Budget killers and food

So today I had a bit of a budget scare. My car had to be taken into the shop (scary warning light kept coming on) and the estimate I received was around 1500$.  Fifteen HUNDRED. Gulp.

Luckily I have been listing to Dave Ramsey's advice and have an emergency fund set up. That took a lot of the fear out of the situation. But I knew it would still be pretty tight around here for a while.

Thank the lord, HH remembered we had purchased the extended warranty and was sure it should cover some.  We had 6,000 more miles before the warranty was voided. The mechanics were nice and spoke with the warranty company and were able to get 960$ covered for us. Wow. That made a huge difference.

It has reminded me why I am making the change to a more simplified existence. I do not want to feel that fear and pain. Ever. Again.  The pain in your chest when you realize there is a lot left to be done and paid, and nothing left to do it with. As much as we work you would think this would not be a problem. But it is.

Not just for us. There are thousands of people and families that experience this everyday. Maybe it takes an amount higher then 1500$ to give them that fear, maybe less. People that have high incomes can easily be swept into high debt and never feel as if they can get their heads above water. Low incomes, or a sudden change in income both come with that gut wrenching feeling of what now? How am I going to pay the bills? Keep food on the table? Gas in the car so I can get to  work and deal with this all over again next month?

I promise I'll have a better camera one day :)

I am done dealing with that.

The year I spent planning my wedding was one of the worst years of my life because of that.

We had gotten used to us both making decent amounts of money, which led us to spend lots of money all the time(with out even noticing). Going out to eat, getting my nails done, movies with the expensive snacks, vacations (one thing we are very good at).  When I made a career switch to my current job, we had saved money and planned for it. Or so I thought. I work in a completely commission based field and put money away to spend on marketing materials and supplies.

one of our more mature couples pics... hehe

Enter economy: stage right-

My husbands seemingly endless supply of jobs suddenly wasn't there.  That took a while to sink in. "What do you mean after you finish this job you don't have any lined up? That last pay check is the last for HOW long?"

Suddenly all the money I had saved went to pay bills. And then out came the credit cards. My dream dress was now a nightmare because I did not have enough room on the credit card to finish paying for it. I was afraid to send out the invitations to my wedding because I didn't know until the month of if we could pay for it or not. My invitations didn't go out until AFTER the please rsvp by date (Only one person mentioned it, which saved me some embarrassment).

Finally my Mom and an Aunt stepped in and helped me with a few of the key things I could not pay for. Which, now that I think of it probably added up to about 1500$. That was how my long-planned and hurriedly executed wedding finally took place. You could not pay me to relive that year of my life.

Now, a year and a half later,  we have cut back. I have slowly but surely cut the fat from our budget. We are slowly regaining some of what we lost during that time. I am working still on paying down the credit cards. And I am done with expensive, frivolous stuff that never made me any happier. Sure, I may be tired at the end of the day, but the 2 or 3 dollars it costs me to make us a home made meal compared to the 20 or 30 we can spend (even at taco bell) for a quick and easy meal is not worth it.  It's just not. I see that now ( Oh if only I had seen it years ago! Stop that now Jennifer. That does us no good).

How do I deal with the days I am exhausted and can't make my brain think of anything to cook for dinner? I am attempting meal planning :) I have yet to be able to stick to the nights correctly, but a little wiggle room does not seem to hurt.

I sit down, think of what I have at home already, and write out the meals I can cook with it. I assign each a night, but usually change my mind the day of.

They are not always culinary delights (pasta from a bag and a canned vegetable? Whats not fancy about that?), nor the most organic, but I am getting there.  And that's what matters.

My redneck looking garden from last year. It will be much larger and better kept this year!

That's why hopefully this spring and summer I will be able to put up a lot of our own produce for convenience foods.  My husband is considering hunting and fishing for his meat. Being a vegetarian, one of the things I love about my husband is he has always had a soft heart toward animals (the only hunting trip he has been on since we have been together, when a deer came in his sight he put down the gun and pulled out his phone so he could send me pictures of it. So freakin cute! Him, not the deer). So we are still not sure if that one is do-able yet, but we will see.



My meal plan for the week:
Tonight: burgers (veggie and turkey), mashed potato patties- a new recipe I am excited about!
Tuesday: HH on his own, I work late. But he has lots of frozen things I got cheap to pick from!
Wednesday: Corn casserole and a meat (fake for me and turkey for him) maybe a salad
Thursday: Lasagna rolls with steamed green beans (frozen from last years garden! I still get a kick eating form my garden)
Friday: Pizza- The sis in law and niece (soon to be mom, congrats Brionne and RK!) are coming over to make soap, so party food is in order

Saturday and Sunday: I tend to leave these pretty open. We always have big breakfasts and snack a lot during the day. I am thinking tacos one day, and chili the other!

This might not be the fanciest meal plan ever, but it is nutritious (the way I cook these things) and budget friendly.

Rainbows between storms and sunshine