My Life. Medication Optional.

Baby TWoP Fan

I am a big believer in saving money and using a budget wisely.  One way I could save money is in the grocery store.  I am really bad about going in to pick up a few things.  I also work in a store, so it's really tempting to grab one or two things on my way out the door.

I did a detailed budget last week and decided to see if our little family of three could spend $200 on groceries for the month.  Here's my plan to make it work.

1. I'm going to actually write down what I have on hand, in the pantry and freezer. Usually before I shop I skim the cupboards to give myself an idea.  This time I'm taking notes.  (I love notes.)

2. Instead of making a meal plan specific for each day, I'm going to write out a list of meals we like and plan to have the ingredients for 14 meals at a time.  (Lunches are usually leftovers for Jeff and soup for me.) Breakfast is oatmeal for the both of us.  And I am going to use the list in the previous step to use up what we already have.

3. I'm going to cash.  I'm going to take the grocery money out of the bank and envelope it.  The debit card stays home.  I'll take a calculator and paper to make sure I'm not overbudget.

4. I will shop alone and use my coupons!  (I love coupons.) Only use coupons if the price per ounce is cheaper than the store version. 

5. From now on, the debit card stays home when I work.  If I have some spending cash I can use that, but that's it.

6. I'm going to save every receipt in an envelope and see how we do at the end of the month.

How do you save money at the grocery store?

I waste a great deal of time on the internet.  I justify it by saying that I spend most of that time reading (true), so it's educational (define educational). I must be honest, however.  I spend a great deal of time reading blogs about the Gosselin family from Jon and Kate Plus 8.  Actually, most of the stuff I read is about how a bunch of women decided Kate was evil and doesn't deserve to have a) money b) kids c) fame d) happiness e) a public career f) cute clothes g) a nice body h) any one to like her, ever.

I read it because I just don't get the hate.  I mean, yeah, she's not a super nice person.  Newsflash! Most people aren't. And yeah, she got lots of money to let a TV crew film her kids.  Well, her husband was there and he said yes too, but no one blames him for it.  And if some one offered us cold, hard cash to film us, I'd get a lawyer and sign up.  Hey, my kid is cute and money is money.  I don't think playing around while people film you is devastating to a kids' life.  Plus, kids cost money.  A lot of money.  You think I work in a grocery store for the sheer joy of it? Well, actually, I love my job, but part of the love comes from the fact that it pays reasonably well.  And I'm planning to negotiate a raise in a few months.

Kate's going to be on Dancing With the Stars and I say good for her.  Her deadbeat husband doesn't have a job and that show pays nicely.  Seriously, $100,000 just to be on?  That's a few weeks on training and one episode.  My kid would deal with me being gone for that kind of cash and I find it hard to believe that others don't feel the same way.  Now, I certainly don't think that money is everything and we try to live a frugal life.  However, living a frugal life means making smart financial choices and if being away for a few weeks nets you a year or more of income (that would be more than my and my husband's income combined), then it is a smart move.

Episode 8

I am really lucky in the fact that I love my job.  What I do isn't life-changing, or even significant, really.  It's just putting some products on a shelf, but I really get something out of it. 

I love the fact that I work alone.  My boss is 5 hours away, so unless he plans to come and see me, I only have email and phone contact with him.  I don't have any co-workers and I can set my own schedule, with a little structure.  I created a binder with each day of the week listed and what needs to be taken care of for each day.  I started a system of dating products to reduce the credits I write.  In the busy summer time I willingly come in for an extra hour some evenings to fill up the shelves.

I live the independence, I like the structure with flexibility, I like the satisfaction of doing my work well, without direct supervision.  I also really like the actual work.  I like walking the store, putting the product away.  Yeah, it sounds boring, but what it is for me is Zen.  I can get everything put away without a large degree of concentration.  My mind wanders and I have the time to plan my day, make goals, think about things I've seen and read, even just tune everything out and think of nothing.  It is the best benefit I'll never tell them about.

so I stole it back to post here.  It's recycling!

Little TWoP fell off the swing into the mud.  And I laughed, because I am mean.

In case you missed it, I hate snow.  A lot.  The first snow of the year is fine.  It's new, it's novel, it's pretty.  Then it melts and it's slushy and muddy and ugly and useless.  Where I live you can have three inches of snow in the morning (that's a good size snow) and have it gone by 2pm.  This year we have had 325% more snow than normal.  It's snowing right now.  My birthday is in four days (but who's counting?) and I want no more snow for the rest of the year.  (Thanks in advance!)