One of my big goals for 2020 is to become a financial rockstar. I would be lying if I said it was easy. It hasn’t. I love listening to people like Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruz, and I’ve heard over and over how money is less about the numbers and more of a heart issue/discipline issue. I couldn’t agree more.

I started this thinking it was a mix. I made it a goal to reduce our grocery budget by a few hundred each month. When I first started for me it was all about the numbers. How can I stretch my money and still feed my family well. I was not willing to sacrifice healthy food for the sake of saving a few bucks. I would start each month confident and by mid month be wondering if I’d make it. Slowly over time I realized it really was a discipline issue. I love cooking, love meal planning. Pinterest was a huge time suck. I used to spend so much time planning amazing meal plans. But you know what would happen? I would spend too much, we would waste too many leftovers, and my younger kids didn’t always want some of the more elaborate meals leaving me feeling frustrated and defeated.

Flash forward to the present. I went back to basics. Simple food. I made it a goal to transition my kids from “kid food” to real food. So lots of plain everything. It took time and patience but they eat now. Even vegetables. There is still a lot of plain but they are slowly trying sauces, flavors etc. Chicken breast, ground beef and eggs are major protein staples in our house. I’ve learned to cook plain then add to the already cooked protein for those who like more variation.

Probably the most important thing is to plan to use everything. We sim for as close to zero waste as we can. A family size pack of chicken can usually be three meals. I will roast it plain night one and serve with sides, night two it is usually heated in a skillet with butter and served with sides. Third night I usually like to make a creamy sauce like home made alfredo sauce. Ground beef is another easy meat to repurpose. Cook up plain. Then spice it up for what you are making. A pack of ground beef is usually two meals. Night one can be tacos (I leave unseasoned for my baby and my daughter who prefers plain). Then night two could be seasoned like beef teriyaki or turned into a meat sauce or chili.

Meal planning isn’t quite as exciting as it used to be, but saving so much money while keeping everyone happy is. I view it more as a challenge vs hobby now.

I’ll end this with a fact that I find a little disturbing…. I spend less now on a family of six than I did a family of four….. I’m proud and horrified at the same time.