Cut in pay = cut in expenditures

[FarmerDenise]

My SO won't eat left overs, even if I try to diguise them into another meal. But I found that if I freeze it and use it a week later, he doesn't see it as "leftovers". Not to mention if you have a little bit of leftover stew one day and a little bit of left over spaghetti sauce on another. You got the makings of a new meal right there.

I also cook a lot of vegetables and make green salads using the vegies from the garden. I try new and fancy recipies every now and then. Sometimes they flop or like last night - they were a big hit. I cooked enough vegies for a family of 6. The two of us ate it all! Didn't need as much meat and potatoes that way, those we have to buy.

I do try to stay away from using too much processed starch though. It affects my health (and weight). But SO can put it away, so we have no problem fixing it. We work most of the calories off. His father and stepmother are always saying to him: "you're so thin, don't you eat" and then they come by and drop off food for us. We don't mind. But it's really just that we eat healthy and work hard physically. Nothing wrong with that. Our lifestyle also keeps us healthy.

We have also learned where to get "seconds" as far as food is concerned and we've teamed up with a neighbor who does the same. Then we share our findings.
It reminds me of when the kids were little and we were young and broke. A cousin, the daycare lady, a friend and I worked as a group to find the free food that was available in the city we lived in. Three of us had to use public transportation to go get it; with our babies in tow! We'd be coming home carrying the baby and the free food, fighting for a seat on the bus, holding onto the stroller! Then we'd share. They usually gave out huge quantities of one thing. So one of us would have a monster bag of oranges, the other 6 lbs of butter, another a huge chunk of cheese and the fourth a 25lb bag of rice. Then we'd come up with recipes to use the stuff. Some of the free food was pretty nasty and you had to be pretty creative to make it palatable

We also use barter as much as possible. We can even use it in some of the little shops. I can trade my fresh tomatoes for clothing at a second hand shop. The owner of a fish market recently told me they'd trade me my fresh fruit and vegies for fresh fish. We trade our great big bulbs of italian garlic for honey. Sometimes someone will reduce the price, if you offer them fresh produce or eggs.
If a friend scored on some really good bread, I might trade her a jar of homemade pickles or peach jam.

When I can in the summer, I keep the bartering in mind. And even though we might not need 50 jars of peach jam, I know people love it and I can use it as gifts and for bartering.

 

[FarmerChick]

Starting July 1st dh will be taking a once a pay period furlough, which equals out to a little over our grocery budget each month. And comes just as the elec bills get to their high point. Great timing for the state! Although the alternative is to lay off people & I see this as a better way of doing it. So we are downsizing the satelite & cell phone plans & eliminating netflix. We can rent movies for $1/day from redbox & dh drives by 2-3 of them on his way to & from work. Not to mention my db has a multitude of dvd's we can borrow too. We are making sunscreens for all the windows to help cut the amt of heat that comes in thru the windows so the ac should not run as much then. I already drive as little as possible so my gas usage is not too bad. Not to mention there will be no more homeschool activites to go to during the summer either. We plan on getting our above ground pool up soon & that will require elec to run the filter, but it will be cheaper than driving to a pool & paying to get in to swim. We keep our chemicals to a bare minimum so lower expense there too. We will be butchering our momma cow so the freezer's will be full of beef. We have the garden going already & I am hoping to get a few more layers for more eggs than the 4 hens & 1 banty. Thinking i can sell a few more to help make up the cost of feed, nopt to mention the grass & weeds they get(& thinings) from the garden. DD has all the clothes she needs for summer, might need to replace sandals for her as her feet grow. Ds has clothing needed but will need shoes. DD also has the majority of clothing needed for next fall & winter too(thank goodness) but ds will need clothing. Our church is having a sale on the 25th of this mo & I plan on looking for him stuff then for next fall/winter. I use the clothesline & only use the dryer to touch up things & remove wrinkles(mainly dh's uniforms). When I wash denim I hang the bigger heavier items on the back of my dining rm chairs(not wood) as the wet with the ceiling fan above them help cool down my great rm a little more. I bake & cook from scratch, grinding my own wheat for it. I make a lot of my own mixes for cooking too.
Any other suggestions? WE switched from grain to just hay for the cattle & ram to help save on feed costs already too & they are eatting less already. I plan on canning, freezing & dehydrating all the extras we can from the garden. Plus we are in the process of cleaning out all the extras we have to have our own sale, not just for the extra money but to get rid of the extra's & have less clutter .

Sorry about the cut! I know. I am right there with you. Tony is still on rotational layoff and the doubling of payments on his medical in his pay week, and the lower unemployment check is a killer. I didn't realize I literally spent every penny we earned...UGH---well the eyes opened up here..HA HA

you are doing well. Keep family fun at home. On the road is more expenisve than a pool filter...so good deal there!

for me, I didn't realize the "dollar to death" syndrome. cut those bigger expenses where you can and save, but keep the wallet closed for the 10 and $20 shell outs...they are what hurt you in the end...just mindless spending thinking you "need" that thing you picked up..LOL

you know and hang in there!!!!