–Eating food I already have
–Wearing clothes I already own
–I spent $120 less on gas (I didn’t think I was driving that much, but I guess I was)
–no more, I’ve been running errands all day and am too tired to cook. Every meal every day is prepared at home because I can’t run to the store or a restaurant if I don’t have an ingredient. So, no more mindless eating out.

In February, I’m also going to earn money by:

–fulfilling my insurance company’s health requirements stuff; I can earn up to $350 in the first half of the year.
–Babysitting; lame, but it pays.

Average amount spent “eating out” (including bars) during 2012: $343/month
Amount spent eating out in January: $191

Average amount spent on groceries in 2012: $471/month
Amount spent on groceries in January: $379

TOTAL SAVINGS on food/drink in January compared to my average food/drink spending in 2013:

$244

Pretty freaking close, huh?

I assume this will end up saving me quite a bit of money, with the added bonus of being healthier. (Not to mention the sense of accomplishment that accompanies cooking something yourself!).

I don’t do it to save money but rather to save water, which is a precious resource. And even if someone else is doing it to save money, it takes little to no effort to do so. Getting that $1 hamburger out (which is STILL frugal) saves you the time of shopping for the food, preparing it, and cleaning it up. So, yes, while it is not technically the cheapest option, people do it for a variety of reasons. Finance is not just all about math.

I’m also trying to plan meals around what we have and intentionally using leftovers instead of going to the store.

So the fat is gone, but it’s worth the lifestyle change!

1. Becoming one with my crockpot. I made a darn fine roast this week.
2. Fixing things. Stuff that doesn’t work drives me nuts. I am getting out my glue gun to put rubber backing on some rugs, weatherstripping some gaps, shoes are at the cobblers.
3. I ordered 2 new kitchen appliances to be delivered sometime later in the month. They’re replacing barely functioning, loud, unattractive, inefficient appliances. I’m taking advantage of a period of no interest to purchase them, and I am super excited to have them.

I have 5 pounds of sale onions roasting in the oven now and they will go in the freezer when they are cool.

I agree with the posters that say some of us need to up our income. That is my goal because my expenses have been slashed.

1. Reduce my food budget by using the envelope method. I will set aside $75.00 per week for groceries and eating out. If there is any money left at the end of the week I will use it to make an impulse payment to 1 of 3 remaining credit cards that I am paying off using the debt snowball method. Since I spent over $600 on dining out and groceries last month this should save at $300.00 or more. I plan on bringing my lunch to work at least 3 days each week and I am about to reduce my grocery bill by reactivating my coupon cutting shears. I used them frequently and to good effect when my now adult children were young. Though I buy mostly produce I should be able to reduce my other grocery expenses somewhat.

2. I earned $55.00 for doing a focus group on February 1st and I will apply that towards my savings/debt reduction. I hope to qualify for 1 or more focus groups each month but I will count those chicken when they hatch.

3. I called my cable company this month and was able to shave $24.00 per month off of my bill for the next 12 months.

As I implement this strategy I should be able to save at least $400 in February and because it is not too restrictive I plan to keep this up in one form or another throughout 2013 or at least until my credit cards are all paid off!! What a happy day that will be!