(picture: yarrow growing on our property)
It didn't take us long to decide that it’s time for us to get more frugal! Yes, MORE frugal, we have to find ways to cut our expenses further, so later I headed online for some inspiration and watched this video from Simple Farmhouse Life podcast.
While we already do most of the things, she talked about it
was a good reminder and encouragement to stay diligent.
Stay diligent? How does
one go about doing that especially in today’s economy? For those who’ve been long time readers of A
Working Pantry, you know that when I’m presented with a dilemma, I make a plan
of attack and that’s what I’m working on now!
The goal is to cut our expenses in order to offset rising
prices. The process is the steps we plan
to take to reach that goal. It can be
easy to write out a plan, the hard part though comes in sticking with it long
term.
That means my plan has to be realistic and doable for my
family.
That means I need accountability
That means I need inspiration
That means that I need to acknowledge and accept that sacrifice, substituting and sometimes doing without is going to be a part of the process.
So, here goes, my plan and the steps to achieve aforementioned goal:
(1) to consciously look for ways to ‘not spend
money’ every single day. Each day I plan to ask myself, ' how can I not spend money today?' That's it, my very focused and specific step! Some days this will be easy, some days it won't. (Please know that I'm not talking about not paying our bills or not buying prescription drugs/medications, but for us, everything else is on the table and up for scrutiny.)
(2) for accountability, to post here on A Working Pantry what that looks like in everyday life at my house and
(3) for inspiration, I’ll be reading and researching, online
and off, ways I can maintain and meet my goal.
It's on folks! It’s
time to shift into survival mode and this is my plan!
For such a time as this, it’s time to get more frugal!
Do you have a firm plan in place to get more frugal?
If you find this series helpful, please share it with others. If we all do what we can to help each other whether it be through writing, sharing, teaching, coming along beside each other or any other means, the world will be a better place!
Until the next post,
Ouch on having to fill-up the has tank every week. I have been so thankful that my husband is not driving 60 miles every day like before he was disabled by his heart attack. I don't know where all that money would have come from. I will pray for wisdom for you.
ReplyDeleteI know the hole in our pockets is eating out especially since the EDS has become my reality. Then Hubby decided to do some drywall work in the kitchen this week. No way I was going to protest him taking over my kitchen for two days. This has. been thinking n our list for 18 months. So more food from out. So the battle goes on.
Lana, you'll have your kitchen back soon. Eating out for us is on the list of things to avoid unless it is an absolute emergency situation that we find ourselves in. It's going to mean more efficient planning on my behalf, but that is our reality right now ... for such a time as this!
DeleteI really enjoy these posts. It always gives me something to think about. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteColeen
Coleen, thank you!
DeletePatsy I agree with you that with prices increasing on everything we do have to look at any ways we can to find ways to reduce our expenses :) . Just to shock you to fill up DH's AWD 6 cylinder it now costs us just over $132 and that is with us using discounts we can use and our fuel excise currently halved reducing the potential price by 22.1c per litre :o . It is truly getting scary the price of fuel.
ReplyDeleteWe are also doing a lot to avoid us spending money when it is not really necessary or cutting down on usage so our utilities bills etc are lower and are taking the following steps -
- Using all available discounts we can find for instance on fuel I can get an e-gift card from our roadside assist club that gives us 4% discount on the face value cost and also take advantage of using our 4c per litre vouchers we get from buying $30 worth of groceries. This saves us about 11.5c per litre and it adds up when we live 90 - 132km round trip away from the nearest supermarkets.
- Buying as many items on our grocery list on markdown/specials and using our e-gift cards we can get that give us a further 4% off where we can. We are also being more diligent in checking online weekly specials catalogues so we can pick up any product on our grocery list cheaper too on stores we go past anyway.
- Concentrating on using less electricity by being more diligent in turning off lights and appliances when not in use and turning off our grey water sump pump and only turning it on once a week. The sump pumps apparently use $20 - $60 a month (likely ours is closer to the $60 being a more powerful pump) in electricity to pump out our grey water and when it is left turned on on standby.
- We are concentrating on doing as much as we can that uses electricity during the daylight hours so the power is used that is being generated from our solar panels making it free unless it is a cloudy day. Doing things like having our showers earlier as being on rainwater tank water the house pump turns on to pump the water from the tanks and we don't need to turn lights on, vacuuming the home earlier and filling our water bottles beside each sink before the sun goes down so we don't need to turn on the household taps and have the pump running. I am pleased to say we have got our electricity down to the equivalent of a one person household usage rate.
- As we mow lawns for other people and ourselves on acreage we have purchased a mower blade sharpener and extend the life of our ride on lawnmower blades so we are not buying them as often.
- We have been doing up old secondhand furniture that we have got for free or low cost rather than spending big dollars on buying new furniture. Surprising what a bit of sanding, painting and or varnish can do to have a beautiful low cost piece of furniture in your home.
- We have also been gluing soles back on shoes that are still serviceable so we don't have to buy new ones as often.
- We are working out word of mouth cheaper ways of doing things like service our chainsaws and the like and found a retired mechanic that can service anything with an engine in it for around a third of the price of taking them into service centres and have taken our two chainsaws to him to be serviced. Word around our village is that he is really good so we thought we would give him a try and support a local.
- We have upped our planting in the gardens and are working on preserving more produce and using a lot fresh too to lower grocery costs.
- When things need repairing we are trying where possible to do it ourselves with the aid of internet tutorials etc if we are unsure how to do it rather than call in a trades person which around here are outrageously expensive. We do however if it is electrical work call in a professional.
Hope everyone has been able to make their expenses lower too :).
Lorna.
Lorna, your comment is so inspiring! I'm taking notes! Thank you for sharing from your wisdom!
DeleteMost welcome Patsy and good to share our ideas so people can perhaps use some that they may not have thought of to save more money in their homes :) .
DeleteLorna.
Half a tank in mY car was $50 , one third of my newly increased budgeted amount. Like you I am looking to save more. Our income is set and there is no way to increase that so we must decrease in other areas.. I'm reminding myself of ways I used to save and running with those ideas I thought I might retire. Thank goodness I am seasoned in this area and know I can do it!
ReplyDeleteTerri, please feel free to share the ways you used to save, I would love to be able to glean from your experience!
DeleteI am reminded of a line that appears in Thomas Paine's Common Sense, published in 1775-1776. "These are the times that try men's souls." My husband and I were having a conversation the other night about WWII, rationing of food clothing, gas, shoes, etc.
ReplyDeleteWhat did our grandparents and parents do? How did they do it. We already do what you and others have mentioned and now we must do more. Our income is also set and like Terri said, I am grateful that I am seasoned in this area and know I can do it as well. If we're lacking information there's so much available to us on the internet, YouTube, blog s dedicated to homesteading, recipes from WWIIs rationing. I am a firm believer that with prayer and maintaining an attitude of gratitude we will get through
these difficult times and thrive in the process.
Cookie, I agree with you in 'believing that with prayer and maintaining an attitude of gratitude we will get through these difficult times and thrive in the process!' That is my goal for my family and I'm going to do everything I can to make it possible!
DeleteLooking forward to seeing this series...hoping I have something to contribute at some point. The bad thing is that we are taking a car trip (in a truck) to see our kids...1150 miles away. Yikes, gas will be expensive. It is a reunion with all kids and grandkids so we will not miss it. Motels will be involved as will eating out. Might be fast food while driving, although I will pack foods to eat. we plan to take 3 days to travel each way and do a little sightseeing along the way. So, can't take perishables for more than a day----don't trust the ice in a cooler to keep some things safe. We planned to do this trip nearly 3 years ago when DH retired (at 76) but then the pandemic hit...and so on. Our timing couldn't be worse!
ReplyDeletelejmom, I would concentrate on enjoying this trip, this is one of those once in a lifetime kind of things! Sounds like you've planned well for it!
DeleteLejmom, when John and I are traveling we often stop at a grocery store and get fresh food from the deli counter rather that fast food items. It saves money and tastes quite good and most provide something for at least the two main meals each day and a few even have breakfast items. They offer a wide variety of things to choose from, fresh to cooked items.
ReplyDeleteSo one thing that might help your perspective....you don't say how many gallons of gas you bought? So I'm going to estimate you paid $5 a gallon & got 18 gallons of gas. If you consider what you were paying before...let's say $2 a gallon would have cost you $36 for 18 gallons of gas. Now here is where we can change our perspective...subtract the $36 from the $90 & you have $54...so technically you are out $54 NOT $90. You had to buy gas either way. At the old price you would still be spending money.
ReplyDeleteRather than lump in what we were paying all along & making the numbers even bigger...& more stressful in our minds...I think it's helpful to step back & only look at the increase. Let's see how you can save $54 in gas or other areas, for example.
The increase is still hard but I don't want to lose sight in my mind that I'm paying for what I need. To me, being frustrated over the $90 tempts me to be frustrated over the whole amount...which I shouldn't be. I'm willing to pay for what I need & I think we shouldn't lose sight of that.
I do look forward to seeing your ideas! I had a big spend day today too. I had to drive to the city for a fasting blood draw. So I ate breakfast out (chik-fil-a...a treat!) then did some shopping at Hobby Lobby, Good will, Dollar Tree & Sam's Club. They were all in the same shopping area so no driving a distance once I was there. I bought gas there because it's cheaper than it is close to home. Then coming back through our small town I did my Walmart grocery pick up for this week. Then by my pharmacy for a prescription....I haven't totaled it all yet but thank God, I was spending money I had already saved & used it for the purposes it was saved for.
Jenny, I like your perspective and you're right, it's better mentally to think about having to come up with an extra $54 as opposed to $90!
DeleteYou had a big shopping day that you saved and prepared for, good for you!
Like others, the shock of the cost at the pump has our family re-evaluating EVERYTHING! Luckily, the days are longer so our electricity usage will drop a bit with not having to have so many lights on for longer periods of time. We also are trying to keep trips into town down to a bare minimum. Like you and your husband - we are scouring the internet for tutorials, ingredient swaps if we dont have something in our pantry, and other forms of research. We look at all of this as presenting learning opportunities. As a side note, the farms around us are starting to sell their summer fruits & veggies. Yay! Time to get canning! I picked up a flat of strawberries and immediately turned it into 10- 1/2 pints of regular strawberry jam and a new to me recipe for : (10 - 1/2 pints) of Strawberry balsamic black pepper jam (supposed to be good as a meat glaze, or for fancy grilled cheese/meat sandwiches or as a semi sweet & savory condiment for a cheese plate). Zero went to waste! I wanted to thank you for this amazing website and blog you have. I have learned so much from you and love getting your email. Our family goal is to streamline as much as we can, learn as much as we can, pray for what surrounds us during this time and to enjoy our time spent together.
ReplyDeleteRebecca, thank you for your sweet words of encouragement. It seems that your family and my family are on the same page, have the same attitude and are doing the same type of things.
DeleteI've not heard of strawberry balsamic black pepper jam, can you share where you got the recipe?
Caught the bus taking my trolley, went to the discount grocery store bought cheese orange juice, yoghurt, shampoo, soups saved roughly $20. Called at the greengrocers bought 2 large bags of loose grapes for 99 cents a bag will freeze one and juice the other. Worked on prices and bought enough fruit and vegies to last a fortnight. Pears were really cheap so i bought enough to stew and freeze, juice and dehydrate.
ReplyDeleteGratefully accepted some cuttings for the garden. Happy to receive free bulbs and some lovely pots. For the first time in 17 years my lemon tree has produced lemons it was a 40th birthday present so i never thought about pulling it out.
Bought a kilo of mince used 250 grams to make spaghetti sauce enough for 3 meals, spring rolls, cottage pie 2 meals and 3 large pastie slices.
Bought chicken breasts for $7.00 a kilo made satay chicken, apricot chicken chicken chow mein and chicken and sweet corn soup made a lot of single serve freezer meals.
Banking my loose change fortnightly catching rain water and there has been plenty to use in washing, watering the plants and garden
I have a power ban on at the moment electrical goods are only being used between 7-9 pm.Telly goes of the battery operated radio goes on and bed time is encouraged by 10pm. tired of lights on, phones charging for hours TV on nobody watching.
Have made a few extra dollars doing surveys and selling buttons. Life gets harder money gets tighter but by thinking and using our heads we can still live a long and happy life. Have a lovely week everyone Leanne.
Leanne, I love your 'life gets harder, money gets tighter ....' comment! Thank you for sharing all the great things you are doing, I'm taking notes!
Delete