Picnics are saving my family a bundle!
As I mentioned in my earlier post, my family is getting serious about getting out of debt.
So serious, that we’ve decided to something drastic.
We’ve made a pledge to not eat out again until the end of the year. Based on our estimates, this will save us enough money to reach our debt free goal by the end of this year—four months ahead of where we otherwise would have made it.
Also, midway through the month, I’m seeing that for the first time, we’re under our food budget goal in Mint.com.
Eating out is our budget black hole. It always has been. Failure to plan ahead for the day’s adventures, being too spontaneous, or too lazy, or over-committed without time to cook has derailed our best efforts so many times.
How we’re doing it.
We’ve enlisted the kids’ help. They ask what snacks we’ve packed before we head on a road trip. They help shop for convenient “lunchbox foods” at the store. We keep a basket of fresh fruit and water bottles in the fridge. They know to grab snacks for their bags before they head out the door in the morning.
My husband has been diligently packing lunch—today was fresh fruit, and some leftover pasta salad from last night’s dinner (a recipe made to pack well and require minimal refrigeration). I’m planning meals with leftovers in mind and always keeping a frozen pizza and another meal in the freezer in case of heavy workloads or late meetings.
We’ve also stopped “brown bagging” in favor of “pink bucketing.”
This is an idea that came from my daughter’s girl scouts camp. The kids all pack their jackets, spare shoes, sunscreen and lunches in a five-gallon bucket, which they carry around all day at camp and sit on as their chair when they listen to guest speakers or camp leaders.
We purchased a pink five-gallon bucket with a lid at Kroger for about $5 including a lid. It’s perfect for soccer trips, park picnics, and the random car road trip. We just toss our frozen water bottles in there with our lunch. Sometimes we even throw a soccer ball in there too.
We eat our lunch in the park or the car, and then the kids go to play, and I sit on the pink bucket with a good book, or a video camera.
The “pink bucket” has been a budget lifesaver this year, and our picnics have been so much fun that the kids haven’t been missing the meals out. I do think it might be getting to them though. Last night they were sitting on the sofa playing pretend and pretending to be driving the sofa to Burger King for some French fries. We’ll go on New Year’s Day if we’re debt free.
Quick picnic ideas:
-egg salad sandwiches
-curried chicken sandwiches
-peanut butter (with jelly, honey, bananas, pickles, lettuce, or any number of other things)
-pasta salads
-antipasti
-quinoa salad
-tuna
-sliced roasted veggie sandwiches
-hummus and bread, veggies, etc.
-cold cut sandwiches
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Picnics are great ways to enjoy an outdoor meal save a little money and have a nice intimate time. Always enjoy them in the summer, or a bbq for that matter.
What a lovely idea! I like your pink bucket idea a lot.
Thanks Craig and Dawn for the comments. I tell ya, the bucket has been a lifesaver! I have a toddler and a tween at home, and finding something that works universally well for both is NOT easy. My toddler will decide to sit on a backpack and smash our PB&Js, my tween forgets to zip it and looses everything, Someone drops a paper bag in a puddle or rips it figeting… the bucket works great for durability, water-proofness, (a word?) and the ability for kids to carry it.
Excellent idea for all ages! And as someone who supports Thinking-Pink to support Breast Cancer research — I love that you chose Pink!
Thanks Kimberly! The bucket was a Susan Komen fundraiser at the Fred Meyer.
I love picinics! The best thing is that in DC where I live, there are a ton of opportunities for picnicking (sp?) while watching a movie outside. Fun, free movie and cheap dinner = a great date!
Great idea! I’ve heard of movies on the lawn and things like that but we haven’t attended one yet (they usually start after dark which is after my kids go to bed). We have been attending our local theatre group’s “Shakespeare In the Park” which is held every summer and has real Shakespeare performances for free in family-friendly settings–parks, etc. We went to one last Friday and have another this friday. The kid LOVE these adventures, and usually grandparents and friends join up and we potluck our picnics. (This week I’ve got drinks and desserts for our group! Already plotting what will fit in the bucket).