As Matt and I were working on our 2009 budget…we were looking at all the ways we could try to cut corners…yet there were really no more corners to cut. Yes, our budget has rounded edges. 

And yet…we’re always fine. We always have way more than enough of everything we need. God is so good!!!

If there were more ways to skimp on our budget, we would. But we really do like our kids to be wearing socks without holes and well…running water is such a nice luxury.

There are all kinds of things we choose not to spend our money on. You can read about them here and here.

There is one area of our budget we refuse to skimp:  FOOD. (And yes I know I wrote about this already several months ago…but I keep hearing about people who are chopping their food budgets way down in 2009. I just hope people are cutting it because they spend too much on processed foods and want to buy better food for their buck.)

I used to be a Coupon Queen and a big time food skimper. I compromised the quality of food we ate because I wanted to save money. In the past 3 1/2 years I’ve done a complete turn around and I AM SO THANKFUL. I wrote about it here…please read it if you haven’t already…but it basically says that we NEED to take care of our bodies by eating GOOD NUTRITIOUS FOOD. I wish I could emphasize this more. (You might want to read my whole Getting Real with Food series to learn more about how we eat.)

AND ALSO…can I emphasize how YUMMY wholesome, real food is compared to all of the free or next to free “foods” I was getting with coupons? Not to mention how much better our bodies feel when we eat good food.

I get emails and comments all the time from readers wanting to know how and where I shop and how I am able to afford to feed our family of six so well.   Besides just simply stating that God provides…I came up with an idea that I hope will be fun!

For the next few weeks (or so…until you get bored, and sick of going places with me)…I’m going to take you shopping with me. I’ll take you to the farms where we get our milk and eggs…I’ll introduce you to my cow. (Okay, I don’t have a cow, but there is a particular cow I’m very fond of.)…I’ll take you to my food co-op drop off. I’d take you to the farmer’s market and to my garden…but I can’t because it’s WINTER. :) 

I’ll document for you how much I spend on everything and how we make our food budget work. I’ll share with you how I buy in bulk and how I store my food. 

I’m curious to know how some of you feel about cutting corners in your food budget? While I’m doing this series, what are some specific things you’d like to hear about?  (Like, would you like for me to take a nice picture of my 50 pound bag of oats and do an entire blog post about eating and storing oats? Kidding.)
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More frugal tips at Biblical Womanhood.