One of the many things that came along with getting married was combining our incomes, paying bills and BUDGETING. Luckily for me, Kevin has been a budgeting fool for years and is a PRO. I, however, have never been good at such a responsibility. When I was single, making the big bucks, I paid bills, bought what I needed and did whatever I wanted with the rest. It just seemed to work out each month... so I thought.
Kevin and I, in the three months that we have been married, have been working on this budgeting thing. Easy for him and a real struggle for me in some departments. Kevin has come up with an amazing system via Excel where he takes everything that we make in a month and puts it into little "departments". We have departments such as; tithing, food, entertainment, Kevin & Kyla personal, gas, car insurance, cell phones, gifts for others, K2, future savings and many more.
It seems like every dollar is counted for. I am so grateful that Kevin came up with such a great plan and I can absolutely see (especially in our savings departments) how beneficial our budget has been for us now and for our future.
The greatest struggle/disagreement that has come from this budget is in the food department. We have an amount set and without fail, EVERY month, we have gone over. Given, I am the one who is in charge of the food department because I cook the meals (most of them). I am finding it very challenging to stay within my budget while trying to make sure I have a good home cooked meal on the table every night for my husband when he comes home from a long day of work! What am I doing wrong??
The amount we have set for food each month is based on research and asking other people how much they spend.
I struggle because food is the first thing I want to spend money on. I love to cook and entertain (a trait no doubt I inherited from my mother) and want to be "that" domestic housewife I always imagined I would be.
"The plan" is to buy food to last two weeks with half the money in the budget, then buy food for the next two weeks to last us until the end of the month with the rest of the money in the budget. FAIL. I have tried so hard to buy only things we NEED for breakfast, lunch and dinners and somehow during that two weeks, I am making a 2 or 3 more trips to the grocery store to get things I forgot, things I ran out of, or things I need for a specific recipe. It so easy in a quick trip to the grocery store to drop another $20-$50 dollars.
I have tried couponing (a little bit) and feel because of the things we are buying and that we are only buying for two, the saving isn't making a dent in the total at the end of the transaction. Am I doing it wrong?
I have even printed out weekly meal calenders to chart down exactly what we will eat for each meal, on each day to make sure I only buy those things.. It's not working.
I was raised eating very well. I don't believe I ever had a frozen TV dinner until I moved out to Utah last year. Not that I am making steaks, ribs and other expensive meals every night, but I like to have a good home cooked meal! I like fresh fruits and vegetables in the house and we go through milk, bread, turkey, eggs, cheese, juice and so many other things like we are feeding an army. Are we eating too much??
I know it's possible. My question to you readers is what do you do to keep within your food budget each month?
How do the groceries you buy last two whole weeks?
What are your suggestions for a food budget, couponing and meal ideas?
Part of being "that" wife I always wanted to be; is asking for help when your plan isn't working. I want to prove to Kevin that I am serious about our budget and I want to make it work and still be able to cook good meals! That's why I am asking all of you for your thoughts and ideas.
Thanks Everyone!
Love,
A "cook-aholic" wife :)
