Saturday, February 19, 2011

Embracing my Calling

It has been an up and down journey for me over the last 6 months. I have wanted many things and realized they were not for me. I have come to one firm conviction: I am proud to be a 'Homemaker'.
I wanted to work so I could earn that little bit of extra money so I could help out my husband.
Instead I am learning to cut expenses so I can save enough money to equal what I was earning working part time jobs.
I struggled with household duties. Trying to get the house clean and get the cooking done and cleaning up afterward and playing with the kids and taking the oldest too and from school.... Oh, my head hurts just thinking about it! I started to make myself charts. I started to build up my food storage. Then I found THIS website. I LOVE what she did with her homekeeping binder. What a genious! I am cheap, so I looked at her ideas and made my own sheets that worked for me. They aren't as pretty as hers, but hey, they work!

One of the main ways that I saved money was with the GROCERY SHOPPING. I used to do a two week menu pan and then do a two week shop. It wasn't working very well. Shopping week to week I spent nearly $900 on food. EEK! No thanks! Two weeks was about $600. Um, No thanks! So I planned 1 month worth of meals and then did a huge 1 month grocery shop. I then calculated how much I would spend each week on fresh veges and milk. I gave myself a $90 budget for the month. So far I still have $35 left of my budget and I just need lettuce. I have spent $465. Now that is drastic cut! Anyone can do it! Every month I will post my monthly plan to give others an idea of what it look like. I will also post links to other blogs an post recipes so you can see what I do and what has helped me. My new motto is to SAVE AS MUCH AS I WOULD EARN OUTSIDE OF THE HOME.