how to make a meal plan and groceries list

I must admit to being a bit supprised when I found out that some people don't make meal plans. After all how do you know what to buy if you haven't planned what you're going to eat? Then I started to look at some of the tools that are out to help make a meal plan and I was amazed. With fancy fonts and charts they made the whole thing seem complicated, when it doesn't have to be.

1. On the top of a blank piece of paper write down the days of the week.

2. Look at your schedule for the next week and decide what you are going to eat for supper over the next 7 days. Be logical. Chose easy meals or leftovers for days where you won't have much time at home and leave more elaborate meals for leisurely evenings.

3. Write down what meals you have decided on.

4. Go down the list of meals and see what ingredients are needed for each meal. Check and see if you have each of these ingrdients. If you do not write them on the bottom of the piece of paper.

5. Take a tally of what you normally eat for breakfast, lunch and snacks and make sure that you have the makings. If you don't add them to the list. (In my house this is easy because breakfast is the same every day, lunch is the leftovers from the night before and snacks are almost always fruit.)

6. Make sure you have enough of your beverage of choice. (MILK!) Add to the list if needed.

7. Decide if you will be doing any special baking over the next 7 days and if yes make sure you have the ingredients, if not add them to the list.

TADA! You're done, no one died and with a bit of practice should be able to do this in 10 min or less. You no longer order take out or buy frozen or canned dinners. You don't end up throwing stuff out that never got used.

Essentially I've changed the way that you look at grocery shopping for the rest of your life.

Meet my new Friend

Hi everyone meet  the newest member of my household. She came to me via the humane society as I get lonely in the evenings being the only person in the house most days. Originally named Tweek I've renamed her Tia and she's a real darling. Turns out that the fall is a good time to go looking for a cat since the humane societies are over run with kitten and will often offer sales. Here is how the price for kitty has stacked up so far. 

Cat - $60

Collar - $4.51

Carrier - $45.19

Food (BIG Bag) - $58.75
Litter (BIG Bag) - $9.02
City License - $6.00

Total Cost to date - $183.47

Let's call it an investment in happiness shall we?

Food Waste and Fun Money

I have once again accomplished 0 food waste. Mainly by eating the same thing four times in the same week. It's a good thing that I don't mind leftovers or my Masters studies might just drive me nuts. That said I have half a head of lettuce that is still in good shape but needs to be eaten in the next week, or it will cease to be in such good shape. I also have a container of plain yogurt that I haven't even cracked the seal on. That too needs to be eaten this week. But I think that those are manageable tasks.

I'm returning to the fun money that I got back in March. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about I got a large sum of money earlier this year from Veterans Affairs in order to compensate me for the damage that was done to my knee while in the military. The first $44,000.00 went to sensible stuff like paying down my mortgage and funding my Masters degree. The last $788.20 was put aside for me to have fun with, anything I wanted any time I wanted. Eight months later and I haven't touched a dime of it. Guess there isn't much that I want.

There have been lots of things that I've thought about spending it on. Some things got rejected because I don't have the time at the moment to start a new project or hobby, and other ideas got nixed because I wanted to make sure I got the most bang for my buck when it came to happiness. After all I spend that money it's gone along with the anticipation of spending it. There was also a bit of an emotional tag attached to it. The money was given as a payoff for a bad thing happening, and as far as I'm concerned there is not amount of money for the loss of my dream career let alone living with chronic pain. So buying something trite like a new book would make it seem more like a payoff.

So it's sat there and sat there. The first $44,000.00 was so simple. Spending it on education and my house made sense and felt good because it increased my financial security and quality of life. The last bit not so much. That said a decision has finally been made on the fun money. I'm getting a cat.

Before you start thinking that I'm going out and buying a supper expensive cat; I'm not. In fact I'm planning on buying one on sale from the Humane Society. What the money will do is pay for the cat's expenses for the first year which will get me through most of my masters before my new best friend starts diverting funds from my cash flow. A cat will provide me company which is greatly needed when you live alone and away from family. So hang around and hopefully I'll be able to introduce you to the newest member of my house hold shortly.

It's Cold . . . Again

The time has arrived once again. I moaned and dragged my feet, but come last Monday I had to give in. It hit 17 degrees Celsius, and I turned on my heat. Fear not my automatic thermostat is set and my car port is stocked with wood. This coming winter's goal: use less electricity than last year.

I'm hoping to accomplish that via a number of steps I've taken in the recent past.

-I went conservative with my temperature setting, 20 when I'm home and awake, 18 otherwise.
-Heat with wood on weekends. This is completely uncharted territory for me but $280 bought me a cord of wood and we'll see how long it lasts and how efficient the stove is.
-I turned down my water heater.
-I got carpets and slippers so that I'll feel warmer on my wood floors.
-Sweaters are my friend.

My last utilities bill (water, sewage and electricity) was $98 which is a record low for me just prior to the cold season and the slow yet inevitable climb upwards in cost.

It was a bit of a debate before I could come to a decision on my wood stove. It takes more effort to run than my furnace and it costs me an extra $80 a month in insurance so I wasn't sure if it was worth it. I've decided to give it a go for a number of reasons.

-My central heat isn't very effective in the basement which makes half my house less useable in the winter
-I think the ambiance might be cool
-It might save me money (never know until you try)
-It is a sustainable source of heat
-It won't go out of commission unless I let it. (Unlike electricity)

I do have a fond memory of my mom reheating canned soup over our wood stove during a power outage as a kid. In a country that can experience temperamental weather having a backup source of heat is certainly a good safety measure.

The Someday List

I have a bit of difficulty with the concept of patience. I need to be doing something towards my goals or I get antsy. The thing is that there are so many things that I want to see, do and learn and I have a limited amount of time and money. Of course I have the rest of my (hopefully) long life to complete all my goals. I'm trying (really hard) to concentrate on doing a few goals really well while the others bide their time. I don't want to lose track of all the wonderful things that get planned in my head so I've made a someday list that will reside on my blog and you will hopefully get to see some stuff crossed off. I debated really hard over putting financial goals on the list and ended up putting them separately. They are not goals for their own sake, but they will help me achieve my actual goals.

-Be a parent
-Write the books in my head (currently at 6)
-Sponsor an refugee
-Learn basic carpentry
-Learn basic pluming
-Learn basic welding
-Become the owner of a BIG piece of land with trees and water
-Build my own home
-Become proficient in the following languages:

• Arabic (started)
• Spanish
• Russian
• German
• Hindi
• Polish

-Backpack in countries that speak the above languages (plus French since I already speak it)
-Learn more about Astronomy and the universe
-Spend 6 months of the year on a Volunteer Abroad excursion like this: http://www.volunteerhq.org/
-Earn my Masters
-Earn my PhD
-Explore history through the books, and then go visit the places
-Take a kayaking/camping excursion
-Climb a mountain with a via ferata http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20130611-north-america-by-cable-and-bridge
-Take a 12 month Kiva Fellow placement

-Pay my mortgage in 5 years
-Have the opportunity to retire early

Thanksgiving

Yes, I realize it's actually the day after thanks giving but yesterday comprised of a leisurely brunch and some rather laid back house work accompanied by some of my favourite shows. So I sat back and enjoyed myself.

I did, however, do some reflecting on the things that I am thankful for. (The list is in no particular order.)

1. My family. I truly have the most amazing and supportive family any one could hope for. That includes my extended family. When ever we get together there's lots of reminiscing and creating of new good times. Any time somebody needs something the rest of the family pulls together to help them out. Sure, we're not perfect. But that would be a tad boring.

2. My health. While I do have a busted knee I'm a lot better off then a lot of the people in the world. I can still move about easily and take care of my self. My health is not gradually deteriorating. I have all of my sense and my mind is more or less together. (With a 95% confidence interval depending on how close to stats class I am.)

3. The chance to push my horizons. I'm working at a job that pushes me intellectually and I'm working on a Masters that will allow me to enter into the field of independent research. (And make really cool discoveries that will change the world!)

4. My job and financial savvy. I was lucky enough to be introduced to the world of personal finance as a teenager.  Add that to the fact that I was surrounded by people willing to point me in the right direction and you have the makings of a true personal finance nerd. :) I also managed to find a good job that pays well, is extremely flexible, and has introduced me to the field of research.

5. My Dreams. I'm so very glad that I'm a dreamer. It gives my life direction and passion. I'm not sure I'll ever understand how some one can exist without a dream that puts fire in their eyes.

So . . . That's what I'm thankful for. I hope that you have just as much to be glad about.

Food Waste - Eating the House Clean

No food waste this week! This is probably the first week since I started my Masters that I can announce that. This is partially due to the fact that I'm eating my house clean over this week and next.

What does that mean pray tell? It means that besides the bare minimums of fresh food (milk, a bag of apples and MAYBE some veggies) I concentrate on eating up what's already in the house. It allows me to get rid of every morsel of leftovers and see the bottom of my fruit and veggies drawer. It's a great way for curbing waste when it gets out of hand.

That said I wouldn't recommend this when you have other people in the house who wouldn't want to eat leftovers 3 days in a row or some really strange recipes to get of that odd ingredient that's been floating around.

Also when working on eating your house clean I would recommend that you do keep a good stock of protein (canned tuna and peanut butter for me), complex carbohydrates (whole wheat bread for me) and plant matter (apples for me). Which a) will not go bad quickly and b) will give you sufficient nutrients should you eat your house clean part way through the week and not have time to shop. (Mostly for nuts like me who work 80% a do a full time masters degree . . . because we like the challenge and as a result have no spare time.)