from-the-kitchen1

A big part of my keeping to a budget has been menu planning. Each week I take a look at what’s in the cupboard and decide what to make for dinner each evening. Breakfast is every man for himself and lunch is dependent on whether the husband is home or not. Planning dinners has allowed me to shop sales and make sure the food we buy gets used and not thrown away. Plus I love to find recipes and then ignore them when I cook, the menu plan gives me a starting point. So let’s see what’s on for this week…

Saturday – meatloaf, corn on the cob, sweet potato fries

Sunday – HOHO

Monday – leftovers

Tuesday – WOHO (the husband and toddler are gone for a couple of days.  I’ll be eating down the cupboards.)

Wednesday – WOHO (I could make a mini pizza because it’s Wednesday but I can’t plan when it’s just me.)

Thursday – WOHO

Friday – beans n’ biscuits

felix

We are using a system that is somewhat based on $80/week for grocery and non-edible and the $50 a week budget. Each week we calculate how much we spent overall and I announce if we are under or over budget.

eating out – $98.91

grocery – $67.58

grocery non-edible – $12.58

We are still eating down our stores so the grocery budget has been scaled back.  In fact, I haven’t been to the grocery store in weeks.  The husband has been going to pick up the essentials.  That’s why the grocery total is as high as it is.  Milk and produce may be expensive but its the ice cream that really puts us over the top.