2:58 p.m. Today's project was to find yet another way to economize. I no longer run the dishwasher, got an electric rate reduction for Steve's C-pap, and am in the process of slicing my life insurance premiums in half. And when Steve qualifies for Medicare, which I am still praying about enrolling him in, because of the shenanigans these days, the savings on my health insurance will be dramatic.
Some tips: carefully calculate coupon and store savings before grocery shopping, rather than spend extra gasoline on driving a long distance to a cheaper store (have you seen how high-priced gas has gotten?!) Don't forget the day-old markdown bakery cart for really delicious artisan breads as well as the sandwich staple loaves. Mixing up cheaper dry dog food with our Iams helps, or we've even found excellent brands on sale or with coupons to blend in so Bailey and Jada won't notice. Canning and freezing homegrown vegetables, using the crockpot and pressure cooker to make cheaper cuts of meat tender, and buying coffee in bulk save money, too, for the things we find important to indulge a bit on: really fresh, top quality eggs, flavored creamer for my coffee, and buttermilk to make up Original Hidden Valley Ranch dressing!!
I cook 4 scrambled egg breakfasts at a time, and buy bulk cereal. Oatmeal is very cheap when you run out of milk, too. And always keep a can of evaporated milk in your pantry that can be mixed speedily. I reuse dryer softener sheets, and when the sheets have been used twice, put them in shoes to freshen them in the closet! Swiffer-type mop refills, including generic brands, can be flipped over to cover a larger floor area.
We didn't renew our Disneyland passes, although the small monthly bill was tempting! But I don't want any more bills. And in our case, I'm not sure how much Steve will be able to enjoy the park by the end of this year (gas savings, too). Since we don't have children at home, we almost never buy clothes--we stick with items that can be mixed and matched without going out of style. At 59, I've seen plenty of styles come and go and come back again! I had my first set of bell-bottoms in 1964! Remember Sonny and Cher? Now bellbottoms are called "flares."
Saving on every day purchases can open up the way to charitable giving to causes you believe in. And you can occasionally help a friend in need, too. Having a kid in college definitely causes any number of financial "emergencies," but ours is getting more self-supporting with each passing year. He has to. We are all trusting the Lord, and praying to be "found faithful" with all that He's entrusted us with. (I Corinthians 4:2)
Todays newest idea follows. Whenever we run out of Kraft American cheese slices, I've had to go get more, because Steve enjoys them in his daily sandwiches. But yesterday, I saw a hunk of cheddar cheese in the freezer, and by today it was thawed out. What if I sliced it ahead of time? But, I reasoned, the slices would stick together. So the Lord gave me the idea to separate each pair of slices with parchment paper squares I had in the pantry, then stack and wrap in Stretch-tite plastic wrap, and put in a quart-sized Ziploc bag. From a half pound of cheese, Steve has sandwiche slices for two weeks! And the crumbled bits that fell off while slicing went into the 4 days' worth of scrambled eggs I was making. "Waste not, want not," as my parents used to say.
If you have ideas to share, please post them--we can all support one another in these difficult times! The blogosphere is actually its own neighborhood, isn't it? We are able to befriend people from thousands of miles away, all who have the common interests of living for the Lord and caring for our families. Let me remind all of you "cyber neighbors" of Proverbs 27:10:
Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.
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