A week and a half ago Michael was laid off. This was not at all unexpected as he was contracted for a particular job. That job ended. He had hoped the job would last a little longer, but it didn't. It also appears highly unlikely that there will be any more work this year. He was laid off on a Friday. That Sunday, our van died on the way to church. It needs a new fuel pump to solve the immediate problem, but the transmission is about to quit entirely, and the heater doesn't work. If you remember, we replaced the radiator back in June. Considering we have only been driving the car since last January when Eva was born, we aren't sure it's worth dumping any more money into. Our only other vehicle is a '96 Mitsubishi Eclipse. "Clippy" as she is known, clearly will not seat 8 people, 5 of whom ride in car seats. This means we have pretty much been housebound, and will be for quite a while. Our friends have been kind enough to pick us up in multiple vehicles so the kids don't miss any activities, and our church has people who have volunteered to pick us up for services, but by and large we are stuck inside.
Shortly after Michael got laid off he and I were having a conversation about money. The Lord had really opened my eyes to my own greed. I have always said if we had more money, we would be more benevolent. This last job provided more income than our family has ever had. Unfortunately, instead of giving more, I spent more. I didn't even spend it on useful things. I spent it on Taco Bell and McDonald's. Thinking about that made me really sad. We resolved that we want to be more generous and plan for some things we would like to do in the future, rather than spending money just because we have it to spend.
You may be wondering what all of this has to do with ham and turkey....I'm getting there...we have decided to do all we can to be more frugal. Last night I looked up the ads for all of our local grocery stores and made lists of what I wanted to buy from each store. My goal is to stock up on canned goods, cereal, etc. when they are deeply discounted and have them to use throughout the year. For example, right now Stove Top stuffing is about half the usual price. I bought ten today to stock in my pantry. This is also the best time of the year to buy ham and turkey. At Wal-Mart, Michael picked up an 11 lb. ham for $15. We cooked it, and then Michael cut it into thin slices using an electric knife. I packaged it in Ziploc bags and threw it in the freezer. Now we have instant lunch meat for sandwiches and it was around $1.60/lb. If we had purchased sliced ham from the deli, it would have cost about $6.99/lb. This is a savings of $62! Don't want to cut it yourself? Ask the butcher or the deli to slice it thin for you.
Do you have a tip on how we can save money? Please leave a comment and share your idea. :)
5 comments:
So sorry to hear about Michael's job!
I don't know if you have come across this site (www.moneysavingmom.com), but I have found not only very helpful ideas for buying groceries and saving money but also great grocery deals without having to do all the work.
Good Luck!
Sorry to hear Michael is out of work again and the van is dead. Good grief.
I echo Julie about moneysavingmom.com; also tipnut.com.
One thing I do is to cut fabric softener in half, adding white vinegar.
I pray Michael finds a job quickly.
Sorry that Michael's back on the work trail...we have a friend at church who has had similar job experiences. He gets hired then the company closes, lays people off, etc.. It seems like he's always on the short list of who is let go first because he's never employed long enough to build up senority. Or he has a job that is like Michael's last job, where it is only for a short while. So know you're not alone.
Money tips...I was created by my family to be frugal. We were definitely not wealthy growing up plus I lived by my Depression era great grandparents. My Granny used to never throw away her leftover vegetables/meat. They went into a container in her freezer and then once it was full she added tomato juice and some broth and made soup. You never had the same soup twice. (I'm not recommending it just sharing...) I don't have any real great tips though. Most of the things I do are kind of lame and pretty common sense. (Plan your meals so you can share ingredients across meals, coupon clipping and add matching, use both sides of the printer paper for things that you are printing that really don't matter, selling items on Half.com or Ebay, don't buy pre packaged meal kits if you can avoid it because they are expensive-make your own, etc.)
Thanks for the ideas ladies! The being out of work isn't nearly as bad as being without a vehicle. :(
We are soooo tired of being stuck in the house.
I clip coupons, too. But be careful with them...some you have to buy two of the item to use the coupon. Decide if you really need two, otherwise you're spending more money to "save" 25 cents. And I cook all of our meals, too. I stretch out a couple meals during the week to last us two days, like chili Monday, chili mac Tuesday. Don't buy bagged lettuce. It's full of preservatives and you get lots more from a head of lettuce. Leaf lettuce is healthier! Iceburg has no nutritional value! Rinse it off, pat dry, put in a big zip lock. I put a strip of paper towel in too to absorb extra moisture to get more life. I also do this with grapes I get. Rinse and divide into small bags. Ready to go! Otherwise, they seem to remain untouched. You can re-ruse these zip lock bags, too. Rinse them out and let them fully dry.
Our local news station had a segment on coupons the other night! Here are some sites they showed: couponcabin.com; dealcatcher.com; retailmenot.com. Hope that helps!
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