Things happen for a reason

There have been a lot of bad things happening in our house lately. I won't be a whiner about most of them. However I have been finding the blessings behind the trials.

One trial is our fridge died, meaning we lost just about all the food in our fridge and fridge freezer. A lot of waste that really upset me. I hate waste. After we got it fixed, I decided that now that all the waste is out of the way, we would only buy what we need. I would start planning meals around the food we have in the fridge and cupboards and we would save so much. It's working great so far. I think we will save a lot of money in the long run.

The other big trial is our car is falling apart. It is so rusty and things are falling off. Most recent is the muffler and exhaust system (we just got it not even two years ago). It would cost more to get all the problems fixed than it would to get another inexpensive car for it to pass the safety inspection (due this month). We also just got the insurance renewal form.

So we have decided to go car free. We will save tons of money, we will be healthier and we will have to become more creative. I don't know how long this will last, but for the summer at least. If it goes well, we may go long term. Everything (except family, friends, parks, beaches and other destination spots) are in walking distance. There is a park close by the kids like to play at, a ball field, shopping, ect... We should be able to find rides to church, although it would probably only take about half an hour to walk (in my current physical condition).

I must admit, I am kind of sad about it. I am in poor physical shape. Really, really bad shape. Even when I regularly exercise, it's hard to keep up. Having to walk everywhere will force me to get in better condition. Plus it will be a very green thing to do :D. We win in so many ways.

We've gone car free in the past and people haven't thought much of our decision but a car is not always a necessity. In our case, with the amount we drive, it is a luxury, one we can't afford any more.

So we'll be having a close to home kind of summer, which is why I mentioned being creative. We weren't planning on traveling much anyway. I am going to miss the beach and the parks though!

304 Bottles and $600 or so

Ok, so the two in the title aren't really related but in a way they are.

We gathered up most of the bottles we had been saving to collect the deposit and there were 304, which meant just over $15 for us. 7 big bags of waste gone out of our basement! I can't say they are all ours as my father often brings us his empty bottles but I think by not buying canned or bottled juice, water or pop anymore, we will save a lot of space, money and health. That said we still have lots of containers about that contain something in them so I'm sure we'll have another trip soon to the enviro depot.

The other issue is what looks to be an approximate $600 car repair bill. People, maintain your vehicles! It pays in the long run. I hope it won't be that much but I am going to assume it will end up being more.

Because of this new huge bill, we are going to do a spending diet. For the next month, we are only going to buy the bare necessities. We will need one tank of gas since we're almost on empty so there's a good $60 right there. I'm going to allot $5 a week for bare necessity produce and eggs (meaning a dozen eggs, a couple pounds of bananas and maybe a marked down veggie). I'm also going to allot $20 to buy the food for DS's birthday party. I'm making his cake and salads, which we'll have stuff for, plus other people are bringing things, so basically hot dogs and buns. We have birthdays to attend but we're going to try to make the gifts (gulp!). Other than this, I'd say emergency medication if someone gets very sick or if something comes up but this is rare for us. We will live off our food storage and seek out things we can do for free or cheap. I have warned the kids but I'm sure we'll have to remind them daily because they love to shop (wonder where they get that from, lol!!!).

Now, the kids are off with their grandmother for the afternoon and I will be alone for supper. I now have the overwhelming urge to eat out. Don't give in!! Don't give in!!!! If the care is done before 5pm, I have some shopping I have to do that was part of our weekly groceries (including a 50lbs pound bag of potatoes for only $3.99 and a big bag of apples for less than $2) and get gas, then I'll be ready to let the non-spending fun begin!