Gearing up to save some serious CASH!
Well, we are nearing the end of buy nothing month. This week we bought batteries for our indoor/outdoor thermometer. That's it.
I still have not bought school supplies but I did drag out the lists and I will be buying 2 packs of markers. (already have the pencil crayons, and 3 boxes of kleenex) My children dislike shopping and insist that last years runners are fine, so we will replace those when they have outgrown them, or need them for outdoor runners.
My thoughts on buy nothing month - aside from the occasional treat, we don't usually buy a whole lot of extras, so this wasn't that difficult. I am anticipating the next challenge to be quite a bit more, well, challenging! :)
I am gearing up for next month's grocery challenge. I have $60 left in this month's grocery budget that I will be using tonight/tomorrow. I think blueberries are still on for a great price so I may get some more for the freezer.
To recap September's challenge, I am taking my current $500/mth grocery budget and I am going to slash as much as I can, eat out of our pantry and freezer and donate the money saved to someone (yet to be determined), but as this is a food challenge it will be to provide food for the hungry somewhere.
This is totally changing the way I shop and prepare food - usually I go over the flyers weekly and stock up on whatever's a killer deal, often I have a (small) stockpile in the cupboard or freezer. This month I will be focusing on purchasing only as much as we need for the week/month at the lowest price I can find. I am hoping that a side benefit will be clearing out some of the excess in the freezer!
There are a couple ways we have already been blessed - we are receiving crab apples today from friends who have a tree in their yard. We received lunch meat this past week from another friend who is vegetarian and bought lunch meat to serve us at lunch and sent the leftovers home with us (pizza tonight with that!)
We're also heading to Red Rock on the long weekend for family camp so there will be 3 less days I'll have to come up with meals this month!
My kids are starting school but they will be coming home for lunch so that will be a bit of an adjustment but should save on some things like ziploc baggies which come out of the grocery budget.
I will also be shopping with CASH for the first time tonight! I will let you know if it truly does save money by cutting out impulse buys.
Today, one of my goals is to spend some time creating a pantry list so I know what I have on hand. Then I can make some menu plans and focus on a smarter shopping list.
5 comments:
cash only works for me...i just have to DO it! :)
good for you! After our last month of moving craziness I think September's challenge will just be to wean us all of going to restaurants!
Darci - I have been wanting to do cash only for a while now, but I keep chickening out...! I think it will really help.
Jobina - are you all hooked up at home now?
It is HARD to break that eating out habit - though when you are packing it is smart eating out so you can focus.
You inspire me, Lee! I think I'll make a pantry list for us before I grocery shop and really try and use what we have, though I don't much of a stash right now. BTW, Cash only ROCKS! We really love it.
P.S. Sobey's has chicken legs on sale for 3 days only (last day is tomorrow the 31st) for $1.18 per lb!! Great deal. Granted, you probably already have seen the ad! :)
the only problem I forsee with cash, is that Keith really really likes to track it on quicken which is easier when it comes off the debit card. But, if it saves me money - I can live with that! :)
I did see the chicken legs but I am going to let them go by this time as we have some already in the freezer and I am going to try and use up some of our stash. I think when I set my $2/lb meat limit, I was panicking a little so I would stock up in case I didn't see a sale again for awhile...I've got a fair bit of meat! Let me tell you though - it is hard to not buy it when it's on sale! :)
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