Sweet Southern Belle

In February of 2007 I resigned from my full-time job with the Department of Family and Children Services. My dear husband and I did not want little Belle to attend full-time daycare and it was nearly impossible for me to go to graduate school, work full-time, and be a wife and mother. We drastically cut our income so we had to make some changes in our spending. My dear husband has always been excellent at stretching a penny and luckily we were able to trim the budget enough to make it work. It soon became my mission to cut out as much unnecessary spending in our household budget as possible.

My Granny doesn’t waste anything. She will save a small spoonful of potatoes because she can’t bear to throw them out. And, she washes used plastic bags and cups. Granny grew-up in the Depression and truly knows what it’s like to live without. She savors everything. While I have not reached Granny’s level of saving I can’t stand to waste. We eat everything that’s cooked in this house. I don’t throw out food just because we want something different. If we can’t eat the same meal again I find a new way to use what’s left. Just last night I had chicken in the fridge that I knew my dear husband did not want to have again so I made chicken salad for our lunches.

 I also faithfully get the Sunday paper just so I can clip coupons and look for sales. By using coupons and shopping sales I’ve been able to save a good bit of money. Saving 50 cents here and there may not seem worth the effort but it all adds up! It’s really become quite fun to me to save so I’ve decided to try my hand at saving in some new ways. I’ve planted a few vegetables with the hope of eating home-grown produce this summer. I’m planning to try to bake my own bread soon. The cost of loaf bread is certainly on the rise! Not only will it save money but it will be healthier than store-bought. I’ve also recently cut out the use of paper napkins and paper towels. We use cloth napkins and rags for spills and cleaning. And, who knows what I’ll try next!?!?!?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 at 1:39 pm and is filed under Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.