I've nailed the problem down to three specific issues:
1. Impulse buys and trips. The Husband could make a case for going to the grocery store nearly every day. He gets a craving, and off he goes to find the ingredients for pulled pork. Plus some bread on sale. Plus some steak sounds good. Plus some mustard, because he couldn't find it the other day. Nevermind the fact I have a stockpile of condiments in our lazy Susan from all my couponing, and meat for the next three nights. Oy vey.
My problem is health food. I'm always buying fresh produce and either forgetting about it, or bypassing it in favor of something yummier/easier. I've got green beans that have been sitting in the veggie drawer for the last week because the microwave has been so much simpler.
And we're both guilty of buying "treats" for each other. Spending $25 dollars stings less if it comes home with a dark chocolate bar or Reese's Pieces.
2. Differences between my habits/preferences and The Husband's. The Husband's idea of being thrifty is buying store brand, and I'm the awful type of person who cringes at those imitation labels. (Besides -- that's what coupons are for! Evening the playing field!) This means we "accidentally" double up on a lot of foods trying to prove that one of us is smarter/thriftier than the other.
Also, our dinner ideas are sometimes polar opposite, which means we're cooking for 6 instead of 3 some nights (neither of us seems to know how to scale down a recipe properly).
3. Lack of meal planning. Which brings us to meal planning. Honestly, I think the first two issues would be solved if we worked off a master meal plan and stuck to it.
So, my goal for this weekend is to create our meal plan calendar off of some Pinterest inspiration. It's also lead me to create a new goal: Check off one Pinterest idea a week.
In the meantime, some progress I've made on the "before new baby" goals:
- Finished the Hunger Games trilogy. Technically, this would meet my 6 book quota, but I've decided to count the series as one book because it was such easy reading. Now back to the classics with "The Scarlett Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
- Created a photo book on Shutterfly.com of my favorite pics from Carter's first six months. I had only a few hours to work with because I had only just discovered a coupon for a free 20-page book that expired that night, but it's a start toward getting organized enough to do a *real* baby book.
- Helped The Husband clean out the backyard and fill holes, as well as gave him time/encouragement to paint the metal siding and awnings. Plus! I found a coupon for 30% off our paint and 15% off our supplies at Sherwin-Williams!!
- Walked everyday, although I only made it to the gym twice last week.
- Blogged three times in seven days.
