My life has changed drastically in the past two years. I have had to learn to live frugally and more thoughtfully. I would like to pass on a few of the lessons I've learned so that maybe someone else can skip a few of the mistakes I had to make along the way.
My favorite money saving projects are coupon clipping and grocery bargain hunting. There are tons of easy ways to save money at the grocery store and most are pretty simple to do. The first step is to stock up. Keep a well stocked pantry and freezer so that you are not forced to purchase items on the spur of the moment when they are at full price. Nearly every item in the grocery store goes on sale at some time. Use this fact to your advantage and buy a few extra items when they are on sale. Keep an eye out for closeout items, discounted foods, and mismarked products. Stores frequently mismark hand priced items such as meats and bakery items. Everyone makes mistakes and someone is going to profit from it, it might as well be you. Many stores mark meat down when it nears its sell-by date and if you're freezing it anyway, the short dates will not be an issue. On average I pay less than $1.25 per pound for all the meat I buy including steaks, chicken, and pork.
Next post.....coupons!!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
A New Plan
The economy of our country is failing....badly. The government promotes bailouts for big companies, but what about us as individuals and as families? Who is going to bail us out? I heard somewhere that if the government had split up the bank bailout money and dispersed it evenly among all the legal adults in the US, the amount given to each person would be something like $250,000. I'll have to research the actual statement, but think what you could do with that kind of money. Each person would be an integral part of stimulating the economy.
Today I began to think about the fact that my family is sinking deeper into debt by the second. We are trying to wait for the economy to pick up, but I'm not sure we can hang on long enough. Every week we juggle the bills and decide which ones are the most important and which can be skipped for another week. There's just not enough money to go around and not a lot of hope on the horizon, so what is the next step? We have been cutting back steadily over the past months...eating out less, doing fewer costly fun things, and definitely curbing our shopping. Surprisingly enough, we seem to be enjoying each other's company more, getting along better, and paying more attention to each other's lives. Things like coupon clipping and getting a good deal on purchases have become a game we all play against each other. Emotionally we're thriving. Financially, it's a little different story. I don't think that we can survive this economy without some help.
As dire as things seem right now, I should be terrified of what is going to happen to my family. But I know that millions of people are in the same situation. I think we are all feeling the desperation together. So the next puzzle to solve is how to find the answers together. I truly believe the key to this is "together". If people really make an effort to help one another I think this country can save itself. People are going to have to start to overlook their differences and try to think differently. I received an email from a friend that said, "To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did." I do not know who to attribute the line to, but they are words to live by especially in the world we face. It's going to take a lot of work, but the world has to start somewhere.
Today I began to think about the fact that my family is sinking deeper into debt by the second. We are trying to wait for the economy to pick up, but I'm not sure we can hang on long enough. Every week we juggle the bills and decide which ones are the most important and which can be skipped for another week. There's just not enough money to go around and not a lot of hope on the horizon, so what is the next step? We have been cutting back steadily over the past months...eating out less, doing fewer costly fun things, and definitely curbing our shopping. Surprisingly enough, we seem to be enjoying each other's company more, getting along better, and paying more attention to each other's lives. Things like coupon clipping and getting a good deal on purchases have become a game we all play against each other. Emotionally we're thriving. Financially, it's a little different story. I don't think that we can survive this economy without some help.
As dire as things seem right now, I should be terrified of what is going to happen to my family. But I know that millions of people are in the same situation. I think we are all feeling the desperation together. So the next puzzle to solve is how to find the answers together. I truly believe the key to this is "together". If people really make an effort to help one another I think this country can save itself. People are going to have to start to overlook their differences and try to think differently. I received an email from a friend that said, "To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did." I do not know who to attribute the line to, but they are words to live by especially in the world we face. It's going to take a lot of work, but the world has to start somewhere.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
