We've all been there. You are running low on money, the bills are piling up, and you are so stressed out you don't know what to do! Well first and foremost, you need to take action. Fear and stress come from inactivity. So, look at your expenses and look at your income and begin making a budget.
In the interim, this is a great weekly money saving tactic: Make a meal plan. Yes, it is really simple. Grocery shopping is something that you must do, because you have to eat to survive. If you are one of the millions of fast food patrons in the country, you should consider stopping that habit, for more than just your budget.
Think about it this way.... You spend $6.00 (or more) on ONE combo meal. That $6.00 could have bought you Milk, cereal, yogurt, and eggs. Hello breakfast for the family. Depending on where you shop for groceries, $6.00 can go a LONG way. You are not getting your money's worth when you eat at restaurants, period. So, make it a once a month thing until your finances are in order. Back to the meal plan.
You should sit down with either your Smart Phone or a paper and pen, and begin writing out the days of the week. Next, assess your eating patterns. Do you eat 5 times per day (Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Snack, Dinner), or 3 times per day (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)? When you have this determined, write the first letter of the meal below each day. So, under Monday, you'll write (example shown is for the 5 meal plan):
B:
Sn1:
L:
Sn2:
D:
You will then write down what you plan to eat for each day for the next 7 days. This is very simple to do. If you are trying to eat healthfully, there are many sites out there that help you create meal plans and even create grocery lists for you. You may opt to do recipe searches instead, and create your OWN meals.
Relatively inexpensive snack options are baby carrots and celery. These foods are not only good for your body, but also good for your wallet. A single celery bunch can last you nearly the entire week if you cut it up into celery sticks and seal it in little baggies.
Creating a meal plan based grocery list will keep you focused on buying only what you need versus what you "want". Of course things like toilet paper, toothpaste, and the like are always needed, so make sure you put those on the list, but nothing extra. Hold yourself accountable for your spending. Soon, you'll start bragging about how much money you saved while shopping.
As always I suggest stores such as Aldi, and Compare foods. These stores do not have all of the bells and whistles of other stores, nor do they have baggers. You bring your own bags and you bag your own groceries. The stores limit personnel and overhead so they can pass those savings along to you, the customer. So, the next time your are out at Harris Teeter, drinking your latte from the in-store coffee shop, and paying $4.50 for a single loaf of bread, you'll know why you are paying so much... it's the fancy extras.
Meal planning not only saves you money every week, it saves you time. You can pre-pack meals for the week because you know what you are having. You can pre-make and seal dinners so you can simply reheat it in the microwave.
For more help on meal plan creation checkout these sites:
www.fitfuture.biz (Click Join to become a club member and reap the benefits)
http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/our-free-meal-plans/
If you have any questions, please leave them below in the comments section, or contact me via facebook or twitter.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Lisa.Kingslayer
Twitter: @LisaKingslayer
No comments:
Post a Comment