Our Junk-Filled Economy

Walking through the grocery store or department store with produce, it boggles my mind to try to find anything. I went to the grocery store for one item the other day and had to walk around the store twice to find what I needed. It's not my usual grocery store, but shouldn't items be easy to find? It made me aware of how much junk we have in our lives. Cookies, potato chips, salad dressing, canned vegetables. What happened to self-sufficiency? Have we gotten so lazy that we can't make anything anymore? A box of cake mix is $2+ per box. Are you waiting for the bugs to start invading your flour at home? Are the eggs in your fridge for decoration?

Someone said America cannot live without convenience or something to that effect. They are 100% right. Fast food, prepackaged potato salad, bagged salad, the list goes on. Since I've cut back on spending, I found myself couponing and only shopping at grocery stores for awhile. I became burned out trying to find a specific product for a specific amount at a certain location. The coupon mission really didn't make buying food any cheaper. So I stopped and realized coupons are primarily for junk food. There's a few for health foods (still processed), organic, and rarely produce.

People buying whatever is inexpensive because they think that is all they can afford. Whenever there's a new product, there's a coupon for cheap or even free. No wonder people are obese and lazy. People need to change their mindset. Cheap is not good. Cheap is unhealthy. I'm not saying buy only organic and expensive things. I'm saying purchase quality. Don't think the grocery store is the only place to purchase produce.

With all these coupons available, comes trash. The trash bins overflow with boxes, plastic bags, paper, food cans, etc. It is horrifying to trash bins bursting with items we are made to think we need every week. Our pantry was bursting at the seams and yet we went shopping for more every week. That's the mindset we have. The prepackaged food never goes bad and although we only consume so much per week, we continue trek on to the grocery store.

A year later, my family started watching a show called "Clean House" through Netflix. It was mesmerizing to watch families with a mess so big that it often had $1,000+ yard sales. Our house wasn't as bad as most of those, but we knew we needed to change. What did we do? Our family downsized. We got rid of the extra clothes, baby toys, extra camping gear, etc. We freed ourselves of the trash, from our cupboards, our closets, toyboxes, yard, and most importantly, we got the junk out of our bodies. Sounds like a cleansing, doesn't it?

Getting out of the house is the hardest part. You can live your "cleansed" lifestyle at home, but when you drive down one major street in town, you'll find a plethora of drive-thru chains for breakfast, lunch, snacktime, and dinner. Wow. Yes, its nice to have someone else cook or not have any dishes to wash, but you end up filling the landfill and your arteries. Unless you order that iceberg salad, there's not much left on the menu.

Another issue I have when dining out is where does the food come from? 99% of it comes from foreign countries and/or an overcrowded feedlot. That's why its cheap. Inexpensive antibiotic filled meat-that's not counting the soybeans and corn syrup companies add to the meat. Grass-fed animals are expensive, but in my opinion, 100% worth the cost.

Meat is like Wal-Mart and Target. Wal-Mart sells low priced items, based on quantity. Target sells a little more expensive items than Wal-Mart, but they are based on quality. See the difference? I'm not promoting or bashing either company, but I get tired of spending countless hours and hubby's hard earned money to these big corporations that will not benefit me or my family in the long run. I'm not getting my money or health back. Once your money and health leave, it's gone.

The one-stop shopping is convenient, especially when you have kids. Who has time to unbuckle them three or four times and put up with temper tantrums? Why would you take your kids to a sit down dinner when the drive-thru is just as convenient? As a whole, we are lazy and obese Americans. I'm not saying I'm energetic or at a healthy weight. I'm just seeing the big picture of how these corporations and the government operates.

Junk in Pantry

Convenience has pushed us consumers at a cost. It has created a government and corporations to throw junk (and trash) in our homes, our bodies, and minds. We have come dependent on other countries for our food and their hard work in making our products. This makes me wonder what are Americans good for? Yes, we are the leader of the world, but why? What do we, as a people and not government, provide?

Our self-sufficiency mindset has been stripped away. Why do something yourself when you can just pay for it? I challenge you to look at the labels. Buy local, buy organic. Don't buy from the big box store or fast food chain for one week or one month. Before purchasing anything. Ask yourself two questions: 1. Can I grow it? 2. Can I make it myself?

Just because the store might be cheaper, ask yourself who is my money benefiting? My local economy or the billion dollar corporation? No wonder so many are under and unemployed.

Thanks for reading!

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.