When I go to the grocery, I browse as I always do, trying to find the best deal and the most nutritious food I can…
When I’m there I try to make sure I get what we need and check for some exceptional deals (this is when I am not keeping at $40 a week) 🙂
After browsing down each and every aisle I begin asking myself…
$3.49!!! I can make crackers…
$2.99!Whew, I am glad I make my own bread?
$4.49, good grief, look at those additives, I can make the kids some whole wheat snickerdoodles…
and the list went on!!
I would like to eventually raise a couple of pigs for slaughter and I hope to get our dairy goats as soon as our pasture is ready, and in a couple of years the fruit trees are going to be ready to produce. I can see the Chas of about 10 years ago looking at the Chas of nowadays and saying “Good grief Woman, you have lost your mind!!”
I get that from sometimes anyways… ha ha… some ask me why I would want to put that much trouble on myself.
This is how I look at it….
What do you do for a living? Many of you might work outside the home. When you go to that job, do you laze around and just eek by? Do you draw your check by the fruits of your labor? Do you try your best to work as unto the Lord? Do you try to do your best and produce the best and get the most out of your hours at work?
What is my job?? I am a Wife, I am a Mother, I am a Homemaker, I am a Teacher, I am a Money Manager, I am a Nutritionist, I am a Chef, I am a Bookkeeper, I am a Farmer, I am a Energy Conservationist, I am a Baker, I am a Accountant, I am a Seeker of Truth, and the list goes on!!
So, am I just putting too much on myself? I don’t think so, I want to look back on my life and realize that I did all that I could do for my family. I gave them love, nurturing, healthful habits, tools for learning, and a love for the Lord! I want to make sure that they know that I took my job as a Mother and Wife very seriously and tried my best to be the best I could. I want to instill in them the knowledge of time past traditions, such as making your own bread, farming, canning and so on.
I will press on and I will do my best at my job.
As for some of the questions I have had lately…
Picky husband question.
-Thankfully I have a husband who is pleased as punch with most everything. 🙂 We have never been name brand shoppers, even when we didn’t shop frugally.
I would suggest going generic on somethings first… like say cheese, really if you are buying cheese for a meal, you can’t tell the difference between Generic and Kraft.
Then maybe some of your canned veggies.
Also, Aldi… if you have an Aldi they guarantee that you will like their product or it is double your money back (I think) 🙂
Linz, I ended up opening up a jar of our homemade applesauce and serving it with the eggs. It was yummy. We don’t have other things a lot of times, just eggs. But it is mainly because I don’t have anything else to go with them. 🙂 So we just accept it. haha
Samantha, our turnip greens are canned ones from Shannon’s Grandparents garden. I will put some type of fat in there to cook them. Honestly turnip greens are pretty new to me. 🙂
Ruthie, I was really surprised at the difference in much of their prices. Some by just a few cents but then the sour cream was a good bit. 🙂 I don’t go to many different Wal-Marts but if I do, I will be checking. 🙂
Renee, I do make my own buttermilk if I am out. But my oh my this buttermilk is SOOOO amazing. I usually end up only having to buy a gallon a month.
Wendy, I go to Crocker’s here on Sand Mtn.
My friends from HSB… SO glad you have stopped by!!!! Come back soon. (((HUGS)))
My Cup Runneth Over…
Chas
Chas, I was so inspired by your $40 a week challenge. Usually, I spend about $200 a week on groceries. We buy whole, raw, organic milk every week and it is very expensive. With our health concerns, I am unwilling to give that up.
But because we are saving up for a homeschool convention in April, and I want to stay in a hotel for two nights, AND have money to buy curriculum while I am there, I am slashing my grocery budget. So this week, I had $94 with which to buy my food. My DS who is 9 finally decided that he likes milk, so I upped my milk from 4 gallons to six this week. That meant I had exactly $44 left after milk to buy groceries for our family of 5. I have beef in the freezer and some pantry items. But I was able to get lots of organic veggies and fruit, dishwasher detergent and cheese for $44. I was so pleased with myself. And my hubby was pleased, too. By carefully planning my meals, we will eat well this week for half of what I normally spend. I think it may be time to get a cow, though. 🙂
Chas, Give us a call or shoot us an e-mail when and if you decide to raise pigs. We can share our many learning experiences w/ you, and it might save you a lot of time and money. For example, when commodities went through the roof in 2008, it was very expensive to raise pigs on a typical corn feed based diet. Likewise, the cost of butchering is somewhat high. It is actually cheaper to buy pork on sale in the store than to pay to raise a piglet to full size on a typical diet and to have it slaughtered and butchered by someone else. That doesn't even take into account the amount of work involved. We've gotten creative on the issue of feed, slaughter, and butchering, and we're happy to share that information w/ you in the future.
Have you ever seen the British comedy The Good Life from the 1970's??? You would probably get a kick out of it. It's about a 40 year-old man and his wife who decide to go off the grid while still living in suburbia….including having goats, pigs, & chickens. 🙂 I wish you well and LOADS of fun. 🙂
BC (before children) I used to know the price and unit price of everything I purchased and where I purchased it. I think it's time for me to go back to those days….
Hey Chas, in regards to Walmart pricing, they price to be competitive with the stores around them, even Sam's Clubs. You won't see across the board differences, but as you found, there will be some very nice savings. I can save as much as $4 on a tub of Burt's Bees body butter just by shopping at a different location!
Thanks for putting into words what I've always felt about my job. It is amazing how many people think we should just be eating bon-bons and watching the soaps. I would go mad, LOL!
Have a blessed weekend!
Brenda
Thank you for such an inspiring post! Have a wonderful weekend.
Chas~ Thanks for the visit to my blog! Reading some of your posts, we DO have a lot in common! It is great to find another Christian doing what we are doing!
Looking forward to visiting more! 🙂
On your hubby, as I recall, YOU are more picky than he is! He liked my feta!
Glad to see you blogging somewhere.
Kristin