Starting work on a new season and talks about big future dreams had me taking a good look at my finances recently. I don't have very many expenses and thus still put money away in the bank each month, but I could see places where I was really throwing the money away. And while it's nice to be able to afford nice things, it isn't even really nice things that I'm spending it on. A shift in priorities is what I needed.
I've been reading Denise's blog Ispasio recently, and I suppose it has got me in the personal budget mindspace. Denise shares her journey as a young adult navigating financial independence, while sharing useful tips on how to effectively create a budget plan you can live by. I haven't gone so far as to make myself a strict plan yet, but I have decided to challenge myself to go a month without spending money on my biggest frivolous "expense": going out for meals.
I know, it should be basic, and shame on me for not cooking myself 3 meals a day, and all that. Since moving out here a year ago, I have been cooking for one person (weekends excluded), and I kind of hate it. I am used to cooking for two people, and sharing the task and managing leftovers and all that. Now it's just me and it drives me crazy and too often I neglect to pack a lunch and I end up eating at the cafeteria at work. Weekends are tough because Ephraim and I like to go out, and especially venture for anything you could call "ethnic cuisine", because we don't have anything like that where I live now. But hey, for this month, I pledge to try to learn how to make those things myself.
I'm also sticking my grocery receipts to my fridge for the month, so I can clearly see how much it costs to feed me for a month, and how much money I was throwing away on mere convenience. I hope to learn some new recipes, look more critically at the ways I spend my money, and maintain a healthier diet than the crappy vegetarian offerings of the restaurants of Niagara-on-the-Lake can offer. And after November, keep on to what I've learned while still letting myself occasionally enjoy those things better cooked by the pros.
--Erin
Awesome! You could even spend some money in a little course to learn how to cook what you like the most! :)
ReplyDeleteI would love to take a cooking class!! Unfortunately the town I live in doesn't have public transportation that I could use to take a cooking class (I am without a car), but I do have the internet and some cook books, so I hope I can make some delicious meals!
Delete--Erin
The opposite is true for me. I am used to cooking for one person but my boyfriend moved in with me for a few months and I quite often cook too lees and end up buying from outside. Came across your wonderful blog through BBN :)
ReplyDeletehttp://wiredcircus.blogspot.com/
Welcome aboard!
DeleteIt's funny how those little changes in the routine can much everything up, isn't it? I had hoped that my roommate and I would do family style cooking (I live in company housing and have a roommate for about 5 months of the year) but no such luck. Oh well, delicious practice, right?
--Erin
I am also only one person, but still cook for "7", which was the magic number with all you kids growing up...so while I still cook for a crowd, now I just portion the food into individual serving sizes & freeze. That way I always have home-cooked meals, and don't need to fuss with dinner prep during the work week...soups, stews, curries, quiches, all freeze well. And I love that you're watching your finances...after all, what you save on eating out goes to much-wanted SHOES! Hahaha! Love, Mum.
ReplyDeleteHaha if I can go the whole month without eating out (I've figured I get a max of 3 cheats, for the times I can't control), I am rewarding myself with a new camera lens. It's an inexpensive lens, and actually works out to about 3 weeks worth of what I was spending on dinner and lunches. The weekends with Ephraim are the worst of it! Damn Niagara is so expensive!
DeleteEating out can definitely be the biggest wallet suck. Hanging onto your grocery receipts is a good idea! Sometimes I feel like I spend so much on groceries that I might as well eat out! :) Budgets can be hard but it's good to form these habits when you're young. I'm in my 30s now but started thinking about finances and saving in my 20s. I admire that you're doing this!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, food is SO much cheaper in the states, too!! I'm always shocked, no matter how often I go over the border to do a little shopping (all the best sugar-coma inducing cereals are still available in the states) I'm always surprised at how cheap it all seems.
DeleteI've always been good with money, but looking ahead I know it would be helpful for me to have a chunk of change put away. A couple years from now I am likely going to be wanting to apply for grad school, or buy a house, and I don't want to be in a panic when the time comes!
This is an awesome challenge! I started cooking because I didn't want to eat meat and eating out vegetarian can be hard if you don't want to spend much money. I love cooking! Lately it has been harder for me though since I basically live in two places, my mom's and my boyfriend's. This will all change though once I have my own car within the next 6-9 months.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to see what kind of yummy meals you come up with!
The tiny town I live in has basically no food for vegetarians, it has been quite difficult! I can't even get tofu if it isn't extra firm :/.
DeleteAre our lives the same? I have Ephraim come out here to see me or I go to Toronto to see him, every weekend. It's been hard trying to make good food routines when there are suddenly 3 days I cannot cook at home and I'm away while everything in my fridge spoils, sigh. I am also without a vehicle, and it makes it all that much harder. I'm hoping that when I have a car, I'll always have the option to pack a cooler and take things to and fro if I feel like it!
--Erin
I also live in a relatively small town, which means no vegetarian restaurants, and very little vegetarian option even in the grocery store!
Deletereading your post and subsequent comments makes me realise just how much i'm falling away from my usual food routine. just lately we've been eating out a bit too much, and if i don't address it, it will become a custom as opposed to an occasional treat. i used to cook on mondays, wednesdays and saturdays, making enough to last the following day. friday nights were sometimes takeaway or eat out night. its all gone a bit haphazard now. i admire your determination, and can't wait to see what you cook up.
ReplyDeleteSo today, I finally got to reading through my bloglovin' feed and saw your post (thanks for the link and I'm glad you liked the financial literacy posts c:)
ReplyDeleteI know I write a lot about being frugal and sticking to a budget, but sadly this is one part of the budget we max out all the time--dining out. We signed up for a mint.com account (it keeps tracks of all your debit/credit card based transactions and you can set a budget for each spending category i.e. groceries, restaurants, fastfood, etc) and what we thought was a little food splurge here and there added up to quite a bit of money. So now we're trying to cut back and limit our restaurant budget to 200 bucks a month--yup 200 bucks for 2 people :P
It's been really tough though especially after a long day's work and the last thing you want to do is cook.
Denise || Ispasiyo