Budgeting and grocery shopping the easy way...

Two online resources that have helped make our lives easier... thought I should share

When we found out we were having a baby,  Justin decided to put us on a budget to help us build our savings. He found a website that

"brings all your financial accounts together online,
automatically categorizes your transactions, lets you
set budgets & helps you achieve your savings goals"

The best part..it's free! The site organizes all of your spending based on categories that you set up. It's basically the same principle as the envelope system but you don't have to worry about keeping up with cash. You can download an app on your phone so you can see exactly how much money you have left when you are out shopping. Being able to see how much we have left in a certain category has helped nix the impulse buying and lets us be more conscious about our spending.  Try it out  www.mint.com

A typical night at our house used to be... 

What's for dinner?

I don't care, what do you want?

Anything I'm just hungry.

Well you are the pregnant one.

Yep, so that means I'll eat anything.

So what do you want?

This conversation could go on forever. Since I'm not much of a planner I have a hard time deciding what to do for meals and spend tons of money at the grocery store. My least favorite thing to do is go grocery shopping.  A couple weeks ago I mentioned to Justin's grandmother that I wish someone would just tell me what to eat every week and give me a list for the store.  She told me she had the answer to all of my problems!! She introduced me to a website called www.e-mealz.com  You pay $5 a month and they will set up a 5 meal plan for you.  They give you a shopping list and recipes for the meals. Part of your plan includes the store you shop at and the meals are based on what is one sale that week. I am an extremely picky eater so I was afraid I would never eat the meals but so far I have liked everything. The best part is....our weekly bill for 5 dinners is $35-45 and I only spend a short time at the store since I know exactly what I need for each meal.  No more asking what's for dinner...that's worth $5 to me!!!