One of the biggest challenges I face with my budget is the purchase of food. The actual purchasing of food is easy--I love food. I purchase a lot of it. The problem begins when I have to take the food I've purchased out of the refrigerator and...cook it. There are days, hours, moments in which I enjoy cooking. Nothing too complex though, I have a three spice limit (and sea salt does not count).
I don't like to chop and, no matter how many times that one guy on Food Network who looks like Thomas Dolby tells me, I don't know how. I don't understand how to stop meat from splattering all over the place short of lidding my pan and stewing it. I'm baffled by al dente and frustrated with over easy.
Over the years, Hubby has gotten used to my hit-or-miss way with food. I've set fire to spaghetti noodles, mashed potato water (yeah, I know...but I did), and green beans. The green bean fire was so bad, we had to use a fire extinguisher on the stove and then what food I didn't burn was completely inedible. I once made a completely flat birthday cake and misspelled Hubby's name on it ("Happy Birthday Frak!").
So every week, I buy a mixture of easy to cook fresh food and easier to cook frozen food. Then, because I don't want to wash dishes or make a mess on the stove, we end up eating out. It's a terrible conundrum, and one that isn't going to solve itself.
Because common sense isn't always enough of a reason to change how you do things, I've decided to give myself a reward if I save money on food. While your problem may not be the same as mine, chances are there is somethign inyour budget that could improve with a little positive reinforcement:
- -Choose the thing you want to reduce spending on and add up what you;ve spent on it over the past month.
- -Decide how much you can reasonably reduce it by--10%, 20% or more.
- -Give yourself one month to reach your goal reduction. If you make it, reward yourself with an activity or treat that costs no more than the amount you saved.
So next month, if I cut my grocery spending by my goal of 10%, I'm getting a facial. What are you going to get?
Yo
Thanks stevenking for a picture of what my kitchen could look like if I'm not careful.