Money Matters

When I started this blog, I was clear that this project not only involved locally grown and organic (free range) goals, but budgetary ones as well. In the spirit of sharing, I think I should take a minute and let everyone know where I am.

We all know that organic can be pricey. As I've mentioned in earlier entries, staying away from Whole Foods is good advice for your budget. Staying as close as possible to the farmer is also good advice. In fairness, I'm not tracking my personal gas consumption as part of this process.

My shopping habits have changed, significantly. I go to a farmers market almost every weekend and buy fruits, veggies, eggs, flour (grits, other grains), honey, etc. I also buy most of my meat from Boutwell Farms (at the Valleydale Farmers market) and/or Bates House of Turkey, etc. These are a bit more expensive, but I've also canned and frozen a lot, so it's hard to measure what that means at the end of the year.

Where I've cut my expenses - noticeably - is at the grocery store. I've always heard, and now believe, that most of your grocery budget is not actually spent on food - at least not real food, junk food is a different story. My strategy is simple. I clip coupons. I read sale papers (these are also online by store). I use coupons to buy sale items in quantity and I stock them. I regularly save 35% - 60% at the grocery store.

So far, I'm staying close the the mark. I have made a few splurges on canning jars, recipe books, etc. However, I am quickly coming to believe the best way to save money would be to grow your own produce (I don't have the stomach or space for livestock). The question is how to work a garden into my landscape and my schedule.