Continued...

So, I've been reading other people's blogs about saving grocery dollars. I know that my savings are not as extreme as theirs. Here is my explanation:

1. I don't buy much processed food. This week I got a box of Raisin Bran for 22 cents and a bottle of Pepsi for free. Other than that, the only things purchased from the store's "isles" were two boxes of Barilla Plus pasta, a can of diced organic tomatoes, a bottle of EVOO, flour, brown sugar, yeast, red pepper flakes, and a box of ziplocks (with a coupon.) This explains why I spend more. Interestingly enough, this is counter-intuative to me. I would have thought it would be more expensive to buy a diet of packaged foods, but that is no longer the case due to the abundance of coupons for those products. Darn!

2. While I am a good shopper, I am not yet the expert shopper. For example, it is best to go to many stores to get the best deals; however, I just went to one. This is something I will be working on in the future.

Saving Grocery Dollars

This morning I went to the grocery store. My total purchases came to $112. Guess how much I paid? $60!!!!!!!! I used $12 worth of coupons, a $10 off coupon, and a $30 gift card for transferring a prescription. Now, I could have spent less, thus making the savings proportionately more; however, I chose, instead, to purchase mostly organic produce and organic ground beef. Wonderful savings today! I feel great!

The Dollar Store

All I can say is, "WOW!" Did you know that everything there actually costs only a dollar? They have a great variety of stuff I hate to spend money on: toothpaste (I will NOT pay more than a dollar per tube,) toothbrushes, pregnancy/ovulation tests, greeting cards, gift supplies. I had to run in and out because I was sporting the child on my arm, but I certainly intend to go back...on a weekday, without the child. This is a great place for those of us on tight budgets!

Bad News Bears

I thought I was FINALLY going to have the perfect dining table: china, crystal, cloth napkins, table cloth, and table pad. Ummm, until I made the novice error. I only GUESSED the dimensions of my table. Now, I have a too-short table pad and a too-short table cloth...all to the tune of about seventy bucks, seventy WASTED bucks. Lesson: don't feel rushed in your tasks; it will come with a cost.

Update on Cookware

I did end up ordering cookware from a restaurant supplier. It wasn't until after the order shipped that I second-guessed this decision. Well, today the boxes arrived. I began opening them, and they had shipped me someone else's order! I took this as a sign from God that this was not going to be my solution to the cookware conundrum. I called the company, scheduled the pick-up of these boxes, and canceled my previous order. Maybe Saturday I'll gather my Calphalon, box it up, and ship it back to be replaced...all under warranty. This will save me some serious bucks!

Battle of The Bulge

Tonight I had planned to cook a new recipe for chicken and biscuits. When I read through the recipe, however, I realized that it called for 2.5 sticks of butter AND a good amount of heavy cream. Well, due to the start of the New Year and the appearance of personal trainers on all of the talk shows, I began to question if I really wanted to make this dish. It has veggies, right? Yep, squash and asparagus...but I don't think that's going to cancel out all of the fat. I scrapped my plans.

Instead, I'm watching the season premier of "The Biggest Loser," and I have an appointment with the treadmill from 8pm-9pm. The veggies are great but not when they're dripping in fat. Hmmm, if I could only figure out something else creative to cook for Ryan...

Healthy body, here I come!

I run the business

Today I've really begun to realize how much like a business homemaking is. It's the smallest non-profit in the world! I have a never-ending "to-do" list, and every time I scratch off one task, I seem to add two more. For example, last night I went to Walmart in attempt to purchase a list of random items. They were out of the plastic food storage set I was searching for, and they were not able to help me replace the battery in my watch. Thus, as soon as I returned home, I had to add a trip to Target and a trip to a jeweler to my "to-do" list.

Other examples: yesterday I wrote a handful of thank-you notes using the last of my note cards and stamps. Now I have to schedule a trip to the post office! Friday I was able to schedule pest control to come to the house. This morning they came, now I have to add "pay bill" to my "to-do" list. Such is life.

It is not the series of never-ending tasks that surprises me. Rather, the surprise comes with the realization of the requirements to be a GREAT household manager. The difference between good and great is most magnified when it comes to finances. There are two very important (and pain-in-the-butt) tasks I must tackle in this arena. First, I must compile a list of all financial accounts and account numbers. Second, I must find time to drag R with me to make sure that all accounts have rights-of-survivorship. Frankly, despite my legal training, I'm not even sure if this is possible. The goal, of course, is for us to have immediate access to eachother's accounts should one of us die untimely.

Back to the business theory...as you may recall, many of the gurus on efficient and effective management suggest scheduling an appointment for daily tasks.





Several of my daily tasks, including emailing, blogging, and bill paying, revolve around the computer. Unfortunately, I often find myself spending hours getting in and off line all day long. This week, one of my efforts to become a better homemaker/mommy/business manager will be to only spend time on my computer from 10am-11am and after I put B to bed for the night. I feel freedom already!