The Low Life

I’ve become a little more health conscious lately.  Sure, I have been eating healthy-ish for a while now.  Mainly good vegetarian food, but with the occasional greasy vegetable (french fries and the like).  And I have gotten back into the habit of riding my bike to work a couple days a week. I have known for a while now that it is good for your health to have a glass of red wine a day.  Well, a glass of wine a day, for two people, can add up quickly.  And if you get the good wine, well, it can really add up.

The solution? Cheap wine. And the wine my wife found…The Big Kahuna tempranillo. How cheap was this?  Well, it had a cap that you screwed off to open the bottle.  Reminded me of the scene in the original MUPPET MOVIE where Steve Martin, playing a waiter, asked if Kermit and Ms. Piggy, “care to smell the cap?” 

Yup, it was the “top shelf” price of $1.99.  And it tasted exactly like you’d expect two dollar wine to taste.  Not something you’d sit around sipping while eating cheese and talking to friends. Unless that cheese is in a grilled cheese sandwich.  

It was a bit fruity, and not all that unpleasant.  No bad after taste, and with the proper levels of alcohol. Fine for eating dinner with…but not a wine I plan on keeping stocked in the wine cellar. Well, if I had a wine cellar. But a perfectly decent wine.

One you see that my wife and I spent the evening enjoying.

Today, the girls made banana splits and sundaes at home for “Sunday Treat,” instead of spending the usual $20 or more driving around town to get everyone his/her treat of choice.  Saved on treats, gas and stress.  They used the chocolate syrup I made yesterday, ice cream (leftover from the root beer floats they made as a special send off for Daddy the night before he flew off to Canada for 5 days), one Girl Scout cookie each (yes, we STILL have GS cookies from last year’s sale), walnuts and sprinkles.  Oh, and one banana.  

Hallie is on her way to a dance performance in San Pedro (carpooling with other dancers).  The other girls are watching a little Monty Python, and I am about to throw some garbanzos on to cook.  You know, I had put canned garbanzos on the coming week’s grocery list, and then I realized I had 1/2 pound of dry ones just sitting in the cupboard, waiting to be cooked.   See?  Sometimes I just have to take the time to look in the cupboards before I run out and start throwing around dough.  Besides, dry beans are cheaper and better for us, right?  

Yesterday, Justice and Hallie helped weed and water the garden and find places for all of our new herbs.  The dill and cilantro are looking sad, but I am hoping a little loving care will revive them.  Justice is doing a bang-up job with the herb garden.  She trimmed the rosemary and hung sprigs to dry yesterday, and made her own planter out of a cinderblock for some of the cilantro.  I am thinking the herbs stand a better chance with her helping me look after them.  Maybe, between the two of us, we can pull them through.  

Think I will do some laundry while the beans cook ~ and take advantage of the nice weather to hang it on the line.  So far, this saving money thing is easy-peasy.  

Quiet day here today.  Drove Shane to the airport very early this morning, then spent the last two dollars in my wallet on broccoli and rolls at the 99¢ store.  Somehow, I lost track of my spending during the week, but I did not take out more money, so, the way I figure it, we came out right on target with our $50/week grocery budget.  I mean, I replaced the money I used on non-grocery items, and spent pretty much every cent in my wallet.  To be perfectly honest, I have a little change left, and I used a dollar fifty at the car wash to clean up a spill in my new car :(  I guess, technically, we came in a couple of bucks under budget.  I’ll try to keep more careful track this week.  So far, it has been EASY.  We’ll see how it goes as time wears on.  

I am little concerned about the coming week, because there is one big-ticket item on our list: soy turkey from Shoop’s Delicatessen.  It is not cheap, but I can get a pound, freeze some, and it will last for several weeks.  Nevertheless, I have to spend the money all at once, and that takes a big chunk out of the weekly grocery budget, so we are going to have to keep everything else simple. 

Sat down with the girls and loosely planned meals for the week, so we can plan our shopping trip.  On the one hand, freezer and cupboards are still pretty full, so we have a lot to work with.  On the other hand, we are completely out of flour, sugar and yeast, and running low on fresh veggies.  Well.  Unless you count the copious amount of lettuce growing in our garden :)  We can make a LOT of salads.  We also have a TON of oranges and lemons from our trees. Without a doubt, we have more than enough to get through the next couple of days without spending a cent on groceries.  The girls will even get ice cream sundaes tomorrow (instead of going out and spending money on “Sunday Treat,” like we usually do), and I can have a glass of wine with dinner.  

As I am writing, the girls are enjoying their lunch.  Hallie and Kaia asked for leftover sliders, and Justice is having the last of the bagels (there’s still cream cheese left for the coming week) and an orange.  I know at least two of the girls had pumpkin muffins as part of their breakfast, but honestly I am not sure what else they had.  I feel like Kaia ate a TON so far today.  I think she had oatmeal and a muffin for breakfast, a granola bar for snack and three sliders for lunch.  That’s a lot for a teeny-tiny 8-year-old, isn’t it?  Well, she’s a growing gal.  Tonight, we are looking forward to zucchini crab cakes, rice and steamed broccoli for dinner, and tomorrow I think we’ll keep it simple with rice, beans, tortillas and salad.  

On a whim, I just asked the girls if they are feeling deprived.  I got a resounding, “No!”  This week, their favorites have been: veggie sliders, seitan w/ barbeque  sauce, the new granola bars, pumpkin muffins, macaroni and cheese, root beer floats, oatmeal, chocolate milk, grilled cheese and homemade tomato soup.   Hallie did mention that she misses pizza, but knows we can’t afford to order it, so we decided to put it on the menu (homemade) for the coming week.  She has requested feta cheese, and is looking forward to making her very own Greek pizza, which will probably be way better than anything we could’ve ordered, anyway.

You know, Id’ say we’re doing okay.  

Today has been busy, so I will do a brief synopsis before I run out to pick up kids:

Not even sure what kids ate for breakfast.  It was catch-as-catch-can here this morning.  Lunches were leftover pasta w/ cauliflower (last night’s dinner) for the older girls, along with some pineapple chunks and something else, I’m sure.  Maybe crackers for Jus and pretzels for Hal?  Kaia got a container of chocolate peanut butter, whole grain crackers, juice and a granola bar.  That I remember.  She fussed about the peanut butter.  She wants soy turkey, but we’re out, and it’s not in the budget this week.  I will get some next week, and we’ll freeze half, but she can’t eat the same thing every day, anyway.  So, peanut butter it was.  And, really, it’s got chocolate in it?  Who complains about chocolate?

Yesterday, Hallie got a really good $16 haircut at Supercuts.  We have tried other places, but Supercuts has never let us down.  That price included a wash, condition, blow dry and style, too.  

I started teaching again today, so I was in the classroom from 9:30-10:15 and again from 10:40-11:20.  This gig I do on a volunteer basis because it is an investment in my daughter’s school ~ and they are allowing me use of the auditorium after school to conduct drama classes, for which I do get paid.  It all works out.  And I have the satisfaction of knowing I am doing my part to keep the arts in public schools, thereby investing in our future.  

After classes, I ran by Trader Joe’s to pick up kleenex and pepper (we thought that was an especially silly combo).  Justice had done the math for me and figured out that, since I spent about $7 of the cash I had on hand for household items and clothing (remember my $2 undies?), and I started the week $3 shy of our $50 grocery budget anyway, I could spend up to $10 on my debit card toward groceries.  I am trying to stick to cash, but this worked out, since I needed to get $5 back for Kaia’s upcoming field trip.  So, I spent $7.38 on kleenex, pepper, and vanilla ice cream.  And you know what?  Trader Joe’s gives out samples, including little cups of coffee, so I had a nice little snack of apple slices with sunflower butter, orange-peach-mango juice and coffee.  I haven’t told the kids yet, but we are going to celebrate a successful first week of “The Project,” as Kaia calls it, with ice cream sodas on Sunday.  We usually go out and get a special treat every Sunday, but I am hoping they will appreciate the treat AND the fact that we are saving even more money, and having even better treats than we usually do.  

After the grocery run, I raced home to bake a bunch of pumpkin muffins.  Hoping they turned out okay, because I had used most of my all-purpose flour baking bread on Sunday, and I didn’t want to spend more money (and I didn’t have time to go out again), so I threw in about a cup of whole wheat flour and what was left of the almond meal, instead of the other 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour.  Pulled them out of the even a few minutes ago, and they look and smell great.  Here’s hoping!

While they were baking, I made myself a burrito: soy chorizo/potato/zucchini mixture (from our breakfast yesterday) with sweet potato, corn, beans, lettuce and salsa ~ all wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla.  Yum!

So, at the close of Day 4, I have $3 and change in my wallet, but I am not worried, because I am reasonably certain I can get through the last few days with what we have around the house.  Kids now have muffins for breakfasts and snacks, I have plans for tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s, and we have (and will add) leftovers in the fridge.  So far, so good.  Would love to end the week under budget, but not convinced I will.   I’ll keep you posted!

Today I will have to spend a little money. Hallie has a drumming lesson, and I have to pay the teacher.  I know a lot of people reading this might say that we could save a lot of money by not putting our kids in activities that cost money.  True.  So very true.  But see, this is the reason we are trying to save money ~ so that we can afford to give the kids things like music and dance lessons, fun family outings and vacations.  So that we can take in shows, go on roadtrips, and drink a glass of wine with dinner.  Because, see, I’d happily eat ramen with a halfway decent glass of wine.  I’d rather wear thrift store clothes to a Flogging Molly concert and not feel like I was depriving my kids of a trip to the zoo because I bought a new pair of boots.  I mean, I want to save money wherever I reasonably can, so I can spend it on stuff I actually love.  I don’t love Starbucks coffee more than I love a roadtrip with the family.  And I sure don’t love Coca-Cola more than I love raising musicians.  Do you know how much a bottle of Coca-Cola costs these days?  Nutty.  Besides, we don’t have to do without Coca-Cola entirely.  We can find deals on multipacks and still have a Coke once in a while (‘though I am gonna be the mama for a minute and say I would rather give them sodas made with real sugar than those containing high fructose corn syrup ~ and I’d rather give them water, milk, juice, tea…pretty much anything other than soda, to be perfectly honest…except for special treats.  There will always be special treats).

This morning, I made the kids peanut butter banana smoothies.  I make them with almond milk, greek yogurt, bananas, peanut butter and ice.  Very high in protein and calcium, and the kids like them.  Kaia also had a bowl of oatmeal (the maple/brown sugar flavor.  She eats it dry.  Dry!  Can you imagine?  She has never even tried it cooked), Justice had some kind of dry cereal (the kind that’s supposed to be dry) and Hallie had one strip of veggie bacon and a slice of homemade Italian bread.  Shane packed lunches, so I am not sure about details.  Justice got a bagel with cream cheese (both from the 99¢ store trip yesterday ~ bagels came in a 6-pack), Kaia got a veggie hot dog (which she calls a “veggie cold dog,” because she eats them cold) and Hallie got some leftover pasta w/ garlic.  Not sure what else went in there.  I think I saw some juice pouches and mandarin oranges again.  I’m sure there was more.

After I dropped them off, I stopped and spent $3.19 at Target for a half gallon of Silk Dark Chocolate Almond Milk.  This is one of my little indulgences.  We all have a few.  It contains 8-cups of the good stuff, and replaces a much more expensive indulgence: Starbucks coffee.  At home, I can put about 1/4 cup of this into a tall glass of iced coffee,and I have a mocha that, in my opinion, can not be beat.  Do the math:  that’s 32 iced mochas for about the cost of one at a coffee shop.  And I saved all of those little plastic cups.  Sometimes, I go heavier on the milk.  That’s still okay.  And I never get to use all of it.  The kids like to drink it, too, so I don’t actually get 32 mochas out of it, but, even if I get more than one, I am saving money, right?

Tonight’s dinner will be homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.  Quick and easy for a busy, busy day.  I already had a can of crushed tomatoes, so all I needed was an onion (bought a bag of five or six at the 99¢ store), a touch of butter and a little dried basil.  We’ll also be using some of the wheat bread form yesterday’s grocery run, as well as some of the sliced deli cheese (used some last night to make mac-n-cheese, too).

In addition to the drum teacher, Korey, who is such a good guy that we just love to pay him, anyway, I had one other major expense today.  I stopped at Sego Nursery and got food for the vegetable garden as well as some small herbs to add to the herb garden:  Italian parsley, chives, cilantro and dill.  Hoping I can manage to help them thrive, because I use  A LOT of those particular herbs.  That stop ran me about $31, but the food will last through several feedings, and, in the long run, the garden saves us tons of money.  Besides, there is just something fun and almost magical about being able to say, “Okay, kids ~ go pick dinner!”  I need to grow potatoes.  And onions.  If I can just grow potatoes and onions, I will hardly ever have to shop.  Oh, and maybe some beans…and corn…This place has a HUGE yard, and it still doesn’t seem big enough to grow everything I would like.  

This is why I want to work on this barter idea I have.  I need to get more people on board.  You know, we grow way too much lettuce and rosemary, too many oranges and lemons, but not always enough of some other things.  I really need to find people who are willing to trade.  Going to keep looking.  Maybe I will post on craigslist.  I feel like there has to be a way to work this.

Had to make a run to the credit union, too, to deposit checks.  I think I have a total of 32 students enrolled in my after school program so far (room for more, so I will send  enrollment reminders), and will be starting in-school classes with my 5th graders this week.  One truly great thing about the credit union: free coffee in the lobby.  Yeah, you’d  better believe I grabbed a cup :)

Okay, time to turn off the sprinklers (while dreaming of the water- reclamation systems I will one day install in my forever-home) and pick up kids from school.  Peace out.

Started the week with $47 in my wallet.  Easy, since the fridge and cupboards are well-stocked.  Today was the kids’ first day back in school after a long Winter Recess, so we are just trying to get back in to the swing of things.  Started them off with pancakes made using Krusteaz Whole Wheat Pancake Mix, which I had in my cupboard.  I use almond milk instead of water and add a small (individual serving size) container of applesauce to amp up the nutritional value a bit.  When we run out of mix, I would like to see if I can make up my own homemade version and store it in a jar.  I think that will be cheaper, better for us and, besides, it will mean one less cardboard box to dispose of when its empty.  Of course, the flour and stuff comes with packaging, but…hmmm….gonna have to look into buying flour and other staples in bulk.  Anyway, Hal had a cup of coffee with her favorite vanilla flavored half-and-half, and I had an iced coffee with chocolate almond milk.  Pretty sure Kaia went with her favorite green juice (watered down just a bit, which is how she prefers it ~ and makes it last us longer).  Justice probably didn’t have a beverage.  She does that.  Justice ~ drink beverages!  Shane fessed up later that he stopped and got Starbucks.  Haha!  Fine.  He did stay up half the night taking pics of Hal as she did her last few experiments for the science fair.  I am trying hard to stick to my guns:  I have told myself I will not set foot in a Starbucks in the month of January.  Wish me luck.  I might need someone to hold my hand if I have to walk too close to one.  

Sent each kid off with a lunchbox packed with pasta (Barilla plus ~ which has added protein and omega fatty acids, so it’s great for Kaia, who hardly eats anything….and was on sale at Target last week) with garlic & olive oil, mandarin oranges, a thick slice of homemade Italian bread & an organic apple juice pouch. And a cookie (we made them last night).

So, after we got all of the kids off to school, I did my usual first shopping trip of the week to pick up a few odds and ends that will help complete meals.  Right after I dropped off kids, I stopped at Ralph’s for a small amount of cheese from their deli ($4.23 worth) for tonight’s dinner.  Then, I made two more stops: Trader Joe’s and the 99¢ store.  Now, yeah, I do try to make healthy choices for my family, but, for the purposes of this particular experiment (or lifestyle choice, depending on how it all pans out), I am trying to strike a reasonable balance between cheap and healthful.  I mean, sometimes, I can’t afford the organic veggies.  Sometimes I can.  And we are growing more and more of our own, and making more and more food from scratch, so I think it all balances out.  I spent a grand total of $23.90, and that wasn’t even all groceries.  Technically, I owe the grocery budget about six and a half bucks, because I am keeping a separate budget for household supplies and yet another one for personal items like clothes, health and beauty.  I bought a 12-pack of toilet paper (100% recycled, because that just makes sense to me, considering its purpose) for $4.49 at TJ’s, and a matching camisole and underpants at the 99¢ store (for 99¢ apiece).  Yeah, yeah, I bought lingerie at the 99¢ store.  I realize this takes me to a special level, but…but…they’re purple!  With a cute little skully print! and…and…you know…a dollar ninety-eight!  Who could resist?  See, I can be a cheapskate and yet remain a fashionista.  I’ve been doing that for years.  Having been very poor at times, I can say it all it takes is a little practice and ninja-like bargain shopping skills to be both poor AND fabulous.  It is totally worth it.

Tonight, I plan to use the leftover seiten roast I made on Saturday to work out a pretty decent dinner.  We got two votes for trying it with stuffing layered in between the slices, and two for trying it thinly sliced and cooked with bar-b-que sauce.  I am doing some of each, so we can all try it and see what we think (since it is a new recipe, I figure we might as well experiment).  I will make a side of macaroni and cheese, broccoli slaw and probably some canned green beans (which were also on sale at Target last week).  

I think this week will be easy.  As I said, the cupboards are full.  Meal plans for the rest of the week include potatoes, soy chorizo, eggs & tortillas and omelet muffins (better than they sound ~ kinda like small quiche) for breakfasts.  Dinner plans include: cheese tortellini, which I have in the fridge, grilled cheese and homemade tomato soup,  spaghetti (with garlic bread and some type of veggie…hmmm…) and, if I can swing it, homemade veggie burgers.  Then, we’ll see how far leftovers will get us.  I also have some vegetarian chicken strips that need to be used.  Thinking maybe veggie chicken tacos?  We’ll see.  I wonder if I can freeze those, if I don’t get to using them this week.  Wow!  I just checked ~ good until February 21!  Okay, so…maybe I’ll save that, instead of using up all the luxury prepared foods in the first week.  I do believe this will get tougher as we start to run out of staples and things we have bought in bulk, such as the giant bag of cheese ravioli from Costco (that is as yet unopened in my freezer).  If nothing else, maybe this experiment will encourage us to use up leftovers, and to work with what we have on hand, instead of being spoiled and running out to get what we want to satisfy our every whim.  

We will begin by arbitrarily setting our grocery budget at $50/week.  At the beginning of each week, Sam will get $50 cash from the credit union.  This will be used to purchase food ONLY.  Just food.  Not household products like toilet paper, kleenex, garbage bags, cleaning supplies.  Of course, we will work to cut costs in other areas, too, but we are going to start with groceries.

Why groceries, you might ask?  After all, that’s the stuff you need, right?  Well…true and not so true.  We obviously need food.  And we love food.  We love to cook, and we enjoy a good meal.  The problem is, we throw away A LOT of food:  unused leftovers, opened packages that expired before we used them, sometimes even UNopened packages that expired before we used them.  We shop on whim.  To be honest, we probably already spend less on groceries than a lot of people, but we do not plan well, and we end up buying more than we need and wasting a lot.  So, for us, this seems like a logical place to start.  We need to learn to use up what we have, even if it isn’t what we’re in the mood for at them moment.  The truth is, we’re spoiled.  A little spoiled is okay, but very wasteful is not, and we definitely have a problem in that department.