Save time, money, and your sanity with E-Mealz

This has been a life saver for me and I wanted to share it with you!!

Dining out was one of the biggest areas I noticed in our budget that we could afford to cut back.  In one month, earlier this year, our spending on dining out was $500 for one month!!!  It seems high when you think about it but the average household eats out at least once a week and with a family of four the bill is usually around $75 each time.  Add in a few fast food trips and quick stops for lunch during the work week and it really adds up fast.

I am a very busy person and also don't always feel like cooking after being gone at work for 9 hours.  I knew that in order to be successful at saving money by eating in, I would have to plan meals and be prepared with food ahead of time or we would be ordering pizza....again.

*Sigh, how in the world am I gonna pull this off?!?* 

Thank God for E-mealz!!!  This website was recommended through Dave Ramsey's site as an easy and affordable way to stay on track with monthly menu planning.  Once a week E-Mealz publishes a new menu depending on the plan you choose (there are several plans based on store and the amount of people you're cooking for).  I chose the Family Plan for any store.  It is published in .pdf format every Thursday and I simply print it out.  On the second page is my grocery list broken down by meal number.  If I decide I don't want to cook one of the meals, I simply cross out those items.  I've only been doing this for a short time but so far I love it.  It works well with my freezer cooking methods and has been saving me time and money over the past three weeks.  Not to mention I look like I'm organized and actually know what is going on - You gotta love that!!!  Even better bonus:  The meals and recipes are provided by moms with kids so they are all edible and not weird, and also healthy. 

Click on the link below to check it out for yourself and sign up.  The cost is $1.25/week billed quarterly at $15.  Try using the promo code "DAVE" to save $2.50 off your first three months.

Cheap and Cute Bathroom Storage

Do you love Pottery Barn?  I have a love/hate relationship with this place.  I love drooling over the catalog and online photo's of the beautiful displays and dream of having a house right out of the pages of one of those catalogs.  I hate the prices and the reality that I will never pay for a house decorated out of a PB catalog (even if I could afford it, I wouldn't pay for it).  With my friends on other blogs who have posted some awesome PB knock offs (just Google "Pottery Barn Knock Off blog" or "Pottery Barn Hack Blog"), I have been inspired to create my own PB style decor. 

I recently redecorated my bathroom in a beach theme, inspired by a trip to the Virgin Islands last fall.  It is much brighter and more airy and I wanted some really cute, rustic style storage for Q-tips and cotton balls, etc.  I love the organic feel of the storage containers here but wasn't about to spend $27 for a small one, let alone $32 for a larger one.  I went to Michael's and found some mason jars and took the lids off and just filled 'em up.  It's that simple.  The candle holder one (another PB idea) costs me about $8.  The Jar was $3.50 and the sand was $2.  Candle from Yankee Candle Co. was also $2.  These could easily be made into hanging jars with some twisted wire, if you have the space to display them.  Total for all three jars was right around $10. 

Budgeting 101

Well now that my first post is out of the way I can get onto my current obsession.  My DH will tell you that once I get interested in something it becomes an obsession until it fizzles out or something more interesting comes along.  Oftentimes I have a minimum of 3 obsessions going at a time.  (I tell you this man is a saint to put up with me!) 

I recently graduated from a private college with my bachelor's degree.  This was no small feat mind you and has been in the works for approximately 7 years (I know...I should be a Dr. by now).  But when you have small children and a full time job outside the home school has to be approached just like you would eat an elephant....one bite at a time.  So one bite at a time, I finally finished the whole thing.  Now I have been finding many things to focus (obsess) on since I no longer have to read books on ethics, or write papers on system analysis.  Budgeting is one of those areas of focus.

Becoming budget conscious is something that was pretty uncharted territory for me in my 20's.  Now that I'm a big girl and will also have a big loan to pay back, I find myself worrying about finances more than ever.  My husband feels this worry is unwarranted, and he is likely right, but I continue to find it occupying my thoughts.  To satisfy this interest I have been looking into several areas of budgeting including paying off debt aggressively such as Dave Ramsey suggests, and other areas like frugal living.  The more I look into it, the more I realize this will be attempting to eat another elephant and should be an excellent test of my patience and stamina yet again.  So with that approach in mind, I intend on taking some initial baby steps and setting attainable goals that will hopefully keep my momentum going.  May's plan:

• Review spending habits from March and April
• Plan budget for May (and do my best to stick to it)
• Find two areas of non-essential spending to cut back on
• Be honest with myself and family about negative spending habits
• Introduce one new frugal habit this month

I think that this is a pretty good start and should hopefully be easy to accomplish.  Once we get some momentum going then it will be time to push the envelope.  The key is to not set yourself up for failure.  Find small goals that you can reach to help build your confidence.  If I can do this, anyone can!

What are your tips for planning and sticking to a budget for your family?  Please add a comment.

Welcome....let the blogging begin!

Hi, My name is Jenn and I recently decided it’s time to jump on the blogging band wagon.  I am a wife and mother of 2 boys ages 9 and 6 (more to come on them later).  I recently graduated from college as an adult learner and find myself (finally!) with time to get more involved in homemaking, budgeting, and loving and enjoying my family life.  Essentially that is what I plan this blog to be all about.  Some of my current interests (read obsessions) are frugal living, budgeting and debt snowball and focusing on a more natural, organic environment for my children to grow up in.
The world is a tough place and it seems to be getting tougher every day.  Setting goals and moving forward day by day take patience and stamina.  I lack both of these naturally but am determined to push through and see the wonderful end results of my efforts.  My goals (not to be confused with resolutions) for the remainder of 2011 are:

• Pay off percentage of student loan debt (amount yet to be determined)
• Set and stick to a family budget
• Save money on groceries and food
• Decorate my house to feel like a welcoming home on a very tight budget
• Spend time creating memories with my family and friends

I hope that you will enjoy joining me on my journey to reach these goals.  Hopefully I can share some great tips along the way and I look forward to learning from others as well.
Blessings,
Jenn