1. Stop paying for bottled water and get yourself a Brita or other type of water filter. I think I touched on this last post, but bottled water really is insanely expensive. Additionally, many bottles have BPA or other chemicals in them that can leach out if they get warm or exposed to UV light. It is truly worth the investment to get some BPA-free, reusable bottles and a filter and keep them in the fridge. I should post a photo of our fridge currently....we devote an entire shelf (yes, ENTIRE shelf) to our reusable bottles and Brita. There are times where I get frustrated and would prefer to have the space, but those are few and far between. We drink a lot of water (I am for two gallons per day, now that I'm pregnant....it seems to be the right amount for keeping me hydrated) and we both drink about 32 oz before bed. I take one with me every time I leave the house and I'm sure there are a few rolling around in my car. When we empty one, it goes straight into the dishwasher. Ok, so I know it's an investment, but count up how much you spend on a case of water at Costco or the grocery store and write it on your fridge or somewhere handy. Give it a month or two and see how it adds up. For those of you ready to make the leap, consider splurging on a few Contigo waterbottles (on amazon or at Costco) because they are AWESOME. They don't leak, they fit in most cupholders, and, with a little practice, you can drink out of them without sitting up in bed. Lazy points!
2. Make a coupon folder and use it religiously. This is similar to tip #1 except it requires more habit building and almost no investment. Every time a coupon comes your way that you think you'd use, write the expiration date on the top in sharpie, and find your coupon folder. I use a plain manila file folder. Inside the cover, write down the date the coupon expires along with the business it is for. Stick it in the file folder. Once a week (or whenever you think about it, throw away the expired coupons and cross them off the list.) Now, before you leave the house, you can either browse the envelope and grab coupons you want to use OR browse the envelope and then bring the whole thing with. I'm not a fan of unscripted errand stops so I usually don't bring the whole thing with, but if you get used to checking it every time you leave the house, you'll be surprised. You can also stick any benefit or charity cards you've purchased in there with a blown-up list of all the businesses they work at and give it a once over as well. We bought a Kitsap Card last year. I paid about $25 for it and definitely got my money back. However, I can't tell you the number of times that I missed out on using it because I forgot I had it with me.
3. Find two "go to" meals for you and your family members that have ingredients that are freezable or have a long shelf life and keep those ingredients on hand. For our family, those meals are meat, cheese, and mustard sandwhiches (I keep three or four pre made in the freezer!), fried egg and avocado sandwhiches (the avocados I only buy when they're ripe and on sale) and an easy, vegetarian soup using chicken broth, chicken bones from the freezer, canned veggies, barley, flax seed, sometimes some pasta, and any other veggies that need to be used up. I'm not a huge fan of ready-made food like Campell's soups or TV dinners because the cheap ones are nasty and the good, healthy, safe ones are expensive (like Annie's). By the way, if you've never tried any of the Annie's frozen meals, DON'T because they're amazing and you'll crave them forever and ever and they cost an arm and a leg, even with coupons and sales. With that said, I do keep a handful of read-to-make foods on hand for picky kids or if I'm not feeling well. Trader Joes has a wonderful selection of freezer foods that are relatively healthy and not full of chemicals. They have seasonal sales where we try one box, and if we like it, we go back and stock up. I think right now we have organic mini-pancakes, sweet potato pierogies, and organic broccoli medley in the freezer for a hectic night.
What I've learned through major trial and error is that being healthy and saving money CAN go hand in hand, but it takes a lot of planning, awareness, and good-habit building. It's tough work but it gets easier every week and the fact that I've never been in better health or had so much money in our savings means something is working.
Finally, I have to rant a little after a conversation with a "friend" yesterday. Just because I tout or talk about a topic doesn't mean I think it's the ONLY way to live and operate. I do not judge others for the bulk of their choices, but I am willing and ready to help them make different choices if they want to. We, for example, are choosing to cloth diaper (and when I say "we", I mean to say that I chose but my husband is willing). I do think that most disposable diapers are toxic and not something I want on my baby's skin. However, I don't look at other babies in disposables and think, "Geeze, they have negligent parents!" or anything like that. I mostly share our choice to cloth diaper because I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "What? I didn't even know that was an option. Can you tell me more?" or, even more meaningful, I often hear, "My baby has been suffering so much from rashes and serious issues like yeast infections, staph infections, and chemical burns. I didn't even know that it could've been from the chemicals in her diaper. I didn't know that things like dioxin, which is illegal to use in diapers and tampons in Europe, is in my diapers here..." So here's my plea: You don't have to read any or all of my wordy posts, but you do have to make choices for your children, family, and yourself. Making a choice means you have researched your options and you have educated yourself and you are confident in your choice. Do the work because your kids can't, because you are their advocate and their voice. Don't feel pressured to make the same choices that I am: do feel pressured to know what you are choosing, the possible consequences, and the justification. Do feel pressured to know what you are doing is, indeed, right for your lifestyle and your family.
2. Make a coupon folder and use it religiously. This is similar to tip #1 except it requires more habit building and almost no investment. Every time a coupon comes your way that you think you'd use, write the expiration date on the top in sharpie, and find your coupon folder. I use a plain manila file folder. Inside the cover, write down the date the coupon expires along with the business it is for. Stick it in the file folder. Once a week (or whenever you think about it, throw away the expired coupons and cross them off the list.) Now, before you leave the house, you can either browse the envelope and grab coupons you want to use OR browse the envelope and then bring the whole thing with. I'm not a fan of unscripted errand stops so I usually don't bring the whole thing with, but if you get used to checking it every time you leave the house, you'll be surprised. You can also stick any benefit or charity cards you've purchased in there with a blown-up list of all the businesses they work at and give it a once over as well. We bought a Kitsap Card last year. I paid about $25 for it and definitely got my money back. However, I can't tell you the number of times that I missed out on using it because I forgot I had it with me.
3. Find two "go to" meals for you and your family members that have ingredients that are freezable or have a long shelf life and keep those ingredients on hand. For our family, those meals are meat, cheese, and mustard sandwhiches (I keep three or four pre made in the freezer!), fried egg and avocado sandwhiches (the avocados I only buy when they're ripe and on sale) and an easy, vegetarian soup using chicken broth, chicken bones from the freezer, canned veggies, barley, flax seed, sometimes some pasta, and any other veggies that need to be used up. I'm not a huge fan of ready-made food like Campell's soups or TV dinners because the cheap ones are nasty and the good, healthy, safe ones are expensive (like Annie's). By the way, if you've never tried any of the Annie's frozen meals, DON'T because they're amazing and you'll crave them forever and ever and they cost an arm and a leg, even with coupons and sales. With that said, I do keep a handful of read-to-make foods on hand for picky kids or if I'm not feeling well. Trader Joes has a wonderful selection of freezer foods that are relatively healthy and not full of chemicals. They have seasonal sales where we try one box, and if we like it, we go back and stock up. I think right now we have organic mini-pancakes, sweet potato pierogies, and organic broccoli medley in the freezer for a hectic night.
What I've learned through major trial and error is that being healthy and saving money CAN go hand in hand, but it takes a lot of planning, awareness, and good-habit building. It's tough work but it gets easier every week and the fact that I've never been in better health or had so much money in our savings means something is working.
Finally, I have to rant a little after a conversation with a "friend" yesterday. Just because I tout or talk about a topic doesn't mean I think it's the ONLY way to live and operate. I do not judge others for the bulk of their choices, but I am willing and ready to help them make different choices if they want to. We, for example, are choosing to cloth diaper (and when I say "we", I mean to say that I chose but my husband is willing). I do think that most disposable diapers are toxic and not something I want on my baby's skin. However, I don't look at other babies in disposables and think, "Geeze, they have negligent parents!" or anything like that. I mostly share our choice to cloth diaper because I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "What? I didn't even know that was an option. Can you tell me more?" or, even more meaningful, I often hear, "My baby has been suffering so much from rashes and serious issues like yeast infections, staph infections, and chemical burns. I didn't even know that it could've been from the chemicals in her diaper. I didn't know that things like dioxin, which is illegal to use in diapers and tampons in Europe, is in my diapers here..." So here's my plea: You don't have to read any or all of my wordy posts, but you do have to make choices for your children, family, and yourself. Making a choice means you have researched your options and you have educated yourself and you are confident in your choice. Do the work because your kids can't, because you are their advocate and their voice. Don't feel pressured to make the same choices that I am: do feel pressured to know what you are choosing, the possible consequences, and the justification. Do feel pressured to know what you are doing is, indeed, right for your lifestyle and your family.
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