home economics: part 2

In my last post, I promised a couple of “neat and nerdy” things to share. Welcome, nerds! If you haven’t read the previous post (home economics: part 1) I recommend it because it will provide the foundational explanation for these tools. I hope you find these ideas useful!

1. This has calmed my heartburn—our laminated ledger:

I created this in Word and got it blown up, printed, and laminated at Office Depot for under $5. And, yes, it is on the refrigerator. The concept is that after we sit down and do our two-week budget in our Excel spreadsheet, we write down how much money we've set aside in each "category" (bills, groceries, entertainment, personal care, etc.). Then, at the end of every day, we will deduct our spending (how much, where, date) from the various categories. And finally we will keep a running balance of what remains in each category. 

There are two main reasons we like this: it provides a perfect avenue for planning and accountability. Remember that since we’re doing a bi-weekly budget and having regular budget meetings, we are talking and planning together (see previous post).

This tool also soothes both of our biggest stressors. Chaz's biggest need is to be able to see what bills are being paid and when and how much money we have remaining in a certain category. My biggest need is to put pen to paper. I tried using Mint.com, and, while it is a great tool, I realized I am an old-school kind of gal. I have to do the math with a calculator and write down my spending like in the old checkbook ledgers our parents used. I know that you can do this with the envelope system (a la Dave Ramsey), but we found that that didn't work for us because we would move cash around to other categories too easily, and it left little accountability to one another because we had separate envelope systems (but this is a great system if you are on your own or if you and your spouse are very diligent about checking the balances together). Anyway, seeing it all up there on the refrigerator makes it real and helps us to stay accountable to one another. 

So far we both feel better emotionally knowing what is going where and actually seeing it on paper. We've been talking about our money more, and not in those long-winded, heated conversations, but the short ones in which a decision is quickly made. We’re three weeks in and, as stated earlier, it’s calmed some anxiety. I do have a clean copy of this in Word if you'd like one to manipulate to suit your needs. 

2. Warning! This might make your mind explode—our two-week menu:

Two years ago my mother-in-law proposed the idea of writing out a weekly menu so that I could be less stressful come dinnertime. I scoffed at the idea at first, but as we became poorer, I saw it as a way to save trips to the grocery store thereby saving money. 

I've been planning a weekly menu for several months now, also planning my once-a-week grocery store trip around it. But I've noticed several hiccups in this plan. First, I did it alone and I hate planning meals, so this was always a source of stress for me. Second, I found that many of the things I'd buy, especially meat in bulk (cheaper) would last more than just one week. I'd end up going over budget for one week and into another week with groceries. This isn't necessarily bad, but it didn't all add up on paper and that drove me crazy. Third, Chaz would always want things that I didn't get because I didn't know he wanted them, so he'd end up going on his own for "a few things" and come back home with ten. Arguments ensued over pickles. That's just silly!

Now the plan is that I will make only ONE main grocery store trip in a two-week period (this includes toiletries, paper, and cleaning products). Chaz and I sat down after our budget meeting and planned a two-week menu. This was so much easier than going it alone because my sweet husband enjoys cooking and being part of deciding what's for dinner. I know not everyone is so lucky, but I encourage you to try it anyway--you might find it to be fun! 

It made so much sense because I try to buy meats in bulk, so we always end up using the meat into the next week (bag it and freeze it). The menu planning became easy as he rattled off possible meals and I filled in the days on paper. It was clear that a bulk package of pork chops could last us at least three meals, so I spread the days out in between and the two weeks started filling up fast. 

I'll note that as we decided on the meals, we consulted the weekly grocery ads everyone gets in the mail. We found that a few of our staples were cheaper at HEB because of some deals going on, and a few things were cheaper at Kroger. I mainly shop at Kroger because it's closer and I can get their online coupons and fuel points for gas. 

All in all, we spent $130 LESS than our average grocery spending in the first two-week period that we tried this strategy. We’ve made a great start on this next period, so I’ll let you know how that goes, too.

I truly hope that these ideas spark creativity within your inner nerd. And remember that this is not as much about pinching pennies as it is about managing your resources.