Well....It's on & January's Plan!

Me and my husband sat down and I discussed my low to no-spend January Plan with him and he was in agreement. We did not discuss everything I had in mind, but that was the key component of my plan!  No in retrospect, I know I have been spending more than I should on groceries and to combat this issue, I need to start my meal planning again.  I sat down and wrote up the meal plan for next week:

• Mon - Spaghetti & salad
• Tues - Pot Roast & Noodles
• Wed - Pork Tenderloin, potatoes, carrots
• Thurs - Chicken cutlet, pasta, veggie
• Fri - Homemade Pizzas
• Sat - Leftovers
• Sun - Hamburger & Hotdogs

I do have all the protein I need to make dinner and just need to go to the grocery store for snacks and basic pantry items.  I am hoping the total I spend for this week's grocery bill is under $60.00 between Aldi and BJ's (BJ's has the most inexpensive lunch meat) I should make it!  Since I need aluminum foil and gallon plastic bags, I will have to add them to the list.

Me and my husband will both need a total of $160.00 per week for gas which also includes $20.00 each for personal expenses. 

I also need to set aside $50.00 for an extra curricular activity for one of the children and $100.00 for the two older teens to each lunch this month.  Since I make lunch for me, my husband and the two younger kids, this actually saves money, the teens can really pack on food!

To earn extra cash, I will start doing surveys that pay again and try to perform a couple of mystery shops a month. 

I also figured out that the reason my gas bill was so high was because of the stove.  I broke the oven door and it does not close all the way, make the stove work harder to keep things cooking in the oven.  Luckily for us, my wonderful wonderful mother and stepfather bought us a new stove for Christmas this year!!!!  I should see a considerable lower gas bill next month!  I will also be placing the lovely plastic over the living room window because it has the worst draft ever!

Most likely we will not save any money this month and probably next month due to catching up on all the bills.  My goal is to have at least four bills up to date by the end of January.

Baby-stepping away!!!!