Every time I walk in the grocery store I am so frustrated because EVERYTHING keeps going up!!! Jeff's mother was saying that she is spending the same about of money on groceries as when she had all four of her children at home (three of them were boys!) , it's just the two of them now. I have to say that it is the same here. We are now a family of four, we use to be a family of six, I see no difference in our grocery bill.
I am a frugal shopper, but there is only so much you can cut back on. Things I am going to try even harder at:
*Be more serious about gardening this year. We always put some 'maters (that is southern for tomatoes) in and a couple other things, but this year we're going to be more serious about it.
*More gardening means more canning!
*Limit my trips to town to twice a week. I am so bad to run into town just about every day. It's only 15 minutes one way, but if I go 5 times in a week that is 2 1/2 hours of driving time, which really calculates the GAS MONEY! So if I can just cut that time back. Plus we drive 30 minutes one way to church each week. How did those pioneer women handle going onto town once or twice a season? lol I guess they stayed BUSY AT HOME. The Bible actually says, "...keeper AT home", not ...keeper OF the home.
* Less trips to town means better menu planning...better everything planning.
We are such a wasteful generation!
I've been home more this week than I've been in a long time. I have found that I have gotten so much done and am more rested and at peace. I've been able to enjoy caring for my family and home more if I am not having to run here and there. :o) I guess it's all a matter of choosing only the best things to do (and not ALL the good things) so that you can pour yourself into the needful things!
We are such a wasteful generation!
I've been home more this week than I've been in a long time. I have found that I have gotten so much done and am more rested and at peace. I've been able to enjoy caring for my family and home more if I am not having to run here and there. :o) I guess it's all a matter of choosing only the best things to do (and not ALL the good things) so that you can pour yourself into the needful things!
Anyone else making changes in their schedules to be more frugal?
3 comments:
The first few weeks of our marriage, I thought I was doing really well to plan a menu and then shop for the ingredients for that week's meals, plus basics like milk and bread. But we really weren't saving any money, because we just bought whatever was on our menu, regardless of price. Granted, we did stick to the list and not buy extra, but it still wasn't optimal. I recently registered with the Grocery Game (www.thegrocerygame.com), and we saw the benefits last night! Basically, they track the sales (advertised and unadvertised) at the local store of your choice, and they also match them up with coupons. What is great is that they have their own price-tracking software that tells you if this is just a sale, or if it's a rock-bottom price. We usually have 2-3 meat meals each week, and we eat a lot of fresh produce, because I'm not willing to sacrifice our nutrition just to save money. We normally spend anywhere from $70 to $100 a week, just getting those 2-3 meat items. Well, last night, in addition to several other items, we came home with a little over 2 pounds of ground beef, a pound of Italian sausage, almost 4 pounds of chicken, and about 3 pounds of pork--and we made it home for under $60. It was amazing how much money we saved by stocking up when it was at its lowest price--now I'll just plan our menus based on what we have, and most of our "need" shopping will be fresh produce. Sounds common sense, but it has made such a difference for us!!
Kathy, I know it is hard for a lot of women today because of how busy we are. I keep a well stocked pantry and buy in bulk. When I am out of something, I can shop in my pantry. I keep a list of things I am low on and the next trip into town I pick more up. I also run a co-op that delivers right to my house every 4 weeks. I do all the work (unloading the truck and sorting and paperwork) but get to add 10% to their orders. This helps pay for my order. We also make most of our food from scratch. That has saved me tons of money. We are also blessed that we raise all of our own meat. We raise a bit extra and sell them to make our meat free.
We're already pretty much bare-bones frugal around here. Like you, I'm trying to cut down on gas useage. It's 15 minute to "town" here also and I'm limiting that to once or twice each week and that's mostly to visit my grandmother in the nursing home.
I'm trying to use up my sewing stash instead of constantly buying new fabrics just because I like them. I've made the girls each a few dresses for the summer and am starting to look towards dresses for next winter now.
We used to be big gardeners before Rick really hurt his back. We've cleared spots for tomatoes and a few green peppers this year. I'd like to put up enough to last us through the winter. Our water is very expensive here so I'm planning on watering with grey waste-water to save there.
I've also been cutting back on our meat and milk intake. I got a free bread machine and have been making wheat bread once or twice each week as we need it. Every little bit helps.
We are also putting up a clothesline so we can stop using the dryer as much as possible. It should pay for itself quickly.
If only the cats could find gainful employment.... :-)
Blessings--
Dana
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