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February 1, 2017 · Leave a Comment

January 2017 Meal Plan

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Meal Planning

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Welcome to the second end-of-the-month-meal-plan-posting.  Even though this is only the second time, I’m really liking posting our meal plans after we’ve gone through them for the month.  It’s much more representative of what we’ve spent and eaten than what we’ve planned for meals at the beginning of the month and hoping we stick to the budget.

I mean, while I have the best intentions when I create our monthly meal plan, what we spend and eat for the month all comes down to when I get to the store, what we have on hand, what we’ve recently eaten, and honestly, what everyone feels in the mood for.  If everyone is in the mood for soup, meatloaf is going to have to wait!

There have been times this month where we’ve incorporated more leftover items into the next night’s meals, and it has really helped reduce our spending for our meals this month.

January 2017 Meal Plan

Now before we get to what we ate throughout the month, here’s what I take into consideration when I plan our meals.

We’re a family of 5.  Hubs and I eat smaller adult portions.  Our kids are 11, 7 and 5.  Sometimes they eat more than we do, other times they barely pick at what we serve.

I don’t stock pile shop, but we do try to plan our meals from what we have on hand.  I also like to combine meals with like ingredients to help stretch our budget and reduce food waste.

I plan only our dinners.  Unless it’s noted, sides consist of a fruit or veggie, possibly a grain, and is based on what I have in my fridge and pantry.

We have one big meal each week, and it’s usually a roast.  Throughout the rest of the week I use the leftovers as ingredients for the week’s remaining meals.

Breakfasts are usually oatmeal, cereal, toast and peanut butter with fruit, cottage cheese and a fruit, or yogurt with granola.   It may seem limited and boring, but keeping breakfast choices simple makes it much easier on our hectic morning routine since Hubs is out the door at 6:30 and the boys are on the bus at 6:50.  I am trying to get better at baking a quick bread for the mornings as well.

Lunches are packed each day for Hubs and the boys, while Lady Bug and I eat at home.  Lunches are either sandwiches, salads, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, or leftovers as the main course.  It’s served with a fruit/veg, yogurt or cheese, a drink and a “treat” {gummies, chips, etc}.  Snacks, such as crackers and Nilla cookies, are also divided out at home and sent in to school in snack containers.

During the summer and fall, I freeze and can what I am able to grow and get cheap from local you-pick farms and farmer’s markets.  It enables me to keep what we eat fresh and local, but also limit our preservative and additive intake.

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Pancakes, Eggs & Bacon
Salisbury Steak
Sloppy Joes
Chicken & Waffles
English Muffin Pizzas
Chinese Take Out
Leftover Chinese Take
Roast Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Mixed Vegetables
Monkey Bread, Strawberries, Homemade Whipped Cream
Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Chicken with Gemelli & Gruyere
Nachos
Chili, Leftover Nachos
Birthday Party: Leftover Pizza; Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
Leftover Chili
Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes & Green Beans
Beef Stew
Leftover Chili, Leftover Beef Stew
Chicken Enchiladas
Cheese Steaks & Chips
Dinner Out: Birthday
Cast Iron Chicken, Mashed Potatoes & Peas, Pan Gravy
Beef Stroganoff, Green Beans
Potato Soup
Chicken BBQ Sliders, Tater Tots
Tacos
Pizza
Chicken Parm Tenders with Spaghetti
Salmon Cakes, Rice & Peas
Strawberry Pancakes & Eggs
Cast Iron Chicken, Rice & Corn
Leftover Chicken Parm & Spaghetti

This month we spent $475.66 on groceries.  That’s the lowest amount in quite a while, and I think there were a few different things that helped contribute to it.

For the first part of the month we were able to save money by using up a lot food we had left in our fridge and pantry from over the holidays.  By the middle of the month, our weekly bill was pretty high because we needed to replenish a lot of basics, as well as a few snacks.  I did stop at Weis a two or three times this month to check out their weekly deals, but for the most part keeping our bill low for the month was simply by planning around our freezer and pantry more than anything.

By the end of the month I had decided to make blueberry bread to have on hand for breakfasts.  While my intentions were sincere, the bread didn’t last long at all.  Nearly half of it was gone within a few hours of making it!  The kids loved it as an after-dinner dessert just as much as they enjoyed it for breakfast.

Overall for January, I was able to keep our grocery budget to under $500 for the month.  That’s remarkable for us!  I try to budget around $600 each month for food and snacks.  This may seem like a lot for some, but for our diet restrictions, it’s pretty low.

How did you do on your grocery budget in January?  What was on your January meal plan?  I’d love to hear in the comments below!

January 2017 Meal Plan

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makingcentsmatter

makingcentsmatter
Only you can determine what your financial goals a Only you can determine what your financial goals are. If that means you're adding money to your savings account, or contributing to your retirement, while you are paying off debt, then so be it!⁠
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Do what looks right for you and your personal finances.⁠
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The trick to meal planning is to make it predictab The trick to meal planning is to make it predictable. But predictable doesn't mean the same thing week to week. You could have a chicken meal, a soup meal, a pasta meal, a leftovers meal, a family favorite meal, and so on.⁠
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I can only hear about my extended warranty I never I can only hear about my extended warranty I never purchased so many times. 😣⁠
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March Debt Paid numbers are in!⁠ .⁠ House: $51 March Debt Paid numbers are in!⁠
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House: $511.13⁠
Citi: $0 – this has a residual $3 in interest charges since payoff, due in April⁠
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Total Paid in 2021: $8,258.84⁠
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Extra Payment: There isn’t one this month since we were $25 away from zeroing out the budget for our February 15th monthly paycheck. That $25, and monies left from our January 15th paycheck, covered our OOP costs for Hubs’ filling. We also have some savings goals coming up that need to be met, making our debt payments a little lower for the time begin.⁠
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Then they get grumpy when it's their turn and it's not the proper input cable. #itwasmychargerfirst #dontlikeitgofindyourown⁠
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A needs his wisdom teeth taken out. I've talked a A needs his wisdom teeth taken out. I've talked a bit in our February Budget Check-In about how much of this I think we'll owe, and you can check that out on my YouTube channel if you're interested, but I wanted to say here...⁠
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To the mother with little kids struggling to get your finances in order, it will get better. I wish I could have heard those words years ago.⁠
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Nearly 10 years ago we were facing a $1,400 out-of-pocket portion for A's Phase 1 orthodontic work (I looked it up after I uploaded the video... we had a $1,400 portion).⁠
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Nearly 10 years later, we are still paying off our debts. Student loans suck. But I see this bill as a reminder of how far we have come. Seeing a bill like this doesn't stress me out like it used to, and I know we can easily create a plan that can get it done and out of the way.⁠
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It's almost payday! Here's how our variable budget It's almost payday! Here's how our variable budgeting categories are working out for the pay month.⁠
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Food is looking good this far into our paycheck, probably because miscellaneous - which includes eating out - took a hit with unexpected purchases. Pet is low for this time of the month, and Household is spot on.⁠
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Fuel looks like it'll be lower than last month (yay for weeks of snow days & delayed school starts), and Therapy had one more appointment than initially planned.⁠
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Garden, Dental, Medical & Propane are not included in these estimates so far because those expenses are coming from sinking funds. Once we're done with the month and review the budget, I'll move over the total amount spent from those sinking funds.⁠
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How's your paycheck budget coming along?⁠
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Automating your finances makes saving money and bu Automating your finances makes saving money and budgeting more convenient, and therefore easier on you. Out of sight, out of mind, right?⁠
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What's one thing you can automate this week to make your finances easier?⁠
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Me? I'm going to set up our sinking fund transfers to automate every payday (the 15th of every month). Our bank set up a feature on their app where we can schedule savings transfers now, and I'm going to take advantage of it!⁠
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Oh my word... our miscellaneous category has gone Oh my word... our miscellaneous category has gone a smidgen overboard this month!⁠
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I foresee a goal for March's paycheck to at out less than twice. That's where this category went awry. $99.16 of it went to eating out. 😑 Some of it was avoidable, but not all of it. Having to drive to multiple appointments in one day during snow squalls and rearranging our whole day was one of those unavoidable instances.⁠
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Tracking our expenses - much like a budget review - is vital to sticking to your budget!⁠
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