April Showers bring...a Mean, Lean, Healthy Budget
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| Photo by Lisa from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com |
April must be lean on my checkbook. May as well to be frank. I have spending money to save for Memphis in early June. It's approaching gift giving season with two confirmations, three graduations, and two weddings by September. I've got gardening supplies and items needed for spring cleanup and getting my yards shaped up. After I truly am retired I'll recap my wind down but I received an incredible gift to help with that expense. There's the rest of my want and need list to save towards.
I have to repay the overage of property rebate, and the first half of property taxes in April.I have to do my taxes today. I think I'm close to break even, but if not, there's that payment too. Oh, and no income coming in of any kind in May. Yes, needing a lean month in every discretionary area possible, is an understatement.
I need a complete restock of household items like dish detergent, garbage bags, etc. I'm even down to scraps of parchment paper. Because of that, I'm going to focus on wrangling the grocery budget specifically since the household supplies will be a large cost. I still will feed and send meals home with the kids when they come, mom prerogative. There's my contribution to the Easter brunch at my sister's, but in every day meals, I'm looking to work magic, and aiming to shave 20% off my average, food only. I'll be flexible if there's an incredible loss leader and can stock up. I'll call this my mean, lean, healthy April.
Strategy
- Really manage the food in the house- Absolutely no food waste. I spent Saturday cleaning the pantry and it's amazing how many items are there that just kept getting pushed aside as new groceries are purchased.
- Double batches and freeze for meals later in the month. I still haven't bought the spare freezer (on the wants and needs list) so need to be thoughtful of space, but resisting temptation to order or go out for a meal is easier when there's literally something already prepared.
- More alternative protein meals. I just found this YouTube channel, Down to Earth Jill, a young mom in Canada truly cooking from scratch. I might not be quite as diligent but there were quite a few recipes I think my family would like, including my meat loving son. I like the videos I've watched because she's honest about the time it takes to live on a very tight budget and cook from scratch, noting she's just a small family of two adults and a baby, and starts her prep early. Too many vlogs and blogs over simplify what living on a tight budget means in time tradeoffs. I don't mind the time but appreciate the honesty.
- Using the web to find ways to use what we have. There's still lingering bottles of Angry Orchard and Blue Moon from Christmas. I baked a bit yesterday after deciding I needed to clean out the pantry and fridge and one treat for the week was this beer bread, using the Angry Orchard. I always forget this site, Super Cooks but wow, were there options loaded to use stuff in my house without shopping for a single ingredient. The bread turned out good, not great, but worked as part of dinner and was ok for an open face tuna or peanut butter sandwich.
I was a bread making fiend yesterday. Three mini muffin loaves (one eaten before picture, using the last of a bag of frozen strawberries and the last of a jar of mixed berry jam), beer bread- 1/4 eaten for lunch, and a no knead Dutch oven artisan loaf. I need a good basic bread recipe, I e that doesn't require heating the Dutch oven so long, even if it involves kneading. Comment and share please if you've a fool proof version. - Better manage my shopping in general without chasing deals. I already know certain places for the best prices on staples, but often loss leaders beat those prices. I can walk to one grocery store and take advantage and the other regular grocery store in town is near the library and bank so can be combined with other errands. I'll combine other out of town trips for shopping at Sam's, Trader Joe's or Aldi. As I shop at different days and times, hopefully I'll learn when food is labeled for discounts. ( And...I can't get carried away with Aldi and TJ fun finds.)
I'd like to make all these just practical sense living now that I should have the time. Realistically, I know I'll cut corners and spend more in the name of convenience and freeing up time for other work, family and friends, and r&r. But when possible, unless grocery prices continue to escalate, if I can adapt to and maintain this approach, I can consistently lower my spending and put that towards the other good things if life. What common sense strategies am I missing? How are you managing grocery inflation or tighter overall budgets?
I like your common sense approach, Sam, and think it will serve you well. We are still eating through our freezer, a lot of last year's garden (sliced zucchini, for example), both to keep our grocery costs down and to empty as much space as possible for this year's vegetables (hoping the garden gods smile on me this year). Like you, I pore over the weekly ads (Kroger, Meijer, Aldi) and figure out the best values (if any). We also try to combine errands when in the car and while grocery stores are out of walking range here, other places are not; I walk a lot. Thoreau wrote: "Keep your accounts on your thumb nail"--I try!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to be eating down last summers produce. I'll be starting small though.
DeleteWhen I have ingredients that really need to be used up, I put them out on the counter or up front of the fridge so I can't avoid them. In the freezer, I have a flex divider in the drawer and I'll put 'use it up' items on one side for focus.
ReplyDeleteI have used rapid rise yeast since it came out and it makes the work easier too.
French Bread:
1.25c water-warmed
2 tsp yeast
Mix and add in:
1.5c whole wheat flour
1.5c white flour
1.5 tsp salt
I have developed my own healthy Whole Wheat bread recipe that has a lot of ingredients, ping me if you would like me to post it. It's not hard but a bit fussier.
Definitely going to give this one a try later in the week after Saturdays stash is eaten up.
DeleteI frequently bake bread,and no, i don’t have a bread machine. I started making my own bread in earnest when I made pulled chicken in the slow cooker but had no rolls, and wasn’t heading out to buy them. So, I called up a friend and had her read me her recipe. When I bake bread, I use the dough hook on my Kitchenaid mixer to do the kneading. I use a similar recipe to this as well. I have a sense of how the dough should feel before I set it to rise and how it should look after it rises. That all varies based on the weather, if we have the woodstove lit, etc. Anyway, here’s a link!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your Sunday.
-Meg B
https://www.kitchenaid.com/pinch-of-help/stand-mixers/how-to-use-a-dough-hook.html
Thank you. I only briefly had a stand mixer ( given by an elderly volunteer) but space was an issue and wasn't using. I'll be old fashion kneading.
Deletehttps://pin.it/5EVSyoSWz
ReplyDeleteIncredible Cuban Bread
Baking & Spices
2 cups Flour, white
1 tbsp Salt
2 tbsp Sugar
2 cups Whole wheat flour
2 tbsp Yeast
Liquids
2 cups Water, hot
Mmm
Deletehttps://www.reddit.com/r/Frugal/comments/ot83en/cuban_bread_from_the_tightwad_gazette/
ReplyDeleteSeems pretty straightforward.
DeleteCooking from scratch does take a lot of time but the health benefits and money savings are worth it for me. I make all of our bread and this is my recipe for sandwich bread.
ReplyDelete1 cup water around 110 degrees
1/4 cup whole milk around 110
2 1/4 teaspoon yeast
2 Tablespoons honey or sugar
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/4 cups of ap flour or bread flour
Bloom the yeast in the warm water/milk and sugar for about 5 minutes
Add all ingredients and use a dough hook to knead for at least three minutes.
Place dough in a greased bowl and let double in size.
Remove dough and shape it into a loaf pan
Let rise to double again
Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 mintes
I'll have to knead by hand but looks pretty straightforward.
DeleteYou sure are on the ball, Sam. Sounds like you are going to do great on saving money in your kitchen in April. Jill's YouTube channel sounds like a good one, thank you for the link.
ReplyDeleteEasy to write in the post but time will tell if I can pull it off.
DeleteThat bread looks delicious! x
ReplyDeleteIt was. I had to freeze a lot...even me as a bread fiend know too much of a good thing isn't a good thing.
DeleteYour artisan bread boule looks beautiful! We also need to pinch a lot of pennies in April & May. I'd still like to squeeze in a weekend away with M (not quite a replacement for Spain, but something), and hope to use points to make it a reasonable cost. That's the one splurge I'd like to plan for. Otherwise, we need to seriously trim back. - Hawaii Planner
ReplyDeleteMoney seems to be a concern for most of us these days. We've got a good online support system so there's that.
DeleteHi Sam,
ReplyDeleteMy hubby and I live close enough to Memphis to have been Grizzly Basketball season ticket holders. Here is my take on Memphis sightseeing.
I haven't been to the Civil Rights museum. One of our favorite BBQ restaurants is located 1/2 a block away from it. It's called Central BBQ, and is located on the SE corner of the museum. I would highly recommend lunch there.
Many people will tell you to go to Rendevous restaurant for BBQ. If you like dry seasoning on everything, including fries and coleslaw, then go there. If not, avoid it.
If you finish with the Civil Rights museum early, check out Beale Street. I do NOT recommend it after dark. (I am a former NewYorker). Be aware of your surroundings, just as you would in any big city, like LA or NYC. Park in safe places. We have some very aggressive panhandlers and locals generally don't go to Beale street at night.
If going to Beale street, check out Schwab's for kitchey Elvis souvenirs that are much less costly than at Graceland. My father-in-law got some Elvis like sunglasses @ Schwab's.
memphisriverboats.net will give you information about cruises on the river. We've enjoyed the 90 minute history cruise. It tells a little about the city's history, including the Sultana disaster, which is the largest U.S. maritime accident. It happened the day Lincoln was assassinated. (There is a museum in Marion AR half an hour over the I 40 bridge) dedicated to the Sultana disaster.
On your last post comments, someone put "Chuckalissa, Pink Palace, and Mud Island.
Mud Island is a park along the river (I believe the area is being worked on, many things are closed.) Pi k Palace is a museum that all the area school kids go to. There is a great IMAX theater there. It is now referred to as M.O.S.H. I'm a museum geek and used to be an annual pass holder. I find the permanent displays a little boring.
Chuckalissa is a recreated Native American village. I have never visited it, but you will need a car to get to it.
Enjoy your time at Grace Land. It will take you at least 3 hours to tour everything there. Plan to eat @ the Graceland facilities or away as Graceland is an "island" in a sketchy area. Oh, pack your patience too because while the food here is delicious and unhealthy, the service can be terrible.
I hope you have a wonderful visit and fun times with your sisters.
BTW the 90 minute riverboat cruise is one of our favorite things to do with out of town guests.
Now her post makes sense. I'll have to thank Linda on that comment. I'll tuck away your recommendations. Thank you.
DeleteYour breads look wonderful! I only make bread once a year and that's Easter bread and it's a treat because I have to avoid simple carbs, so we usually buy 21 grain bread which is healthier. But we recently got a Costco membership and bought a loaf of their multi grain bread and it's fantastic! To avoid eating it all at once, we slice it and put it in the freezer. It's sooo gooood!
ReplyDeleteI froze much if this and am sending some with my daughter. I love bread too much.
DeleteI have nothing to add but your comments are looking like a bakery, and I love it!!
ReplyDeleteI know! I should have requested back in October in the start of the chilly season.
Deleteha! that is when you ask for soups and chilli recipes :D
DeleteYour approach makes a lot of sense. I splurged a bit this month when I got a professional cabinet painting for my kitchen, but it was much needed. And I love how everything looks now.
ReplyDeleteI bet your kitchen feels entirely new. My daughter is planning to repaint hers soon.
Delete