Budget Makeover

I love reality shows, they are my guilty pleasure. The best ones are the makeover shows.

On these shows the unsuspecting person is ambushed by family and friends and given a makeover with hair, fashion consultants and makeup. The final reveal is always a delight! They have been transformed into a more fashionable version of themselves.

Budget Transformation

So can you give your budget a makeover? Well the holidays are here and if you have kids you might be worried about keeping them entertained and fed without crushing your budget.

There are a number of places that offer free activities for children but when you get there, take a picnic to eat for lunch it doesn’t have to be anything fancy because you’ll probably not want to spend much time on lunch but you don’t want to have to pay the often inflated prices at where ever you’re going.

Let’s not forget insatiable appetite of children stuck at home all  day. I know a number of parents who despair of keeping any food in the house during the holidays. The repeated trips to the supermarket can really hurt your budget.

If you don’t already meal plan, then I want you to plan your meals for the following week and write out your shopping list. Then when you’re at the supermarket, downgrade at least two things in your shopping trolley from premium to standard range or from standard to value. It also makes sense to buy wholesale items so that you can survive the food cravings of your children.

Meal planning has  many advantages as it will save you both time and money as well as potentially changing your eating habits by encouraging you to focus on what you’re eating in the coming week. The list of foods you need is then used to create a shopping list.

This way you will know that you are only buying what you actually need rather than wandering around the supermarket trying to work out in your head what your family will eat and avoid either not buying enough or buying too much. Both of which will probably end up costing you more money this is because extra trips to the shop usually end up costing more as it’s rare you’ll only buy what you need.

So if you don’t already meal plan, why not try it for a couple of weeks and see how well it works for you and your family? Let me hear from you!

Teri Ann Renee Paisley

Gleaner Online Writer

Tags: budget