ok, so tomorrow i'll share some link love with you...i decided to make fridays "Link Love Days", but today i'm going to talk about an issue for parents with tight money (and that's pretty much everybody nowadays)...BUDGETING.
in my house budgeting is a necessity, although i really haven't been sticking to one and end up (like this month and last) with little to no money the last week or two of the month. I've decided that my groceries can not go over $500 a month no matter what, so 4 week months that is $125 per week and 5 week months that is $100 per week for groceries...i get money on specific days of the month so factor that in to how long each month is going to be since i shop on tuesdays and sometimes my money comes on a wednesday or thursday or something. now i'm not going to get ionto a full breakdown of my miniscule budget, but the basics are that i know how much money i have for groceries, how much i need for rent and bills and factor in an allowance for body care and housecleaning items, etc... this way i'm not freaking out that i never have any money. i have money, just not a lot so i need to be careful about how it is spent.
budgeting groceries...yikes! it is really easy to leave the grocery store with $160 or $200 in groceries if you aren't careful. for me, being health conscious and environmentally conscious and keeping a tight budget it is hard...i'd like to buy all organic, but that isn't always possible...i try as often as possible to buy "The Dirty Dozen" (most pesticide laden foods) organically...currently Apples are #1 and i love apples (my grocery store has non organic ones for $1.29/lb frequently and it's nearly twice that price for organic, so if i do buy non organic i peel them). i Always buy celery (which is #2) organic and try to buy all of my greens and strawberries organically. (i'll find the link for the Dirty Dozen and Clean fifteen to share on tomorrow's Link Love). Dairy is not on the list, because it only lists fruits and veggies, but dairy should also always be organic and/or grass fed. i also have heard that most of the rice in the United States is extremely high in arsenic, so we are avoiding rice at the moment, but i really don't eat a lot of grains anyway. i'm working on sourdough starter and starting to make my own sprouted grain sourdough, as it's one of the few kids of breads/grains that don't upset my digestion and make me feel like i've just eaten a lead weight (it'll save on expenses...sourdough bread costs nearly $4 per loaf and sometimes more, depending on brand). also, buying the least expensive ground turkey or a whole roasting chicken and stretching it...i may roast the chicken one night make some veggie and chicken quessadillas or something the next night then use the rest to make a broth and soup. and the ground turkey can be mixed in with beans and veggies to make a chili or something else that you can stretch out for several meals (or skip the turkey altogether and make a veggie chili). Another trick to keeping your budget down is learning what wild edibles are in your area and doing some foraging...i know purslane, chickweed, plantain, violets and dandelions are edible (and quite nourishing) and all easily found in my neighborhood, but i'd like to learn about more wild edibles and their identification.
Next week i'll start sharing some budget friendly, healthy recipes. please, let me know any tips/tricks you have for budgeting.
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