Budget Thursday.

I read Carla's blog everyday & love when she posts about budgets. A favorite subject for this former banker! Today's post got me inspired to do a few notes on our budget. Always good to review on occasion.

So how is our budget, in this season of building a new house & a big move on the horizon? Not bad, not bad at all. Currently, we are mortgage free, so that has helped with our savings. However, we have also used part of those freed up funds to purchase items or building items for the new house that were not part of our original house budget. Things like the fireplaces we ordered from the States.

I won't tell you what is coming in as I do believe in some things not being public. But  I am happy to share, as Carla has, what we spend money on. And freely show where all the money goes! 

For the week of March 19th to the 26th, we need to pay for groceries, gas, our American Express full balance, & then we will add to our various savings accounts. We have one for emergencies, one for travel & one for retirement. Here's where the money goes:

* $225 for groceries including paper products

* $50 for dh's car to fill up with gas (mine is full)

* $34.68 to pay our AMEX in full (no balance ever)

* $300 to our savings for emergencies - no touching!

* $100 to our savings for travel for our trip in the fall

* $100 for our retirement savings fund (TFSA)

Grand total of $809.68. I'll allow $190.32 for extras. This gives us a working budget for the week of an even $1,000. I know we won't use the $190.32 unless something really drastic comes up that we haven't counted on. For now, if we don't use it, that rolls into the next week. We both get paid not long after. Dh's will show up in our account on the 27th of March, a Friday. He gets paid every other Friday. I get paid on the 31st as my pay periods are the 15th & 30th. My other pay comes in when I "remember" to pay myself, which is usually every couple of months & it goes straight to one of our savings accounts. Next week will be the "cushy" week with extras left over from this week & then 2 pays going in.

How's your budget working out for the month?

Menu Planning.

Hi everyone!

I've been fascinated by many blog writers who diligently plan their weekly menus for their families. In our house, we decide on the day what we feel like having for dinner. Which means we have to have a good stock of items on hand on any given day. Or be willing to hop over to the store on a whim. Not always the best thing for our frugal budget. Because we're moving out to the country, "hopping over to the store" will be completely out of the question. So now we will become diligent menu planners for our family, our sanity and primarily, our frugal but healthy budget.

And look what I found to help us out! A menu planning pad, complete with the days of the week categorized and a handy dandy shopping list column. Best part? It was just $2 at the thrift store!! I love a deal that helps us save more.

How do you do menu planning in your house?