The weather has been warm and sunny the last week. This has made Saving a little bit easier for us. We decided to turn off the heat and air around 2 weeks ago and managed a solid 10 days without the use of either until today. I am hopefully that we can again turn it off next weekend. My goal is always to go an entire month without use either which will reduce our electric bill by approximately $100 for the month.
The warmer weather has also got me thinking about our garden. I purchased some new netting and some lawn fabric to use. The netting is specific to square foot garden but is also much cheaper than wire so I am hoping that it will last for several years. I am also trying something new this year. We still have sweet potatoes from our harvest in the fall, so I am trying to start a new crop from the ones we have. The kids enjoying helping with this project. I am not sure if this will give us enough but I am thinking that once I see it working I may start a second batch as well to equal the amount we planted last year.
I read last month that you could grow romaine lettuce using a similar water method. The red cup you see is out second head we have attempted. Last week, Zach and I planted the first one in the garden.
I realize that we may not be able to have a continual harvest and most like will only get a few extra leaves from this but as I have said before, every little bit helps.
Other areas of saving is our grocery budget, so far we have managed to spend $125 out of pocket for the month of March in addition to less than $1000 for the entire year so far. This has been the best and most controlled my grocery budget has ever been. I will admit that monthly meal planning helps but we also are buying on a rotating schedule. Our March spending should remain well below $200 however I will need to purchase meat in April so the budget will again be higher.
Finally, I am attempting to save money by using Swagbucks. My goal for each month is to earn one $25 gift card.
What are your saving secrets?
I am not surprised at all to say that several thing have occurred this month that I did not originally think about or plan for. Fortunately, we have adapted and managed to spend as little as possible. One of the bigger things that has happen is the sudden dramatic weather change that has brought us temperature not rising above freezing for several days in a row. I discovered that we had a significant draft in our living room. We were able to purchase and reduce this draft for around $20 but this was totally unplanned. Next up was a computer problem, we ended up purchasing a new operating system for one of our computers which was $130 but in addition after spending several hours working on and around this problem, Matt and I both needed a mental break and headed to Cracker Barrel for Dinner. I am honestly glad we did because after coming home it took another 3 hours to get the computer back to a workable state. I am really enjoying this diet challenge because it allows us to stop and thing before spending, even if we decide to spend the money. Now on to more positive news.