We Bought a Farm

My mom taught me about seasonal vegetables at a young age. One Thanksgiving, when shopping for the big meal, she decided that $7/lb for tomatoes was just too much for our big family. No kidding! Just one slice for all seven of us would total $8. Ouch… With that dent in the weekly grocery budget, it’s easy to tell what’s in season and what’s out.

In California, though, it’s a lot harder. Farms here can grow lettuce year round, and strawberries started up in February (which my niece, Annabel, enjoyed for the first time). At Whole Foods or the local markets, you can buy kale, corn, zucchini, or any other veggie at any time, because it’s imported from Mexico, Latin America, etc…

I’ve been told and have read that you get the most nutritional bang-for-your-buck if you buy produce that has a chance to ripen on the vine, tree, or stem. Logically, then, a fruit picked green in Mexico, pumped with gas to make it ripen, and transported here isn’t as nutritious as something grown closer and more naturally.

Going to the local farmer’s market would solve this issue, but I work during the times when they are running. Because I want to spend my hard earned cash on things that are healthy, I decided several years ago to join a CSA- Community Supported Agriculture; the community buys into the farm and, therefore, gets a share of the season’s produce. It takes the guessing out of what is seasonal and what’s imported! Around here, it’s also a way to get organic stuff at cheaper prices than the grocery store; plus, it’s often delivered to your neighborhood- so no shopping!!

When I first started, I tried Live Earth Farms. The produce was amazing- but way too bountiful! There was no way that I could keep up with the amount that I was getting each week, and, honestly, there were only so many weeks that I was willing to try to figure out how to cook all the new types of veggies. It was exhausting!

After taking a few years off, I started up again with a less daunting CSA, Eating with the Seasons. In this program, I pick which produce I’d like from what’s in season. For me, that’s been fun, because I can plan meals for the week ahead (because I know what’s coming), try a new item every so often, know how to use the rest, and am assured that what I’m getting is local and seasonal.

The extra options- like corn tortillas, local honey, rice, and preserves- make the CSA an even greater treat. With some CSAs, you have to pay in advance, but a lot of these now let you pay monthly. EWTS even lets you order more items and charges you each month for the extra.

Some weeks, things go bad, but that was one of the reasons I bought a juicer. If I know that I’m not going to eat something before it expires, I just stick it in the juicer and- voila!- a healthy snack.

This has taken some of the pressure off of me to grocery shop, because at least I always have some veggies around. Occasionally, I don’t even go to the grocery store, because I just order tons of vegetables. So I’m eating healthy AND saving money. Even in cold weather climates, there are CSAs at your disposal- not all are year round like ours, but many let you buy a share for produce, meat, milk, eggs, bread, and other amazing goodies.

Are you a part of a CSA? What have you found to be the benefits/drawbacks? If you aren’t a part, why not?

Reining It In

Chris and I have decided to take control of our finances and tighten the reins a bit.  We live within our means, but that doesn’t equate to stewarding our money well.  This means we don’t have savings, wonder how we’re going to make car repairs when big things come up, can’t splurge on something really fabulous when we’d like, or…  the list goes on.

Though bills get paid and responsibilities are covered, I often end up regretting how I’ve spent my money the previous month.  Instead of looking back and feeling bad, it seems more logical to be a grown up, have some self-control, and kick butt with utilizing what we have!

We spend a horrific amount of money on eating out. In a normal week, we purchase at least these things:
Pho
Burgers
Sushi
Pizza or Sandwich
Coffee
Coffee
Coffee

I don’t get the pizza or sandwiches, and Chris doesn’t get pho all the time, but still…  I buy food or beverages out at least once a day.  That cost adds up really fast!

We are looking at buying our first house (Hooray!  Holy crap!), and we’d really like to get our finances shored up tightly before we add another responsibility to the list.  It will help us to be more financially stable and keep me from being anxious about moolah.

With the market the way it is, we have a few months (at least) before we have to make our first mortgage payment.  In that time, we’re going to try to establish some great new patterns so that we spend less and save more!  You know, to take care of the roof, dishwasher, or whatever repair is inevitable when owning a house.

The first step is to eat out less.  And while this may be the simplest thing we can do, it may actually be the hardest!

So I’m turning to you for advice and support.  I’d love to hear what you do to encourage cooking at home, spending less money on groceries, not wasting the groceries you buy, etc…

Please share.  Because I’m going to need all the help that I can get!

The Little Guy

I read today that the average new house in America is down to 2,400 square feet.  Since we are one half the size of the average family, I think it’s appropriate that our house is one half the size of the average house.

Our house, for now. Totally cuter inside!

That realization doesn’t make trips to Costco easier, though.  Organic chicken broth!  Toilet paper!  Pens!  Oh my.  Even though I would love to buy all these things in bulk, there is noooo space in my house.

When we moved into this little bungalow, I had an a epiphany.  If you save money on buying in bulk, you also have to spend extra money paying for the space that those things take up.  So, for now, even though I can’t save money buying in bulk, at least I’m saving money on rent.

While it makes trips to Costco a test of willpower and determination, I’ll take it!  Being thankful about the little things makes life that much sweeter.

TV in 2012

This is why I subscribe to Hulu Plus.

Portlandia is a witty, clever, and light-hearted take on the urban, hipster landscape, and I enjoy it via Netflix (Season 1) and Hulu Plus (clips of Season 2).

We don’t watch TV in the traditional way.  Instead, we have a nice TV (thanks, Mom) hooked up to our Playstation3 (thanks, Davey) and Wii (thanks, us), and we can watch shows and movies via streaming internet or on Blueray from the local video store.  Yep, we still have a video store in our neighborhood!

If we were a little more savvy, we could even use the antenna that we bought last year and get all the basic cable stations for free in HD. We are not those people, though, as I found out on Thanksgiving when I tried to watch the parade.  Obviously, our plan is not perfect.  But, it does allow us to watch TV on our computers and on the iPad when we are on the go and not just sitting in our livingroom.  It is pretty handy all around.

PLUS (and the reason we did it in the first place), it saves us a good chunk of money each month!  A cable and internet package would cost us $80/month.  Netflix, which is nonnegotiable with Chris, adds an extra $8.99  With our concoction, we pay $55.  That’s $34 bucks to use toward other things.  Yeah.

Here’s the breakdown:

Service	Cost
Netflix streaming only- available for PS3, Wii, Roku, etc…	$8.99
Hulu Plus- available for PS3, Roku	$7.99
Comcast Xfinity internet	$38.00
Total	$54.98
Comcast internet and basic cable subscription	$80.00
Netflix	$8.99
Total	$88.99
Savings	$34.01

Are you putting these new technologies to use in your home?  What has worked for you?  Not worked?  As we are trying to cut back further to deal with the impending HSLP, we’d love to try some of your tricks!