This week I am getting back on track and track where everything is going. I like to know where my money is going. Before I left for Seattle I paid the bills that went out for the second half of the month. So that is taken care of. I gave myself $200 for the week for groceries/gas/misc. We will see how it goes.
One problem area is the kids lunch account. My youngest two boys take their lunch some days but my daughter doesn't like to do that in Middle School. The problem is that the lunch prices were raised this year and the portions went down so the school lunch is not enough for her. I think it would be if she were to eat all her veggies and fruit that they are required to take now. She is also in cheerleading after school and wants snacks before practice. I have bought snacks for her to take with her but of course she forgets them at home. So she picks something up at the snack bar which is ridiculously high. She is spending anywhere from $4 - $5 a day when she has cheerleading practice. I know that this is not that much but it adds up quickly. I can pack quite a lunch and snacks for that price. We are going to have to make a change because she is killing me with these prices. ( A little update, all 3 kids share the same lunch account so setting a daily limit doesn't seem to be working because there is always money in the account. Our school doesn't accept cash for lunches the money has to be in their account.). Any suggestions ?
Today I need to go grocery shopping to get the supplies for the week. I will post my menu for the week in a separate post. There is not too much to shop for this week.
This week's To Do List:
- Organize Dining Room ( has become the collecting place for everything)
- Parent Teacher Conferences for the Kids
- Grocery Shopping
- Send payment for Son's Baseball team.
- Go over list for Halloween supplies. (Costumes are bought but need to check for accessories)
I'm not sure how old your daughter is, but she really needs a lesson in budgetting! If she forgets, sucks to be her. Give her a set amount per week or month, and when that's gone, that's gone. If she doesn't like the lunch you can pack, then have her come up with other stuff to pack instead of buying lunch at school. This is in no way traumatic or extremely difficult for a child, but it can be a valuable lesson learned early. I think giving her a limit and sticking to it is the way to go. The first month or two will suck as she will defiantly exceed her limits, but if you don't budge, she will have to learn to deal with it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with setting the limit but all 3 kids share the same lunch account so if she goes over her limit there is still money in there for the boys. Once the account goes negative then she can't get anything but a basic lunch and I get nasty emails from the school.
DeleteQuick get that kid in control of her spending before she turns into me! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree she needs to pay attention to what she is spending but I am not sure how to go about it. Setting a daily limit doesn't work because she shares the account with her brothers so there is always money in there.
DeleteI would set a daily or weekly limit between you and her. Just because there is still money in the account doesn't mean she gets to spend it. I would say if she spends it then she must pay it back in some way. Perhaps by doing extra chores that week? We use to have a list of chores the kids could do to earn money. They don't get an allowance. Maybe you could create a list like that and then have her do chores off it to pay back the money she spent?.
DeleteI am really glad our accounts for the kids are not all connected. I pay each kids accounts once a month. For those who will not take a cold lunch, if they spend their money before the month is up they have to pay for their own lunches.
Oh does she have a cheer bag that she takes that you can make sure she puts her snacks in each week? Could you give her things for the whole week on Monday?