help keep me accountable.

I stated that my only rule was that I would not buy anything until I was actually out of the item.   Unfortunately, I have already had to order/ buy toothpaste. I was going to try and use the ‘travel size ” tube I found but Lily came in and told me that she was out of toothpaste as well. So, $10.38 was spent on toothpaste for the next couple of months. I also added this to my subscribe and save list!

I have now re-done my budget and if I can survive and complete the challenge, I could possibly add around $1800 for the months of January and February!  This is a huge motivation for me. Along with the pantry challenge, I am also going to try and limit my spending for the month, especially from Amazon.  It has become so easy to just order from Amazon if we think about it.  So far, we are doing great with this part of the challenge, no Amazon deliveries in three days. Kendall ordered and received a new bible but that does not belong to me.  The one exception is that I am going to continue with my subscribe and save planned for the month. Most of these items are for lunches. Currently all five of us, take our lunch at least 4 days a week. If the kids had to switch to purchasing lunch that would be $30 a week. By keeping my Amazon subscription coming in I am actually probably saving money.

One thing that I feel like I need to share upfront is that I always take my mother grocery shopping because she reliant on a walker.  She also eats with us around 4 times a week.  She enjoys and insist that she treats my kids with certain items when I take her shopping. This week she purchased pickles, apples, raspberries, Oreos, chocolate chip cookies and strawberries. This makes the kids and my mom very happy so it will continue.  I honest think that it balances out because we share meals and meat with her on a regular basis.

One really positive that I have started this week is that I am making a list of dinners that we are currently enjoying in January that we can easily repeat in February. My goal is to make my life easier this way.

One other addendum is that Amanda brought over a case of chicken nuggets this week that she was given at work. She knows I never turn down free food so hey that should help with the pantry challenge as well.

 

Monday Menu Planning

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I know that in order for me to stay on top of the pantry challenge I have got to plan for all meals.  This week is fairly easy as we have a swim meet on Saturday so we can eat both before and after. I also wanted to make sure that I am using some of the “non-preferred” items up front.  In order to make lunches easier for me I have decided to try the following Leftover meal. salad meal, soup and either a sandwich or roll up.  This should keep me on track as long as I get lunch made the night before!

Breakfast- Saturday- bacon, sausage and pancakes   Sunday-toast.  Monday, Tuesday Wednesday and Friday- find it oatmeal, omelets cereal and milk, French toast sticks, bagels, breakfast burritos and pancakes. Thursday- homemade bagels or baked oatmeal.

Lunch- Saturday-Nachos   Sunday-La Caretta, Monday- left-overs, Tuesday salad, Wednesday- sandwich or roll up, Thursday- taco soup Friday- out to eat

Dinner- Saturday-Snack feast for New Year Eve,  Sunday- Baked Ziti, Monday- Bacon/cheddar burgers and fries Tuesday- Chicken enchiladas- with a second pan to freeze for later, Wednesday- spaghetti and garlic bread   Thursday- Pork Fried Rice   Friday-Leftovers or grilled cheese sandwiches.

Everything has already been pulled from the freezer so it should be pretty simple and straight forward!