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October 26, 2016 · Leave a Comment

November Meal Plan

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Meal Planning

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You’ll have to excuse the lack of posts lately.  With the recent flash flooding my area sustained, our schedule is a bit out of whack.  Hubs leaves earlier for work to help oversee repairs to roadways, the boys get on and are dropped off later than our norm, and we have to travel extra distance and time to get to where we need to be.  There is also much more traffic on our sleepy little road than there ever was as where we are on the ridge is the only mainline now.  While I am grateful that we’re only inconvenienced and not rebuilding our lives like others in the area, it is still something that we’re not accustomed to yet, and will be in place for a while.

november meal plan

Today I thought I’d share with you our November meal plan.  Each month I share our monthly meal plans in hopes that it gives some meal inspirations for you and your family.  Our monthly meal plans have worked wonders for helping us save money.  With a list of meals to go through for the month, there’s no shortage of meals, and we certainly don’t feel like we’re stuck in a rut.  Plus, planning meals once a month saves time too!  For more information on the 5 easy steps to make our meal plan, and how you can make your own, check out this post.

But before we get to what our November meal plan is, I want to talk about the elephant in the room.  The fact that I raised my monthly budget.  First of all, with all the talk out there about trying to be frugal and reduce monthly grocery budgets, I want you to know that yes, it is okay to raise your budget.  A budget isn’t meant to be static.  It’s meant to change based on your current needs.

I debated raising it to $600, but figured we’d try for $550 this month.  In our area, and for our family diet, that’s still a reasonable amount.  I can’t find dairy and a few other items exceptionally cheap in PA because their prices are regulated.  We currently pay $2.99 per half gallon of lactose free 2% milk, and go through roughly 2 gallons a week.  I also buy bread rather than make our own, and buy family packs of meat as we need it rather than continue to watch prices and stock up all at once.  I choose convenience on some things which makes it a give and take.

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

We’re a family of 5.  Hubs and I eat smaller adult portions, Bookworm {11} usually eats a slightly smaller portion than Hubs and I.  Then there’s Monkey {7} and Lady Bug {4}.  When you combine their portions, it’s about a portion size for Hubs or I.

I plan from what I have on hand in the freezer or pantry first, but I don’t specifically do stockpile shopping.  After I check our pantry & freezer, I buy items that we need for the week and combine with coupons when possible.

I plan out dinner only.  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.  If I make a roast, we’ll use it for our big weekend meal, and then use the leftovers as ingredients for the week’s remaining meals.  If there’s extras leftover, we’ll stick them in a labelled ziploc bag in the freezer to use at a later date.  I try to plan one meal of leftovers throughout the week, sometimes more.  It helps us clean out what’s in the fridge so we have less food going to waste.

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.

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 prepped at home and sent in to school.

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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Salisbury Steak with Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Chicken BBQ Sandwiches
Cheese Steaks & Fries
Crescent Dogs
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
Roast Chicken Dinner
Sausage & Gnocchi
Chicken & Biscuits
Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
Tacos
Pizza x2
Chicken Noodle Soup
Roast Beef Dinner
Pancakes x2
White Chicken Chili
Beef Stroganoff
Beef & Barley Stew x2
Ham, Orzo & Peas
Meatloaf & Fries
Nachos
Salmon Cakes
Turkey Dinner x2
Turkey Corn Chowder
Baked Ziti x2
Potato Soup

There you have it.  Our November meal plan.  What’s for dinner at your house throughout November?

november meal plan

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makingcentsmatter

This is what school looks like when it's a hybrid This is what school looks like when it's a hybrid model, and your house does not have unlimited space. I was standing in our kitchen when I took this picture, the kids behind me making lunch.
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Our district is carefully monitoring our local infection rates, and we are currently in a hybrid form. That means they divided the district into two groups; half are in school on Monday and Tuesday, the other half on Thursday and Friday. They are offering an all remote option, but Verizon for some reason supplies our house with speeds so slow that it would shock a tortoise. Remote was a no-go.
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This set-up has taken some trial and error to get to where we currently are. Because no matter how prepared you are and how much you've planned, once you're in the weeds, actually doing it, there is no telling how your best-laid plans will work.
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Our home is a 1800sqft one-story, open living area, 4 bedroom, 1 bathroom, ranch-style house in a very rural area. It has no home offices. No guest bedrooms. Yes, that is a desk in the corner of our dining room. 🤣
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Each kid gets their own color bin for their school work. This includes school-issued Chromebooks and other standard items they need to get work done - headphones, pencils, and so on. When we are done for the day, we clean up everything, place them neatly in these bins, and place them in cubbies (on my current left) at night while the Chromebooks charge.
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I do NOT bother to clean up at lunchtime. It would take us more time to clean up and reset everything than it takes us to eat lunch. So we only pack it all up for the day and call it done.
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During the day, I sit between my younger two and field any questions they may have, troubleshoot technical issues we all have, and be the overall bouncer when things get off-topic. My high schooler will occasionally emerge from his bedroom, which opens to the kitchen. So he is close by when he has questions.
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Please remember that with all things in life, you need to work with what's available to you. And there is no shame in that. Don't ever feel like you're not doing good enough because it's not picture perfect. Work with what you have available to you, and you'll do amazing things.
School is in session, the garden is slowing, and I School is in session, the garden is slowing, and I’ve finally realized I haven’t shared our payoff numbers for July or August. Yeah……
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Please keep in mind, we are paid monthly on the 15th, but we don’t go by a “monthly” budget. So I have to go back and look at these numbers based off their due dates in the calendar. Because our pay falls in the middle of the month, I can’t tell you what portion of our income went to debt. It’s going to vary paycheck to paycheck anyways because our priorities vary with each check. Nothing is ever the same month to month, and pay to pay.
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That said, inJuly we paid off $2,694.43.
In August we paid off $1,673.40.
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The difference here is that our priorities shifted between the two months.
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During August, we were doing more prep for whatever school would look like this year, and we had some savings goals make their way to the top of the list as well.
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Of those goals, in August we made progress!
EF Reimbursement: $146 / $1,200
Checking Buffer Reimbursement: $227 / $500
Vet Sinking Fund: $40 / $200
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Remember this is a journey, not a race. There is no point wearing yourself ragged and still making no progress. Make progress where you can, and celebrate it. Even if it’s $5.
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It’s progress, and that’s what matters!
While I wait for the canner to finish the last rou While I wait for the canner to finish the last round... I rearranged our recipe binder. It's only taken me 8 or so years. 🤣😶😭
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I miss the days when zucchini was my problem. Now it's tomatoes. I can only find so many ways to use up spaghetti sauce! So the next 50lbs or so will be chili base and unseasoned sauce.
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On top of this school is starting with a hybrid in building & online system. And I'm seriously slacking on some things I need to do. I'm not good at juggling multiple things and the balls are falling. But I keep reminding myself... be patient. This too shall pass. This is only a phase. So I pick and choose what's the most important, focus on that and go from there.
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So if you feel overwhelmed with your current phase, remember, this too shall pass. It's okay to rearrange priorities. It's okay to take a breather.
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This too shall pass.
If you didn't start finding interesting ways to ge If you didn't start finding interesting ways to get rid of the squash, can you say you even planted any?
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Good news, I'm almost caught up! Bad news, the garden has more.
Super busy here... but I wanted to share that wins Super busy here... but I wanted to share that wins can come in super small packages. I thought I'd spend $380 to clean the band instruments in this house. I ended up spending $234. So the remaining $146 can go to reimbursing what I pulled from our EF.
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No matter the win, celebrate it!
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What are some wins you have had lately?
In total we have 15lbs green beans, 10lbs cucumber In total we have 15lbs green beans, 10lbs cucumbers, 5lbs blueberries, and countless zucchini and squash with more on the way! My weekend is spoken for... and this isn't all of it. 😳
Rather than looking back through all our non-month Rather than looking back through all our non-monthly bills for the year and try to remember what I paid and when I paid it, I make a note of how much it was on our bill pay tracker. That way I can easily tally it up at the end of the year, set our sinking funds next year accordingly, and not spend more time than is necessary on this... because kids and all.⁣
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Anyone else do this? Do you have a different method of tracking these expenses?⁣
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This particular printable is in my Etsy shop here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MakingCentsMatter⁣
It's also part of my budgeting workbook, also in my Etsy shop.⁣
Good news though... there's a very similar free version in my resource library as well. Links are in my profile.⁣
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#budget #budgeting #sinkingfund #savingmoney #savings  #cashbudget #cash #cashisking #frugalblogger #frugalmom #frugalliving #financialgoals #budgetprintable #personalfinancetips  #personalfinance #debtfreejourney #debtfreecommunity #debtfreeprogress #bs1 #bs2 #bs3  #makingcentsmatter #financialfreedom #debtfree
Probably an unpopular opinion here... but these tw Probably an unpopular opinion here... but these two things are NOT the same to me.⁣
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𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 paycheck to paycheck means that you're using all of your money for expenses with none left over for savings. This usually happens when you're not aware of where you are spending your money, and how much you are spending. For us, this happened in the form of those tiny expenses that can add up to even larger expenses, and then an unexpected bill comes and you have nothing left to cover it.⁣
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𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 paycheck to paycheck means that you are giving every single cent you earn a job to do that aligns with your priorities - like in sinking funds, savings, expenses, debt payments, etc - until the next paycheck. You have the money on hand to cover some unexpected expenses, and you are mindful of your spending so that you're not leaking money through small purchases.⁣
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This doesn't mean that there still aren't bad months. Murphy's Law does happen. But you are aware of the spending, aware of the priorities, and where your money needs to be allocated.⁣
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So... just because you're budgeting paycheck to paycheck doesn't mean you're living paycheck to paycheck.⁣
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June's paycheck was a doozy! I haven't looked forw June's paycheck was a doozy! I haven't looked forward to a paycheck since we first made the switch to monthly pays. It was so bad we've got a new order to things.⁣
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Good news is that if our state keeps closing things down, we should hammer this out in no time!⁣
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To see the full breakdown of how bad June's paycheck was, check out the June 15th Budget Review on our YouTube channel here https://youtu.be/gXoEo33hIYQ. Link is also in the bio.⁣
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