Monday – Chili (already made in freezer) and cornbread
Tuesday – Jazzercise night! Frozen pizza & salad for husband and daughter
Wednesday – Veggie masala patties from Trader Joes, naan, tahini and tabbouleh
Thursday – Shrimp fried rice and egg rolls already in freezer
Friday – Going to Jason Gray concert with daughter! Dad’s on his own 😀
View more menu plans at orgjunkie!
Santa Fe, NM
I may be a grown-up, but I still haven’t gotten over the fact that there is no magic money tree. I bought a nice pair of dress pants for church… and it is never fun to enter those purchases into Quicken and deduct the money out of the budget, even when I have funds saved for such purchases.
My daughter is now learning about this hard reality as she transitions into allowances and chores. “Teachable moments” are cropping up left and right!
“Can I have money for the Scholastic book fair?”
“No, you haven’t read the last book I bought but you are welcome to use your own money.”
“But I am saving my money for something else!”
“Me too!”
She went on to wonder what would happen if she were the ONLY one in the class with no money for the book fair. I said she would have to tell her friends she is saving her money for something else. This conversation, for me, echoed many of the financial decisions my husband and I are making every day. Why do we only have 1 bathroom… because we are saving for something else. Why does my husband drive an ‘entry-level’ car… because we are saving for something else. Freedom from debt is a wonderful situation, but it is still a life filled with many purposeful decisions about money.
Oh, and the book from the book fair that she reeeaaaally wanted? The library has a copy waiting for us on reserve.
The theme of this week’s menu is using what we already have as a starting point for meals.
Monday – Haircut night, meeting Dad for a sandwich dinner out!
Tuesday – Fajitas, to use up tortillas, beans, cheese, sour cream we already have. One chicken breast will be enough for all of us in combination with beans.
Wednesday – Greek salmon salad, to use up salmon patties in the freezer. Combined with romaine, feta, olives, and “Good Seasons” Greek Vinaigrette
Thursday – Sloppy Joes, already in the freezer from a prior meal
Friday – ‘Cheaters’ Cuban Sandwich, boiled ham, provolone, mayo/whole grain mustard, pickles in the Foreman Grill.
For more menu inspirations, visit orgjunkie!
Dr Kevin Leman, a family psychologist whose writing I have enjoyed, asks parents to consider “Are you running a house or a hotel?” When your kid drops a towel on the floor, does the maid pick it up? Does the front desk provide convenient reminders to pack backpacks, and remember library books? Is there express laundry service when too many socks have been abandoned under the bed instead of making the journey to the laundry chute?
Ouch.
Not only does my daughter get tired of me telling her to do things, I get tired of listening to myself!
Enter the chore chart. We have tried various systems but perhaps never really thought through what outcome we were trying to achieve. I would like to improve her independence, reduce my nagging, and give her more experiences with money.
We settled on 6 basic items to do every day, and an opportunity to earn up to $5.00 a week. This money can be used for her personal church contributions, earrings at Claire’s, apps for iPad, and the like. I hope this experience can provide a foundation for the bigger “wants” that await in middle school… iPhones, Ugg boots, Vera Bradley backpacks. Mom and Dad definitely live by a budget and when we make a luxury purchase we see what kind of a bite it takes out of our fun money.
We printed a chart off that she can maintain, and she will be paid on Saturdays when we close out our budget week. We shall see how it goes… day 1 was fantastic and quite refreshing for me!
What experiences have you had with getting your children to contribute to the work of running the household?
Well, we officially have turned our heat on! I was home sick last week and spent some time reminding myself of what we like to eat when the weather turns cool. It was fun to look through menu plans I have in notebooks going back for many years.
We have extra incentive to get our meals planned out because our church is participating in ‘Meals@Home‘, a commitment to sit down to eat at home as a family at least three times a week. We track our meals each month and share photos on Facebook as a way to keep the momentum going.
Monday – Tacos
Tuesday – Shrimp and yukon gold potatoes from our garden. So. Many. Potatoes!!
Wednesday – Ballet night, but we can bring a take and bake pizza home and still have dinner together.
Thursday – Jazzercise night for me … Grilled cheese and pea soup
Friday – Eggs (from my friend’s chickens) and breakfast-for-dinner accompaniments.
For more menu inspirations, visit orgjunkie!
Fresh eggs!
The Healthful Saver 