I love a good challenge!
Ok...so staying home with Sofie is going to require our family to make some budget cuts. There has never really been much extra room in our budget to begin with which means that those cuts will need to come out of our gasoline and food allowances.
I am no longer making a commute to and from work each day and Ben recently bought a small motorcycle so we are already experiencing some big savings in the gasoline department. There is a little bit of room for me to cut out unnecessary trips out or piggyback them to conserve even more.
As far as food goes I have intentions to cut out most of our dining out (Just wait'll Ben gets wind of that!) and...here's the important part...I would like to try an idea that came from the Pettyjohn family. When they were living in Ohio they collaborated with a few other families to prepare a month's worth of dinners at a time. The dinners were stored in the freezer for quick preparation (half an hour or less). The method obviously has convenience and time-saving benefits, but additionally the cost worked out to around $100.00 per family. I realize that groceries have become quite pricey recently but even if this could be done for $150-200 a month it would definitely save our family money. I suppose it would be possible for us to do this on our own each month but it seems like it would be much less overwhelming and quite a bit more fun to do it with a few others. Anyone interested?
I've also got visions of craftiness, yard sales, and odd jobs floating around in my head to contribute to the budget. Please share any ideas or suggestions that have worked well for you!
I would LOVE to do the frozen dinners with you! Unfortunately that wouldn't work well given the fact that we live 38 hrs apart. I would love to get some of the recipes that you end up doing though!! Ooh, you could start a recipe blog!! Our problem is that we eat out wayyyyy too much.
ReplyDeleteI am so excited that you are able to spend so much time with Sofie... and to have that one day a week to get the heck out of the house!!
That's also pretty cool that Ben bought a motorcycle... I bet that's going to save a ton. Let's see some pictures!!!
Sam, We have been eating really healthy and are pretty consciousness about what we consume. We have ordered from a place called "My Girlfriends Kitchen". They are pre made frozen meals. They aren't the cheapest but they are healthy and extremely good! I know that the more you order, the more you save so if you have some friends or family around you that would want to order as well, it may help. Just a thought. Tell Ben he better get some rain gear for that motorcycle.
ReplyDeleteI have done the mega meals thing a couple of times. Once I went to one of those places where they set everything up for you and they are WAY too expensive for what you get. I've had lots of luck doing it on my own with inexpensive aluminum trays and made about 6 trays each of lasagna, tuna noodle casserole and enchilada casserole. I've found that these 3 are our favorites (others just haven't frozen as well) and they are easy... if not the most healthy, but you can always easily add a salad to anything! Good luck and let me know if you want to try the enchilada recipe I have. :)
ReplyDeleteYou should post an ad on Craig's List for the dinner thing.
ReplyDeleteOh and also, I think they have books at the library about the monthly cooking thing. And also- what if you watched someone else's baby a couple of days a week? I'm not sure if you'd really like that or not, but maybe 1 baby you watch for 2 or 3 days...you know just find a baby that needs watching, I'm sure its that easy! =)
ReplyDeleteI have a small group of friends that I am doing the freezer meals thing with. I'll check into seeing if they don't mind adding one more person if you are interested.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing that drastically cut our food costs was planning dinners. I just started this again. I plan dinners for two weeks and just buy the ingredients to make those meals plus only necessary other items (cereal, milk, etc.). I just shopped like this today and spent a lot less than I normally do. I also price match (Walmart does this). I hate walmart, but it does price match any other store add. I go in there with like 5 adds from other stores and match all their great deals. Let's just say that the cashiers don't like to see me coming :)
We are getting ready to tackle the gas issue. I know a few people who carpool to do big errands (like groceries). We are also looking into getting a small motorcycle. Gas is rumored to hit $7 a gal. next year (please let this not be true!). Where did Ben get his?
Enjoy your time with Sofie! It is soooo precious. It has been a BLAST to be home full-time with Johanna. I am thankful that teaching gives me a pretty family friendly schedule even after I go back to work.
Anyhoo, didn't mean to write a book! Hope this helps!