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Purposeful Planning

January 13th, 2013 at 04:45 am

DH made a comment that so many of our friends do not plan. I would agree.

One couple eats out at least once a day. They complain about not having enough money...hmmm...wonder why! Everything is spontaneous and they grouse because they might call and ask us to join them and we often don't because I have already begun the meal or have something defrosted and feel like I need to cook it,

Each Thursday night I figure out what the menu is going to be for the next week. I will admit we are kind of in a rut for Sunday brunch and Sunday supper, but DH is happy and we are eating at home, so there is a comfort in that, I also try to fix things for suppers so we have leftovers for lunches.

Besides meal planning, we have separate accounts beyond our checking and regular savings accounts. We have a Christmas Club, a vacation, and our mad money account that we use to save up for things. In the past we have saved up for a new stove and dishwasher. It means we try to make regular monthly deposits in these accounts,

As for shopping and running errands, we try to plan for that as well. We try to bundle our trips together so we aren't making a lot of extra trips.

We are not, by any means, perfect, but we have seen a substantial savings in the past few years with our planning. Perhaps we are considered stodgy, but I feel the ends justifies the means. I think one has to purposefully plan to succeed.

Posted in Food / Groceries, Saving Money, Shopping | 7 Comments »

7 Responses to “Purposeful Planning”

  1. creditcardfree Says:
    January 13th, 2013 at 04:12 pm 1358093529
    1358093529

    I think you are absolutely right!

  2. Maranatha Says:
    January 13th, 2013 at 06:18 pm 1358101121
    1358101121

    Not only does eating out all the time cost a ton of money but I've found that the money you spend is not worth the service or the quality of the meal you get. At least that's true in the area I live in. Around here it seems as if you pay to get lousy service and even worse food. It's rare that we eat out and I don't wish that we'd just stayed home and I had cooked the meal. Also when I do eat out, because my body is not used to it I usually don't feel as well as I normally do, maybe it's something they use in the food.

  3. Ima saver Says:
    January 13th, 2013 at 07:32 pm 1358105529
    1358105529

    I agree!

  4. Thrifty Ray Says:
    January 13th, 2013 at 07:33 pm 1358105581
    1358105581

    Planning is key to success. Meeting financial goals is not an accidental thing- and those who think it is whill have a hard time getting ahead. I also save separate for Christmas, vacation, and all those non-routine bills that come up. Sounds like you have a great plan in place that works!

  5. ceejay74 Says:
    January 13th, 2013 at 07:36 pm 1358105811
    1358105811

    The worst part is, I bet they buy a load of groceries and then let it go bad while they eat out. I did that for many years before I got my act together! Now, I shudder if one apple goes moldy or a couple scallions get too limp to use.

    So, not only do you save money by not eating out, you don't waste as much food when you plan menus. What we've lost in spontenaety we've more than gained in money savings and reduced waste.

  6. rob62521 Says:
    January 13th, 2013 at 07:46 pm 1358106382
    1358106382

    Ceejay, you pegged it! This one couple loves to go to a warehouse store and we can't imagine what they buy because everything is in bulk...it has to go bad before they use it all.

    Thanks, everyone, for the validation! Sometimes it is tempting to just say, Oh, we can go out...

  7. PNW Mom Says:
    January 14th, 2013 at 02:46 am 1358131582
    1358131582

    You are totally doing the right thing! Smile

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