As I sit in front of my computer calculating the end of the 3rd quarter financial goals, I noticed I spent over $500 in food & dining for the month of September! Yikes! That’s clearly a car note or a new fall wardrobe. Thanks to the best budgeting tool Mint.com I can track my spending and identify just where my coins are going.
Scrolling through the transactions to see majority are fast food restaurants. It was heartbreaking. Honestly, I went to the grocery store twice and spent only maybe 60 bucks each time. I’ll admit I’d like to consider myself a pretty frugal gal when it comes to grocery shopping and will spend money on fast food without blinking. I love eating out. I enjoy it more than I do buying clothes. Well, almost more.
I do know as a single parent it is extremely important to keep hold of a budget and invest as much as I can into a savings account for emergencies. Even when it seems to liek the most convenient thing to do inorder to catch up on lost time, eating out can become extremely expensive. It can make or break your budget goals.
My initial step was to just admit I hate cooking to a friend and see if she had any advice. I knew that was not going to be enough. I needed to search for a few life hacks to beating the eating out blues. There is a crockpot in my kitchen collecting dust. I have to get a grip on my food budget, I finally decided to do something to change this guilty habit. I was determined to collect as many crockpot recipes as possible in an attempt to stop eating out. Of course I immediately went to Pinterest for recipe ideas.
I stumbled across this post from Moneysavingmom.com and thought it would be awesome to share this if you could relate or are anything like me when it comes to realizing the reality of making most of your time and money as a single parent. #4 has a link to about 40 crockpot meals! SWEET! I hope this helps. Let me know what are some of your rather challenging objectives? Comment below!
Until next time, Happy Saving!
Ty Johnson
