storyteller

Living today on a shoe string budget seems to be effecting all Business across the board, as people are cutting out things that are unnecessary within their consumption.  A lot of people are downsizing their consumption accordingly, and this could be a good thing in respects to the Environment.   We have become one of the most wasteful societies within the global community at large,  just my opinion.  I know this by comparing what I used to do as far as consumption of products compared to when I actually had an excess of money as compared to now in the present when my money is now limited as I am still unemployed and not receiving my unemployment.  The income I used to have would feed the household with a little left over to dine out once in a while, or take in a movie, or go to a social event of which I would make a special dish to take along.  And even giving gifts to newly weds, graduates, and new babies within our realm of family and friends.

I find that there are some simple changes that have been made within my household.  Instead of buying the name brand items that I used to purchase I have found other items that are comparable to that brand, also checking the  labels I found that the items listed in the ingredients panel are so similar that you cannot tell the difference except in the price.  In some cases that can add up to  $.40- $1.00 per item.  Shopping with coupons is another way that people can save additionally.  They can be found in most Sunday papers, and traded amongst friends there are even some stores that offer up coupons in a bin that other customers cannot use and so they leave them there where they are up for grabs.

Other changes can be as simple as going to the grocery store only one time a week, and now finding that I am planning out meals more frequently than before.  Which can ultimately save money in the long run.  With our house hold using up left overs, as  an end of the week thing, turning one day a week into a smorgasbord kind of meal, and all things are offered up as a final send off.  If it is not wanted in this meal, or we are just plain sick of the item whatever is left is Frozen for future use.  Dated and packaged/labeled for helpings within.  This can also be an advantage for a quick and ready thing for future use.   Example of this is that say my shift is from 9am to 7pm, and my other 1/2 wants to eat at 5 pm….then he is free to make his choices from the frozen ready to eat items which are readily available at his fingertips, and he does not have to wait for me to arrive home by say 7:30 pm. 

He can read the label which I have made on the package.  What is inside, how many helpings, and how to fix in the microwave such as to defrost first and even what buttons to use on the microwave so that he cannot mess it up. On this label there are also suggestions on what to have with the item in question.  Granted it is somewhat time consuming at first, but if your household has items that are staples or favorites on a weekly basis that can be made simply on the computer and printed off in duplicates and stored in a file for future use.  As in our household things like Spaghetti, Ziti, Chile, Stews, Chicken and Dumplings, Baked Macc & Cheese with Ham, even Kielbasi & Potato Casserole.  These have become things that I make throughout the month.  I have made labels ahead that have a blank for the date of freezing, a blank for serving size, and a blank for setting on Microwave. 

I have noticed that since I started doing this it is saving a lot of money, because I do not buy those frozen TV dinners as often as I used to.  At $1.89 -$2.49 ea. for the Man Size meal to fill my man up that turns into on average of almost $40.00 a month savings, and the fact that this was added to the cost of making all the other items. So now I do  throw those last little bits out any more.I even hold on to the vegetables such as peas, corn, Lima beans,   boiled potatoes, baby carrots, and even fresh pea pods, celery, onions, chunked up tomatoes.  These items can be put directly into freezer bags with labels.  These come in handy for stews, and goulash, even home made soups.  If you have several of these baggies frozen flat they do not take up much space and all you need to do is make your stock, with your meat and let that simmer at about 1/2 hour before ready to serve take the baggies out and put the frozen veggies right into stock, add noodles, or rice and simmer on low.  Makes great soup.  The general idea here is to stretch the Food Budget even further than what you have done before. There is also another way to save on the food budget that I used to do when I had my first child. 

I made his baby-food from our left overs, by putting them in the blender and using the small Tupperware cups that were in the size of baby-food jars.  And these would freeze quite well, which did save quite a bit of money when he was of the age where he was eating more solid food and this seemed to fill him up better than the store bought baby-food.   My son went from eating baby food at 3 months to eating almost everything we would eat in variety by the time he was 8 months old.  And we never had food issues, because he tried everything that his father and I would eat, less the spices.  This child liked all foods,  he would eat broccoli, Brussels sprouts, beets, squash even the meats like pork and chicken.  He never had any of the processed baby-food, unless it was the fruits, or special items  on occasion.  I would do this every evening after dinner if I knew we would not eat the small amount of leftovers, and do not forget to label them with date and use them up within  1  month or so.  I would never let them stay in the freezer too long..  

I hope that this has helped someone today who as the rest of us may be struggling with the cost of living in today’s world as things are somewhat unstable. Hopefully they will get better, but this will continue to help you save money. Have a good day!

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