No, I am not talking about weight loss this time.  This is all about my money diet.  My family spent the month of November living on a fixed budget of $500.  As you will see below, we ALMOST made it on $500.

The goal was to live simply and stick to necessities.  The $500 budget had to cover food, transportation, self-care and entertainment for a family of five.  No entertainment happened really, with the exception of our weekend trip to Whistler with our congregation.  While it was a lot of fun and totally worthwhile, it happened to eat a lot of our gas budget.  But let’s not focus on the negative.  Allow me show you how we managed.  Here is a brief breakdown:

Yes, we overspent a bit, but I am still really proud of how we did!

The majority of our budget was dedicated to food.  Let me say this…thank God my freezer and pantry were mildly stocked with the essentials.  I know that we would not have made it without some of the items I had on hand.

Transportation came in second.  Both my husband and I have really short commutes to work.  Our son, who is in high school, is usually driven to school in the mornings.  He returns home on the bus.  In November, he had to take the bus to school more frequently.  If only we could take public transportation more often, we would have saved tremendously more in this area.

Lessons learned:

1.  Some conveniences are financially inconvenient. There was, and continues to be, a lot of shirt ironing in my house.  My husband dresses professionally for work every day.  Usually, he would take his shirts to be laundered and ironed at the dry cleaners.  Well, there was none of that during our money diet. In fact, we have decided to continue in this respect going forward.  I am not a huge fan of ironing, but a bit of inconvenience for me will save us some $$.

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2.  Meal planning is integral! You cannot succeed on this diet without being totally and absolutely organized in meal planning.  I had to shop smarter than usual, stick to a strict meal plan, and buy only the ingredients needed for my food prep for the week. More on my meal planning system here.

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3.  Simple vegetarian meals should take centre stage. Please do not think that we normally eat caviar and wash it down with champagne.  However, incorporating more inexpensive meals into your week will be good for your pocketbook.  Eggs for dinner?!  Why not!

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4.  Brows can go ungroomed… for a longer while. Needless to say…my eyebrows did not look like this in November. Whatever you do to take care of yourself, please do, but you can do it less frequently or without professional assistance.

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5.  Kids need to hear about your budget. Our kids talked quite a bit about the money diet and were curious how we were doing.   It is important to get them engaged in these conversations, show them that you are challenging yourself to do something better or differently.  The other day, my son wanted to know why I did not put portobello mushrooms into the lasagna.  Well, the answer was simple.  Mushrooms were not in my budget for lasagna that week.

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What we were doing this month will continue for the most part going forward.  Being extra mindful of our spending and limiting ourselves to the necessities was powerful and rewarding.  If you need an extra push or place to start in better managing your finances, try out a money diet.

Do you plan your meals for the week in advance or are you more of a day-by-day type of person?  I engage in weekly meal planning, but not always as meticulously as I would like to.  However, now being on a money diet I cannot help but be much more systematic. In fact, I started thinking whether there is one specific way of approaching meal planning that is more effective, for me anyway.  There is and here it is:

Eating on a restricted budget this month forces me to rely heavily on what I already have in my pantry, fridge, and freezer.  I have resolved that I need to do this at all times, whether I am on a money diet or not.  I recommend always examining closely what you already have on hand rather than starting by building off a specific menu.   Think creatively about what you find and how to utilize those ingredients in preparing at least a meal or two for the week.  For example, in checking my freezer this past Sunday, I found a couple of packages of Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry, which then reminded me of a lovely recipe for Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Tartlets which I recently read on Jenny Steffens Hobick blog.  In addition to the puff pastry, it calls for onions and goat cheese.  Bingo!  I had all of the ingredients on hand.  No purchases required to make these beauties:

image via Jenny Steffens Hobick

Consulting your schedule for the week to come is equally important for figuring out the number of meals or the quantity of food you need to purchase and then prepare.  Will there be days when it makes sense for you to go out for a meal?  Perhaps, you were invited out for a dinner with friends or your spouse will be away on a business trip, which might affect the amount or type of food you will need to prepare.  I find that the times when I do not take our schedule into account carefully, I end up with food surplus and, thus, a financial waste as well.

I believe strongly that if there is one area of organization that would have an overwhemingly positive effect on all households, it would be a commitment to meal planning. My formula for meal planning is not quite mathematical, but it guarantees to reward you with the following benefits:

What is your formula?

At the beginning of the month, when I shared my plans for October, I hinted at my intention to adhere to a “no spend month” at some point.  The “no spend month” or a “money diet” is a period of living simply, super frugally really.  It requires a commitment to sticking to the basic necessities and doing so on a limited budget.

I am declaring November my no spend month.  Over the next 30 days, my family of five (two adults and three kids) will be challenged to live on a cash diet of $500. This budget will not include the regular fixed expenses such as mortgage payments, utilities, savings, medical expenses, childcare, kids’ after-school activities, and donations, etc.  The limited budget will need to cover:

Why do I think this is a worthwhile exercise for my family?

- In light of having several expensive months in a row, November’s money diet will allow us to get back on track.

- We will be forced to be innovative about meal planning and grocery shopping.  While I am pretty organized with those tasks already, there is always room for improvement.

- I hope this month will be more than a financial diet, it could become a spiritual de-cluttering of sorts.

- I want to concentrate more deeply on being mindful of our many blessings and what we already have.

- I wonder what would happen if all households in the developed world went on regular money diets.  Would we all learn to live with a little less?  Would our homes be a little less cluttered?  Would we feel more content with and grateful for what we already have?

I am a bit nervous.  Nervous not because we are a family of frivolous spenders, but because life is expensive for a large family, not mention a bit stressful as it is.  You see, on food alone, on a carefully planned-out week, I spend at least about $140 on groceries.  On our money diet, we will be living on $111 per week and that will need to include more than just food.  Gas!  Bus passes!  Yikes!

Have you ever gone on a money diet?  Do you want to join me in this challenge?

As I go through November, I look forward to sharing my experiences and lessons learned.  Wish me luck.

“How a Fat Wallet Makes You Spend More” in Smart Money grabbed my attention the other day.   To summarize, we lug too much in our wallets!   So much, that we don’t even know what we are schlepping around.  So much, that perhaps, it makes it difficult for us to be responsible with our money, to track our spending, and to pay our bills on time.

Although I regularly declutter my wallet, I knew that I still carried too much and that some things could be simply removed or eliminated.  I decided to check the weight of my wallet.  Almost 2 lbs!!!

I emptied, sorted, purged, downsized, and organized.  I did not exactly get down to this humble money clip.

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However, I did shed about half a pound.  Here is what helped me:

1.  Photos – I decided that since my iPhone is on me 80% of the time anyway,  if I need a pleasant reminder of my lovely hubby or kids, I can always look at their pictures on my iPhone.  Make some room in your wallet by removing the photos.

2.  Loyalty and membership cards – There are two great Apps that allow you to add your plastic loyalty and membership cards either to your iPhone, Blackberry, or Android.  So, if you are in possession of one of these gadgets, consider uploading either the Key Ring or CardStar App.  Both are free and very simple to use.  You just follow a couple of simple steps to add each card to your phone.

3.  Business cards – I now carry mine in style with the help of a cute Kate Spade business card holder, which is totally separate from my wallet.  Thank you, S. for such a thoughtful and practical gift!

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4.  Gift cards – I have a dedicated spot for all gift cards and am pretty good at taking them with me when I intend to use them.   If you need a more visual reminder, I recommend creating a spot for them near your house keys so that as you leave your abode, you are reminded to take a card out.  Another option, is to dedicate a small ziplock bag for them and store them in your purse.

5.  Receipts and coupons – Do not carry them in your wallet.  If you are a couponer and/or save your receipts regularly, invest in a small accordion pocket, which you can carry in your purse.  I love these ones from The Container Store:

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6.  Credit cards – Limit yourself to no more than two main credit cards.

7.  Social security or social insurance cards – Do not carry them in your wallet.  They should be stored securely in your home or in a safety deposit box.

8.  Cash – Financial Guru, Suze Orman taught me long ago to be feng shui about money in my wallet.  Show respect for the cash you earn by organizing it from small to large bills and all facing in the same direction.

9.  Inventory – As a precautionary measure, make a copy or photograph of all credit and debit cards and IDs in your wallet.  Store this paper copy or photos in a secure spot.  In the unpleasant event that your wallet is lost or stolen, you will have an inventory of its contents.

Have you decluttered your wallet lately?  If not, this weekend, give your wallet some attention and it might just shed some weight.

Happy Friday!