Granted, it can be hard to keep to a budget when eating healthful, organic food. But we're doing it! And although I admit that the novelty may wear off, for now I'm kind of enjoying the challenge of making it all work. Because as much as I'd like to save money, I don't want to eat cheap food.
So here is my list of money-saving strategies~
1) Using more rice and beans. I was blessed to receive a rice cooker for Christmas, which makes dinner preparation a snap when we're having a rice-based meal. I'm learning about rice salads, and we're loving rice as a side dish, as well.
2) Making meat stretch. I love that roasting a chicken provides meat for several meals, plus several quarts of chicken stock. It's so easy to make a simple soup, and comforting to know that it's incredibly health-giving, too. Also, lately I've been experimenting with casseroles, which can really stretch a pound of beef. Two of our favorites are Poor Man's Rosemary Beef and Vegetables from Alison @ Wholesome Goodness, and Simple Beef and Quinoa Skillet Dinner from Wardeh at GNOWFGLINS.
3) Helpful websites. If you'd like to see a list of frugal, nourishing recipes, click here. I've only scratched the surface of these, but I've yet to be disappointed with anything I've tried from this site. Another wonderful resource is Frugal Granola. Michele has a host of great ideas, from recipes to tips on making your own dishwasher detergent. I really enjoy frequenting this site.
4) Using cash. Here's a novel idea! Dave Ramsey says that people who pay with cash spend 12-18% less money than those who use plastic. Why? Because it hurts more to hand over that real, actual money. With credit or debit cards, it all seems rather hypothetical. This theory is proving very true for me. I've really been amazed!
5) Homemade noodles. Now before anyone panics, I was pretty intimidated by the prospect of making these, myself. But it's really so simple! Some whole wheat flour, apple cider vinegar, and warm water are the only ingredients. It takes 10 minutes of kneading the night before, and the next day you just roll out the dough and cut it in strips. This recipe comes from The Nourishing Gourmet. We love to eat these with marinara sauce and Parmesan, but the possibilities are endless. My picky boys are always so excited when I tell them I'm making noodles!
6) Cutting down on pricier items. Okay, so this one isn't so fun. I am a huge bacon lover, and although I've found a turkey bacon with no nitrites or nitrates added (delicious!), I buy it very rarely right now. (I did have some leftover from a recipe this week, and nearly died of happiness when I had it at lunchtime!) Also off my shopping list at the moment are no-nitrite-added lunchmeats, and most nuts. I adore nuts, and look forward to the day that they can be a wonderful addition to our diet again, but for now I'm buying them pretty infrequently. I am continuing to buy almonds though, to make Almond Butter (now a staple in our family's diet) as well as our favorite almond cookies.
7) A local source for eggs. Ever since I found a source nearby to buy fresh eggs, I've been able to be a little more free with those lovely ovoids. We love to eat eggs, plus I use them for pancakes, cookies, etc., and for a while there I was rationing them out. So it was such a blessing to find them less than 10 minutes from our home. Now I'm getting healthy eggs from pastured chickens for less than half what I was paying in the organic section of the grocery store.
8) Homemade cleaners. This is another idea I came to through Michele @ Frugal Granola. I've been making laundry detergent for a while now, and I really happy with the results. I'm planning to try the dishwasher detergent recipe in the near future, too. I am also going to try using vinegar in a lot of my cleaning when my current stash of sprays runs out.
9) Cutting out the paper. This may not be a popular item, but for the past few months we've been whittling down our use of paper products. I already used cloth diapers & wipes, but last summer we decided to buy some cloth napkins to use for every day. I admit that I've had to experiment a bit to determine the number we needed, and how often to launder them, but I'm really glad that we made the change. Another change that we've made is that we haven't bought paper towels in ages. Instead I'm trying to use more rags. While it's been a challenge to go cold turkey (I used to use paper towels for nearly all my cleaning, as well as finding other uses for them), I feel good about our decision. We may not be paper towel-less forever, but for now we're learning to live without them. It feels good to generate less garbage, and cut down on the paper products that I have to buy, as well!
So those are the strategies I'm using in an attempt to save money. Feel free to share your own; I'd love to hear other ideas. In the meantime, be healthy, and be His.
So here is my list of money-saving strategies~
1) Using more rice and beans. I was blessed to receive a rice cooker for Christmas, which makes dinner preparation a snap when we're having a rice-based meal. I'm learning about rice salads, and we're loving rice as a side dish, as well.
2) Making meat stretch. I love that roasting a chicken provides meat for several meals, plus several quarts of chicken stock. It's so easy to make a simple soup, and comforting to know that it's incredibly health-giving, too. Also, lately I've been experimenting with casseroles, which can really stretch a pound of beef. Two of our favorites are Poor Man's Rosemary Beef and Vegetables from Alison @ Wholesome Goodness, and Simple Beef and Quinoa Skillet Dinner from Wardeh at GNOWFGLINS.
3) Helpful websites. If you'd like to see a list of frugal, nourishing recipes, click here. I've only scratched the surface of these, but I've yet to be disappointed with anything I've tried from this site. Another wonderful resource is Frugal Granola. Michele has a host of great ideas, from recipes to tips on making your own dishwasher detergent. I really enjoy frequenting this site.
4) Using cash. Here's a novel idea! Dave Ramsey says that people who pay with cash spend 12-18% less money than those who use plastic. Why? Because it hurts more to hand over that real, actual money. With credit or debit cards, it all seems rather hypothetical. This theory is proving very true for me. I've really been amazed!
5) Homemade noodles. Now before anyone panics, I was pretty intimidated by the prospect of making these, myself. But it's really so simple! Some whole wheat flour, apple cider vinegar, and warm water are the only ingredients. It takes 10 minutes of kneading the night before, and the next day you just roll out the dough and cut it in strips. This recipe comes from The Nourishing Gourmet. We love to eat these with marinara sauce and Parmesan, but the possibilities are endless. My picky boys are always so excited when I tell them I'm making noodles!
6) Cutting down on pricier items. Okay, so this one isn't so fun. I am a huge bacon lover, and although I've found a turkey bacon with no nitrites or nitrates added (delicious!), I buy it very rarely right now. (I did have some leftover from a recipe this week, and nearly died of happiness when I had it at lunchtime!) Also off my shopping list at the moment are no-nitrite-added lunchmeats, and most nuts. I adore nuts, and look forward to the day that they can be a wonderful addition to our diet again, but for now I'm buying them pretty infrequently. I am continuing to buy almonds though, to make Almond Butter (now a staple in our family's diet) as well as our favorite almond cookies.
7) A local source for eggs. Ever since I found a source nearby to buy fresh eggs, I've been able to be a little more free with those lovely ovoids. We love to eat eggs, plus I use them for pancakes, cookies, etc., and for a while there I was rationing them out. So it was such a blessing to find them less than 10 minutes from our home. Now I'm getting healthy eggs from pastured chickens for less than half what I was paying in the organic section of the grocery store.
8) Homemade cleaners. This is another idea I came to through Michele @ Frugal Granola. I've been making laundry detergent for a while now, and I really happy with the results. I'm planning to try the dishwasher detergent recipe in the near future, too. I am also going to try using vinegar in a lot of my cleaning when my current stash of sprays runs out.
9) Cutting out the paper. This may not be a popular item, but for the past few months we've been whittling down our use of paper products. I already used cloth diapers & wipes, but last summer we decided to buy some cloth napkins to use for every day. I admit that I've had to experiment a bit to determine the number we needed, and how often to launder them, but I'm really glad that we made the change. Another change that we've made is that we haven't bought paper towels in ages. Instead I'm trying to use more rags. While it's been a challenge to go cold turkey (I used to use paper towels for nearly all my cleaning, as well as finding other uses for them), I feel good about our decision. We may not be paper towel-less forever, but for now we're learning to live without them. It feels good to generate less garbage, and cut down on the paper products that I have to buy, as well!
So those are the strategies I'm using in an attempt to save money. Feel free to share your own; I'd love to hear other ideas. In the meantime, be healthy, and be His.
4 comments:
Hi Mindy,
Thanks for sharing some of your ideas. I am intrigued by the idea of homemade laundry soap! Wow! I think I'm going to try it. I'm glad you mentioned beans and rice because I had been attempting to increase our consumption of beans but had stopped making the effort. You've inspired me!
Rock on, honey! I love the way you've jumped in with both feet to being more frugal, green and healthy!
It's a beautiful demonstration of being good stewards of all the blessings the Lord has given us. Not just our money, but our health and our material resources as well.
Thanks for sharing, Mindy! I was just thinking today of doing a post on what we do along these lines and asking for responses, too. Look for that this week sometime. :)
I just printed the Poor Man's Rosemary Beef and Veggies recipe - I actually have everything on hand, so it's what's for dinner! I'll be sure to let you know we like it!
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