Ahh Mondays, the most disliked day of the week. After two much needed days off Americans dread getting the week started. But are the Monday blues wrecking your life, especially your budget? “The ‘Monday Blues’ describe a set of negative emotions that many people get at the beginning of the work week,” says Alexander Kjerulf, an international author and speaker on happiness at work. But can a bad start to your week really wreck your budget? You bet! Having a good start to your week is crucial especially when it comes to your budget. The most important reason is a lack of planning.
In a 2016 report, 50.4% of Americans are unhappy at work. With this statistic means people aren’t excited to head back to work on Mondays. And if you aren’t happy to go back maybe your dragging on what you need to do. Have you ever prepared for a vacation? You are so excited that you begin packing and prepare for it weeks in advance. You research the best restaurant and attractions. While going back to work might not be as exciting as a vacation you need to use the same strategies.
When Monday rolls around many of us are unprepared. Unfortunately, our budget is one of many things that takes a hit. Especially in one of the most important areas –Food. Our food budget is one of the most flexible parts of our budgets. This is where many people cut back and put their extra money toward saving or paying down debt. I know for me, if I don’t properly prepare for Monday, our family food budget takes a hard hit, not only on Monday but for the rest of the week as well.
By not properly preparing for the week ahead, I might have forgotten to take out a roast in the freezer to cook on Monday night. This causes us to have to either eat out or me having to squeeze an additional stop at the grocery store. Or maybe you woke up late and you didn’t have a chance to make your husband his lunch.
Here are 3 tips to overcome the Monday Blues:
- Plan your meals for the week. The weeks that are most successful in our household is when I sit down and take a look at what’s happening the upcoming week and plan our dinner accordingly. Monday is normally a crock pot meal that I need to prep in the morning. I also keep in mind that on Thursday, my husband sings at church after work so I need to prepare something quick and easy for the kids and me.
- Prep the night before. Getting a good start to your work week actually starts the night before. Since I’m a working mom we try to make sure we fill bottles and sippy cups for the 3 boys to go to the sitter in the morning. My daughter is in pre-K and takes her own lunch to school as well, so I prep as much as I can the night before for her. Lastly, I take out all the kids clothes for the next day.
- Wake up early. Now this is something that I’m consonantly working on. Waking up early is such an important thing to do when you are trying to beat the Monday Blues. You can take your time getting ready, make sure everyone in your household has everything they need for the day, and you can even eat something for breakfast and have a cup of coffee!
If our goal is getting out of debt, we cannot afford to have the Monday Blues wreck our budget and make us move away toward our goal.
What about you? Do you get the Monday Blues? If so, what strategies do you use to overcome them?
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