Living Frugal

I have recently went through a little change of heart when it comes to money. I am not sure if it is my age or maybe because we have Wyatt now. Whatever the reason, I have become somewhat of a penny pincher. I am not crazy like some of the folks on tv. I am not an extreme couponer, a hoarder or a cheapskate. I just enjoy saving money on things when I can.

I started couponing a couple of years ago and got pretty good at it. I managed to cut my grocery bill in half. I did great for about a year and between Publix and CVS I was really doing great! Both of these stores suddenly changed coupon policies and made it a lot harder to score the deals that I was accustomed to getting.

I must admit that I got pretty disgusted with them and with the amount of work that I was doing and still not getting the great deals that I was getting before. By this time Dream A Little Dream was in full swing and I was unreasonably busy so I started slipping. I couldn't detect it at first but as the weeks started ticking by I noticed a difference in my checking account. We absolutely didn't have as much money! I could tell that something in our budget was costing us more. I immediately knew the answer. I had previously been spending about $50 a week on groceries and that figure jumped up at least by half. I told Nick one evening that I have got to start couponing again.

I jumped back in pretty quick. Anyone who has done any couponing knows that it does take about a month or so to get back on track and get the pantry restocked. I am proud to say that I am currently spending about $60 a week on groceries. That includes meat, toiletries and the occasional pack of pull ups. My newest goal is to get it back down to $50 per week. I am doing great considering how strict the coupon policy is now compared to when I started. I have decided to give CVS another try and see what I can get there to help my cause. We shall see :)

Another change that I made beginning last summer was very challenging. I opted to run my dryer as little as possible. That means that I have put the Amish made clothing rack that my daddy bought me to good use. I have also learned from The Fly Lady that if you will simply do one load a day the laundry will not back up on you. That theory works great with my no dryer policy. I don't get burnt out by washing and hanging everything in one day and my clothes have plenty of time to dry before the next load comes along.

After incorporating this method for a couple of months, I could definitely tell a difference in my electric bill. I usually have at least one electric bill that is very close to $400 during the summer months (we have a pool). But not this past summer! I have managed to keep our bill pretty close to affordable for almost a year now. At times it was even reasonable. I have also adjusted the thermostat and the dishwasher so we are that much more "energy efficient."

I have set a few "financial goals" for our family this year and I must say that I am doing pretty good at seeing them through. I hope to meet these goals this year and get more money in my savings. I find great comfort in watching my "emergency fund" grow. I also enjoy saving on the day to day things so we can enjoy a few luxuries as well.