Frugal Fridays - Some thoughts

Well last Friday in talking about eating weeds, I decided to dedicate Fridays to frugal topics. I don't claim to be an expert. Learning to be frugal is a constant process. I decided to talk about being frugal here for a few reasons. I do hope to share some things I have learned with those of you who are interested, but I am looking for you to share some ideas also and am hoping writing about these things will keep me more accountable.

Necessity is the mother of invention. I learned the most about being frugal the year Lydia was born. We took a big cut in income because I stopped teaching. At the same time our living expenses increased because we left a job that provided our housing. Typical of my family, we had a baby, both changed jobs, bought a house and moved. Being frugal was not a choice then. Since then we have learned different things and stopped doing some of the things we used to.

There seems to be this trade off of time vs money. Not all, but many things that save money cost time. There are some things that I have chosen not to do anymore because of time. Grocery shopping is my best example. There was a time when I would look through all the grocery store ads and coupons. Then I would shop at Aldi for things that weren't on sale at other stores and then hit two or more other stores with sale ads and coupons in hand. Did this save me money? Yes. (the stores were all pretty close so gas wasn't much of an issue) Do I do it now? No, not with four kids. It would take me as long to get everyone in and out of the car as to do the shopping. Will I ever do it again? Probably.

There are some things I have learned that have become ingrained in me, like shopping Aldi. There are other things that we used to do, but have lost in the craziness of moving out of state and having a baby. Using cash envelopes is an example of something we need to get back to.

So this is what Fridays will be; sharing ideas and reminding myself of what I need to do. Please, please leave your comments so we can all learn from each other!

Of an for an update on our foraging adventures - We had a salad last night made almost entirely of foraged greens. We used wild carrot greens, lady's thumb, wood sorrel, chicory, and Greenbriar. I really liked it. I also pickled a little bit of Poke stem. A test to see if we like it. It is supposed to sit a week so I guess I will let you know next Friday.