Did you know that you can always find money somewhere in your budget? Often time it means having to cut back a little more on the nonessentials or calling up the cable company and threatening to leave knowing good and well you’re not because the last season of Game of Thrones starts in April. You have to get creative, especially if you’re trying to achieve new financial goals and there isn’t any extra money in the budget.
One of the easiest ways to find extra capital in your budget is to ask yourself what process or processes you have in place that you can make more efficient. Big companies and corporations do this all the time. Its called LEAN Sigma, which is a method that relies on a collaborative team effort to make things more streamlined in an attempt to reduce waste. In your case, this waste would be money waste.
Our budget is currently at its max in term of what it’s capable of handling based on the amount of money we’re bringing in. When I proposed that we go lay on a beach for Christmas next year it was met with enthusiasm and followed up with that one question we all dread “How are we going to pay for it?” Even as a serious budgeter and no-nonsense money girl I still cringe every time my husband asks me that question. I want to scream “Live a little!”, But he’s right. We needed a way to pay for it, so I got creative.
The only area in our budget that had a little wiggle room was our Groceries. I’d already cut about 40% off our grocery budget by shopping at Aldi and purchasing in bulk whenever I could so I figured maybe I could Lean Sigma it a little bit more. Try as we might we still end up with a lot of food waste. Food waste equals money wasted. So, I set a goal that we would only spend $275 on groceries each month. We usually spend around $375 on groceries a month. Before we even started I knew that I needed a better process for determining how much food we were going to purchase on a weekly and monthly basis so that we could spend at least as possible
To do this, I wrote out an entire month’s worth of meals. I planned what we were going to have for dinner every single night. I thought it was going to be this long, daunting process, but it was effortless once I got started. Here a few things to keep in mind.
- Don’t over think it. Choose foods that you usually eat and add in some fun recipes. If you need inspiration dust off that recipe book on your shelf and add in things you’ve wanted to try.
- It’s okay to repeat meals. There are a few meals that we eat every single week. Not only does this make shopping easier, but it takes the stress out of figuring out what to eat. Plus, who doesn’t want Taco’s every Tuesday?
- Plan bigger meals on Sunday so that you can eat leftovers for dinner on Monday.
- Incorporate FREE DAY/DATE NIGHT into your meal plan, because you’re human and no one wants to cook every night.
Using the monthly meal plan I then wrote out two separate shopping lists. I first wrote out a bulk shopping list containing all the meat and nonperishable items that I could purchase at one time from our local grocery stores or BJ’s. I then wrote a list of the items we would need to purchase weekly such as our vegetables and dairy.
So far these lists have been game changers for me. When I go to the store, I have tunnel vision, and I only purchase what’s on the list without deviating. My favorite cookies at Aldi can’t even derail me. After I made these list I found these great meal planning and shopping list that fit perfectly into my Happy Planner.
The first week I shopped I picked up the bulk items and the stuff we needed for Week One which came to a total of $168. For this second week, I spent $27.77 on all the perishable items we’ll need.
Even though we’re only a week and few days into our January Meal plan, I’m pretty confident that this will work out for us. Not only is it forcing me to consciously think about my meals and what I plan to eat, but we’re also saving money because we’re sticking strictly to our grocery list and not deviating to pick up items that we don’t need but would like because they’re on sale.
If you would like to see the video version of this explained, head over to my Instagram page and check out the “Financial Planning” highlights.
At the end of the month, I’ll update you on our progress along with any bumps we’ve experienced along the way.
Happy Meal Planning!
