On the jar...

I am addicted to a TV show. Most of you know that I am not a big television watcher, but lately I have been watching the show "Til Debt do us Part" and, I must say, I am a little obsessed. For those of you who do not know the show, it is about people who are in a financial crisis and appeal to a debt counselor (host Gail Vaz-Oxlade) to show them the error of their ways. First, she assesses 6 months of the family's financial history and shows them where they are spending their money, how much they are in debt, and where they will be in 5 years if they continue overspending. Then, she puts the family on a strict cash-only budget where they must plan their expenses for the week based on the amount of money coming in, and then place the allotted cash in mason jars according to the following categories: food, entertainment, clothing and gifts, and transportation. Usually this involves making a major cut to the family's variable expenses - sometimes up to 70%. It is what people spend their money on that I find fascinating. You would think that in order for people to get into such trouble that they require the help of a financial analyst, they would have to have uncontrollable shopping habits, or gambling issues, or are simply wasting their money on unneeded luxury items. Some of them do, but the majority of them don't. What most people overspend on is food. This never fails to shock me. Food is what is sinking most families into financial ruin.

Now let me be clear about this - this is not food purchased from the grocery store, this is mostly take-out, fast food, and restaurants. It is not that these people are going out 3 times a week for 7 course meals at the Unheardof either; mostly their eating decisions are centred around hectic lifestyles where mom has worked all day and has only twenty minutes to get food into her children before taking them to some type of practice or lesson. One hockey mom that was on the show last week was spending an average of 400$ on food above and beyond her grocery expenses. When Gail (I feel the intimacy of a first name basis with this woman, I'm not sure why) cut off her fast-food spending, she had to learn how to balance the demands of a busy lifestyle with the nutritional needs of her family.

As a woman who has 2 sons in competitive soccer, I can really relate with this expense. There are so many days when I just want to say 'screw it, let's get take-out' - and I do. Gail says that if you do no other planning in your finances but how you spend money in regards to food, you will be so much better off. Because no matter how often you swear that you will not spend money on take-out, if you haven't a meal planned and ingredients at hand, you will spend the money. The demands of the hungry body must be met. This seems like such simple rationale, but try telling that to a mother with kids in lessons, or a professional who is working a 45 hour work week, or a widower who can't seem to find the gumption to prepare a meal for only one person. At the end of the day, it just kind of sneaks up on you - 'oh yeah, I have to eat.'

So the first 'challenge' she makes the family do, is to plan all their meals for the week and shop only one time per week. I have decided to try this. Rob and I are fairly European in our shopping habits, and really like to see how we feel that day before deciding on what we are eating, so this is a real challenge. First, I wrote out a calendar of where each person needed to be on any given day and then determined how many breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks I would need for 5 days. No more Flamingo Pizza, or Quan's, or take-out of any kind. I let the boys participate in the making of the grocery list and they can choose whatever they want. I keep a couple of frozen pizzas on-hand for emergencies. I have started making single serving chili, hamburger casseroles, and beef stews for nights where the kids need to feed themselves. Today I went to the grocery store with a list and actually stuck to it. And you know what? My bill was only 120$. If I could spend only 500$ a month on food, I would be overjoyed.

So what does the minister of finance (my pet-name for Rob) think of all of this? He seems to be treating me with a sort of bemused patience. I know he is happy the I am taking an interest in the household expenses because, let's be frank, I never even considered them before. Rob once hid all of the plans for a secret trip to Maui under "banking info" feeling certain that I would never look there. He was right, I didn't. I still don't know what bank carries our mortgage and it was news to me that power and water came on the same bill, but dammit I'm going to try. When I said that I wanted a new diamond ring for our anniversary, Rob asked which jar that was going to come from. Now he makes all kind of 'jar' jokes: 'We'll have to get bigger jars,' 'I'm going to hit the transportation jar pretty hard this month' (he bought a new car), 'which jar does the spa treatments come out of?' and so on. Yeah, he's having fun with this - but that's okay. I nixed his Tim Hortons allowance but I am pretty sure that he just transfered that expense to his business and is going there on the sly...

And although I am not living on cash from mason jars, I am doing so metaphorically. So far, it hasn't been too bad. Tonight is Taco night and the boys are going to help cook. By September, when my schedule gets really crazy, I might actually have my shit together...