My name is Kelly I am married and have 2 year old b/g twins, and I am from PA too

I have been working on being frugal as much as I can, and I am trying to figure some stuff out. Hoping you all can help me out.

Our biggest expenses are gas and food, so I have been working hard on dropping how much we spend a month, for the past couple of months we were between 500-600/month

But this past month I got it down to a little less then 400, but that is still not good enough for me!!

My question is..

Should I take 100 cash a week out of the bank, use what is needed. Then take the balance and add to the following week food money, and so on until the end of the month when I put it into savings??

I usually do one bulk shopping each month, and maybe this way I can do it at the end of the month with all of the left over money.

or

Should I use the credit card carefully to buy this stuff?

I eventually want to drop the cost of food down as far as possible. We do use alot of fresh fruits and veggies in our meal, and I also use coupons and shop sales too.

If anyone has any good suggestions for me I would love to hear them all!!


Thank you so much!!

what part of pa do you live in.

do you have a fresh market, may be you can buy your fresh veggies and fruit there. if corn is on sale buy it and freeze it for later. think of meals you can eat like a breakfast night or a clean the frig out night. do you have a aldis.

sometimes i find bulk food to be more wase full thinking I have it so I can use it instead of using it in a spare way. also sams club if you go early in the morning they mark down their meats. if you come home and cook or freeze it it is a great deal

For me, I find that it's too easy to overspend if I'm not spending cash. If I have cash only, then I can only spend what I have in my hands.

Michelle

That is the way I am thinking about it too, so I went to the bank and got some money out for this week...then whatever I don't spend this week, I will add it to my weekly spending..and I will do that all month. At the end of the month, I will put the balance into a jar for saving...

Does this sound good??

This is all new to me, I am use to going and spending without really thinking about it.

Since the 1st started yesterday with 1/2 of my weekly spending, so hopefully buy the 31st I will have left over money. And if I do better then what I estimate, then I will cut my weekly spending down each month.

I really hope this works, sometimes I hate having cash on me, cause then I may buy something I don't need at another store...kwim?

Hey, Kelly! Good job so far . Do you live near any farms or people with big yards for gardening? I live in Pa. near some farms & this time of year I try to get as much produce as possible from farm stands. A couple of days ago I got fresh tomatos (6 really big ones) for $2.00/lb. & a huge canteloupe for $1.25. The taste is incredible. The tomatos I used for tomato sandwiches & the canteloupe I just cut up & put in a ziploc for me & ds to snack on. They just melt in your mouth & they're as sweet as candy! They sell corn on the cob & peaches & watermelons, I can't remember everything, sorry. But the quality is so much better than the stores & they're usually cheaper! I think your plan sounds like a good one!

__________________

I’ve been SWAK’d!

I usually at the end of every month do a stock take of my fridge, freezer and pantry. Then I sit down and do a meal plan for the month bearing in mind the food that I still have. Then I see what Items I am missing and only go and buy that.

However this does allow me the extra cash to bulk up on sales when they are really cheap - my price book helps here. However we also buy our meat in bulk as we purchase a hind quater - which then lasts us for over four months. So for me that works out cheaper as I put away a bit of money from the food budget every month to be able to afford to purchase the next one.

I do the same thing as kikisian. I sit down with a notepad and list all the meats, canned veges, etc. that I already have in my freezer, fridge or cupboard. Then I make a menu. For example, I have pinto beans (whole, not canned), cheddar cheese and spices- so I might make bean and cheese burritos for which I need to buy tortillas (if you really need to pinch penny's look on the web for homemade tortilla recipes and make them yourself).I do this for at least 2 weeks worth of menu's. I also avoid the box mixes and cook from scratch. For example I make mashed potatoes from boiled potatoes, milk, butter and salt and pepper. The box mix is easier but costs quite a bit more. If I really need to pinch penny's I will only buy what is on my list. If I have a little extra I will stockpile those things on sale and put it in my cupboard for later. Also, try to use up leftovers. You may have to be sneaky and make something totally new with the leftovers but every bit that gets thrown away is money in the trash.you can also freeze leftovers for later, in fact you can freeze a lot of things from beans and meat to soups and casseroles. I also notice a big drop in my money when I am loading up on sodas and juices. I have learned to love water and homemade iced tea. And for juice I buy the frozen concentrate and add my own water and mix. And my kids are only allowed 1 glass of juice a day. The pediactrician told me children only need 6 oz per day and any more is just giving them extra sugar and calories. And finally stay out of the store! That is a big one for me because there are always sales going on, but once I'm in the store I tend to buy extra stuff and come out kicking myself for overspending. good luck!

Why don't you put half of what you have at the end of the month into savings..and the other half for bulk shopping!?

(I live in PA too!! Fun times!!)