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January 10, 2018 · Leave a Comment

January 2018 Meal Plan

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Frugal Living· Meal Planning· Saving· Ways We Save

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If you’ve been here before, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of monthly meal planning.  I tried weekly and it just didn’t work for us.  We got stuck in a boring rut and fell back on to the same meals week after week.  Monthly planning gives me a full view to see if we’re having the same meals week to week.  But better than that, I can plan our meals around certain events and activities that are happening throughout the week.  If you’d like a more in-depth look at how I monthly meal plan, you can check out this post.

But what takes the cake for monthly meal planning for me is that it’s just a running list of 30-31 meals that we’re eating that month.  I’m not stuck to having a specific meal on a specific day.  I can pick and choose meals from the list that fit our needs for the week, and go from there.

January 2018 Meal Plan

Now before I get into the nitty gritty of our January meal plan, here’s what I was considering when I made our January meal plan.

First of all, I had some meals left over from December’s meal plan.  I figured why come up with more meals, when I could just roll over some meal ideas.  Simplicity folks, I’m all about simplicity.  I also included a few extra meals that are really easy just in case January sickies hits our house like a ton of bricks.  I’d rather have a few fast and simple meals on hand if kids are dropping like flies than very intricate meals that I can’t get around to making because we’re sick.

January also has 2 birthdays in our family.  We will be having a small, family only, birthday party for Lady Bug early in the month.  And later in the month for Hubs’ birthday, we usually go out to dinner as a family with his parents.

And lastly, we’ve got a busy month this month.  Between car repairs, Bookworm’s play rehersals, doctor and orthodontist appointments, our month filled up pretty fast, and I wanted meals that were simple and easy to throw together.

Beyond that, here are some other things to consider when reviewing our monthly meal plan:

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 try to 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.  For instance, a roast beef then becomes ingredients for beef stroganoff, beef quesadillas, and so on.

Breakfasts are usually oatmeal, cereal, toast or bagel with peanut butter and fruit, cottage cheese and fruit, or yogurt with granola.   It may seem limited and boring, but keeping breakfast choices as simple as possible makes it much easier on our hectic morning routine.  Hubs is out the door at 6:30 and kids are on the bus at 7.

Lunches are packed each day for Hubs and the kids, while I currently 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, pretzels and Nilla cookies, are also divided out at home and sent to school in smaller snack containers.

I don’t stock pile shop –we just don’t have the pantry space– but I do shop for weekly sales, mostly for crackers, pretzels, and so on.  While this may not be the best of healthiest option, I far prefer fruit for their snacks, I have found that it is by far the easiest when divvying out snacks, and also is the least messy/sticky in the classrooms and backpacks.

During the summer and fall, I preserve what I am able to grow and get cheap from local you-pick farms and farmer’s markets.  It helps me keep what we eat fresh and local, but also limits our preservative and additive intake {I have a preservative allergy and my middle gets migraines with certain food additives}.


Steaks, Salad & Fries
Pierogies
French Toast x2
Tortellini Alfredo
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Fish & Chips
Roast Chicken
Chicken Enchiladas
Stuffed Pepper Soup
Pancakes x2
Chicken Alfredo Broccoli Shells
Pizza Party – Birthday
Cheese Steaks & Fries
Birthday Dinner – of choice x2
Ham Dinner – Scalloped Potatoes, Green Beans
Chicken BBQ Sandwiches
Ham, Potato & Green Bean Soup x2
Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes
Tuna Noodles
Leftovers
Sloppy Joes
Ham, Peas & Noodles
Carrot Squash Soup
Pizza
Tacos
Chili x2
Cast Iron Chicken
Chicken Sammies
Chicken & Rice Soup x2

 

Need more dinner inspiration?  You can check out our past meal plans.  Don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest, where I have a whole board dedicated to meal planning, as well as boards for soups, chicken recipes, and so on.

  • December 2017 Meal Plan
  • November 2017 Meal Plan
  • October 2017 Meal Plan

What’s on your meal plan for January?  I’m always looking for new meals and would love some new ideas!

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  • February 2018 Meal PlanFebruary 2018 Meal Plan
  • Creamy Tuna NoodlesCreamy Tuna Noodles
  • 7 Steps To Get Your Budget Back On Track7 Steps To Get Your Budget Back On Track
  • Creamy Orzo with Ham & PeasCreamy Orzo with Ham & Peas
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Previous Post: « 2018 Goals, and a 2017 Review
Next Post: December 2017 Debt Update »

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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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We always try to go with themed days, but some weeks are so hectic the theme is literally "fast". Thankfully that hasn't been the case lately.⁠
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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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Explorer: $336.27⁠
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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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The battle for who can charge what tonight is abou The battle for who can charge what tonight is about to 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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It was a lot of money for us at the time. Our kids were 6, 2, and 3 months old. I don't think we even had $500 in savings, and I just left a part-time teaching job because it wasn't paying the part-time daycare bill, so paying our portion in full was just a dream I didn't think was achievable.⁠
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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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