January In Review

I don’t ever remember the month of January feeling so long….I honestly think someone stuck an extra six weeks in it. The good news is that it is over and we actually stay the course fairly well for the month. We were able to stick to our budget and made some really fun plans for this year. I plan to share those soon as well. As you can tell I have lots of plans!

Goal #1 Grocery Budget of $550- This was a close one at $552.98 for the month. I am going to call this one a success. I want to try and keep things on a even level more this year instead of huge month and really low months. We are headed to Costco for our monthly trip today and we also need to grab a couple more things for our Super Bowl party.

Goal #2 – Record and keep up with gas/ auto purchase- We spent $455 on auto related things including gas, oil change and wiper blades.

Goal #3-Use a cash envelope system for everything possible. Success!

Goal #4- Blogging- 15 post per month. 13 for the month. I do have another recipe to report on but just did not get it posted. This post should have also been in January so I am very close to success.

Goal # 5- Fitness- Goal is to walk 3 times a week. I managed to walk once a week except for the week I was sick. It is a start.

Goal #6 – Bible study- Goal- 3x a week – A fail

Goal #7-Attempt at least 52 new recipes this year.- This has been successful with keeping up with it so far. But the result are not so successful.
Tator Tot Casserole and Taco Tator Tots and Chicken Burrito Soup
I did try another breakfast casserole and will get a post up about it soon.

Saturday Activities

Today has been a really awesome day, the reason why because I am still in my pajamas and have no plan to leave the house all day! Lily and Kendall are on a youth retreat. Zach is at a birthday party for a friend. Another parent offered to pick him up and drop him off so of course I could not refuse.

I have managed to wash both the sheets on our bed and Zach’s bed. I was not able to hang out to dry but instead ran the dryer during the day to add some heat in the house. The weather is cold with a high of 40* another good reason for me to stay inside.

I made a stop by the grocery store last night. I found whole chicken on sale for $0.99 a pound which is a good price for my area. I prefer to get the already roasted chicken at Costco but we don’t have a trip planned to Costco in the near future. So this morning, I placed the chicken in the instapot. When it finished cooking, I removed the meat and shredded it. I made a huge batch of chicken stew. I have already froze one meal. It will probably work for at least one other full meal. The second half of the chicken, I am going to use in a new recipe this week called Burrito Bowl Soup. Look for a post about it on Monday hopefully.

This coming week is a lot different as everyone is out of school on Monday. Kendall and Zach only go to school on Thursday and Friday. I went ahead and put up the schedule for the week along with meals. I actually went ahead and prepared everything thing I could so that it will be a heat and eat week.


Menu Planning Monday

Things are starting to get a little bit hectic around here, cheerleading started last week, Zach has both sign language club and student council meeting, Lily will start rehearsal for her spring play next week. We also are trying to fit in some doctor appointments. Matt is no longer working a second job but I have working at least Sunday and Wednesday night.

Breakfast- Pimento Cheese and Bacon biscuits. Sunday,-Lucky Charms cereal. Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, Friday– Choice of breakfast burrito, omelet, pop tarts, cereal, bagels or toast.  I may make a baked oatmeal for one morning just not sure yet. (Did not happen last week so it may this week.)

Lunch–Saturday- out to eat at The Classic in Denton, , Sunday-Panda Panda Chinese. Friday both Matt and I will eat out, Kids have a mix of salads, soups and sandwiches. Matt and I both has two days of salads, He will have homemade chill the other days and I have a snack tray planned and a left-over soup.

Dinner – Saturday- Salads and crackers.  Sunday–Left-overs Monday-Tator Tot Taco(new recipe) Tuesday– Find your own Wednesday–Chicken Diva Thursday– Pork Chops, scallop potatoes and green beans, Friday- probably a meal out as the girls are going skiing with the youth group.

5 Things Friday-Medical Expenses

We are very fortunate that overall our family is healthy. As I started to prepare to file our income taxes for 2019 and because of several huge medical expenses this week, it occurred to me how difficult it could be to cover this expense. So I thought I would share some of this information with you.

  1. We are currently paying for both Lily and Kendall’s braces. Total monthly expense $266.
  2. Although we are fairly healthy we do have several monthly prescriptions, total $10 a month.
  3. Zach need to have the lens in his Rex Specs replaced. His glass that broke in October were finally ready so I went ahead and purchased the new lens. Total Cost $337
  4. All three kids had appointments at the dentist this week. I do have dental insurance but still had an out of pocket expense of $33.
  5. I do have a medical flexible spending account, which I max out each year, $2500. My year runs from July 1st to June 30th. We have already used this allotment for the year so the above expense are out of pocket for us for the next six months.

Monday Menu Planning

We are back to a regular routine this week. The kids all have school and I am working both jobs. You may notice that several easy to fix dinners are showing up. I am also committed to trying one new recipe a week. The biggest accomplishment of the week is no planned eating out!

Breakfast- Saturday ,Eggs, bacon and toast. Sunday,-Frozen Waffles. Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, Friday– Choice of breakfast burrito, omelet , pop tarts, cereal, bagels or toast.  I may make a baked oatmeal for one morning just not sure yet.

Lunch–Saturday-Sandwiches on Hawaiian rolls, , Sunday-Cranberry Chicken Friday both Matt and I will eat out, Kids have a mix of salads, soups and sandwiches. Matt and I both has two days of salads, He will have homemade chill the other days and I will find the best left-overs.

Dinner – Saturday- twice baked potatoes (from freezer).  Sunday–Broccoli and cheese soup Monday-Sloppy joes and French fries Tuesday– Taco pasta Wednesday–crockpot cubed steak. Thursday– Chicken enchiladas, Friday- Kielbasa and rice.

2020 Budget

Am I the only nosey one? I have been stalking several blogs and facebook to see a real family budget. I want to see if my numbers are any where close to others and to find if I left anything out? In lieu of being able to compare, I decided to just go ahead and share our budget lines.

Hair50
Gas/ Auto up keep500
Offering520
Piano120
Clothing50
Braces 100
Chores350
Car Payment436.42
Spending300
AAA/Insurance78
Groceries550
Gifts100
Summer200
Saving30

Mortgage 1019.17
water32
electric260
Road runner147.46
Car Payment344.03
cellphone476.25
Adobe/Computer21.39

2020 Goals

  1. Grocery Budget of $550- This includes all household supplies and will include any and all meat that we need. This goal is probably more difficult than in the past due to need to purchase a cow this year and the increase in the price of all groceries. I am beginning with a pretty well stocked pantry and some meat so that should keep us on track for at least January.
  2. Record and keep up with gas/ auto purchase- I am not setting a goal but need to determine the amount to budget. Currently we budget $500 but this may not be enough.
  3. Use a cash envelope system for everything possible. I have set up separate accounts for gifts and clothing that I can easily on the spot transfer money to and from a debit card. Gas will be placed on our Sheetz credit card to help with tracking.
  4. Blogging- 15 post per month.
  5. Fitness- Goal is to walk 3 times a week. I also want to increase the distance to 3 miles at a time.
  6. Bible study- Goal- I am thinking 3x a week to start with but increasing to 5 times before the year ends.
  7. Attempt at least 52 new recipes this year. In order to stay accountable, I will have to report on each with a blog post.

Year in Review

I am actually really impressed with myself for writing this on New Year’s Eve. This is almost a week sooner than 2018. 2019 was a much less stressful year in all the areas of my life. As I was looking back on the goals I established it does not look like I made progress but overall I feel really positive as we head into the next year.

Financial- Our debit is not below 20,000 however both Matt and I have significantly increased our income this year. In fact, Matt received a raise today that we were not expecting until mid January. I plan to share our budget tomorrow along with the goals of the year. I feel comfortable financially which is the first time I have said this in our entire marriage. In fact it may be the first time in my entire lifetime.
We spent an average of $506.76 a month in groceries this year. This is over an $100 a month deduction from last year but $75 more a month than what I wanted to budget. The kids are all growing and eating real portions now. The budget for 2020 is $550 a month which includes the purchase of more meat as we don’t have any hamburger meat or steaks.
Gas is a huge expense for us. We currently are averaging $ 465 a month but this is only over the 7 months that I managed to keep track. The good news is that we only spent $284.49 in December.

Blogging- I have been averaging 10 post a month. I was able to hit the goal of 15 in the month of March and came close in June with 14. This month, this is post number 12.

Weight/ health- This is huge dud. I injured my knee in August. I stopped everything except working. This week I have managed to walk outside 2 days so I am going to establish the goal of 3 days a week for this year.

Bible study- As a family, we were successful in reading Luke during the month of December. I need to find an individual devotional book and start a good habit for the next year.

5 Things Friday

  1. Yes, it has been a week since I have posted. This week, I ended up working 4 night in Guam for therapy. As you can imagine this added to our already busy schedule.
  2. Better news is that both the kids and I started our Christmas break today. I ended up going back to work one day before them but we all plan to enjoy the next almost two weeks.
  3. Not only have I been working extra this week. On Thursday, both Kendall and Lily both were sick so off to the doctor’s office we go. Luckily it is not the flu but both girls still don’t feel great.
  4. We are doing awesome on budget this month. So fare we have spent $220 in gas and $206 in groceries. This includes stops at two grocery stores today. I am very hopeful that we will end the month less than $250 on each of these items.
  5. I am planning to start the official Christmas cooking tomorrow!

Five Things Friday

  1. I absolute hate our weather, currently it is 34 and raining. We have had several cold and rainy days this weeks with yet another one expected for Saturday
  2. Tonight we are working on some handmade Christmas gifts for both my work and Zach’s teachers. I will share right before Christmas and after they have all been disturbed. We have 12 gifts and currently have spent $8.
  3. I need to decide on a menu plan for Christmas day. In the past, it has always been a sort of find your own dinner thing. But as the kids get older, I am thinking toward a big lunch with left-overs for dinner. Of course, my family needs to eat three meals a day no matter what holiday it is. This also means I need to make a trip to the grocery store.
  4. Our budget this month is looking awesome. We have currently spent $18.54 on groceries. I am anticipating around $100 for our Christmas trip, which keeps us really low for the month but after last month it should be. I am planning to share a detailed budget for next year after Christmas as well.
  5. I have 4 gifts left to buy in December. One is my mother’s birthday present so only 3 left for Christmas. I only have to decide on one final gift. Lily suggested that I need to keep a list of all the things I buy during the year but my only fear is that nosey people would find it. I guess I could be generic and just put the number of gifts purchased. Any Suggestion?