Thrifty

I stepped into a new level of thriftiness today. I shopped at Aldi, a discount grocery. I was very impressed with their prices and the produce was especially cheap and looked just as good as Kroger's and better than Wal-mart's selections. Some people might be annoyed with using their own bags, but I already use them to save at Target and they work SOOO much better than the flimsy plastic that most stores offer, and hold 2-4 times as much! I also loved that the store was small, efficient, and practically empty. I plan on doing most of my shopping there from now on. The only downside (for me) is they don't take coupons since most of their stuff is private label. Because I coupon already at Target for paper products, baby food, diapers, and toiletries I get really good deals. (Generally I save 50% of my bill on those items). So, I will continue to buy that stuff at Target. I might be making occasional trips to Kroger as well- based on sales + coupons or on items not at Target or Aldi.

Being a stay-at-home mom can actually be a money-saver if you want it to be. Here's what I am able to do to save money (and a penny saved is a penny earned, right?) because I stay home with my kids.

1. No childcare costs. ($11,666 per year on average multiplied by 2 for both kids... see baby center.com)

2. Exclusively breast-feeding ($1,200 for 1 year of baby formula)

3. Time to coupon (I save probably about $200 a month in coupons- over a year $1400)

4. Less cost of gasoline b/c most places I go are close and optional.

5. Eating out less. I cook dinner most every night and we are not as tempted to pick up dinner after work out of convenience.

6. Small "business" opportunities on the side, when time allows. For me this includes private teaching, consigning, and selling handmade hair accessories.

These are some of the direct savings but there are more! How do we calculate the nutritional value of breastfeeding & healthy home cooked meals? (indirectly saving us in medical bills, hopefully!) The 1 on 1 or 1 on 2 attention I give my children, nurture, discipline, etc is invaluable to me as well.

I hope I can continue to grow into a thriftier wife and mom. I'm thinking about a little gardening for my next savings venture. We'll see if I have a green thumb!