On being frugal ...

For some, being frugal is a necessity; for others, it is a choice. For me, it's both. After going from two incomes to one income after Lydia was born, it wasn't too hard to pare down the budget. Most of what I was making at my job we were using to pay off my car, which we did in March. Since then, we're debt free, other than our mortgage and my student loans ... ugh ... Since I'm the one that does all the shopping at my house, I'm also the one that sets the budget. This works out pretty well since I'm definitely not a spendthrift! I guess that comes from my heritage of second-hand store clothing and layaway. With the advent of summer and after receiving our first electric bill, I started to feel a little uneasy about my budget. I looked it over and sighed at all the non-negotiables: mortgage, student loan payments, utility bills, taxes, and health insurance (big ugh!), and I started to wonder where I could possibly cut back. Then I looked at my grocery budget. I had always thought of my grocery budget as a little bit sacrosanct. I love to cook, and have both a fascination and an obsession with trying new recipes. My grocery budget was always a little generous, so that I could afford to buy all those ingredients to make that special dish, or just whatever looked good at the store. I had no interest in alternating between pasta or rice and beans every day. However, with an open mind, I sat down and read through several books from the library and came out of the experience surprisingly energized and confident about being able to cut back on my grocery expenses. For starters, I have set a goal to reduce my grocery spending by about 15-20% this month without sacrificing nutrition, and so far I'm doing pretty well. In order to accomplish this, I have several smaller rules for myself that I'm trying to abide by. Here are some of them.

1. Stop throwing away food. When I really thought about it, I couldn't believe how much food I was throwing away! Leftovers, rotten produce, etc. Now, I do my best to eat all my leftovers, even if I have to make them into leftover soup. Also, I've stopped buying all sorts of produce, just to have it on hand. If I'm not going to use green onions in more than one recipe, I don't buy them until I can plan for at least 2 recipes that week that require them.

2. PLAN PLAN PLAN. This goes hand in hand with rule #1. Gotta have a menu for the week, and gotta try to use items that I buy in more than one recipe.

3. Go meatless 1-2 times per week. Not only will this save money, but everyone could use a little less meat on their plate.

4. Beans, beans, everywhere! I've resolved to use beans at least once a week. Not only are they cheap, but they are high in protein and fiber!

5. Make it yourself. I'm trying really hard to avoid processed foods. I never bought a lot anyway, but now I have even more incentive to make things from scratch, especially snacks. I've been making my own granola bars and muffins, and also plan to cut my own carrot sticks and string cheese. Bottom line: when it's already cut or comes in a small package, you're paying a premium for it. Obviously this is time consuming and may not work for every schedule. But for myself, I'm making it work because I want to save money.

6. Batch cooking. This idea struck me as a huge "duh" when I thought about it. If I'm going to cook something that I know we like, why not double the recipe and freeze the rest for another meal? Tacos, meatloaf, casseroles ... the possibilities are endless. Cook it once, eat it twice. That's my new motto.

7. Be a savvy shopper. In order to be a savvy shopper, you have to know your prices. Recently I started a price book which has helped tremendously. I went to the cheapest store around, Aldi (LOVE that store), and wrote down the prices on the stuff I normally buy. Then I know when something is really a good deal elsewhere. For example, I've concluded that with a few notable exceptions, it is almost never a better deal to buy something at Sam's Club, than to buy the generic brand at Aldi or Walmart. Another dirty secret about buying in bulk: sometimes buying in bulk means that you consume in bulk. Think about it next time you're shredding that cheese you bought in bulk. Do you shred extra just because you have a whole block of it? I was a bit guilty to realize that I do that. It's that "oh hey, well I have a whole bunch of this so I'll just throw in a bit extra" attitude. And let me say this about coupons: I use them, occasionally. But I get my coupons for free (courtesy of my mother-in-law), and I only use them on things I would already buy and typically in conjunction with a sale. Publix loses money on me when I use my coupons. Thank you Couponmom.com! Luckily I live in an area when stores are close together and I can go to multiple stores on a weekly basis. If your stores are far away from each other and you, you might not have this luxury.

So, you might be thinking that this seems like a huge hassle. Why do I do this, all to save $50-$75 a month. First of all, in my budget, that's huge. Not to mention, when I save that money it's still mine at the end of the month. I can do whatever I want with it! I love that feeling of power and accomplishment, knowing that with just a little bit of extra effort, I can have some extra cash to put into my savings account, buy a couple of things we've been needing, or just put it away for a family vacation. That's why I say that being frugal is both a necessity and a choice for me. I thought I would be sad when I decided to cut down on my grocery budget, but the truth is, it's just a new challenge for me and so far, I'm enjoying it.