Would like suggestions and advise (long)

[Guest]

Welcome Betty,

I find the largest variable cost in our finances right now

is groceries. We can cut back on driving to alleviate

gasoline costs, other than my hubby driving to work (about

an hour each way, sometimes 7 days a week) – and gas just

jumped up to $3.20 a gallon around here this past week.

I am constantly looking for ways to cut the food budget.

The best I know of is to eat at home. I read a lot of

recipes online (Cooking Light and RecipeZaar and Cooks.com

are great websites) and keep the pantry stocked to try a

new recipe or two every two weeks. That way, I don’t get

bored and I get better use of our grocery bills.

I am looking for ways to cut those and other household

expenses. One of our big goals for 2008 is to pay down our

debts and build our savings.

Herlean

— Betty <bbor1212frugal@aol.com> wrote:

> My name is Betty, I will turn 60 the end of March. My

> household

> consists of myself and two cats, Kitzel and Missie.

>

> I am currently working full time for $10 per hour. There

> are rumors

> of possible cutbacks. I just started this job the first

> part of

> August or 2007 so am feeling a lot a insecurity regarding

> my job.

>

> My house, car, and credit cards are paid in full. The

> credit cards

> have no annual fee and are part of my backup plan for

> emergency

> expenses.

> I do not subscribe to any newspaper, magazine or cable or

> any

> orgianization that requires dues — I use the internet

> instead. I use

> dsl(lite) to access internet which is bundled with my

> landline phone.

> because the dsl and phone are bundled, my dsl costs me

> only about $3

> a month more than if I would have dial-up.

>

> I do have cell phone service that cost me $10 per month.

> [My brother,

> niece and nephew had a line they weren’t using and added

> me to their

> family plan providing I pay for the service for that

> phone.] Cell

> phone is currently intended to be used as “safety

> equipment” so only

> have a few hours per month available to me for calls

> outside the

> family plan.

>

> I have several hobbies that I enjoy. Expenses for my

> hobbies average

> less than $15 total per month. I rarely eat at

> restuarants, less than

> once a month. Several times per year I participate in a

> ebs

> meal/gathering [ebs=everybody bring

> something]

>

>

> the grocery stores in the area i live do not double

> coupons. in a

> thirty mile radius from my home, i have only found one

> store that

> will honor interent coupons. that store is enough more

> expensive that

> using coupon there cost more than buying elsewhere

> without coupon.

> without double coupons or internet coupons i feel very

> limited a how

> much i could save using coupons.

>

> of the two angle food ministry distribution locations

> that i know

> about in minneota, the closest is about 2 hours away, the

> other is

> about 3 1/2 hours away. I looked for SHARE program in

> Minnesota but

> could not find any locations. I know of a food shelf in

> town 20 miles

> from my home. They limit the number of times per year

> that you can

> use it. One can only use food shelf 12 times per year.

> Visits to food

> shelf must be at least a week apart. Don’t want to use it

> yet as I

> want to keep my options open in case things get rough

> later.

>

> I have some huge finanical challenges. I have a $12,000

> street

> improvement accessment that has been attached to my

> property tax. I

> also have hanging over me the fact that I have to fix my

> basement

> walls.[Defect in construction of walls was aggravated by

> things that

> occurred during street project.– My insurance won’t pay

> and I can’t

> prove which of three sources is primary fault so can’t

> suit to help

> offset cost of repair.]Last fall the lowest estimate for

> fixing

> basement was “at least $10,000, we’ll do good if we keep

> it under

> $20,000″

>

> Now that I have laid out my situation, I will admit I

> have been lax

> on tracking and managing inventory of consumables, food

> and

> other,that I have on hand and could do better in that

> area. I would

> like to hear suggestions and advise regarding (1)reducing

> cost and

> waste of groceries; (2) generating income from at home.

>

> Betty (in Minnesota)

>

>

>

>

>

> Free Money- [url=”https://budget101..com/”]https://budget101..com/[/url]

>

> *~*~*~*~*~*~*please take a moment to visit our sponsor

> ad~*~*~*~*~*~*

>

> ad-expired

> save money with clear comparisons

>

> *~*~*~*~*~*~*sponsor ad~*~*~*~*~*

>

>

> to view the list archives please visit

> https://www.budget101.com/forumdisplay.php/95-Budget101-Discussion-List

>

>

>

> Yahoo! Groups Links

>

>

>

>

________________________________________________________________________________

____

Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page.

https://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

[Author]

Posts