Instead of making resolutions (who needs that kind of pressure?) I've decided to write down some of the things that don't work for me and my family, and then happily let those things go. These are things I've felt like I ought to be doing, but haven't found a way to make them work for us. So here is my list of things I'm gladly letting go in 2011:
Extreme couponing doesn't work for me. If I happen to already have a coupon handy (or there is one hanging in the store right next to the item), and if I was planning to buy the item anyway, I'll gladly use that coupon. But I don't have time to clip coupons, carry them around in my purse, sort out the 39 that expired yesterday, then forget to use the remaining 3 when I get to the checkout. I just don't need that kind of aggravation. I buy store brands when they are good, buy in bulk when possible, and I don't buy convenience foods. I don't get baskets full of free groceries like the good couponers do, but it's a fair trade off. With the time I don't coupon I can play a game of scrabble with the kids.
Rebate programs do not work for me either. Take the aforementioned aggravation, multiply it by 4387, then quadruple it. I do not want to be required to shop at certain places within a certain time period in order to use certain points on certain brand items of a certain size. Rebates are so not for me.
Store-hopping also does not work. I know that some moms save lots of money by checking out circulars, comparing prices, making lists, then going from store to store to pick up the items that are the best deal that week. Since we live in the country, gas is too expensive to make that kind of shopping all over town worthwhile. Also, don't forget about the aggravation factor I keep mentioning. Do we see a theme here? I don't really like going to even one store, so I certainly don't want to go to several just to get the weekly groceries.
Menu planning also is not working right now. It actually used to work great for us. I planned four weeks of menus down to the side dishes, and we shopped from those lists and cooked and ate from those lists faithfully. But then we challenged ourselves to eat what we grow, and the menu plans went out the window. With eating off the land, my available ingredients change from day to day, therefore menu plans just don't fit our family. It's been a little frustrating trying to keep up with the meals without a good plan, but my sous-chef R and I do seem to be getting better at it every day. And I'm still hopeful we can come up with some sort of general, seasonal plan that will help in this area.
1 comment:
Couponing doesn't work for me, either. I have other things to do with that time, and I am a frugal shopper already.
I also hear you on using things you grow. I have a post in my drafts folder called "feast or famine" which is how I feel about it! I either have 10 dozen eggs or 0; cucumbers with every meal or no cucumbers (b/c I refuse to pay 89cents per cuke!!!). . .you get the point! :)
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