April's First Half Grocery Bill

The month of April I had to buy household cleaners, snack foods for my daughter's class, and get ready for a birthday party this Saturday. How am I going to do that with $400 this month? Well, in reality, I only have $200 until the 15th (second paycheck).

Did I make it to the second paycheck before running out of money? Nope. But I have learned a few things along the way.

We did have to skip on getting party favors (bag of marshmallows, carrot, raisins, and pretzel sticks) to make an Olaf. We can't afford to get small waters for kids ("melted snow"), but we do have two pitchers that we can make Kool-Aid in one and another for water, so we can do the "melted snow" thing!

What did we buy? I can hear everyone asking.
Winco: Gluten Free Chocolate Cereal (for the kids) $3.57 Kid's breakfast
             Organic 1/2 gallon mik                                 $3.48
Fresh & Easy: Green Enchilada Sauce                      $2.39 (should really learn how to make it)
             Organic Apples 4pack                                  $3.99 snack
             Sour Cream                                                   $2.79
             Red Onions (4 or 5 pack)                              $2.49
             Tortillas    (not sprouted or wheat)                $2.69
             Avocados <3 <3 <3  Too many                     $7.78
             Annie's Snack Mix (Clearance)                    $2.00
             Vine Tomatoes                                              $1.99
              Dried Fruit Cherries                                     $6.59
              Dried Fruit Apricots                                     $5.49
              Snickerdoodle Cookies                                $ 2.69
Trader Joe's
              Ground Beef, Grass Fed    1 lb.                    $6.99
              Pork Sausage, Sweet Italian                         $3.99
And Sam's Club
              Jimmy Dean Egg Sandwiches                     $10.78
              Mexican Cheese Shredded 5lbs                   $15.12
              Canned Anaheims 2 Cans                            $4.86
              Parsley Flakes                                              $3.88
              Nutty Bars (Daughter's School Snack)        $3.48
              Brown Eggs, Cage Free   18pack                $3.98 (probably only thing organic in my cart)
              Snap Peas                                                     $4.78 (snack and birthday party)
              Colby Jack Cheese Block                            $8.98 (snack, cooking, and birthday party)
              Bananas                                                        $1.36
                                                       Grand Total:     $116.14

Wow. What a difference compared to last week! Daddy and Daughter were complaining there are no snacks for school and work. *rolls eyes* Hubby was also complaining how empty the fridge looked when he opened it. It was the day before I went shopping and creating a meal plan before going really, really helped. I was able to get what I needed- minus junk food for the party.

 Sam's Club was the biggest money sucker of them all. It may look like I spent a lot there, but I was able to find items for Saturday night's dinner, plus some food for other Mexican food dinner nights (that can be frozen). I know I should have gone there in the first place- shame on me! I'm suppose to be buying healthy and organic. What the heck happened? A

Next week we will be heading somewhere...can I buy organic on my weekly allotment? Can Jenn get back on track?

It should be easier now that the birthday party is done, out of town guests are gone, and household supplies are made. Whew. Yay vacation time!

The Garden

Another summer is over. Am I going to miss it? Not really. Sweating through triple digit days plus intense smog are never my idea of a good time. You couldn't even stand in the shade without breaking a sweat.

It seems our garden didn't really have a chance. Between the hot weather and my lack of attention/selfish desire to stay in cooler weather, the garden suffered a horrible death. All because of me. I intended well and next year, I will be better armed to fight for them.

My wanting to stay at home largely depends on how much food we can grow and preserve. This didn't happen this year, but the upside to it, I did some research and found what should work better and best for next year's garden.

Although now that the triple digit days are officially over, the cooler weather has brought me outside once again. I absolutely love it! There are a couple plants still doing producing, but once I get the weeds and other objects (weeds) under control, I can finally plant my winter garden. It's primarily lettuce and green leaves, but with us eating salad most nights with and sometimes for dinner, it's a huge money saver. Yes, I can buy salad for $3 for 6 organic romaine hearts at Sam's, but really, what's the harm in growing my own?

Our fruit trees have been much, much better since the weather has cooled down as well. They aren't producing yet, but I'm sure they will be bountiful in time -especially my dwarf lime tree. The pear tree came up all by itself with the trunk half rotted, so I think we're going to pull it out and plant a new one (if we don't move). We'll also pull up the olive tree that branched up as well since we're not sure its fruitless or not. Apparently there are a ton more fruitless olive trees than fruited trees.

I can get back to weeding the flower bed as well, too. I'll begin spraying the flower beds (since they are primarily rock and fruit trees) with vinegar. Vinegar kills 99% of plants- weeds or not. It will kill the seeds they spread while I pluck them out as well. So protect your wanted plants if you spray vinegar on them.

I've learned how to compost as well. Not quite as appetizing, but its a gardener's best friend. It's what creates that expensive top soil. Dog poop really should be picked up out of the yard since it has too much nitrogen in it even for grass. Livestock (chickens, cows, etc) manure is the way to go, however, it needs to be decomposed before being put in the garden. If it's not decomposed properly, it will burn the plants. Believe me, I tried putting chicken manure in my garden and the plant died within a day.

Back to the fall season. Cooler temperatures. I should say reasonable temperatures, have lulled me back outside to enjoy my garden and yard again. The house needs a lot of work and if we are going to get it ready to sell (fingers crossed), then we (not only myself) need to get a few projects done.

After doing my research, I found that zone 9 can actually grow a winter garden. How awesome is that? It makes me wonder how and when we move back to the Midwest how we will get to have a winter garden? I really want to avoid the greenhouse route, so any input would be great.

With gas prices rising above our expectations, food prices will of course be rising as well. Will you be able to handle the rising cost of living or will you be stuck like me, having no choice but to raise my own food?

Bakersfield. No a/c until 4:30pm. Day 5

Sorry for posting this so late! I Skyped with mom first thing this morning and then headed to the farmer's market for our groceries. It starts at 9am, so its quite nice to have first pick.

The last day of my no a/c until 4:30pm challenge. I would have to say its been a great success. It got a little hot during the day, but to me, it wasn't intolerable.

We sort of cheated today. Our family had run out of milk and since I have the car for the weekend and next week, I might as well go to the grocery store. We went to Sam's Club since the milk there seems to be the cheapest out of anywhere. Plus with my three year old potty training, the family restroom is a huge bonus while shopping (even though I hate using public restrooms). Another advantage is when it is just me shopping with the kids, I can't pick them up to put them in the cart. They're not fat, they just keep growing! There's a lot less people in the store at 9am so the kids can room to run around and help throw things in the cart.

We returned home and unloaded the groceries. Hubby likes a full fridge, I like an empty fridge-that way I can actually see what is in the fridge and use it. When its full, I can't see anything and when I can't see it, I forget all about it.

Frankie, our English cocker, needed a new dog tag, so I loaded the kids and Frankie into the car to get that replaced. It wouldn't be so bad if he would stay with us. As soon as he sees another animal or person, forget about calling his name. Out of sight, out of mind. Kind of like me! Sort of. The kids had a blast checking out the different animals (mice, gerbils, fish). I swear Petco is a mini zoo. If you can take an animal home, they've got it. Why adopt all those animals when you can just visit them at the store?

I didn't get any dog treats at Sam's like I usually do. So I decided to let the kids pick out one bag of treats for Frankie. I don't think Frankie really cares, he just wants treats! So instead of picking up rawhide bones and dehydrated poultry, the kids pick out wheat gluten-free dog treats. Then they picked out vegetarian treats plus some other health-nut dog treats. I even found yams for dog treats. I'll have to try making those myself. $30 for a bag of dehydrated yams is a little expensive. I might as well buy some healthy alternative dog treat that the kids picked out (even though it was the packaging that did the trick for them). In all honesty, I didn't see any of the dehydrated treats that I usually give my dog at Petco. Very strange. I guess I can enjoy the fact that the dog will now be eating healthier too. Going to Petco is a real treat for the kids. I could care less about seeing animals, but we were there for a good hour looking at things -especially the dog toys.

At home, we ate a mixture of baby spring mix and romaine hearts salad with a few things added in there. I am very grateful that my kids love salad. There has to be dressing on it, but that's easy to make myself.

Starting to get warm at lunch in the house, so we all had some ice water before putting the kids to bed for a nap. We were not going to have the meltdown like last night. No way jose!

After the nap, I noticed the house getting really hot, so I checked the temperature. No wonder it was hot- it was 103 degrees outside! The kids and I drank more ice water and kept the lights and electronics off. They played in their rooms with the ceiling fans going. Thank God for legos, trains, books, and toys in general. They didn't want to go outside, which was fine. I made tater tot casserole using the oven for an hour. It got hot, but I made it after the air kicked on at 4:30. The house pretty much remained hot since our house is set at 78 degrees.

When dinner was eaten I watched a Netflix show on my iPad and the kids decided to go play outside. It wasn't much cooler than anytime earlier. The kids still enjoyed swinging on the swingset and riding on their scooter.

Overall, it wasn't that bad with no a/c until 4:30pm. It is definitely a luxury and an experience I will probably forget within time. It's not as horrible as one might think. We used less electricity and got creative. We didn't change our regular schedule much, but we have been drinking a ton more water.

What's the next challenge?

Managing debt in Bako

As I don’t work in the wonderful world of Bakersfield, CA, I would love to find a part time job where I can work during the kids nap time and school hours. Tall order isn’t it? I don’t exactly have a ton of friends to sell party items to, so those direct selling/MLM companies are out of the question. I have my $0 income photography business, but with us being almost $25,000 in debt, we’re barely staying afloat. 

I’ve learned how to manage the household somehow. The kids eat, are bathed, and clothed. The dishes washed, the floors mopped/vacuumed, and the dog is given food. Just because we have this debt doesn’t exactly mean we do nothing. 

Bakersfield has a few great things to do around town for free. My number one favorite free destination is the Beale Memorial Library on Truxtun. Not only do they have internet/downloadable audiobooks I can load from home, their children’s program is phenomenal.  They have a large selection of books, audiobooks, DVDs, and resources. Plus, if you can’t find the book you want, you can order it through the San Joaquin Valley Library System. There are very few books I have not been able to borrow through their system. They will even pull books off their own shelves for you if you place a hold on it. You don’t know how great that is when you have two young kids with you en route. The library’s hours aren’t the best, but hey, its California- 300% broke and spending more.

Another favorite activities are the sprayparks. I can’t tell you how much the kids use them. NOR just opened Polo Community Park half a mile from us. As soon as the gates opened, we have been walking there 2-3 times per week. Other than the spraypark, there’s numerous sports fields and 3 different playground areas for the kids. One is for 2-5, the other 6-12, and 12+. The only thing that the park is lacking is shade for the play areas. 

Bakersfield’s museums also have free days. The third Thursday of the month is the Buena Vista Natural History museum. If you have kids, you must absolutely go downstairs. The entire downstairs is a learning playground for all ages. It’s a little well-loved, so bring wipes or sanitizer for when you’re done playing/learning.

The third Friday is free admission at the Art Museum. We haven’t been there in awhile, but they have an area where kids can make a postcard and a leaf rubbing. At least that’s what we got to make. It’s a little small, but if you stop at each piece of art and ask the kids what’s going on in the picture, it makes it worth the trip- and don’t forget about the Art Museum’s garden off to the side. There’s a few neat sculptures in it and tons of shade! Who doesn’t love a pretty shade area?

Barnes and Noble also has storytime, but I dread going there with the kids. They see other kids screaming, wanting to pull books off the shelf, and tear up new books. Great if you’re into that sort of thing. I think I’ll stick to the library.

Neighbors. What kid doesn’t love other kids’ toys? Some neighbors even have a pool or a slip in slide. You can’t beat what others have. And it doesn’t cost anything.

As my family is in debt, we still have to live and manage what we have. We, at least I am, are grateful for what we’ve been given and am exhausted of all those advertisements and commercials for every materialistic thing. I’m tired of my kids thinking if we need something, we can just buy it at the store. We didn’t exactly shop ourselves in debt ($20,000 is the car; less than $5,000 is medical/bills). So instead of trying to find a part time job (where I would either never see my family or use ALL of my paycheck for daycare) I’ve decided to manage the household in a completely different manner.

One kid is out of diapers and the other is having a hard time remembering to use the potty. Only when he naps or goes to bed, he gets a diaper. Other than that, he can wear underwear or go nude (some days are just too hot to force clothes on kids). 

Shopping for necessities. Yes, I would love to buy a thinner bathroom rug, but the overly shaggy rug is doing just fine. I’ll just have to look for bugs before I step on it and pray nothing is breeding in it.

I purchase $20 worth of vegetables each week at the farmer’s market. We didn’t have a successful garden this year, so it made it hard to actually get anything from the garden. The birds and worms got to our tomatoes, the cucumbers produce a few too less, and the jalepenos who usually thrive in this weather quit on us. I think it was just way too hot this year for the veggies, hubby says it’s too many weeds. It was also poor planning on both our parts. My goal is to work on the garden this year so I can harvest and live off my garden next year. Little did I know, in zone 9, we can have a winter garden! You don’t know how excited I am about that! 

I buy milk, meat, luxury items, and gas at wholesale stores. I have a membership to both Costco and Sam’s Club. I purchase the two pack milk at Costco since Sam’s stopped carrying milk that way. I’ll buy gas at whichever. I buy only necessities and few luxuries (artichokes, Mac n Cheeese) at Sam’s since I know they carry the items I need year round. It seems like things are hit and miss at Costco for me. I’ve also found that Costco carries more foo-foo (gourmet/healthier) items at a slightly higher price. 

Another new way of managing the household is the diet. Do we really need 10 packages of packaged butter noodles? Ten boxes of Oreos? Absolutely not. So I’ve decided that we are going to eat healthier. Yes, $20 at the Farmer’s Market doesn’t seem like much, but skip the fruit and you can get a week’s worth of veggies. Bargaining also helps-they aren’t set prices. We, at least I, am trying to cut out sugar and carbs. No more fillers. Yes, the kids love PB & Js for lunch. If I make the bread, then they can have them, but no carbs for mommy and daddy. This means two vegetables and one meat at dinner. Period. Still hungry? Eat a salad or if you have some, fruit. Fruit must be in moderation.  My daughter thinks Lucky Charms and M&Ms  are good for you, but after telling her it’s chocked full of sugar, it really hurts her tummy and her teeth.

Speaking of teeth, $1,000 of our debt is I had to have an emergency crown put on one of my back molars. When he put that cap on, you don’t know how bad I wanted to bite my dentist. That sucker hurt not only my mouth, but our finances as well. Since then, I’ve brushed and flossed like there’s no tomorrow. I really don’t want my kids going through that pain.

These may seem drastic, but to tell you the truth, how much do you really need to buy? How much do you really need to eat? I know I don’t exercise, so I need to adjust my intake. We live in a 1,800 square foot home. How much clutter do we need in our life? If there’s a fire or earthquake, we won’t be able to save anything from our house. Life is about what is within yourself, not your house, fridge, or wallet.

Eventually we will get out of debt and someday hubby and I will take our honeymoon. Even if it is eight years late, that’s okay. We have each other and really, that’s all that matters. Yes I become anxious about the finances, but like hubby has told me numerous times, there’s really nothing I can do about them unless I get a job. I want the best for my family and my best is to be there for them.