Tightening My Belt

MeghanWhitmer — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 03:50:00 GMT

Last week, on our monthly Target trip, my daughter and I ran into an unexpected problem – almost everything we were looking for was missing. Generic diapers and wipes were not on the shelf and the loss leaders we hoped to snare were nowhere to be found either. I found an associate and asked her to run to the back and grab us some diapers (we were almost out at home) but she politely told me it wasn’t a stocking issue. “It’s the economy, ma’am. We just can’t keep these things in stock.” Looking around, I realized she must be right. Name brand diapers were neatly stacked and cute but costly knick knacks crowded the shelves. Fortunately, another local store had our diapers in stock but their supplies were low too. In these troubling times, people are figuring out what a lot of us already knew – every little bit counts.

But reading the paper and surfing blogs, I sometimes get frustrated at the advice and tips I see to help hard working families like mine save money. I don’t have a cable subscription to cancel and my grocery budget, for our family of four (big, hearty) eaters is less then $200. No expensive hobbies or elaborate vacations to scale back or cancel. Just an ordinary, middle class income, average consumer debt, and a true conviction that frugal living helps my family - and my world - to thrive. As we enter a new year that presents exciting new developments and difficult challenges for all of us, I really wanted to reflect on small changes that I could make to help my family save even more. I hope these tips are helpful to anyone who is looking to scale back even further and I would love the comment section to be filled with suggestions from like minded individuals!

Reevaluate my “needs”: This week, I didn’t buy juice. Even though one of my favorite brands was “stock up” at the local supermarket, I realized that we just didn’t need it. Our water filter provides us with endless cold, fresh water and that is good enough for me, at least for now. Sure, I only saved about $5 this week but I transferred that into my savings account and the savings of approximately $260 a year is nothing to sneeze at.

Waste not, want not: One of the problems associated with my desire to stock up on good bargains is waste. A pound of apples for a dollar is no steal when over half the bag spoils! I’ve begun to take stock of what gets eaten in our house and what gets tossed into the trash. Although we consume a minimal amount of meat, I try to freeze realistic portions so when I defrost something, there is enough for a meal (with some lunchtime leftovers) and nothing else. From now on, Friday is Fridge Clean Out Day (Saturday is my grocery shopping day; perhaps another day would work for you). I’m going to attempt to fashion all of Friday’s meals from food that would otherwise spoil or expire before being consumed. This saves money, resources, and will flex my culinary imagination!

No more planning to fail: I’m only human and I forget things all the time. Without fail, the day I forget the diaper bag is the day my daughter has digestive gymnastics and not only needs a fresh diaper but a new change of clothes. Now that she is older, we cannot leave the house without bags of snacks (the girl loves variety), a sippy cup, a lovie, a book… the list goes on and on. I just fashioned an “Oh, Shoot!” bag that I popped into the backseat of my car to help me if and when I find myself in a pinch. Depending on the ages and needs of your children (or yourself), yours might include different items but this is what I packed in mine:

Diapers, wipes, cream, and an old, clean towel to use as an impromptu changing area
Ziplocs of non-perishable snacks (crackers, pretzel sticks, dried fruit)
Sealed water bottle (child and adult sized)
Empty sippy cup
2 stuffed animals
3 age appropriate books
Headache medication (if I forget the diaper bag, I’m not having a good day)
2 full changes of clothing (weather appropriate)

This bag cost me nothing to assemble as I had all of the products in my home and used a reusable tote for packing. Even if I only use it once or twice, it will save my time, money and aggravation knowing that I have my emergency tools on hand.

Reduce by reusing: This year, I’m giving up paper products altogether (okay, I’m still going to by toilet paper – I’m not that frugal!) in an effort to save money and the environment. Although I don’t usually like to spend to save, I purchased cloth napkins for use during meals and have cut up some of Maggie’s more stained and lived in onesies, as well as some old bath towels to reduce our dependence on paper towels. I’m all about changing my life to reduce my consumption of material goods, as well as saving some pennies in the long run, so once my stash of paper products is done, it is not going to be replaced.

Off the top of my head, those are the newest ways I’m saving money in 2009. My husband was laid off in October (hence the blogging hiatus – I’m working brutal hours) and has yet to find a job so, now more then ever, I am committed to saving aggressively and intelligently. I recently took a wonderful, relaxing week off from work and look forward to posting regularly on topics that I feel passionately about and am excited about what this year has to offer all of us! I invite you to stop by again soon, as I'm very excited about some upcoming posts and topics that I look forward to exploring with all of you.

Happy New Year!

The Whole Buffalo : frugal

Tightening My Belt