Last week I came to the conclusion that if graduate school were a marathon, we would be at mile 18 about now. Year 7 of 9. And that's not counting the two years of undergrad we still had left to do after we got married. Mile 18 is not a good place to be, and here's why: the exhilaration and newness of the race has long since worn off and the soreness and fatigue have settled in, gotten comfortable and decided to stay. You long ago abandoned your dreams of a PR and have downgraded to the more humble goal of just finishing the race. And yet. You still have so far to go! The finish line is still miles and miles away!
This time next year we'll be busy dreaming and planning and jetting off to cities up and down the west coast (oh yes!) to woo and be wooed by prospective universities. But right now that all seems so far away and I'm flat out tired of being in school. I do realize, of course, that there are lots of people in the world who are much worse off than we are, but I also think it's important to acknowledge that supporting a family of five on a graduate student stipend meant for one has been a challenge. Seriously- my food budget is lower than what we would get if we were on food stamps. Yeah, I don't often keep to my food budget- I'm just saying.
Yesterday we decided we needed to hit an aid station and have a little pep-talk. Sometimes (well, most of the time), during these discussions, I try to appeal to Eric's inner economist by using terms like "investment", "utility" and "consumption smoothing". That's the idea that if you think you're probably going to be earning more in the future, it's cool to borrow a little now to "smooth" out your standard of living. I really like to consumption smooth. But I also know that the money we borrow now will accrue lots of interest by the time we're able to pay it all back. So we're recommitting ourselves to following a budget and living within our means. We've kept a budget in the past, but it's always been punctuated by little bursts of spending- budget fatigue, you might call it. No more. We're in the home stretch and even though we can't quite see the finish line yet, this is our chance to really prove to ourselves what we're capable of.
So, I made a list of my temptations to overspend:
1. groceries
2. eating out
You may notice the absence of clothing. I'm really good at not buying new clothes. Also, toys for my children. I'm never, ever tempted to buy them stuff that I know I will soon be begging them to pick up and put away. Home decor- this has been a little bit of a challenge in the past, but there isn't a whole lot left to do in our house, so I think I can resist that one. My problem is is really with food. I really like the way I feel when I eat healthy food and lots of fruits and vegetables. And I like to feel good about feeding my family those things. I also don't love to cook. I don't hate it, but when the weekend rolls around or the fridge is empty, I can be easily persuaded to eat out. Even at inexpensive restaurants, that adds up very fast.
So, the other day I was talking with my friend Becky, who I can only describe by saying that she is a true Home Economist. She relishes creating efficient systems for keeping her house clean and her family well-fed. I got kind of jaded about using systems, because they never seem to work out the way you hope they will and then you feel like you've failed. But I noticed that Becky looks at a system as an evolving entity and enjoys experimenting and tweaking things until they work well for her family. Huh! So that's my new goal for fall: GET SYSTEMS. TWEAK SYTEMS AS NEEDED. WHEN SYSTEM DOESN'T WORK, VIEW AS FAILURE OF SYSTEM AND NOT ME. DON'T GIVE UP!!
Since food is my biggest budget-undoer, I'm starting with a cooking system. I've got breakfast and lunch down, but I really need to work on dinner. I have a good number of recipes that we like, are easy to make, not too expensive, etc., but I don't have a unified system for organizing them. They kind of live all over my kitchen, on the internet, and in magazines that I may or may not have thrown out. I feel like if I had a notebook with categories that our family likes, like pasta, rice, salad, soup, eggs, etc., then I wouldn't feel like I never have any ideas for what to make. Like last night we had oatmeal pancakes which were easy, cheap, healthy and yummy, but in the past I would have forgotten all about them when it came time to plan next week's meals and maybe never made them again. So that will be my first system- a recipe system.
Do you have a system that works really well for you family? Please tell me about it- I need all the help I can get!
*That picture was taken like 7 years ago in Forest Park in Portland. We went running with some of Eric's high school friends and he had them take a picture of us running past- it was really awkward!
11 comments:
Hey - thanks for sharing your resolve with the budget. Like you, I'm tempted to overspend more by food than any other single thing. And like you, my recipes are in an amazing disarray (just this morning I had to sift twice through the huge stack of printed/copied recipes to find what I needed). I wish I had some great wisdom to share - I'm hoping to learn from your more organized friends!
What I did to start with dinner planning was just take a paper and write down an evolving list of every dinner meal I could think of. These became our backbone meals, the ones in regular rotation. Of course, I do try new things, and the same meals aren't always in the rotation. But my list at least gives me a place to start, and solves the problem of forgetting about a potential dinner idea when the time comes to plan my menus.
I'm also going to do the kitchen recipe book thing. (Actually I had one before, in a plastic photo album with notecards, but it, uh, kind of got left on a stove coil and half of it melted.) I like the photo album with 3x5 card idea, though - that way I can move the recipes around if I want to.
As always, very cool post. LOVE the picture. I will always remember eating couscous and edible flowers for the first time ever at your house. Bummer to have to budget food, isn't it?
I thought I'd share what has worked great for me for recipes. A notebook with divider tabs and lots and lots of those plastic page protecters in it. Then I slide recipes in them in whatever condition they are in. Back of a napkin? Stick it in. Printed from the internet? Works fine. Torn out of a magazine works too. I have lots that I have written down on post-it notes or those long grocery list papers you stick on your refridgerator. It's not the neatest notebook, but the different types of paper actually help me find recipes. And I group them in categories with the tabs. And only put in recipes I actually make (nothing I haven't tried before). I have also made lists of recipes we like (like favorite soups or easy dinners), and I think I need to work on this a bit more because it is very helpful. I am sure there are better systems, but I have to keep mine easy.
Oh, I do so hear your pain! And you probably don't want to hear that 19 years out of college, I am still struggling with the grocery budget. Yes, we have enough money to eat lots of fruits and veggies, cheese and meat. (Since one of us is a meatasauras!) But not enough money to buy organic, or to eat only happy cows. Also not enough money to eat out very often at all.
I look forward to seeing the responses you get, and perhaps i need to talk to Becky too!
Two systems: Coops and Technology.
Our ward has started a food coop every two weeks. $15 gets you in, someone runs to the State Farmer's Market and buys whatever is a good deal (wholesale or better) that day. Usually ends up being about 30-40 pounds of produce per participant. We got apples, pears, oranges, limes, sweet potatoes, potatoes, green beens and a bunch of other stuff last time. A bit of a surprise each time (pomegranates? Bok Choy?) , but we never have a shortage of fresh fruits and veggies for an incredible price. Downside: you need about 10 people to participate regularly to get any decent variety. If you or Erik don't mind the drive to Parkwood, or our house, you could join ours every two weeks. I've heard there's a Durham Food Coop, but I don't know anyone personally who has participated.
Second, we've used Yum some, and like how it lets you organize your recipes technically. It automatically scales for different numbers of servings automatically converts units, and can search in a variety of ways. The version we have from three years ago was a bit of a pain to import new recipes into, but that's probably better now. Otherwise the 3 ring binder or photo album idea mentioned above is a good one.
Hey there!
I just started this process too, this is what I'm doing.
I have a piece of paper on my fridge and every time I make something that everyone loves, I write it down on that paper. Then on Sundays I make the whole family help me make a menu for the coming week. We get the ideas from that piece of paper. So far is good.
Also I have a friend that made themes for her weekdays, like Tuesdays is Mexican and Wednesdays Chinese.
Also, we are taking a trip to Egypt in November and would like to know any tips or any information we can gather before our trip, I really don't know if you have any but if you do, we would really appreciated :-)
What a great analogy. I too slip into major budget undoers. Please let me know when you find a recipe system, or maybe just give me some of your healthy recipes. That is what I struggle with.
Ahh, same problem. Temptations to overspend come entirely with food here, too. However, we have a really cheap produce store down the street. Find a place that offers good prices on produce and you'll save a lot. No need to cut produce out, just find cheaper options. And garden! Come spring, anyway. We also don't use much meat because of the cost, or substitue things with expensive ingredients. Like why use ricotta when you can use cottage cheese?
I could leave lots of comments to this post, but only one that is really important. PLEASE move back to the west coast, PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE! :)
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