Lean Times

We've had to get very financially creative since Mr. Milkweed took his new job. No, we're not selling Avon or Amway (or anything else, thankyouverymuch), but the fact of the matter is that this move up in terms of location and career track meant a dip in our monthly take-home. Mr. Milkweed makes almost, but not quite, what the two of us made when I worked part time. No big deal, right? Well, it turns out that a slight dip translates into a massive upswing in the amount of mental gymnastics we have to do to make everything work out in the end every month.

Are we actually in trouble? No, not at all. We can eat, pay our rent, pay our bills, and buy gas for the car. Turns out, however, that that's pretty much all we can do. Just one unnecessary trip to Target with a certain someone (who may or may not be me) falling prey to a new sweater or a cute hoodie can mean that an oil change has to wait an extra couple of weeks, or waaaay too many nights of spaghetti on the table. (Literally. Turns out that the old noodle fling trick doesn't get old with the toddler set.)

And speaking of eating, we've had to make some sacrifices. I hate Wally World as much as the next liberal pinko commie hippie, but when the only HFCS-free bread I can find is a full TWO DOLLARS cheaper there than at Food Lion, to Wally World I go. It's a miserable shopping experience-- last week, I had to change checkout lines in the midst of unloading my cart so that Eva wouldn't be right next to a woman screaming at her kids so loudly that her face was purple-- but our grocery bills have never been smaller.

We've pretty much given up on buying organic produce for the time being. And it's been very difficult for Mr. Milkweed, since animal rights are quite high up on his list of Things That Matter, but we're alternating our purchases of free range eggs with those from factory farmed chickens just to save a few dollars here and there. The price of cheese from humanely treated cows is just too much for us to pay, so as a result, we're not eating very much cheese. We're sticking to organic milk because even though the reports have been pretty much refuted, the whole notion of a connection between early onset puberty in girls and hormone levels in non-organic milk turned me sour (bump tsss) on anything else. Plus, ultra-pasteurized products last a lot longer than their counterparts, meaning a little bit of return on the dollar. The meat we eat (when we eat it) is primarily cheap meat. Since we prefer to buy humane, we've largely returned to our vegetarian roots.

Which brings me around to beans. We're eating a LOT of beans. I'll spare you any details about what this has done to the digestive realm of our family dynamics, but let me assure you that you can get used to eating large quantities of almost anything. That is to say, it's a non-issue anymore. But beans are incredibly cheap, incredibly filling, and incredibly good for you, and it's kind of fun to soak them and experiment with seasoning them. They're a frugal cook's best friend.

We're paring Christmas giving back to a just few gifts for Eva and our nieces and nephews, but I'm secretly sort of relieved about that one. As much as I LOVE choosing gifts, the frenetic nature of shopping during the holidays leaves me cold. Plus, this gives me an excuse to get a lot of baking done, because who doesn't love to get Christmas cookies? It's much more personal, and it's not my fault if it's cheaper, too!

We're not the only ones making cuts to our budget these days. And I'm not the only one to sit and worry about how we'll make ends meet. If you're like me and your mind tends to wander down the road of "OMG-How-Will-We-Ever-Buy-a-House-Let-Alone-Save-For-College," I offer this link for your edification:

Nothing Wrong With This Day

I've been reading Jessamyn's blog for about seven years now, and she's never failed to be well-written and incredibly inspiring. She's thinking about hanging up her blogging hat for good, so get it while it's hot. I think "there's nothing wrong with this day" is going to be my new mantra.