A reply to VB's posts on Saving Money in the Kitchen and Checking in

I have been on hiatus for a few months from blogging.  The Advent and Christmas seasons were extremely busy for me (November - December).  Between taking care of my son while my husband fulfilled all of his commitments with the churches he is Pastor of, my parents and brother visiting over Christmas, and daily life, I didn't make the time to blog.  And life around here isn't going to slow down anytime soon.

2015 is going to be a busy year with quite a bit of transition from what life has been like the past 3+ years for me here in small town Fairfield, Montana.  I am excited and nervous about it.  I will share my adventures in future posts.

VB recently posted about saving money in the kitchen and budgeting.  Jason and I use budget methods very similar to Virginia and her husband, so I don't have much to add on that score.  We won't put a new budget together until April, once we know what our quarterly taxes for 2015 will be.

We have a flat budget for food every month of $350.  This amount includes groceries and eating out.  Occasionally we will go over our monthly budget (like this month) and will subtract the amount we overspent from the next month.  So for the month of January we will end up over our food budget, therefore, the amount we go over in January will be subtracted from our February food budget.  That means we will have less money to spend on groceries and going out to eat in February.  It will be tight, but we've figured it out before.

We haven't quite figured out a budget for toilettries, household, health and misc. yet.  We buy a lot of our paper products in bulk when they are on sale.  This includes, ziplock baggies in different sizes for freezing and storing foods, toilet paper, paper towels, the list goes on and on.  We reuse ziplock baggies so we haven't had to buy those for a while.  And don't get me started on diapers.  For a long time, Target had great specials on their Up&Up diapers in the bigger size boxes.  Not so much anymore.  I can't wait for my son to be potty-trained, but that is a blog post for another time.  Needless to say, our budget is a work in progress.

 In January we ate out a lot because Jason and I were away at the beginning of the month for a wedding in Kalispell, Montana, which is in Northwestern Montana.  But this is not the norm.  We hardly ever go out to eat.  We make yummy, healthy meals at home.  I'd like to second VB, in that most of our non-fresh food we buy is a generic and we save a lot of money that way.  We've found that it tastes the same for the most part as brand name items.  Although, I'd suggest paying the extra money for the actual Special-K cereal instead of the store generic.  You can tell the difference in taste on that one.

I will end this post with that thought.  Don't worry, I promise to share my upcoming adventures in future posts.  For now, I say, "Keep on keeping on!"

Budget Checkup

It's January, time for a fresh start, a couple of weeks ago my husband and I sat down and reevaluated our budget. So far following the Dave Ramsey method for 1 year has allowed us to pay off my car loan, save for my travel, save to pay for car insurance in 1 payment instead of monthly, save for birthday and Christmas gifts so we don't have to go into debt at the holidays, save $1000 in a cash emergency fund, and now we are throwing huge sums of money at my remaining student loan and expect to be debt free by summer or sooner!!!

Did you feel like you came up short on money or even had to go into debt these holidays? Hate that feeling? Take a cue from Megan and I. We are using variations on a tried and true method - budget! Megan can weigh in on her process if she'd like, but here is what we are doing.

How much do you want to spend on gifts for each person on your list next holiday season? Add that up, divide by 12. This number is what you have to save each month in order to have enough for your gifts in December. Delightfully easy. This is the method we use for everything. Car insurance is due every 6 months so we divide the premium by 6 and that is how much we need to save each month.

There are lots of free tools online. We have been winning with Dave Ramsey, there are other schools of thought out there too. The bottom line is assign every dollar to something - food, gas, rent, mortgage, loan, travel, etc.etc.etc. I don't actually use the Dave Ramsey forms linked above, but use a basic spreadsheet. You should try a few of the options on for size to see what fits your math brain and budgeting needs best.

6 Ways We Save Money in the Kitchen & Recipe Ideas

My husband and I love to cook. We only eat out a couple times a month if that. It saves sooo much money. Our biggest challenge is I get bored with the same foods all the time (and have slowly converted my husband's tastes over the last 5 years) so we have had to purchase many exotic spices to make up for not having access to all of the ethnic markets and restaurants I grew accustomed to when I lived in Boston.

In ambitious weeks we plan 3 recipes in the beginning of the week and purchase whatever ingredients we need. We eat most of our left overs (a huge money saver) so 3 recipes is plenty for 2 people for a week. In less ambitious weeks we turn to the pantry for spices and beans/tomatoes/grains and to the freezer for protein. That's when the wide selection of spices comes in handy. Maybe we have a hankering for Thai or Indian - we have lots of cookbooks, so we'll see what we have on hand and use the necessary spices to round out the dish vs. the recipe.

How we save money in the kitchen:

1. We buy generic canned goods or whatever is on sale the cheapest every time. We are not loyal to food brands and that saves us money. 
2. We keep several types of beans, tomatoes and grains on hand at all times for last minute meals.
3. We buy meats and fish on sale and always look for the cheapest prices. Freezers are your friend because sometimes buying lots at once is your best deal. If we had room we would definitely buy a deep freezer, but our apartment is way too small so we make do with the fridge. 
4. We have lots of cookbooks that we buy second hand for a couple of dollars and use the internet to find recipes. 
5. We eat leftovers for lunch and throughout the week. 
6. We invested in some hard to come by spices (which last a long time) and supplement with bulk spices from the bulk foods store and store them in dollar store or thrifted containers. This gives us lots of versatility in the kitchen - we can prepare chicken or ground beef 100 ways without it getting boring! 

I also use the interwebs as a source for recipes. I've started saving ones I like or really want to make because I think I will like them on my pinterest page.

Here's the pinterest link if you would like to browse my recipe box. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Checking In

I've been off the grid (but really back on the grid as I am home with my folks on the mainland) for a few months. I traveled back to my hometown in October and have been here through the holidays. I think I'll head back to the island late February or early March. After the cabin fever and blues of last winter I felt it was in everyone's best interest I winter in the tropical mid-western USA. It has been great!

Right after coming home I fell into a new product line making baby shoes from leather and luxury fabrics. Also, baby leg warmers from recycled sweaters and ear flap hats from recycled sweaters. My part time job picked up exponentially, allowing me to pay down huge payments towards my student loan. I think I will be 100% debt free in the next few months!!! AMAZING! Thank you Dave Ramsey and my dear friend that referred me to your method!

My folks have been grateful to have me around. My retired father enjoys the company and the project assistance. My mother has been managing a team at work short staffed for too many months and needs the domestic help at home - I cook, clean, help with household projects. When I came home my parents had just finished resurfacing their wood floors so the entire main floor was empty. I spent several days moving furniture and stuff back into the space.

It's been nice seeing friends and having a *gulp* social life. Albeit occasional, I get invited to do things with friends and sometimes even convince them to do things with me. Shocking! I even took a road trip to Orlando with my good friend and we went to Universal Studios for the first time in my life - fun! And I will tell you I was still able to throw $700 at my student loan last month and this month and go on a trip! No credit cards and all bills/food/needs are being paid for/met.