The Way I See It, I started off very excited about saving money in order to get out of teaching and then I went and bought a house. Makes perfect sense, rrriiiiighhtt. After doing a lot of soul searching I know that I would much rather be paying for a house that will be mine than to be paying for someone else’s mortgage. I know that we are much happier in our new home where we can make decisions, do add ons, change where outlets are, paint and just have the freedom of knowing all the work you put in adds to the value of your own home, not someone else's. Now does the purchase of this home make it easier for me to get out of teaching? Uummm not even close. It does however, bring joy to my life and I love entertaining in it and changing things to make it just how I like it. As for my goal to get out of teaching, that is still there.
We are doing better on our grocery bill as far as using coupons. We have not yet met my goal of only spending $160 per month. I don't even think we are close. One thing I do need to take into consideration is the fact that we do shop at Costco and buy in bulk so the food and pantry items last for more than just a week or a month. Those costs I have to figure out, but even taking out the Costco items we are still not meeting my goal. It is hard because Chris does the grocery shopping so I can get other things around the house done and he doesn't see the real importance of shopping for just the items we are going to use for meals, using coupons and then buying nothing else extra. We are still working on it and every Sunday morning you will find me at my kitchen table cutting coupons, looking for deals and making my weekly meal plan. I read that it is better to only do your shopping once a month with the exception of fresh produce and I want to try that, but I need to find the time to get all of that together. I'm thinking in the summer when I don't have to work will be when all that comes into place.
Then my next goal is to eat healthier. Yep why not add something else onto my plate, I know. This is a need to do more than a want to do for more than one reason. First I have been so sick for over a week now and I think some of it could be avoided if I were healthier with my eating and exercising habits. Since all I eat is my three meals that can very in quality healthy ingredients and the rest of the things I eat consist of sugar and chocolate, I figure that is not the best diet to have. To improve my health I need to start eating better and adding in some form of exercising at least 3 times per week. Besides trying not to be sick all the time and get in shape, if I want to start a family soon I need to be healthier. Those who know me know I'm beyond skinny, I'm scrawny. If you saw my diet you would think I weighed in at 300 pounds, but as genetics would have it I can eat what I want and how much of it I want and I can't gain a thing. Most of you hate me now but it is just as hard to lose weight as it is to gain weight and both of them require eating healthy and exercising to improve, so easy on the hate.
My first step to eating healthy is to get this magnificent granola from Red Truck Bakery (www.redtruckbakery.com) that I first discovered at a restaurant called the Boathouse here in Richmond. It is the most amazing stuff EVER!!! It is hand made with farm fresh produce and best of all I don’t have to travel the 2 hours to get it, I can order it online. The plan is when I want a snack instead of chocolate I'll mix some of this granola that I love with some Greek yogurt and fresh fruit. So here I am all ready to get this stuff. So I place my order and it says my card was declined. So I try our joint card and it says the same thing. Then I try Chris's card and it says the same thing. Now before you think I’m weird for not being upset my card was denied, we just changed the addresses on the cards so I thought maybe it hadn’t gone through on that card yet, making it decline it because the billing address and shipping addresses were wrong. Thank goodness before attempting to put it on the credit card I check my bank accounts to see that the order has went through as far as the bank is concerned 4 times. So as of right now I have about $150 worth of granola coming my way. So I have to call in the morning to get that all straightened out, obviously. If this is any indication of how my new eating plan is going to go, I don't think it's going to be easy.
So I ask you, what are your healthy and most importantly tasty recipes that you are willing to share? How do you cut costs down on the healthy foods that we all know are more expensive?
I love your posting! I'm trying to cut back on food costs here as well. You're basically asking to go into debt every time you grocery shop here in Hawaii. A half gallon of milk runs me $3.29 and a loaf of bread comes in at $5.00.
ReplyDeleteAs far as produce goes I would look into farmer's markets. Not only are they more affordable, but buying local is always best.
I eat a lot of chicken because I don't eat red meat. Being that it's just you and your husband for now I suggest portioning out your chicken every time you grocery shop. Put 2 or 3 cutlets in each freezer bag, that way you don't have tons of leftovers.
I honestly find that shopping monthly doesn't help, by that point my pantry is barren and I feel like I need to buy everything. I would suggest making a "stock list" for the inside of your pantry. That way when your essentials go on sale you can buy more of that item and not worry about buying extras you may not need.
As far as healthy recipes go I would suggest www.eatingwell.com. It's a great resource for finding lighter recipes. There is also the magazine cooking light, they do their recipes by weights a lot of the time which allows them to be more health friendly.
Hope this stuff helps!
-Lindsey
The Envelope System
ReplyDeleteSo the way that we have been cutting back on expenses is using the envelope system. We have been taking a class on getting out of debt and "Living like no one else" so later you can "Live like no one else". Anyway the class rocks, but a big take away that anyone can do is the envelope system. At the begining of every month we sit down and tell our money where to go. This means we set a budget for our categories take cash out of our accounts and literally keep envelopes with that cash in it in our wallet/purse. When the envelope is empty it is empty. This works really well because you are much much more aware of your purchases and looking for sales not just with groceries but with everything.
It might be worth a try :)
So Joe and I are in the same boat as you and Chris (well, similar boats): We eat decently, but spend way too much money of food. I am working on our finances, but I will say I find that buying meat once a month from Bjs works--and saves us money. We eat a TON of chicken, and the chicken there is definitely cheaper than the grocery store. I buy 3-4 huge packs of chicken, and we will portion out the packages once we get home. Each portion is about a pound each, and we use ziplock bags to store them in the freezer. I usually buy chicken breasts, and we will either leave them as they came, or cut them up into strips for fajitas, chunks for soups, etc. This seems to have been working for us. I also have been getting the magazine All*you, which has really great recipes (on the cheap), diy ideas and coupons. I love it :) Last but not least, I have not tried this website, but a friend of mine recommended it for me. It sends you a "meal menu" every week (usually on a friday, I think) and tells you the ingredients you need for JUST the meals that week, as well as the recipes for each meal each night of the week. I have yet to try it, but it sounds like it could be really useful. The website is http://www.e-mealz.com/amember/signup.php
ReplyDeleteHope this helps!
Thanks everyone. All very helpful tips. Some we are already doing, so that makes me feel a bit better. Some were totally new that we are going to give them a try. At least I say we are going to try it ;) LOL
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