Tuesday, September 14, 2010

home made dog food

Well it's been a few weeks since the dog food recall, that started me on my quest to make their food. It was so hard to see my helpless little dog sick from her dog food!!!

Does it take longer to make food versus just pouring it from a bag? Oh yes, it does. Is it worth it? I believe it is. It would take a few seconds to pour their kibble, but it takes a few minutes to measure out homemade food and add their vitamins and cottage cheese to it.

Why am I adding to my already overcrowded day? I'm hoping that we will have less vet visits, and healthier dogs. My dogs have lost the weight that they needed to lose, on homemade food. Ironically, the food that made them sick was vet prescribed to help them lose weight! After a recent check up, our vet gave both dogs a clean bill of health. He says keep up what we are doing! {even though he loses the income from us not buying the kibble!}

It takes about 30 minutes every few days to make up a batch. Compare that to going to the vet hospital in the middle of the night. I'd rather make their food, thank you!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

my thoughts on frugality

Everyone has their own reasons for being frugal. Loss of a job, going to a 1 income family, or just scaling down. I personally prefer to be frugal because I like to spend little and save lots.

I do not like having debt. We have some debt now, and it really stresses me! Add to that another medical bill that I thought the insurance was going to pay. Dang! So, we now have our mortgage, a small medical bill, and 2 student loans. I am giving myself the goal of being debt free in 5 years. It sounds ambitious, I know. Listening to Dave Ramsey really helps me to stay motivated! His books are what got me going on this path all those years ago.

My hubby doesn't always understand. He has the belief that if you have money...you spend it. I recall one time he asked if I wanted to go to dinner. I said sure, let me check my coupons. His response? We have money, you don't need coupons. Then he was laid off. That was a blow. He had been at that company for 18+ years and one day they just closed their doors. He went into panic mode. I knew we'd be okay.

He now gets it. He is currently selling some things to buy others. Makes sense to me!

Today was a good example of why I use coupons. I spent $89.00 on groceries and used $20.00 in coupons. I also saved an additional $20.50 with my store loyalty card. If I wasn't watching sales and clipping coupons the total would have been $40 more! There was one item that was on sale for $2.99, down from $3.99. I had saved 3 BOGO coupons and bought 6. I spent $8.97 for $23.94 worth of product! THAT'S a BIG savings and I won't need to buy this product again for a while! It is a product that we use. I wouldn't recommend stocking up on something that you will never use.

So, in conclusion, frugality to me is a way of life. I have a goal to reach. I need to watch every penny to get there.

Friday, September 3, 2010

harvest time



It's that time! I found lots of beets, which will be shredded and frozen. Zucchini will also be shredded and frozen. Spaghetti squash will be dinner! Yum! Yellow squash and baby cukes for dinner.
I couldn't believe that my raspberries are producing again! That was a surprise.{didn't get a picture}

I will need to harvest more herbs and get them frozen as well! I am just filling up that new freezer. What a great feeling to know that I am going to save money in the grocery budget, as well as have fresh veggies and herbs all winter!

I feel productive today!