Could You Survive on $30/Week for Groceries?

I found this blog called Money Saving Mom and I think I have a little Bloggy Crush. I have this Bloggy Crush because even though I'm working about 20 hours a week and bringing in some decent cash, it's disappearing. We don't live high on the hog or anything, either. We have home improvement projects that are eating the money, and then there are the groceries!!!

I know 80% of the problem is ME, too ... I like to grab fast food every now and then and have a nice coffee once a week or so and take the kids on field trips. I spend too much money even when I'm getting deals (like 50% off our recent trip to SeaLife).

So here's the post I was perusing. Someone asked about living on $30 per week for groceries as a single woman.

That would be $210 per week at my house, right? Since there are 7 of us, that's $30 times 7 = $210. And $840/month. Guess what? That's what we spend anyway on all food and household products.

So I'm doing great, right?

Not necessarily. I think I can do better. And if you figured in fast food and coffees, you would get a higher figure, friends.

I think the first step is realizing that just because your family brings in decent money doesn't mean you can spend it all. It means you have to set up some dreams and goals and then REALLY start saving for them, knowing that when you sacrifice that fancy coffee you should be putting 5 bucks into a Legoland vacation jar somewhere and NEVER TOUCHING IT.

Let's discuss.

SeaLife Aquarium Today! Homeschool Week at Crown Center

I'm so excited! This is where we're going today: to the SeaLife Aquarium at Crown Center in Kansas City. Here's where I wrote about it in April of 2012 and we haven't been back since because usually it's EXPENSIVE!

Plus when it first opened it was nutty in there and we were hoping it would die down a little. We hope that by going on a Thursday in September we can really enjoy ourselves and I won't have to be all freaked out about counting my kids because they will all be within sight and not in a crowd.

Why are we going this week? Have we won the lottery? Nope; it's Homeschool Week at Crown Center and they are BRILLIANT for doing this! Here's the link to Penny Pinchin' Mom's post about all the cool events that are going on through tomorrow AT A DISCOUNT.

So we got to go for about $38 last time, but that was a field trip rate and I didn't have a 12-year-old (the price goes up at 12 just about everywhere, boo). Today will be about $48. Normally it would cost $98 if we just wanted to trot our happy butts on down there and walk in the door.

Nope, having a slew of kids never stopped me from going to all the cool places in town (and in the United States, for that matter). Just gotta be in the know (and it never hurts that Tutu buys us a Kansas City Zoo Membership every year, which saves us HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS ... thanks, Toot).

I'm off. Gotta finish proofreading this really cool soup cookbook so I can have the funds to go on this outing.

Catch you in the next picture-filled post!

In a Fort Night

Making forts with the wood from our fence.

Nine For Dinner!

This was taken the other night when we had our neighbor over for dinner and also our friend Julia. That makes a total of 9 people at our table. Check out the hardwood floors and painted walls and new back door! I'm really proud of Aron and how great he is at this remodeling thing. I think we'll start flipping houses. NOT! NEVER! NO WAY!

Are You Spending Too Much Time on Facebook?

My husband is going to love this one. He refuses to get a Facebook account, and I can't say that I blame him. Although I do find out cool things there; things that are useful in my homeschooling journey, encouragement, new friends, important life events of acquaintances when they are too busy to call every single person to say they are pregnant, for instance.

It's also a place where my heart has been broken with drama, whether I started it or not! The majority of my time spent on there can be quite annoying to many because I'm mostly on there to promote my blogs, my writing, my proofreading, my ebooks.

Today a friend posted this. Asked her if I could share and she said yes. Something to think about. I know it's going to be in my head all day long.

I've been thinking a lot about Facebook lately. At times it is an amazing tool to reconnect with old friends or a great way to share the everyday with loved ones. However, it also is a place I spend too much time, time I could be spending caring for my children or tending to my home or husband. I find it a bit lonely in the day to day real life b/c many of us don't reach out to each other as often b/c we can just "catch up" on fb. Birthday's have become a day when we get excited to get many fb messages but the phone is quiet. That makes me feel lonely. Pictures I see posted can produce a sense of insecurity or frustration and can effect my mood. That is crazy. I've also realized that I have never seen or heard of anyone coming to have a personal relationship with Jesus b/c of the quotes I post or the religious pictures I share. I've also never convinced anyone to see things my way in the political arena but I certainly have offended plenty with my own opinions. As much as I love showing off my kids to the world, I would rather spend real time with my friends and family, sharing real life, the good and bad.

With that said, I"m going to be closing down my fb account. Probably not deleting it altogether but downsizing it to almost nothing. It does not mean I don't want to be friends. It means I want to be real friends and spend real time with you. Please feel free to call me or better yet, stop by, even unannounced! You'll probably find me in the middle of a mess, chasing kids and wearing yoga pants.

I will be keeping up my business page so if you want to see what's going on in that avenue of my life, feel free to drop by there and like my page for updates. You might see pictures of my cute kids there. 

Life has gotten off balance and I need to take steps to reclaim it. This is a hard choice as I love fb and love staying connected. I hope to spend some time with you soon.