need financial budget encouragement

[LovesTimone]

I have a very busy life which most everyone does these days. But it was even busier when my DD's were at home, school function, church functions, after school activities, girl scout's, home room mom, team mom, marched in many parade, made costumes ect... I lived in the car.. I was that mom with the cooler in the back of the suv. going form place to place. I understand how you can get overwhemed. But let me say that I do not and would not trade a second of the craziness of those years. Sooooo... some of the things that I started doing when my DD's were at home ( both are grown up, 1 married and the other getting married march 2013) to help save time and money and your sanity.. are pretty simple. I am just jotting them down as they come to mind.

1- Let each of your kids pick a chore to do each week.ie; Clean the bath room, vaccum, dust, load and unload the dish washer, or wash and dry dishes, wash, dry and fold towels or laundry depending on age. etc.. Then change the chores at the end of each week or you could do it monthly. So they don't get bored, and this way they learn all the aspect of keeping a home up.

2- When grocery shopping, make a list I am a list maker, and planner. I shop at Publix, and they have the most wonderful option on line, I can pick what I need out of the AD and also add items to the list and then it remember my store and when the list prints out it is by aisle.. wonderful. This helps me to stay on track and budget. It also lets you click a box it you have coupons. This is a huge time saver for me, and I have found that I spend alot less with a list in hand.

3- Take someone with you to the store. This way you are teaching them how to shop on a budget, and buy focusing on them you might take some of the pressure off yourself. This is great one on one time with your kids.

4- I do what I call double duty cooking, which is basicly cooking or making more then you need for one meal. This could help you on the days you are not feeling 100%.
A- Spagetti sauce - make a double batch or even triple, pull out what you need for that meal and freeze the rest.
B- Meatballs - I make a ton of these at once, and bake them. Put them in the spagetti sauce or make meat ball subs. I buy the family size pack on hamburger to make this, you normally get a better price per pound, again saving money and time.
c- Baked potatoes - I normally bake 10 to 12 at once, I use them for dinner that night and use the others for later in the week. You can make Potato salad, slice and fry or slice and lay on a baking sheet sprinkle with olive oil and herbs, mashed potatoes.
d-Chilli - double or triple the batch. I portion out what we are going to use for that nights meal. Then I divide up ( for triple batches) and add, corn or black beans, or left over cooked pasta and freeze.
e- Pasta - I always cook extra to make pasta salad.

This is all I can think of right now, I will post more later.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I am sorry for all you are going through. It can't be easy. What if on your good days you cooked in bulk some easy stuff? This way whole meals are in the freezer and the kids or dh can just heat it up. You can make soups, meatloafs, spaghetti sauce and meatballs, fried chicken, french toast, pancakes, bacon, etc. Then on the days where you are really struggling at least you will feel better knowing that the family has a decent dinner.

 

[njcarita]

well just wanted to post ....that job did not work out............ some 9 1/2 hr days with 1/2 hr lunch if i was lucky was more than i could handle and signed up for........it was not a good work enviroment and stuck to it for as long as i could........... but at least it proved to me that I am so much better that i can handle working.............. I have the opportunity to start working from home starting January...............so i have to make it one fore month...and things hopefully will start looking better for us........so I looked at our finances again crunched up the numbers and started to look at where we could cut stuff................ I started looking at all our budget categories besides food...................its a shocker how much all our stuff has gone up............me not well and not paying attention.......but yesterday I tackled our satelite bill and was able to lower from 77/month ( omg i almost fell off chair when i saw the bill)..........to 32/month so thats 45/month extra toward credit cards ..yay...................... i am now looking at internet and home phone.............. or home number is my husbands business line so we need to keep that number.........so I need to find a way to keep that number cheaply and find a low cost internet too.......right now we are paying $70 for high speed interent plus basic phone with no whistles and bells and NO long distance........any suggestions................... we would qualify for low income assistance for those services but i cant mentally go that route..... so any good deals out there??? or ideas................