Back in June, I discussed putting aside money each week to cover the holidays, both gifts and meals. I have a separate fund for each.
I chose $2 per week for the meal fund. That's a doable amount. I take the money out of our regular grocery cash and put it into an envelope. So I am still spending the same amount overall, but I have dedicated a portion of it just to holiday foods.
My envelope plan not only ensures we will have enough cash on hand for holiday meals, but it also gives me permission to buy some foods I wouldn't normally.
I funded my envelope the other day for the entire month of October. I counted the bills, and I now have $44 set aside. Between now and Christmas Day, I'll have added an additional $16, giving me a grand total of $60 to cover foods like smoked salmon, bacon, a pineapple, a ham and ingredients for homemade Chinese food to be used on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve and Day.
You know how careful I am with grocery spending, right? If I didn't have this meal fund of set aside dollars, I would be hesitant to buy the smoked salmon or fresh pineapple. The fund will give me an amount that I am absolutely free to spend. It's a green light up to $60.
I already wrote about this in early June. But I wanted to update you all on how it's going. So often I begin something that proceeds over weeks or months, and then you never hear how it's going.
I'm happy to say it's going well. My family hasn't noticed the absence of that $2 per week in groceries. What have I cut or changed? We've eaten more of our garden produce every week, and we've had an extra bean meal per week. That's it. My family doesn't even know I have this envelope. They just know that food shows up in the fridge and pantry and on the table. I'll tell them in December when we discuss the menus for Christmas and New Years.
Permission to spend has become an important psychological tool I've used to manage our household budgets. While some folks struggle with spending too much. For many of us frugal types, our problem tends to be trying not to spend anything at all. But there are times and occasions where we feel it's appropriate to spend a little more than usual. A budget that means "you can spend this amount" works for our frugal brains.
How about you? After years of being frugal, do you ever struggle to spend your hard-earned money?
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Setting aside a set amount is a great tool for giving yourself permission to spend. I don't struggle with that with groceries, but larger purchases tend to make me gulp and rethink whether or not I should be spending the money. There's a part of me that is afraid of being greedy when I spend money on things like travel. I try to think of money as something to steward, which helps me flip the script in my brain. But yes, it can be a struggle. I'm still in my working years, but I think that retirement will be a challenge to my mindset.
ReplyDeleteHi Kris,
DeleteI think putting it as stewardship is a great way to think of how to manage your resources. Thanks for sharing your views.
We don't have tendencies to just spend. With no kids anymore at home, we just don't need a lot of food as we can't get through it so I naturally don't shop like I used to. Back in the day, I would do a big grocery shopping every other Saturday. Now I rarely run out of things and we don't eat like we used to so I shop as needed for eggs, milk, etc. but rarely run out of spices and that kind of thing. As for putting aside money, well, that naturally happens with auto deposit. Money is there but mostly for utilities and monthly bills and the rest in untouched until a major car repair, or excavating the back yard unexpectedly becomes an expense. We do't do a lot of special foods for holidays because honestly simplistic is more my friend. We have overweight adult children so I want to make sure there isn't too much food or overeating happens and I cut down sweets. We don't want to sabotage their efforts in weight loss. Maybe my husband and I have issues but we just naturally have really cut down our portion sizes and eat very little. We struggle with the little bit of leftovers from a meal I make because we just can't eat all the food. I totally understand putting extra money aside for occasions though. Christmas gifts is another issue. Our kids all make more money than we do, can buy themselves whatever they want, whenever they want so gift giving is very difficult.. Even getting our grandson something is hard because he has lots of grandparents and aunts and uncles.
ReplyDeleteHi Alice,
DeleteI can understand not wanting to have too many treat foods around the holidays if you know your adult kids are trying to cut back themselves. That's actually very thoughtful of you.
Thank you for sharing.
I have many of the same feelings as Kris about spending money. We’re almost two years into retirement ent and I am still struggling to change from a saving mentality to a spending one. We planned and saved well over the years, so the money is there, I just have to give myself permission to enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteI think many people feel the same way about using retirement savings. After decades of trying to save as much as possible, letting go of that intensity around saving can be difficult. In addition, for some people, there's that fear that what they've saved won't be enough if they allow themselves to spend more freely. So they continue to be very frugal. I hope you find ways to give yourself permission to enjoy that which you've saved.
I’m not wasteful by any means so it’s hard for me to spend without a twinge. My husband always reminds me that this is what we worked and saved for all those years, so I am able to not feel quite as guilty if we take money from our retirement savings for certain things. One of the things I have done for years has now become a “thing” with my sister and daughter. My husband labeled it Annie math years ago. I had saved for a really nice kitchen appliance. Just as I had saved enough it went on clearance for 50% off. I could have pocketed the other 50% but since I had saved up and planned to spend it all, I splurged on some other items that were also 50-75% off. When I explained to my husband what the total cost COULD have been for everything he just laughed and called it Annie math. Annie
ReplyDeleteHi Annie,
DeleteI like that -- Annie math! I could see myself thinking along the same lines. I will point out that the additional purchase you made with the savings after finding a great deal on the appliance you needed, buying the other items you added was just smart. You found those items at great discounts, too!
Thanks for sharing, Annie.