Scaling Back

It's official, we're hemorrhaging money. Moving in and of itself is a huge expense and once you add in a series of miscellaneous unexpected expenses (multiple vet visits, shattered windshield, big car repair, new tires), it's pretty painful.

So, instead of getting panicky, I'm going to slam together a budget. For me, one of the quickest ways to tighten the purse strings is by simplifying food costs. I've already shared a number of super inexpensive meals with you folks (lentil soup, pasta fagioli, egg salad), but I'm going to whipping up a bunch more in the coming weeks.

My mom once told me that when my brother and I were just toddlers, she fed our family of 4 with a budget of $25 a week. Taking into account inflation, I'm going to see if I can feed my family of three for $50 a week. It's going to take planning and mostly eating in, but with our much larger new house (with front porch and back deck), I'm going to do my best to make it feel as fun and festive as any dinner out.

I have 11 days until the Irishman and Parker get here, so I'm going to start doing a lot of recipe testing and research on cooking on a budget. Strangely, I'm really excited about this. Starting the first week of August, I'm going to share with you my grocery lists, menus and finished meals. Of course, if you have any fabulous low cost recipes, please feel free to send them my way and I'll feature them here.

Let the savings begin...