• Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4

    The phrase “it’s a wild….wild….week” (kind of a spin off the phrase it’s a mad mad world) kept going through my head this week.  I don’t see life slowing down for the next….well few months at least.  Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.

     

    Groceries from  Save A Lot | RiteAid

    Save A Lot | RiteAid Groceries:

    • $11.03 at Save A Lot | RiteAid for 1 gallon Milk, 1 bag Cinnamon Raisin Bagels (on clearance), 2 trays Cube Steak (on clearance), 2 packs Sliced Cheese, and 1 bag fresh Carrots.

    Groceries from Ingles

    Ingles Groceries:

    • $20.20 at Ingles for 2 bags Apples (clearance), 1 bag shredded Mozzarella Cheese (32 oz), 1 bag shredded Mexican Cheese (32 oz), 1 container Butter spread, 1 large container fresh Spinach (clearance), and 1 container fresh Mushrooms (clearance).  (All the items were on sale or clearance.)

    We were able to stock up on a couple great items this week.  It was a busy week so I didn’t get a chance to shop around much, it was a maintenance week for us.  I hope fill you in soon on some of the exciting stuff going on in our family! 🙂 Thanks for hanging in there with me while life is spinning around me!

    This week I spent $31.23 on groceries.  I was under on my budgeted amount for the week, yay!  I was happy to find fresh produce and meat on sale that we can use for several meals.  I hope that next week is better week, back to normal, and we can come under budget!

    It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks!  As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me.  I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too.  The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.

    Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances.  Life doesn’t always go as planned.  We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given.  Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life.  A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others.  There is so much more to life than having all the stuff.  We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    I was back to my regular schedule for the most part this week.  It was a busy week with a lot of big work projects to tackle.  Jake ended up getting sick this week which took a little extra time but I thankful for an opportunity to help my sweet husband when he is not feeling well.  I am glad he is feeling better and the rest of us seemed to escape the “bug”.  I wasn’t able to get everything crossed off the list but made some headway.

    Here is the update on last weeks goals:

    Family Goals

    1. Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
    2. Read a book to the girls everyday
    3. Have the girls read 1 book to me 5 days this week – we missed one day this week
    4. Do devotions with the girls every night (sometimes it gets late and we rush to get them into bed) – we had a couple late nights
    5. Do the 25 Day of Christmas B.L.E.S.S. activities with the girls this week – it has been an amazing activity for our family and we have experienced a lot of joy giving to others this week

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – I did not do well this week, had a lot of big work projects and Jake got sick
    2. Go to bed by 10:30 or earlier on Monday and Thursday – I hit it a couple days
    3. Finish reading The 60-Minute Money Workout by Ellie Kay – haven’t had a chance to start on this one yet
    4. Listen to the next section of  Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper  – listened to it again but need to read the book to get more indepth

    Home Management Goals

    1. Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
    2. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
    3. Dinner on the table by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday) – I was a little late a couple night this week
    4. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    5. Start wrapping and send out Christmas Cards / Presents

    Business Goals

    1. Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk – if you looked at my desk earlier this week it was scary as I was wrapping up a couple big projects, it is now back under control for the moment which is why I love doing it daily to help stay on top of it
    2. Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
    3. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    4. Review my 2011 Business Goals and start planning ones for 2012 – did a few more

    Ministry Goals

    1. Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
    2. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    3. Make at least $25 towards my Creative Cash goal this week so I can give more to others.

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Pay off remaining debt – paid a little extra this week, little by little
    3. Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – on hold until debt is paid off

    Here are my goals for the upcoming week:

    Family Goals

    1. Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
    2. Read a book to the girls everyday
    3. Have the girls read 1 book to me 5 days this week
    4. Do devotions with the girls every night (sometimes it gets late and we rush to get them into bed)
    5. Do the 25 Day of Christmas B.L.E.S.S. activities with the girls this week

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
    2. Go to bed by 10:30 or earlier on Monday and Thursday
    3. Finish reading The 60-Minute Money Workout by Ellie Kay
    4. Start Reading and listen to the next section of  Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper

    Home Management Goals

    1. Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
    2. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
    3. Dinner on the table by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
    4. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    5. Wrap and send out all Christmas Cards / Presents that need shipped or mailed

    Business Goals

    1. Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
    2. Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
    3. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    4. Review my 2011 Business Goals and start planning ones for 2012

    Ministry Goals

    1. Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
    2. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Pay off remaining debt
    3. Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses

    I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.  I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true.  When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals.  Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick).  Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.

    Why Share My Goals?

    • To keep me accountable
    • To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
    • To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
    • Create healthy habits in my life
    • To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn

    How did you do this week on your goals?  Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.

    The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results