I am thinking about my personal money saving mindset, and I’m realizing that for me, it’s all about routines. Does it work the same way for you all?
One example: this is our first full calendar year in our house, and I’d like for us to be more intentional about keeping up with yard work consistently. I’d like us to not have to hire that out if we don’t have to.
I was working in the yard for 3-4 hours yesterday afternoon and I came in starving. On a normal night, I’d be able to throw together a dinner from what we had in the fridge, but I was essentially blacked out from hunger and we ordered pizza. I enjoyed it a lot, it won’t impact whether we can hit financial goals or not, and we rarely get takeout, so I won’t beat myself up about it.
But, now I know that this is the consequences of doing our own yard work, so I can plan for it next time. We have some leftover restaurant gift cards from the holidays, so we could use those for these dinners. Or I could ask my wife to plan and make a heavy dinner on those nights.
For me, it is not fun or sustainable to twist myself in knots for things that come up once in awhile, so instead I want to create routines for what I can control. Obviously, if I feel like things are unexpectedly coming up all of the time, that’s worth investigating, but for me this feels sustainable and good.
Absolutely. One of my best money saving techniques is my decision paralysis lol. We very much end up doing the same routines, making the same choices, because it allows those parts of life to just be on autopilot. I don’t feel tempted by fashion changes because I essentially have a daily uniform. New flavors of Oreos don’t tempt me because I don’t buy Oreos- that whole aisle in the store is overwhelming AF so it’s not part of the grocery “map” I follow while buying food each time. Etc. our penchant for rhythm/routine/habit has been paying off big time having a toddler, too, because they THRIVE under a predictable structure. Aka I’m basically a big toddler.
Anyway, I used to fight my desire for sameness. I had a lot of negative self talk about how boring I was (never mind I’ve done some cool shit- my baseline is boring and I saw it as an indictment of my whole character). But I’m lucky to have a spouse who aligns with me on this, and I’ve seen the benefits it yields, and I’m doing much better with self acceptance these days.
Think about routines from an investing/savings side too. Putting my saving and investing in “autopilot” is kind of like having a routine right? I set up the automatic deposits and bills to pay at the same time each month.
I love your approach of using your experiences as information instead of beating yourself up for it. The attitude of “we got pizza and it was a good move and I enjoyed it but I also want to have a better plan in place next time this happens” is incredible.
We have routines that help with saving too: we make 2 cups of dried beans and 2 cups of rice every week. This allows us to throw together a meal super quickly. We also keep some of the fancier Costco meals in our freezer which are more expensive than cooking but less expensive than eating out.
Also on the yard work side of things- awesome job staying ahead of it!!! When I’m running for more than 90 minutes I make sure I fuel with calories every 45 minutes. What you experienced during your yard work is what we would call a “bonk” in running. I know it’s totally different running vs yard work but it could be worth setting a timer for 45 mins to take a sip of water and grab a quick snack. Or using a Gatorade or something to drink instead. My mantra is “pay now or pay later” and doing that much effort would wipe me out. Or as you described “blackout hunger”. I have bonked plenty of times, it’s just information on what to do differently next time.
I have been trying to work on my routine because I love when I have a good one but I tend to fight it for no reason. Someone once told me “everyone has a routine, the question is whether or not you are intentional about it”. Scrolling my phone for 30 minutes before I get out of bed is a routine, but it is not my ideal routine.
Thank you for this, I’m going to factor this in to our yard work routine too. What kind of snacks do you do? I don’t like going into the house in the middle of yard work because I’m sweaty and dirty but if I have something ready to grab I can leave it by the door maybe.
This is why I got into the routine of batch cooking and stashing containers of leftovers in the freezer. If I come home hangry, particularly from physical labor like gardening, I do not trust myself to cook and not cave and order takeout. (Which I also shouldn’t do often for health reasons, not just money).
I need to get back into this routine now that we have moved into an actual apartment. I have ZERO freezer meal stash right now! Not good. Yesterday I started out by roasting a whole mess of veggies in the oven. Today I will cook some dry beans in the instant pot to prep for future batch cooking.
Yes! This is totally true for us. When we’re able to plan meals ahead and when I can sit down and map out my week and see what expenses might be, I avoid those little moments of weakness spending because of a bad mood or chance sale encounter.
I think where my rich life comes in is also building in an allowance for treats and splurges because I am a human and I crave variety and diversity. I’m a homebody so pretty comfortable doing similar things day in and day out, but if I don’t spice it up occasionally I’m going to hit a wall. Whether that’s meal planning or buying concert tickets or a free summer event or whatever. So that’s a tension I think I’ll always be toying with.
I think strict routine vs not depends upon how busy your schedule is in general.
For the past year or so I’ve done our meal planning like this, and since I already bought the ingredients for meal #3 it would just become meal #1 for the following week. However, now I’m not home to cook dinner on Tues and Thrs so we absolutely have to eat leftovers on those nights, which means I have to cook on Mon and Wed. Last Wednesday I had a migraine and Ry wanted to order takeout, but we couldn’t because it would mean no leftovers for Thrs dinner. I just had to cook anyway.
My running specific ones might not be helpful (I use gels, blocks, tailwind (similar to Gatorade) perfect bars, and anything that is easy to chew while running). But some of my favorites for long hikes are potato chips mixed with a bag of dates (sweet and salty yum!!). For gardening I would try and do foods that you don’t wash your hands for - like a banana or granola bar. A spoon full of nut butter would be great too! All of these can sit out in the sun with you and not need to go back inside.
My favorite all time prerunning meal is a good ole fashioned PB&J. Easy on the stomach, easy to eat.
You could also make a lemonade with chia seeds, one of my absolute favorite summer time drinks (mix lemonade, add 2-3 tbsp of chia seeds, wait 20-30 mins).
As much as it pains me, I think I need to get back on Facebook solely for FB Marketplace/Buy Nothing. I know there are lots of gently used baby items flying on there that I just don’t see on Craigslist as often. UGHHHH I hate that site so much!!
Expenses/Meal Plan 4/18
Monday: Italian grinder salad. I’ve been craving this sandwich but I need to stop ordering delivery lol so we’re going to try our hand at making a salad version. Basically a chopped salad with soppressata and olives. Gonna be rainy so we’ll be in writing thank you cards. No spend day.
Tuesday:Pressure cooker carnitas and black bean tacos. We got a tortilla press from our wedding registry and we’re going to try it out! Flour first. Weather will be nice enough for a walk. No spend day, unless I make it to Target on that walk. We’re out of paper towels.
Wednesday: Still in soup season so getting all the veggie soups in! Gonna try this new to me recipe for harira. We’ve got naan in the freezer so no need to go out for fresh bread. Another no spend day!
Thursday: Leftovers. DH has a softball game so I will go for a walk (high of 63 and sunny)! No spend day. Four no spend days in a row is ambitious but we need it after the last two weeks of wedding stuff!
Friday: Pizza night! I think we have everything we need, but maybe some fresh toppings? Shouldn’t spend more than $10 this day. If friends come over, we can ask them to bring toppings.
Saturday: Grocery shop. High of 72 (!!!) so maybe DH will be up for another long walk to the cheaper grocery stores. Budgeting $100, but I’ll see if we can use any pantry/freezer meals up too. Hosting brunch on Sunday so expecting to need a little more than usual. I also realllllly want a hot dog and we didn’t get one last weekend despite several opportunities so maybe I can convince DH to go looking for some lol. $10 spend there.
Sunday: Hosting brunch! Going to a concert later in the evening. I’m not currently drinking so that makes it easier to just have water at the show! I’m also feeling the need to go through clothing and donate, so don’t think I’ll need any merch! CTA there but may need an uber home, so $15.
I have one just for marketplace and a local mum’s group. I find that not following anyone helps (I have 2-3 friends so they could vouch to get me into the local groups)
Also if you have a person who is very Facebook in your life, you can ask them to do things like search for a specific bassinet or stroller.
I think I heard BN was working on a standalone app/site, but it’s not out yet?
Still, curious, why such strong feelings? My FB is full of mental health and body positivity memes, and kid photos. And ads that I mostly scroll past. Unless it’s TRex leggings.
I’m glad you’ve been able to cultivate a Facebook space you like! It’s just really, really not for me. I got nothing out of it except being data mined to heck by all the two word Millennial startups.