I've been thinking lately about economizing. With a failing car and leaking roof and a county that wants to boot us out of land use taxation, we've been getting more serious about trimming our budget, fleshing out what it looks like for us living on basically one income. Of course, neither Austin nor I have ever been known as spendthrifts in the first place, so that makes the challenge a bit more difficult in the first place. :)
1) I've been starting small. Instead of buying the $20 car seat tray for our upcoming road trip I found a neat metal retro one that works at our local thrift shop (while Tucker had a play date with all the toys in the children's section). New water bottle for spinning class at the Y? 10 cents at the thrift store. Tucker's lifejacket at the beach isn't working? Sew on a buckle so it won't ride up. It's actually kind of fun to think creatively about ways to make/find/restore something rather than just putting it on a shopping list.
2) I've been doing a lot of cooking. I've been cooking our own beans rather than buying canned, making our own yogurt, grinding our own sunflower seed butter, making our own pizza, baking our own artisan bread. We're eating a lot of salads, and a lot of summer squash that our garden is blessing us abundantly with right now. Tonight I'm making squash corn soup and squash-potato-parmesan cakes from the latest Eating Well.
3) I've been adjusting my perspective on household items--it's not about what all could we use, but what do we really need. For example, up to now I've viewed my pantry as something to keep stocked at all times... but really, is it a problem if not all the food choices are there all the time? I mean, so the raisins run out for a few days between shopping trips... not the end of the world. Of course, this is not the case for everything (think: toilet paper), but in general it's a good attitude adjustment for someone who is constantly trying to get everything checked off her to-do list.
4) I've been giving myself dollar figures and goals, and also have been tracking the expenses saved through one means or another, which has made everything a lot more tangible and has also turned this into an interesting challenge. Tracking things has also been great to help me see changes... sometimes in the scope of all the fixed household bills it feels like the discretionary items are so small... and yet, of course, those are really the only things that can be changed most of the time.
