fbpx
:::: MENU ::::

Jul 10, 2008    |       21 comments

Trying to Save Some Money on Groceries

by

We probably spend over $50/month on soft drinks. Both my husband and I drink a lot of pop. In the past, I have quit drinking pop in an effort to save some money. But I always seem to start drinking it again.

My husband recently gave it up, though. It’s the first time he’s done it and he likes living caffeine-free. Now it’s my turn to do it again. Probably within the next few weeks when things quiet down I will join him. That will save us over $50/month and we’ll both be healthier for it.

When I look at our grocery spending as a whole, a lot of it is due to the “extras” like soft drinks and treats. With food prices going up across the board (and boy, have they been increasing lately!!), it’s time to cut those extras and go back to basics. Summer is the perfect time since there are fresh fruits and vegetables available. My garden ended up being really pathetic this year (I think I got some bad seeds) but we do have a local organic farm that we like to buy from. There are also plenty of public places where we can pick berries and apples for free when they are in season. We just have to get there before they are already all picked 😉

If we can commit to using a little more of our time when it comes to cooking/gathering food, we can save quite a bit on our groceries. I think our wallet and our bodies will thank us for it.

Jul 7, 2008    |       18 comments

What Sort of Things Did We Put on Credit?

by

A while back, a reader asked me what types of things we put on our credit cards. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to locate the specific comment since it was a while ago so the question may have been worded a little differently. But I know that they wanted to know about the things we would buy on credit.

Looking through my old credit card statements, there were charges all over the board but a few showed up a lot:

  • Fast food
  • Gas
  • Clothes
  • Furniture
  • Toys
  • Electronics

The cash we had was used first and foremost to pay bills. After that, we used our credit cards. The embarassing thing about our debt is that I thought I was doing a good job of managing our finances. We were able to pay our bills and collectors were not knocking at our door.

I didn’t fully understand the fact that I was digging a HUGE debt hole that was costing us so much money. At the peak, our finance charges were running over $400/month. I can think of a lot better uses for $400/month than giving it to the credit card companies.

Since starting on this journey, there have been times where I can really feel a difference with how we spend money. Case in point – an LCD TV. I really would still like one, but we’ll wait. Once our debt is paid off perhaps we will start an LCD fund. Back then, I would have bought one without a second thought.

I have learned how to wait.

1 … 1,450 1,451 1,452 1,453 1,454 … 1,911