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This year we have a lot of things that we want to spend our money on. Finishing the basement, a family vacation, and paying off the rest of our debt. See what’s not on that list? Food.
I need to trim my budget.
Eating organic does not have to be more expensive than conventional eating. But you do have to change the way you eat. I like to think of it like this:
Conventional eating means your paying for convenience, not food. It is cheap.
Organic eating means your paying for food, not convenience. It is affordable.
Convenient Organic is expensive. This is were organic food gets it’s reputation for being expensive.
The past few months I have been pretty naughty about my budget. Mr Monster stopped drinking formula and Little Miss is no longer in diapers. You would think that I would be able to easily trim that money out of our budget. But it’s expensive to be lazy. I’ve been leaning more towards Convenient Organic and my checking account has been feeling it.
Last week I went back to my meal planning. This is one of the best ways to stick to a budget. And when I stopped doing it, that was the beginning of the end. Now I’m back on track. This week I planned on buying only produce and milk from the grocery store. In order to do this I had to really go through all the food that I had on hand.
So my next step in trimming my budget is to fix this…
Can you tell that I have rice? Because I had no idea!! It was hiding…
I took some leftover birthday money and headed to Home Goods. It was time to get organized.
45 minutes, a couple of mini helpers, and 3 bags of almonds later and I can actually see my food!!
I was able to plan three meals just from cleaning out my pantry. Lasagna Soup anyone?
Also, I’m totally in love with the extra large container I found for my flour.
The handle will be a life saver!
Next on my journey to a trimmer budget…Bread!
I baked bread for the first time!
I used a very basic sandwich bread recipe. It isn’t pretty, but it is delicious!
I will definitely need some more practice…and I may be asking Santa for a bread maker this year. The cheapest I have ever bought bread is 2.99 a loaf, and it was on sale plus a coupon. Normally I’m paying anywhere from $4.00-$5.50 for a loaf of bread. And our family likes sandwiches! So this will save us some serious dough…pun totally intended…
I have a few more ways I plan on saving money.
Butter. I cringe every time I have to buy more butter. At a minimum of $5.00 a lb, this could be a nice chunk of change put back into my budget.
Soup. I’m always buying cans of soup for quick lunches or simple dinners. My goal is to never buy a can of soup all winter. Now, this wont include soup for cooking, just the grab and go meal.
Pasta. I’m not going to guarantee this one. But I’m playing around with the idea of making our own pasta.
What are some of the ways that you cut your budget? Do they save you time along with money?
I will be starting a pantry from scratch… again next month. Going to try to make up baking mixes etc. to save money. Making your food from scratch really does save A Lot of money on organic, and if you can find the time, I have no excuse!
Barb Hanisch
Monday 29th of September 2014
You girls are making me think twice about what I make and how I make it:) I am slowly converting my bakingsupplies to organic...even made my pumpkin baked oatmeal all organice!! Even used carob chips instead ofchocolate chips. See, you can teach an old dog new tricks - haha. Your blog is a great way to start my day.....
Kimberly
Monday 29th of September 2014
I think your bread looks great! Definitely go for the bread maker. I love mine!
Twitchetts Blogspot
Monday 29th of September 2014
Thank you! I think the signs are pointing towards the bread maker...since Hubby is eating this bread much faster than the store bought.
Melissa Matters
Monday 29th of September 2014
I have doing too much convenient organic lately! I've been growing my own basil because I make homemade pesto every week or two. It's three to four dollars for a bunch so I figure I save about $8 a month by growing it. Plus, it's really easy to grow. I'm thinking about growing an orange tree and a few more herbs to save us more money. I try to hit the weekly circular sales so I save more. Thanks for the reminder on trying to make it rather than buy it. That bread looks really good.
Twitchetts Blogspot
Monday 29th of September 2014
Great idea to grow your food! The hereditary green thumb skipped me, but I'm still going to try and have a garden next year.
3citygirlsnyc
Monday 29th of September 2014
I need to start "trimming" too. I have organized my pantry at least 3 times in one month. It's just not working for me. I need storage containers to keep everything neat. And kudos to you for baking bread. You can even freeze some slices to make it last longer. I might have to try baking bread too :)
Twitchetts Blogspot
Monday 29th of September 2014
I was really surprised by how easy it was. Good luck!
maggiemaysgifts
Monday 29th of September 2014
Oh I love cleaning out the pantry and discovering all the stuff back there. Your bread looks great!
Twitchetts Blogspot
Monday 29th of September 2014
The kiddos loved finding the random, almost empty boxes of crackers! They "helped" me get down to just a few boxes.