The $1,000 Plan: Day Five

Here it is Day Five of The $1,000 Plan and it has certainly been an interesting working week! I have to say my hands have started to feel sore today, as a result of doing a lot more cleaning and washing up, as part of taking on doing all the bulk cooking and multiple meal preparations, these past five days. I have started to rub oil into them, trying to make the skin not so sore and irritated.

We have had five days so far of doing breakfast in an alternative way, with no dairy and cereal products included in the mix of what is on offer each morning. The children have told me that they really do like having the muffins each day now, and depending on their individual preferences, they have been at times keen to join me for a cup of herbal tea also.

Lunchtime has become a lovely mid-day break time, as we sit down to actually eat together in a more formal dining on dinner manner at the dining table. Having the main meal of the day at noon (or close to it) has been working well for us all.  I have personally found it feels so much less stressful than trying to rush through dinner preparations in the evening alongside collecting Hubby from the train station.

We have eaten a range of main meals this past week, and everyone has enjoyed the variety. I will spend some time over the coming weekend digging further through the contents in the chest freezer, in order to determine what direction next week's meals take. Planning ahead has been so beneficial, and I want to build on the momentum that has been put in place.

Having something of a variety of fruit currently on a number of the fruit trees in the garden has been a great perk this past week. I had purchased some additional fruit last payday, so the guideline I set in place was everyone could snack anytime from the fruit in the garden, however, that which was purchased was only to be eaten at set meal times. This has to date worked well.

The meals have taken more work, yet I weigh this against the fact that I was cooking greater quantities, in order to have less work and preparation in the coming weeks. I think the hours of additional work carried out over this week will prove to pay off in the weeks to follow.

As we get closer to the next payday, I will need to take time to work out an actual shopping list to determine what is essential to get us through the next fortnight. The first two weeks of this six week plan may prove to be the template for the next two weeks after that....... I am certainly learning at the coal face what works well, day by day, to meet everyone's food needs, plus what potentially can still quietly work towards supporting our savings goal being achieved. The goal is getting day by day closer to being achieved, and what an achievement that will be!