Cheap 15 minute packable lunches to fit into your 100/week grocery budget

We have a weekly grocery budget of 100.00 a week if we buy our lunches out, or 120.00/week if we pack our lunches. (If your interested in dinners- the dinners that we rotate through are also listed in this blog- just check my archives). This is the lunch database that we use to choose our lunches. I'm currently pregnant and my doctor has advised me to stay away from sandwich meat that isn't heated, so there are plenty of options on here for me. If your stuck working in a car while pregnant may I suggest thinking outside the box to bring heatable lunches (for instance the Wegman's that I use has a microwave that you can use for free, and I bet if you ask nicely a local 7/11 will let you use their microwave).
When we were eating our lunches out, we had a budget of 40.00 per week for lunches, which we both never stayed within. I normally spent about 50.00 per week and my husband spends about 80.00 per week (I'm convinced he goes to Ruth Chris Steakhouse every day but he can get away with it because he's adorable).
When we switched over to packed lunches, we saved about $110.00 per week and it made our days much easier. For instance, I can now eat a little bit of my lunch every hour or two so that I don't get sick like I do when I eat a full meal. I can also take my lunch break to run errands (like the bank, or picking up a redbox movie, or just taking a walk around the grounds). Plus, your eating the same amount of food but ingesting significantly less calories. Although our options could certainly be healthier, they are much healthier than what we were eating. Our goal is to continue to improve our healthy options while staying in budget and avoiding the temptation of fast food (except for the occasional Chipotle run- but we're only human.)

Just a quick note- If you have trouble staying within budget during your grocery runs- encourage your partner to join you as an enforcer. They can be in charge of ensuring that you're sticking to your list and choosing the cheapest unit price (as long as you both still like the taste). After a few hilarious arguments in the middle of the grocery store about a 10 cent difference in price or why the lastest issue of Cosmopolitian is an absolute necessity, you won't even need your enforcer.

CHEAP, QUICK, AND EASY PACKABLE LUNCH DATABASE

Takes less than 15 minutes to prepare and fits into my 120.00/week grocery budget for breakfast/lunch/ and dinner daily.

IF YOU HAVE ACCESS TO A MICROWAVE AT WORK:

**Also appropriate if you’re pregnant and would like to avoid luncheon meats**

All of these meals can be combined. You can make them for dinner one night and make a double batch so you have extras for lunch. The idea is to make your life easier and to have a lunch that’s tempting enough to keep you out of the drive thru!

**Choose three items off of the snack options at the end of this article to accompany**

1.    Pizza: You can make your own using Boboli (or an off brand) pizza shell, or order one for dinner the night before. We ADORE Wegman’s Large Pizza for 11.99, they have a pizzeria in the store. Wegman’s pizza is pictures below. Their large is enormous and gives us dinner that night and about two lunches. Pizza freezes really well too, and tastes just as good when you reheat or thaw and eat cold. If you make your own, make two. Then you can have one for dinner, slice up the second and wrap in wax paper and then aluminum foil. Stick tomorrow’s lunch slices in the fridge, and place any leftovers in a Gallon Freezer Bag. When you pack this in your lunchbox, you can fold up a cheap paper plate to include making it easier to eat or just heat in the wax paper and eat off of that.

COST:  11.99 FOR DINNER FOR TWO AND TWO LUNCHES FOR TWO. 1.99 PER PERSON PER MEAL AT WEGMAN’S.

2.   Macaroni and Cheese:  Cook the night before, separate into small Tupperware containers (or even bowls, covered completely in saran wrap and then aluminum foil- I know, I know, I love aluminum foilJ)

COST: $.39 FOR LUNCH FOR TWO (ASSUMING YOU HAVE BUTTER AND MILK ON HAND) AT WEGMAN’S. $.19 PER PERSON PER MEAL.

3.   Frozen Dinners: This is my standby, I keep a few favorites in the fridge so that if something unexpected happens during the evening and I can’t prepare our lunches for tomorrow, I have an easy back up to toss in. This is especially effective when you grab a bunch when your favorite brand is on sale. I’m partial to healthy choice, mostly because they have dessertJ

COST: $2.50 PER PERSON PER MEAL AT WEGMAN’S (CURRENTLY ON SALE)

4.   Leftovers: Leftovers from last night’s dinner. Hamburgers save particularly well, just put a plain burger in a plain bun, wrap with wax paper and then aluminum foil. You then heat for 40 seconds. You can take a small plastic Tupperware container and add Ketchup, Mustard and Mayo (I like to mix them all together to make “Orange Sauce”, but I’m kind of weird.)

COST: TECHNICALLY FREEJ

5.   Broccoli Cheese Soup: I found this ridiculously quick and easy recipe in taste of home and now it’s a staple in our house.  Mix 2 cans of condensed cheddar cheese soup with 3 cups of milk, 3 cups of frozen chopped broccoli, 1 cup frozen potatoes o’brien (Ore Ida and Wegman’s store brands both sell frozen potatoes Obrien. Sprinkle with a ½ teaspoon of salt and boil for 5 minutes. Done!!! Separate into tupperware containers (I wouldn’t use plain bowls for this- you need a tight seal). While you’re making your soup, preheat the oven to 350, and pop in enough frozen crusty dinner rolls (I use Rhodes Brand) for each person to have two. When the rolls come out, Wrap in aluminum foil. (You can also split in half, butter, and wrap in aluminum foil.

COST: $7.76 AT WEGMAN’S FOR 4 SERVINGS. TOTAL COST PER SERVING IS $1.94

6.   Breakfast Burritos: Heat a frying pan to medium, heat up banquet sausage patties, throw the sausage patties on a cutting board and chop up (big or small- your preference), scramble some eggs in the sausage pan (I use about 5 eggs),  put a scoop of egg, a scoop of sausage, and a small handful of cheddar or mozzarella cheese in a burrito wrapper, roll up a ’la Chipotle (fold one half over, tuck each end in, and continue rolling. Wrap in wax paper and then in aluminum foil. When you go to reheat at work, take off aluminum foil, and microwave for 30-45 seconds in wax paper. Remove and eat! If you have extra time and you feel like channeling Julia Childs, try adding baked tater tots, or sautéed onions and green pepper, you can even put a little salsa in there.

Cost: $7.26 at WEGMAN’S FOR 6 SERVINGS. TOTAL COST PER SERVING IS $1.21

7.   Pasta Chicken Alfredo: Boil Rotini and drain, microwave Tyson’s frozen grilled chicken and dice it up. Mix chicken and a jar of alfredo sauce into pasta. This should make enough for four lunches. Seperate it into either 4 tupperware containers or four bowls completely covered in saran wrap and then aluminum foil.

COST: $3.51 AT WEGMAN’S FOR 6 SERVINGS. TOTAL COST PER SERVING IS $0.58

8.   Italian pasta salad with chicken: Boil rotini and drain, microwave Tyson’s frozen grilled chicken breast, and chop up. Chop up green pepper and an onion. Mix green pepper, onion, chicken and classic Italian salad dressing into the pasta. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. You serve this cold, so just separate into 4 containers and wrap up.

If you’re not a green pepper and onion fan, you can mix in a tin of olives, broccoli, red pepper, carrots, celery, squash, zucchini, or whatever floats your boat.

COST: $9.98 AT WEGMAN’S FOR 6 SERVINGS. COST PER SERVING IS $1.66

9.   Pizza Pasta: Boil Rotini and drain, add in a jar of spaghetti sauce and ½ of a bag of pepperoni. Top with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Separate into four containers. Microwave for 1 minute when ready to eat.

COST: $6.36 AT WEGMAN’S (PLUS YOU’LL HAVE A HALF BAG OF MOZARELLA CHEESE TO USE IN ANOTHER DISH) FOR 6 SERVINGS. COST PER SERVING: 1.06

IF YOU NEED COLD LUNCHES (NO ACCESS TO A MICROWAVE):

**Choose three items off of the snack options at the end of this article to accompany**

1.    Ham and cheese sandwiches. Lettuce, tomato, and pickle optional. (Use whatever you have left from your dinner ingredients to top.)

COST: $4.99 AT Wegman’s makes four good sized sandwiches. Cost per sandwich: $1.24 (Plus you will have extra bread).

2.  Turkey and Muenster Sandwiches with pickles, mayo and ground pepper.

COST: $5.99 AT Wegman’s makes four good size sandwiches. Cost per sandwich: $1.49

3.   B.L.T. Sandwiches (Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato): For an easy way to make bacon, line bacon in a single layer on a baking sheet, bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Toast the bread before layering the bacon, iceberg lettuce, and tomato. You can also add cheese if your into that.

COST: $8.76 AT WEGMAN’S MAKES 6 GOOD SIZED SANDWICHES. COST PER SANDWICH: $1.46

4.   Peanut Butter and Jelly, or one of the gazillion variations of this childhood classic. (Peanut Butter, Banana and Honey sandwiches, Peanut Butter and Fluff sandwiches etc,)

COST: $5.38 AT WEGMAN’S MAKES 8 GOOD SIZED SANDWICHES (plus a ton of extra peanut butter and jelly) COST PER SANDWICH: $0.67

5.   Roast Beef and Provalone Sandwiches. Lettuce, Tomato and Pickle optional. (Use whatever you have left from your dinner ingredients to top).

COST: $6.97 AT WEGMAN’S MAKES 4 GOOD SIZED SANDWICHES. COST PER SANDWICH: $1.75

6.   Italian pasta salad with chicken: Boil rotini and drain, microwave Tyson’s frozen grilled chicken breast, and chop up. Chop up green pepper and an onion. Mix green pepper, onion, chicken and classic Italian salad dressing into the pasta. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. You serve this cold, so just separate into 4 containers and wrap up.

If you’re not a green pepper and onion fan, you can mix in a tin of olives, broccoli, red pepper, carrots, celery, squash, zucchini, or whatever floats your boat.

COST: $9.98 AT WEGMAN’S MAKES 6 Servings. COST PER SERVING: $1.66

7.   Grilled Chicken Salad: Mixed Greens in a bowl, add Italian dressing (I actually like to mix the dressing and lettuce because I love drenched lettuce, but you can put it in a separate dressing container if you would rather not have them soaking all day. Microwave a Tyson’s frozen grilled chicken breast (or Wegman’s makes their own version), and chop up. I also put a little bit of mozzarella cheese in a plastic baggie, and add bacon bits, and McCormick’s salad topping.), if your just using a regular bowl and not a Tupperware container, wrap plastic wrap around entire bowl, then cover bowl with aluminum foil.

COST: $10.29 AT WEGMAN’S MAKES 2 Servings. (Cost includes mixed greens, 1 chicken breast, Italian dressing, cheese, and salad toppings… But you will have enough leftover ingredients to make future servings for about 2.50 by adding another chicken breast and another bag of salad)  COST PER SERVING: $5.14

8.       CHICKEN, CORN, TOMATO, AND CHEDDAR CHEESE WRAPS WITH RANCH DIP.

Microwave 2 breasts of Tyson's grilled chicken fillet's and dice up, chop up a beefsteak tomato, fill burrito tortillas with diced chicken, canned corn, diced tomato, and cheddar cheese. Serve with ranch dressing and a salad. Makes about 4 wraps. If you have leftovers, wrap in wax paper and foil and take to lunch the next day.

Total Cost at Wegman's: $8.01 (but you'll have extra ranch dressing and burrito tortillas to use another day) for 4 servings. TOTAL COST PER SERVING: 2.00

               

SNACK CHOICES:

1.    Whole Pickles – 2.99 for Jar (about 12 servings)

2.   Baby carrots separated into baggies- 1.29 for bag (about 6 servings)

3.   Celery separated into baggies – 1.69 for bag (about 4 servings)

4.   Cuke slices with rice vinegar (an acquired taste but it’s my favorite!) 2.69 (about 3 servings)

5.   Peanut butter & jelly crackers- 1.99 for box of crackers (using peanut butter and jelly leftover from sandwiches) (about 20 servings)

6.   Fruit snacks- 2.69 for a box (about 10 servings)

7.   Granola bars- 2.29 for 12 servings.

8.   Beef jerky- 4.99 for about 5 servings

9.   Dark Chocolate Squares with sea salt (We use Lindt’s)- $2.49 for 6 servings

10.  Cookies- $2.50 for 12 servings

11.   Apples- about $.60 per apple (1.69 a pound- We love fuji if your not sure which is best for lunches)

12.  Bananas- about $.14 per banana ($.49 per pound)

13.  Potato chips- 1.99 for 8 servings (separate into individual baggies)

14.   Yogurt- $.45 per container

15.  Brownies or cookies (Make a batch on the weekend, then separate into baggies for each day. (*** Warning- We make these from a box mix- so it obviously takes more than 15 minutes. We make them on the weekend and then use throughout the week. Cookies freeze very well too!***) $1.49 for 15 servings (assuming you have canola or vegetable oil and eggs on hand).

Things to have on hand to help you pack your lunch:

1.   An insulated lunch box for every member of the family (They are responsible for ensuring that they bring the box home at the end of the day).

2.  Cooler Packs (Or reusable ice bags)- 2 for each lunch box. You need to make it a routine so that when you bring your lunch box in at the end of the day, you immediately empty it out and put the ice packs back in the freezer.

3.  Aluminum foil- I buy the GIANT rolls from Costco (If you don’t already have an account though- don’t get one just for that- just head to walmart, buy the off brand and grab a few).

4.  Wax Paper

5.  Sandwich Bags

6.  Snack Bags

7.  Quart Freezer Bags

8.  Gallon Freezer Bags

9.  Napkins

10. Plastic Forks and Plastic Spoons (unless you’re ok with your husband’s gross yogurt spoon touching everything in the bag because I’ve been told it’s actually impossible for men to clean a spoon used during work).

11.  A water bottle for every member of the family.

Northern Virginia- Prince William : Free Coupon Box at the Potomac Community Library

As if there weren't enough reasons for me to be in love with the library... I discovered last month that they have a free coupon exchange! I've seen groups meet before, but this is the first time I have seen a permanent box set up at a consistent location (Turn left as soon as you walk past the librarian's desk). You can come when you have the time or motivation, and drop any coupons you have, but don't want or need, in the coupon drop box. The librarians sort them into about 25 different categories. You can then paw through the categories and grab any coupons you want (No limit!). I was so impressed that I offered to stop by twice a week and sort them so that the librarians don't have extra work! They said they're enjoying it for now but that they'll call me if it ever gets overwhelming.

If your interested in getting into extreme couponing, this would be a great resource. While I was there, I grabbed 8 coupons for Secret deodorant (Buy 2 get $1.00 off) and used it at Wegman's where I got the deodorant for $0.99  a piece. I added them to my "Walmart" (I keep a stocked "Walmart" on each level of the house so that I can get the best prices for things that I use constantly and never have to run out to grab something that I didn't realize I was out of), and saved myself 8.00 :) I also found TONS of diaper/baby wipes coupons. You can find blogs with coupon match-ups (They tell you to grab the 6/20/12 coupon for "whatever" at .50 cents off then go to "Random Supermarket" where "whatever" is on sale, and buy 10. They then tell you that the total price for that item will be .25 cents), at http://beltwaybargainmom.com/ , This blog is just for the northern Virginia area so you'll have no problem finding your local supermarket if you live here. I shop at Wegman's for the most part and they have awesome match ups for that store.

The coupon box at Potomac library is unadvertised, it's not even on their website. The other branches may have the same thing, but I use Potomac exclusively so I don't know. If you live in the area, and you library doesn't have one, you should volunteer to start one. It would take you two shoe boxes, one set of index card dividers, and an inbox tray (or a shoe box top) and about an hour a week. That is, if you wanted to volunteer to sort the coupons yourself. If you don't have the time to stop by every week, I would bet that putting up a little sign asking for people to assist by sorting coupons for you if they have the time will take care of that. I know how grateful I am that they have a program like this and I'm sure that everyone else who uses it feels the same way.

If you happen to know of another library in the area that has this program, leave a comment so that others can find their way there.

And if you start your own coupon exchange at a branch that didn't have this service, leave a comment so that you can be properly praised- because you are AWESOME!

Using an xbox to save a fortune (even if you have to buy one!)

One of the easiest changes we've established to save money actually made our life a lot better! We already had an XBOX, but even if we had to buy one, we would have saved money with these changes.

We had a verizon fios bundle that included a home phone, cable with HBO and Epix, and what my husband loves to call "Epic Internet". We paid around 185.00 a month for all three. My husband had an XBOX that he would play call of duty on. When HULU PLUS for xbox launched, we signed up for 7.99/month, mostly because my husband can't say no to any type of technology. We also signed up for Netflix for 12.99/month, which also had an XBOX app so we could watch streaming videos on our TV.
With HULU PLUS, you can pick from hundreds of TV shows, both current and older (Buffy the vampire slayer, all 7 seasons!!!!!), you can stream them directly through your TV using your xbox. It's easy to use and navigate and you can mark your favorite shows to create a queue for you to watch. If you have an iphone, you'll life is about to get even better! The iphone has a huluplus app that you can watch TV shows on for no additional costs. My favorite place to use this (besides work- just kidding boss!), is at the gym, stick some earphones in and lean the iphone against the treadmill and I have a bad ass personal TV. HULU PLUS has some movies, but unless you have some really eclectic taste's, you won't be interested in their movies. It's the TV shows that they really excel at.

Netflix is similar to HULU PLUS, but they deal with movies, and past seasons of TV Shows. I actually don't recommend them anymore because they raised their pricing significantly (when I cancelled, they were charging me 24.99 for the same service which also includes actual DVD's of any movie mailed to your home in addition to their streaming service).

What I do suggest is Amazon Prime, which costs 79.00 per year (though you have to pay in a lump sum, it's only 6.58 a month!) and has just launched their own XBOX Live app, they have a streaming movie service just like Netflix, but without the DVD's mailed to your house. You can always find something you want to watch, and they rotate the movie's frequently. If we're desperate to see something that isn't on there (it's only happened once- I was dying to see The Vow, and had missed it in theatres.) We head to the Redbox down the street and rent it for 1.29/night. The best part of Amazon Prime is that the streaming movies is just a bonus, you also get free shipping from Amazon (most often free one or two day shipping!) which is another way you can save a ton!

We paid for our cable, HULU PLUS, and Netflix for about a few months before we realized that we hadn't turned on cable even once in those months. Then I realized since we both had iphones with more minutes than we could ever actually use, we never use the phone (we didn't even know our number). I called verizon to cancel both the phone and cable. They were understandably upset that we were ditching them. They asked me to reconsider. I refused (It was a bit awkward- like trying to break up with the boyfriend that refuses to be broken up with). They told me they were just going to leave the phone on because it costs more for them to disconnect it then it does to just leave it. I said that's fine as long as it doesn't add taxes or fees to our bill. We've been cable free now for over a year and a half and LOVE IT! In fact, when we moved to the new house, we called to transfer our Internet and Verizon offered to give us the new member package deal (with cable) to get a 300.00 gift card. We said no (still kind of awkward). They told us that the cable would be completely free. We said no. They asked why. We said we don't want to pay for the box (about 5.00 a month), they said the box would be free and our monthly bill wouldn't change at all. Not even taxes and fee's. We agreed as long as we could cancel if the bill went any higher. So, we still don't use cable, but we got a 300.00 gift card out of it.
I'm pretty sure that was a one time promotion. I'm guessing they are hoping we'll get addicted to cable and want to keep it. (We still haven't turned it on once), but the idea is that even if you go without for a few months and find that you miss it, you'll be in a much better bargaining place if you've went without for a while.

Our total savings is as follows:
Before: 185.00/month, now 91.00 a month (Internet with free phone, and now free cable) + 6.50 a month for Amazon prime + 7.99 for HULU PLUS = 105.49

You save 79.51 every month, in a year, you'll have saved 954.12.

If you don't have an xbox, I would encourage you to get one if you feel you could give up cable. A refurbished 4GB Xbox on Walmart.com is 174.96, and an xbox live membership is 60.00/ year (5.00/month). Especially if you have a guy in the house that's into video games, you can keep him busy while you take bubble baths:) You would pay for both in three months of savings. Since we already had two xbox's, we took 139.00 of our savings and bought a kinect to attach to the xbox (it turns your body into a controller), I can work out using kinect and it tells me if I'm doing the moves correctly, it's great for parties (kids are fascinated, and drunk adults are amazed), but what I love it the most for is that I can Video Kinect chat with my family back home. It's AMAZING! It shows each of our living rooms and each family gathers and catches up. It's like everyone sitting in a big room together. We normally jump on to say hi, then finally get off 2 hours later:) Plus you can see things that you ordinarily wouldn't be able to, like my Mom can see my growing pregnant belly, and I can see the stroller she got us from a friend.

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Life Skills Boot Camp- Establishing a routine that will change your life

I'm revamping this post for the Thrifty Thursday link up at Living Well, Spending Less which you can find here.

A few months ago, I was asked by a close friend to help him get his life in order. Since I had known him for years, I could easily identify the things that were keeping him from being happy. ANYONE can go through this process for themselves though and make a boot camp schedule for one month to change their life. It takes 28 days to establish a routine.

The weaknesses that I identified in his program are as follows:
(Keep in mind- You need to be brutal here- I happen to adore this friend, but I'm not going to help him by telling him he has no problems. Be just as hard on yourself)

1. Lack of appreciation for money and what it can do. Failure to prioritize his financial wants.
2. Addiction to XBOX games, and online friends. He would stay up until 5 or 6 in the morning playing online with his friends and sleep all day. If he needed to take the night off to do something, his online friends would give him a hard time and pressure him to cancel to play.
3. Disorganization that creates hardship, i.e Can't cook because he hasn't done dishes, or grocery shopping.
4. Lack of motivation to go to the gym.
5. Feelings of failure, lack of accomplishments.
6.  Working so much overtime that his life consisted solely of XBOX and work, yet his poor life choices were creating an endless cycle where he still has no savings.
7. Alienation, or lack of a social circle. (except me and my husband, obviously).

*Many of these things impact each other, the solutions work in the same way. Most people fail at implementing a program because they try to implement only one change and don't understand that several things that interact need to change at once in order to be effective. (i.e- you can't cook regularly, if you haven't established a routine to do dish washing, a routine to do grocery shopping, and a routine to plan menu's.)

This is the BOOT CAMP Schedule that I designed specifically for him. Each week has goals to focus on, and each day has routines to establish.

XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX’s Schedule and Life Plan Program.

Week 1:

(Thursday April 26^th- Saturday April 28^th 2012)

Preparation Week

Most Important Rule: When your chores are done. Stop. Don’t do anything extra. You need your rest and fun.

This week’s Goals:

Eliminate Work zones: You cannot possibly have a workable routine without a consistent sleep schedule. The stress that this puts on your body can take 10 years off your life. By Working HOV 3 days a week, you will yield much better results for your sleep habits. In addition, it will provide 36 hours of consistent overtime in dependable checks.  (This is the equivalent to 4 and a half work zones.) As a bonus, by having consistent overtime checks, you eliminate the urge to go “blow” money because you have such a huge windfall on a particular week.

Establish a Wal-Mart: Often our routines and programs get interrupted when we have last minutes tasks that need to be completed. Often these are things that we lacked the forethought to plan for ahead of time. For instance, you plan to go to the gym on a Wednesday morning, but you’re out of dog food- You obviously can’t ignore that so you go to Wal-Mart instead. Establish an area in your home (preferably a closet, but even a corner will do where you stack all essentials (Things that you will always need.) A basic Wal-Mart will include: Paper towels, toilet paper, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, dog food, body wash, shampoo and conditioner, razors, shaving gel, bottled water, laundry detergent, dish washing liquid. If there is something that you notice you use consistently, add it to your Wal-Mart list. You want to have 6 months of products stored in your Wal-Mart. This will cost about 200 for your initial stock up. Spend this money, even if you have to put it on a credit card. You will save time, giving yourself the jump start to begin your routines, and money from buying things at Wal-Mart for the lower prices rather than a grocery store, you also save money by not going to Wal-Mart 10 times in the next 6 months and picking up “extras” while you’re there.

Establish a Schedule Book: While you’re at Wal-Mart (or go to staples while you’re on duty), purchase a large DAILY schedule planner. Choose one with a significant amount of room to record daily events. When we establish your schedule, write down much more than just appointments and work schedule, write down what dinner is, what your chores are, Reminders for upcoming events (For instance if you have a birthday party on Saturday, leave a note in your schedule book a week ahead to order something from amazon to avoid the 2 hours it would take to go out and find a present.), you’re weight on a weekly basis, and gym time.  Take this book with you everywhere. Work, home, gym etc. If I were you, I would find a Jansport book bag (let me know if you need one- we have extras), that you can sling over your shoulder and take with you places, it can be your gym bag, work bag, home bag etc. You can leave your schedule and wallet in there.

Ignore Perfection: Trying to do things “right” and “perfect” is your biggest hindrance at this stage. Do the task on the list any way that it gets done. Don’t spend an hour on it. Just do it quickly and move on. Your life will shape up slowly and gradually over time (you’ll notice a ridiculous difference in about two weeks and you won’t even recognize yourself in 6 months). A perfect example of this is the gym. We say, I can’t go to the gym today, I have to be to work in an hour and a half, I won’t have time to get anything done there. But, if we went outside and walked for 30 minutes, everyday instead of trying to get to the gym to “do it right”, we’d be skinny right nowJ Don’t bother doing it right, just do it.

Establish the basis of home routines: There are only two things that make your home and life run smoothly. They are the basis of everything that you do, and when these routines are established they will positively affect your health, your weight, your social life and your attitude. Laundry and Dishes. If you can keep on top of those, your life will improve dramatically almost instantly. By “resetting” both the dishwasher and the washing machine once a day, you will be caught up in a few days and you will never be behind again. Don’t do more than one load a day. EVER. Do your one load, and then move on.  With laundry, establish different baskets (piles on the floor would even work in the beginning), one for whites, one for darks, and one for towels; rotate through the piles each day. When we don’t have the clothes we need clean (gym clothes, uniform socks, awesome “going out” clothes that fit.), we tend to just not do that activity so we can “catch up”. When we don’t have the dishes clean that we need to cook, we tend to order in or eat out because while we might have the energy to cook for 15 minutes, we don’t have the energy or the patience to put away the dishes, load the dishwasher, wait an hour, and unload the dishwasher and then cook. By establishing a routine in these two areas, you immediately have a load off your back (literally!), if your apartment isn’t dusted and clean it honestly doesn’t matter as long as you have the things you need to live your life.

The Gym: Find time for basic exercise. A little gym is better than no gym. For the first three weeks, go to the gym room at your apartment complex. This is easy and convenient. All you really need is a treadmill and some basic weights.

Thursday April 26^th:

·         (Work zone night before) Get off of work at 0530, home by 0600. In bed right away. This is the last overnight you sign up for, if you have pending overtime (hotlanes or workzones, attempt to find someone that will want to take it. After you get back from the academy, we’ll begin working HOV). Wake up at 2pm.

·         Shower and get dressed, put on sneakers.

·         Have breakfast- whatever you can find in the house- ravioli, lean cuisine, whatever.

·         Switch the laundry (put away whatever is in the dryer, put the stuff in the machine in the dryer, start a new load of whatever you have the most of. ), if you don’t already have established piles, start them now. 

·         Empty out the dishwasher, put in a new load and start the dishes.

·         Head to Wal-Mart with the above check list, pick up those items (don’t forget your schedule!).

·         Stop by and grab lunch somewhere (assuming you don’t have stuff at home). Try for chickfila- Don’t stuff yourself.

·         When you get home, establish your Wal-Mart corner; pile everything neatly in a corner. (We’ll organize this later; right now you just need to have it at home.

·         Head straight out to the community center Gym, Run for 30 minutes (if you need to walk fine- just do the best you can for that 30 minutes). Then do 3 sets of curls with dumbbells, sit ups and pushups.

·         Eat dinner. (either at home or out- don’t overdo it.)

·         Your done- don’t do another task or chore around the house. Battlefield, bubble bath, read, whatever floats your boat. Come visit us if you’re bored. It should be about 8 or 9 pm now. You have nothing to do and you should be really really proud of yourself.

·         At around 3pm, head to bed to read. You don’t have to sleep if you’re not tired, but stay in bed until you do sleep. Set your alarm for 11 am, regardless of what time you fall asleep.

Friday April 27^th 2012:

11am: Wake up. Today is going to suck because you’re exhausted. I get that, but power through today and you’ll never feel like this again. Shower and get dressed, Put on sneakers.

·         Breakfast- find something in the house, anything. Can of beans? Can of peaches. Whatever. Get some sort of food into your system.

·         Switch your laundry and put away what was in the dryer.

·         Empty and reload the dishwasher (even if there’s only 6 dishes, it’s better to wash those 6 dishes and have a clean sink, the less dishes your putting through the better.)

·         Head straight out to the community gym. Run for 30 min. 3 sets dumbbell curls, sit-ups and pushups.

·         If you have food at home- head home for lunch, if not head to the grocery store, sit at the deli and eat a sub and macaroni salad or whatever, then pick up a box of cereal, milk, and about 7 TV dinner’s. These are for this weekend. If you’re still hungry after one, eat two.

·         Sit down and take your schedule book out, copy your schedule down as well as the chores listed in here (keep it simple. Laundry, dishes. Dress. Breakfast, etc.) As you copy down appointments or events in the future, think about if it requires forethought, vacations require packing and tickets, fueling up truck etc. Whatever the event requires list a reminder on an appropriate date to do that as well. Cross stuff off as you do them and when you did everything in a day, mark it in a special way, smiley face or whatever.

·         Do something you love, hang out with the XXXXXXX’s, watch a movie, go make a “wish list” of the things you want to buy most, play battlefield etc. You’re done for the day.

·         Head to bed to read at 1am, don’t force yourself to sleep if you’re not tired, just read until you fall asleep. Set your alarm for 9am and wake up regardless of how you feel.

Saturday April 28^th 2012:

·         Shower and dress, put on sneakers.

·         Have breakfast

·         Switch the laundry.

·         Reset the dishwasher.

·          Head out to the community center gym. Run 30 minutes, 3 sets of curls with dumbbell, sit ups and push-ups.

·         Set your phone timer for 30 minutes. Grab a trash bag or a box, Label it “Too small”, Go through your closet and pull down everything that you wouldn’t want to wear out right now and stuff it in the bag. When the timer goes off, put that bag in a corner of your closet or in a spare bedroom. Is there anything obviously missing from your closet? Enough underwear that fits? Do you only have 2 pairs of gyms shorts etc.? Write that in a note in your schedule book for next Saturday.

·         Have some lunch and spend about 20 minutes chilling out.

·         Set your timer for 15 minutes. Clean your bedroom. When the timers done. Stop.

·         Relax for the rest of the day. When you have dinner, bag up the trash (Even if it’s not full and bring it out to the dumpster- Your establishing Saturday and Tuesday as your Garbage Days.).

·         Bedtime tonight at 12 am, Read in bed if you’re not tired. Set your alarm clock for 8am.

Sunday April 29^th 2012:

·         Wake up at 8am. Shower, Dress and put on sneakers.

·         Have breakfast.

·         Switch the laundry.

·         Reset the dishwasher.

·         Head out to the community center gym. Run for 30 minutes. 3 sets of curls with dumbbells, sit-ups, pushups.

·         Set your Academy clothes out for tomorrow. Include a bottle of water, your wallet, anything that you need to bring with you to the Academy. Also pack socks, sneakers, gym shorts, underwear, and a tee shirt.

·         Have some lunch.

·         Set your Timer for 15 minutes. Clean up the Kitchen.

·         Set your timer for 15 minutes. Clean up the living room.

·         Sit down and write me an email – XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX@gmail.com listing 3 activities that are done in classes that you would like to do or learn. (I.e. Ballroom dancing, cooking, baking, triathlon, marathon, painting, first time home buyers, welding etc.) Don’t worry about the cost. I’m on top of that.

·         Relax and do what you want to do – If you want to come Bowling with us, let me know. The rest of the day is yours!

·         At around 11pm, head to bed, read until you fall asleep. Set your alarm clock for 5am.

Week 2:

(Monday April 30th- Sunday May 6^th 2012)

Routine Week

Week 2 Goals-

Think about Budgeting: This is a several step process. You won’t do this all at the same time! Create a budget book that simply lists your bills, amounts and due dates. Take a look at the finished budget and think outside the box to reduce that amount. Even if you don’t feel it’s something you would do. For instance, replace cable with HULU and Netflix, reduce your cell phone plan, refinancing your truck, getting a debt consolidation loan (Don’t do this without talking to me- this is a last resort), cancelling services that you don’t need, selling your truck and buying a fuel efficient four door sedan. Create an action plan that lists which companies you need to call and what to find out (include phone numbers and your account numbers. Establish a minimum savings account and determine where you will keep that money. If you still find yourself using your debit card to make unnecessary purchases, then switch to cash only.

Establish a Meal Plan: Whether it be the freezer meal plan that I use, or a food plan based on convenience. Develop a weeks’ worth of menu’s and a shopping list to go with those. If you find yourself overwhelmed at this point, stick with TV dinners, eat two for each meal. I’ll include a copy of my freezer meal program in this as well to see if that’s something you would like. That program would provide excellent health and is extremely cost effective. Now that you have your dishes squared away, it’s nothing to whip up a quick meal.

Library: This week, we’re focusing on our budget and we’re looking at alternate sources for what we would normally spend money on. The library is the best example of this. This week, we’ll go to the Prince William Library and get a (free) library card, you can pick out a book while you’re there if you want, but honestly it’s not worth the effort. When you get home, log on to www.pwcgov.org/government/dept/library/pages, and open amazon in another tab. Search through amazon and make a wish list of books you want to read (the library has EVERYTHING!), go ahead and click on star trek, star wars, whatever floats your boat. Then switch back to the library and reserve each book. The library will gather those books up for you, send you an email that they’re ready to be picked up, and give you two weeks to get them before they give up on you. Take out 3 at a time, if you haven’t finished reading them, just renew online. When you go to drop your old ones off, pick up your new ones. You may want to keep a shopping bag on the back of your bedroom door to hold library books so you can just grab it and go.

Multivitamin: This week, we’re establishing a bedtime routine of taking a multivitamin. You’re about to be a bad ass, XXXX XXXXXXXX, and bad asses take their vitaminsJ Pick up a daily multivitamin (or gummies if you don’t like the pills- XXX takes the adult gummies, they are just as good as the pill, just tastier) while you’re at work and leave it at your bedside table. When you lay down at night to read, pop a vitamin.

Thrift Store: This week, we’re concentrating on areas that will reduce our living expenses and increase our quality of life. When we went through and culled our closet last week, we may have noticed some areas where we’re lacking. Jeans, Tee shirts, polo shirts for the academy, gym shorts whatever. We’re taking 20.00 and our list of needs to the Unique Thrift Store at 2950 Gallows Road Falls Church, Virginia 22042. You’ll be impressed, I promise. Everything is organized by size, so let’s say you’re a 2XL- rather than going to a Big and Tall Men’s store and seeing the 10 button down shirts they have to offer, you go to Unique’s 2XL selection and you get a wide range of clothing from many different retailers all for about 3-4 dollars. I caution though: Don’t go overboard, just buy what’s on the list, You’re about to start dropping sizes quickly.

Monday, April 30^th 2012:

·         Wake up at 6am, shower and get dressed. Have a bowl of cereal.

·         Leave for the academy at 0630.

·         Class at 8.

·         Eat lunch at the academy- It’s free and nutritiously balanced. I promise you it’s better for you then whatever you were planning to go out to eat.

·         Class ends at 5.

·         Stay for dinner!

·          Go to the academy gym, switch into your gym clothes (as a bonus- this will be much more fun to drive back in!)

·         Run for 40 minutes. Sit ups, push-ups, curls. (This actually saves you a lot of time- You won’t want to go to gym after sitting in car for an hour and a half and you shorten your ride by waiting until after traffic clears out to leave.), By staying an extra hour, you arrive home only a half hour after you would have if you had left right away. (I did this all the time when I taught firearms.)

·         Drive back.

·         Switch laundry

·         Reset dishwasher

·         Relax

·         Head to bed at 10pm, read until you fall asleep. Set your alarm for 6am.

Tuesday May 1^st 2012:

·         Wake up at 6am, shower and get dressed. Have a bowl of cereal.

·         Leave for the academy at 0630, Take the Trash out with you as you go.

·         Class at 8.

·         Eat lunch at the academy- It’s free and nutritiously balanced. I promise you it’s better for you then whatever you were planning to go out to eat.

·         Class ends at 5.

·         Stay for dinner!

·          Go to the gym, switch into your gym clothes (as a bonus- this will be much more fun to drive back in!)

·         Run for 40 minutes. Sit ups, push-ups, curls. (This actually saves you a lot of time- You won’t want to go to gym after sitting in car for an hour and a half and you shorten your ride by waiting until after traffic clears out to leave.), By staying an extra hour, you arrive home only a half hour after you would have if you had left right away. (I did this all the time when I taught firearms.)

·         Drive back.

·         Switch laundry

·         Reset dishwasher

·         Relax

·         Head to bed at 10pm, read until you fall asleep. Set your alarm for 6am.

Wednesday May 2^nd 2012:

·         Wake up at 6am, shower and get dressed. Have a bowl of cereal.

·         Leave for the academy at 0630.

·         Class at 8.

·         Eat lunch at the academy- It’s free and nutritiously balanced. I promise you it’s better for you then whatever you were planning to go out to eat.

·         Class ends at 5.

·         Stay for dinner!

·          Go to the gym, switch into your gym clothes (as a bonus- this will be much more fun to drive back in!)

·         Run for 40 minutes. Sit ups, push-ups, curls. (This actually saves you a lot of time- You won’t want to go to gym after sitting in car for an hour and a half and you shorten your ride by waiting until after traffic clears out to leave.), By staying an extra hour, you arrive home only a half hour after you would have if you had left right away. (I did this all the time when I taught firearms.)

·         Drive back.

·         Switch laundry

·         Reset dishwasher

·         Relax

·         Head to bed at 10pm, read until you fall asleep. Set your alarm for 6am.

Thursday May 3^rd 2012:

·         Wake up at 6am, shower and get dressed. Have a bowl of cereal.

·         Leave for the academy at 0630.

·         Class at 8.

·         Eat lunch at the academy- It’s free and nutritiously balanced. I promise you it’s better for you then whatever you were planning to go out to eat.

·         Class ends at 5.

·         Stay for dinner!

·          Go to the gym, switch into your gym clothes (as a bonus- this will be much more fun to drive back in!)

·         Run for 40 minutes. Sit ups, push-ups, curls. (This actually saves you a lot of time- You won’t want to go to gym after sitting in car for an hour and a half and you shorten your ride by waiting until after traffic clears out to leave.), By staying an extra hour, you arrive home only a half hour after you would have if you had left right away. (I did this all the time when I taught firearms.)

·         Drive back.

·         Switch laundry

·         Reset dishwasher

·         Relax

·         Head to bed at 10pm, read until you fall asleep. Set your alarm for 6am.

Friday May 4^th 2012:

·         Wake up at 6am, shower and get dressed. Have a bowl of cereal.

·         Leave for the academy at 0630.

·         Class at 8.

·         Eat lunch at the academy- It’s free and nutritiously balanced. I promise you it’s better for you then whatever you were planning to go out and eat.

·         Class ends at 5.

·         Stay for dinner!

·          Go to the gym, switch into your gym clothes (as a bonus- this will be much more fun to drive back in!)

·         Run for 40 minutes. Sit ups, push-ups, curls. (This actually saves you a lot of time- You won’t want to go to gym after sitting in car for an hour and a half and you shorten your ride by waiting until after traffic clears out to leave.), By staying an extra hour, you arrive home only a half hour after you would have if you had left right away. (I did this all the time when I taught firearms.)

·         Drive back.

·         Switch laundry

·         Reset dishwasher

·         Relax

·         Head to bed at 12pm, read until you fall asleep. Set your alarm for 8am.

Saturday May 5^th 2012:

·         Wake up and get dressed.

·         Have breakfast.

·         Switch Laundry.

·         Reset Dishwasher.

·         Head to Gym – 40 minutes running, 3 sets of dumbbells, pushups, and sit ups.

·         Decide what you want to do for a meal plan, since you’ve got a lot on your plate right now, I would suggest sticking with the TV dinner’s for this week, since next week you start Day Shift and that’s a lot more conducive to cooking. TV Dinners aren’t the healthiest thing in the world, but you have to think about the way you have been eating and realizing that it’s a big step up. Make a simple grocery list and include milk and cereal for breakfast. Add a multivitamin to your grocery list if you haven’t picked it up at work already.

·         Eat Lunch at Home.

·         Head to the Library and sign up for a library card. If you want to browse for a book, go ahead, but if you don’t have time- skip it. We’ll reserve specific books online. Let them do the work for us!

·         Head to the grocery store and pick up your grocery list. Make a rule: I’m only allowed to buy 3 things that aren’t on my list. Use those 3 things wisely. (I suggest butterfingers, just saying- you deserve it at this point.)

·         Put your groceries away, set the timer for 15 minutes and toss out anything in the fridge that’s old.

·         Take the trash out.

·         Relax for the rest of the night, Battlefield here you come!

·         Head to bed at 11 pm, and read until you fall asleep. Take your vitamin. Set your alarm clock for 8am.

Sunday May 6^th 2012:

·         8am : Wake up, shower, get dressed and put on sneakers.

·         Breakfast.

·         Switch laundry.

·         Reset dishwasher.

·         Head to the gym – 40 minutes running, sit ups, push-ups, 3 sets of dumbbell curls.

·         Sit down with a pencil, a notebook (or sheet of paper if that’s all you have), and a computer. Write down every bill that you have. List the name, the amount owed (both monthly and in total if it’s a debt – In cases of variable bills like electricity, list a common amount), a contact number for the company, and your account number. If it’s a credit card, write down your APR. If you have overdue bills, without enough money to pay them make a separate sheet of those bills and label EMERGENCY on the top. Call everyone on your emergency list and advise them that you have gotten behind and you will be clearing up your account within 30 days (as long as the amount isn’t astronomical- like 800.00 dollars). They won’t give you a hard time. Most people who are late on payments avoid the company like the plague; they will appreciate your honesty.

·         Have lunch.

·         Head into your closet and make a short list of clothing that you need. (Keeping in mind you’ll drop sizes in about a month), I’m guessing by now you really wish you had a few more pairs of gym shorts. Write that list in the schedule under Thursday the 10^th of May, because that’s the day that you’ll head to unique Thrift Store.

·         You’re already showered and dressed, so relax until 12:45pm, then throw your uniform on and head into work.

·         Come home by 10:45.

·         Relax until midnight, then head to bed and read until you fall asleep.

Week 3 Goals:

Establish an HOV schedule

Establishing a consistent sleep schedule

Advanced scheduling – Doctors’ appointments, Dentists, Katanah’s shots, Grocery trips, Wal-Mart stock ups

Budget refinement – Identifying weak points

Continuing Education/Social Life

HULU/NETFLIX Organizing

Week 4 Goals:

Budget Refinement: Looking ahead (Vacations, Large Purchases etc.)