Monday, May 25, 2015

Our Weekly Menu {May 25th}


Our Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday -  Leftovers

Homemade KFC Bowls using copycat Chick-fil-A Nuggets, mashed potatoes, corn, and copycat KFC gravy.

Monday - Lunch: Grilled Cheese or Leftovers

Dinner: Brats, chips, carrots, and watermelon for Memorial Day

Tuesday - Lunch: Grilled Cheese or Leftovers

Dinner: Salmon, collards, and melon

Wednesday - Lunch: Paleo Chicken Nuggets

Dinner: Couscous Salad and Cheesy Burritos for Dinner

Thursday - Lunch: Leftovers

Dinner: Slow Cooker Yellow Curry

Friday - Lunch: Sandwiches with Salad

Dinner: Pork roast with Asparagus and Sweet Potatoes

Saturday - Leftovers or Salad for Lunch

Dinner: Homemade Paleo Pizza

Sunday - Leftovers for Lunch

Dinner @ HOME Group





Find previous meal plans here.
**Linking up at I'm an Organizing Junkie for Meal Plan Monday**

This post may contain affiliate links.

Monday, May 18, 2015

Our Weekly Menu {May 17th}


Our Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday -  Leftovers

Dinner @ HOME Group

Monday - Bacon and BBQ Burger Salad

Tuesday - Grilled Cheese with Carrots, Salad, & Smoothies

Wednesday - Slow Cooker Yellow Curry

Thursday - Dinner at Splash N Bash

Friday Buffalo Chicken and Cauliflower Casserole with Salad

Saturday - Leftovers for Lunch

Italian Paleo Casserole for Dinner

Sunday - Leftovers for Lunch

Dinner @ HOME Group


School Lunches for Miss Coco: BP&J x 2, Pizza Salad x 2 with apples or bananas, pretzels, and carrots on the side.




Find previous meal plans here.
**Linking up at I'm an Organizing Junkie for Meal Plan Monday**

This post may contain affiliate links.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Our Weekly Menu {May 10th}


Our Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday -  Leftovers

Dinner @ HOME Group

Monday - Chicken Pad Sew Ew 

Tuesday - Naked Breakfast Burritos

Wednesday Paleo Chicken Tetrazzini with Broccoli

Thursday - Tropical Turkey Burgers with Spinach Salad and Pineapple Cucumber Salad

Friday Buffalo Chicken and Cauliflower Casserole with Asparagus

Saturday - Leftovers for Lunch

Bacon & BBQ Burger Salad for Dinner

Sunday - Leftovers for Lunch

Dinner @ HOME Group


School Lunches for Miss Coco: Hard boiled eggs and bacon x 2, Pizza Salad x 2, and Leftovers with apples or bananas, pretzels, and carrots on the side.




Find previous meal plans here.
**Linking up at I'm an Organizing Junkie for Meal Plan Monday**

This post may contain affiliate links.

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Mission to Financial Freedom: April Budget Update


We had a budget before taking the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University course in January and February of this year,  But, we didn't really utilize it.  We didn't really follow it.  As we get further away from the class and closer to the end of the school year, I can see us starting to veer in the wrong direction.  I will say, though, that every year, near the end of the school year, we aren't as diligent at avoiding eating out and such as we get busier and busier with the dead week and finals week rush.

Despite that, we still managed to stay close to our budget and our tax refund was definitely a nice boon that came in by the end of April.

Our financial goals for April were:
  1. Put at least $2,000 in savings.  $3,200 > $2,000!!
  2. Be on or under budget for the month.   Only thanks to the extra tax return, but still.
  3. Finish and submit our taxes early.  Does April 14th count as early?  :)

When I look at the line items, I'm in no way surprised at the areas in which we were overbudget.

  • Food (groceries and restaurants) - Lots of things combined, plus a lack of diligence are the reason for this one.  ($100 over, yikes!)
  • Gas - I think this was just a timing thing.  ($30 over)
  • Parking - Totally my fault.  At 7 1/2 months pregnant, I just didn't want to walk close to a mile from free parking to my office.  ($15 over)
  • Dentist - Miss Coco needed to have a filling replaced unexpectedly, but luckily we had the extra funds to fit it into the cash flow for April.  ($85 over)
  • Household - I may have gone a little overboard in my couponing at the beginning of the month, which left nothing left over at the end of the month.  And you can't really go without things like toilet paper.  ($27 over)
There were a few other categories that we went a bit over on, but these were the ones that stood out to me.  Food was definitely an issue last month, and to be honest, I think it may be an issue in May as well.  We will need to be extra diligent this next month!  Parking should be resolved because I (hopefully) won't need to spend as much time at school now that's summer and teaching is done.  Mostly, we just need to get back to cash envelopes and keeping each other accountable.

With the extra money coming in from our tax return, we saved $3,200 in April.  This was transferred to a savings account where we've tagged some upcoming expenses that we want to be able to pay for up front.  At the end of April, our sinking funds were fully funded for: $1,000 emergency fund, Baby Girl Harvey delivery (assuming c-section), summer health insurance for Baby Girl Harvey, and moving expenses (we hope).  We are now adding to our secondary emergency fund.  If we are blessed with a birth without any complications, we'll be sending the secondary emergency funds straight to either our down payment for a home when we move or to pay off student loan debt.  

Stay posted for our May financial goals!  Happy summer (almost)!



Monday, May 4, 2015

Our (not quite) Paleo Menu {May 3rd}


Our Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday -  Leftovers

Dinner @ HOME Group

Monday - Leftovers

Tuesday - Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Wednesday - Salmon, Collards, and Cantaloupe

Thursday - Spinach & Mushroom Frittata

Friday - Couscous & Black Bean Salad with Cauliflower Tortilla Rollups

Saturday - Leftovers for Lunch

Chicken Pad Sew Ew for Dinner

Sunday - Leftovers for Lunch

Dinner @ HOME Group


School Lunches for Miss Coco: Hard boiled eggs and bacon x 2, Pizza Salad x 2, and Leftovers with apples or bananas, pretzels, and carrots on the side.




Find previous meal plans here.
**Linking up at I'm an Organizing Junkie for Meal Plan Monday**

This post may contain affiliate links.