Financial Budget vs meal planning

[TeamCaffee]

So this past week I came up with a new plan...

I decided that what I need to do is get a plan for the day and for the week on what I will eat and the calories... This was not going to be a hard and fast plan and life changes quickly and so do plans.

My goal was to have a plan or meal budget and go to the grocery store and get what I needed. I always use a list at the grocery store and I know what meals I am wanting to fix in the truck. It really is not that random.

So I sit down with my spreadsheet and I go brain dead... Now in 36 years I always create a financial budget for each month and keep track of all future bills in my note book so I know when something is due and how much the bill will be with absolutely NO PROBLEMS. I tried to show one of daughters this concept and the budget overwhelmed her and I could not figure out her problem... Now I know with this food budget why she was overwhelmed.

I listed my days, I listed lunch dinner and a snack and then I wrote down one boiled egg and a grapefruit for breakfast and that is where it basically ended. I had in mind a plan for where we are driving and when we are sitting but I cannot get the idea down on my spreadsheet. So I am back to eating then counting the calories in what I eat.

Has anyone else tried to master a food budget? It sounded like such a good idea to begin with.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Because of our flex hours of work I don't know if a hard target number is even possible...say if you tie into a cross country and back, your focus is on the log book, you'll not want to cook a lot on the move....A Best guess estimate would be my choice......

 

[Greg]

Something like this?

 

[JoeS]

Download the Lose It app. I think it'll do just about everything you're looking for.

 

[NightDriver]

A food budget is a great idea, in terms of nutrition as well as expense. Due to the unpredictability of our business, though, you're better off budgeting flexible cost / calories rather than standard menu items. In other words, plan for eggs, ham, and toast three times this week - your eventual loads may not allow you three leisurely breakfasts after a delivery, but you have the ability to fix egg salad sandwiches with ham or poached eggs and ham on toast or chopped ham with eggs on toast sandwiches - all for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. How about a ham and cheese omelette with toast, or an omelette sandwich for dinner?

My point is, budget the ingredients and calories, but be flexible with how and when they're served.

 

[cheri1122]

Linder, it might be easier if you wait until cold weather to try it, because summer is when there's so much fresh stuff available [farmer's market, roadside], and you want to grab it when it's in season and the opportunity pops up. [This week, it's cherries - I swear, they're like crack, lol]
That said, it does make it easier, because I did it when I was in nursing school, and wanted everything else to be as simple as possible. I wrote 4 weekly menus, and the grocery list to go along with each, so I could just hand the list over & someone else could do the food shopping.
Yeah, like that ever happened, lol. [But it did make for a quicker shopping trip.]

 

[Jenny]

I have a food budget, meal planning system. The first thing I did is stocked the freezer with basic items. Steak and chicks , and vegetables that were easily vacuum sealed for storage, as well as fruits. I stocked the pantries with basic items, rice, nuts, canned goods for emergencies or giving to someone else in need.


I do not count calories. Instead I have a list of certain foods that fall in certain calories, and how many servings of each catagorie per day I should consume. That keeps me in a calorie range of 1199-1399 per day, if I follow it. Nicks is a bit more since he is a make, and larger than I needing more calories than I do. I then plan meals based off from the food list keeping in mind serving and portion sizes.

For example for breakfast I keep egg beaters around because they can be mirmcrowaved. From their they can be made into omelets with fresh veggies, scrambled to be served with a meat, in a breakfast taco, or eaten on their own covered in hot sauce I keep cottage cheese and low fat ricotta around to be eaten as a side or combined with fruit for snacks. The same with yogurt to make parfaits, eat on its own or turn it into a smoothie additive. I try to find foods that are versatile.

I put a certain amount towards groceries every week, using something similar to one of Dave Ramsey's methods. I put x amount into an envelope for groceries. If I don't use it all, I carry it over for the next week, and so forth. That way if we want to splurge on something nice, say a higher end steak, it is there. Since we only eat in restaurants once a month or if meeting with a group of drivers, we save a ton of money. Our savings from one year of eating out while we were in our sprinter to one year of eating in the truck since being in a straight truck, is nearly $6000. That more than pays for us to take a vacation.

Sent from my XT1080 using Xparent Pink Tapatalk 2

 

[TeamCaffee]

Reading through all of your ideas is great. Stocking the truck correctly is not a problem. Due to the nature of our loads we only eat in truck while running. It is when we are stopped that we have the problem as we are ready to be out of the truck and we usually find someone we know or we meet someone new we want to get to know.

Last year are so I took Jenny's idea of cooking on the weekend so we have meals for the week that we can warm up.

Night Driver I like you idea a lot of having a list of items and then adding them back into my budgeted column.... That makes the most sense and will allow me the flexibility I need.

 

[WanderngFool]

Give in to the force, don't fight it.

You drive, therefore you're going to have your last meal of the day at the worst possible time - at the very end of the day. It's the way the feds set it up. It's as if they want us to die an early death.

I used to try and bring as much food with me as possible but lately I haven't even done that. When I'm home I'd rather relax than prepare meals in advance. I've discovered that it's possible to get a decent meal at Petro/TA if I avoid the buffet. I had a stir-fry at a TA not long ago that was very good. It cost a little more than I'd like to pay but ya gots to do what ya gots to do.

That's my new and improved plan. An egg mcmuffin (or equivalent) for breakfast, throw a dart at a dartboard for lunch, a meal at a supposedly real restaurant for dinner.

The deck is stacked against us but making an effort does help, a little - not expecting miracles is a fine way to approach it imho.

If I sound negative it's because I feel negative. This has got to be the worst job in the world for trying to stay in shape. I try to be content with getting fat at a slightly slower rate than the average driver.

 

[TeamCaffee]

This is how I feel on most days... Plan starts out great then go to heck as the day progresses.

 

[ATeam]

This is how I feel on most days... Plan starts out great then go to heck as the day progresses.

Try focusing not on the plan but on the little wins you generate each day. Don't write a detailed plan of "shoulds" in advance. They just give you something to feel guilty about when they are not done. Instead, track the accomplishments as you go through the day.

A medium order of fries instead of large? That's a win. A snack of fruit instead of candy? That's a win too. Walking a lap around the truck stop instead of going straight inside? Another win for you.

If that's all you tracked and reviewed at the end of your day, you'd feel better than if you tally your failures. Counting your wins of today increase the liklihood of more wins tomorrow.

Victory reinforces itself. Acknowledge the ones you have to create the drive for more.