Goal 56. Save $1000 Emergency Fund

Hi everyone who reads my post! Does it make you sad to be losing the penny? Today we are going to talk about a subject that can get really emotional, really fast..... money.

But! This post is meant to encourage. It really encourages me. Here is the basic set-up. In the past two years while living below the poverty line (which is actually cool because then you get free money from the government! Yay free money!) Prince Charming and I have been able to save up our $1000 emergency fund and last year saved $9,000 for school.

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Goal 49. Simplify Meal Plan / Groceries

Last night at my small group I posed this question, "I just don't understand how one can go to the grocery store without having a meal plan. When I try that I leave the store with tons of food and nothing to eat!" All the girls agreed and most of the men did too! This of course sparked a little conversation between all of us, but then the men went on to talk about sports. The girls of course kept talking!

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For me the benefits of meal planning are first of all time. I hate it when I get home from the store and don't have enough food to get through the week. This means that I actually plan all of our meals and snacks when considering my menu. The second goal is budget. I am still not great at this part, but I am sure I would be in a much, much worse position if I didn't plan. And the third goal is health. We are much less likely to go out to eat and aren't continually eating junk food snacks when we have easy, healthy, tasty food at home. For us now eating out is purely emotional, as in, we tend to eat out more if we are feeling down, sick or just "hard-done-by". We also eat out if we are feeling celebratory. So we still have a ways to go, but I want to share how I organize the part I am good at. :)