One Final Note on the Local Thing

For those of you just tuning in, November we bought only locally. I knew when I set up my rules, that certain businesses might take exception that I was excluding them because they were chains, even though they are locally owned. I made the decision not to do chains, partially because of that portion of money that leaves our community, and partially because I wanted to experience a world without big-box stores and multi-national chains. I wanted to be forced to go to those businesses that were developed completely from local ideas. The disappearing mom-and-pop business, in other words.

So, I just wanted to mention that, and that now that my month is over, we are very, very excited to add the local bookstore and Taco John's and McDonald's (all locally owned, as I understand) back into my life.

Last Day!

The first things I'm going to do tomorrow?
1. Eat at McDonald's. Mmmm. I don't care.
2. Buy myself some new winter gloves. Brrr.
3. Work on finishing up my Christmas shopping. I didn't horde anything before November and I didn't plan to put off any purchases until after, but there were some things I simply could not buy locally.

Overall, I think it was a success, and I plan to do something similar, perhaps more extreme next November. My two ideas would be to either shop only *actually* locally - where the only things I would buy would include locally grown produce and meat and dairy and nothing else, OR to not buy food at all that month and eat only out of a well-stocked pantry/freezer. Both of those ideas would require that I stock up over the entire next year, I think, and would depend on my deciding to do a garden. We'll see what happens!

NoLoBuMo=Less Christmas Stress

Normally this time of year, I'm feeling pressured to spend and rush and plow through my Christmas shopping. The decorations have been up in the crowded stores for weeks, and usually I'm feeling like maybe I should have Christmas-themed plates and towels and bedspreads, and maybe my hodgepodge tree isn't good enough that maybe I should have an ALL GOLD tree this year, because Target makes it all...so...beautiful!

But not this year. I haven't even really been in a non-grocery store since Halloween. And this is the least amount of stress I've ever experienced before Christmas. I haven't at all felt the need to outspend my budget or exceed my planned shopping list. I've felt that my dishes and towels were quite good enough, thankyouverymuch. I'm worrying much less about what I could have, and having more gratitude for what I do have.

I think, so far, this has been the best benefit of all.

Nearing the End

We're on our final days of the NoLoBuMo challenge. There is a ton of food that I'm craving right now, because I can't have it (mmm, psuedoMexican). My right glove has a giant hole in the index finger and I can't replace it. A few of my windows are still curtain-less because we haven't gotten around to making our own curtain rods. And I could *really* go for a McDonald's iced coffee.

But our budget is in really good shape, partially because of all of the stuff we didn't buy. I lost five pounds. I reacquainted myself with some local businesses I haven't bothered to support in awhile. And I've gotten lots of helpful advice and tips and ideas and lentils from people reading the blog.

Overall, I think it was a great success, and I really learned a lot. Really, for the first time, I had to stop and evaluate every single purchase. There was suddenly a speed bump between "I need new curtain rods" and handing over my check card at Wal-Mart. In that way, that level of thoughtfulness is very similar to beginning a gluten-free diet. Like there was no more mindless spending for us this month, someone on a gluten-free diet can't just eat mindlessly. Every bite, every package, even when it's an item you've bought a hundred times, must be checked and rechecked, because your health depends on it. Our finanical health depends on thoughtful spending in exactly the same way.

We paid off $343 in debt this month. I'd love to see that number continue to increase every month (as it has for the last three), and I'm excited to have reached a milestone this month. Our total debt is now less than $100,000, including our house. Woo!

On the buying-locally front, we're doing fine. We're starting to get antsy for McDonald's. I look forward to heading right over there on December 1! I know, that's awful. Wal-Mart, though, I'm thinking I could live without. Target, maybe not. But Wal-Mart, for sure.

You may notice that I haven't posted any new recipes. We've had a limited budget to work within, and when I tried to plan to try new recipes, we ended up exceeding our budget limit. So, we've stuck with basics. If we could eke even an extra $20 a month out of the grocery budget, we'd be much more comfortable. Which is, coincidentally, about what we save by shopping at Wal-Mart. Ugh.

Perhaps it's time to return to the cloth diapers and wipes. Or not.

We also need to use some type of Get Out of Jail Free card, because we've had a couple of slip-ups. First was a pizza, delivered hot and fresh to our door late at night. And it was SO worth it. Sorry. Second, SuperDad bought me this book. Also, totally worth it.

I think what I'm finding is that there is balance to be found. I don't know that I can go to a "No Wal-Mart Ever" kind of lifestyle. I do know that I won't be relying on them for everything anymore.

Groceries

My budget worked out that I had $60 to buy groceries (which includes everything that we buy, other than gas) this week.

1. I went through my cupboards to see what I had, which was:

• Spaghetti sauce
• Ingredients to make bread
• Pasta and GF pasta
• Lentils
• Brown and white rice
• Cannellini beans
• Home-canned chili sauce
• Instant mashed potatoes
• Shredded cheese
• Baked beans
• Ingredients for waffles

So, I centered my menu for this week around that:

• Spaghetti and toast
• Lentil/rice chili
• Mashed potato pups
• Mac & Cheese and baked beans
• Waffles and fruit (carryover from last week)
• Breakfast sandwiches (ditto)

I spent $59.59 at the store last night. But we still need cat litter, which will put us about $5 over budget.

The budget-busters for this shopping trip were:

• Laundry detergent $4.07
• Diapers $10.99
• Baby wipes $5.19

These are things that are cheaper at Wal-Mart. Not a lot cheaper, but maybe enough that I could have bought the cat litter.

I also didn't realize that we're out of both GF waffles and GF cereal for the kiddos, so we'll have to figure something out for breakfast.

That's about it.

Answering the Questions

1. Has it been difficult to buy locally?
No. New clothes are not available, and cat food is more expensive. We're working on making our own curtain rods because we can't buy them. We wish there were more fast food places.

2. What do you miss?
I miss that it's so easy to go to McDonald's and they have a button right on their cash register for "no bun." It makes it so much easier to order gluten-free for our kids. As we start going to local restaurants (we've eaten out twice so far), it's like starting all over to explain what we need and why.

I also miss going to the mall just to walk around, but I know the temptation would be too much for me. Especially the food court.

3. How did you know your kids were gluten intolerant?
My daughter had a blood test when she was nearly two. I knew, based on her symptoms (rashes, stomach upsets, diahhrea, slow weight gain), that we were probably dealing with a food allergy of some type. I didn't figure out it was gluten until her blood test came back. I knew my son was when he exhibited the same symptoms.

4. What formula did you use?
I didn't. I nursed both kids fully for over a year each. I didn't know my first was gluten intolerant. With the second, I eliminated gluten (and for awhile, dairy) from my diet while nursing.

Dinner Update

Porcupine Meatballs

3/4 c. milk (.15)
1/2 c. rice (.05)
1 lb. ground beef (2.54)
diced onion
1 t baking powder
salt and pepper to taste (.25 for all?)

Combine milk and rice in saucepan; bring to boil. Simmer until milk is absorbed. Add meat, onion, baking powder, salt and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly. Roll into small balls. (This is the part where E says, "Eww. I don't like this on my hands. I don't want to help you anymore. Can we just eat chips?") Place in baking dish (I put half in a casserole with a glass lid and half on a cookie sheet with aluminum foil - I definitely reccomend the cookie sheet); cover. Bake at 350°F for 20 to 30 minutes.

This recipe is from the "Caring and Cooking for the Hyper-Active Child." I don't own this book, but I probably should.

We served this with leftover baked beans (?), peas (.45), and a couple of tortilla chips, as requested (.05).

Total cost: $3.49
Verdict: Pretty good. It was a little bland for me, so I dipped the meatballs in some (local!) barbeque sauce.

NoLoBuMo - Week 2

Grocery Shopping!

I'm starting to realize how unbelievable it is that we have not only one, but TWO locally-owned grocery stores. The store I hit last night is a chain - a chain of seven stores in the nearby counties. And that fits my criteria as "local."

I haven't been to this store much lately, but I was under the impression that it was too expensive. Let's see what I actually found out, compared to the same items I bought at Wal-Mart:

• 0.57 more for a gallon of milk (and I was able to buy more locally - as in from North Dakota rather than Illinois. Choosing the more local option may be what I end up doing, as I haven't actually found local resources for things, though help on this would be much appreciated!)
• 0.42 more for ground beef (0.39 more than the local source I found last week)
• 0.23 more for waffles
• 0.29 less for apples
• 0.59 less for grapefruit
• 0.51 more for pasta sauce
• 0.15 more for tomato soup
• 0.27 more for baked beans
• 0.49 less for diapers, maybe? I'm not sure exactly on the cost per diaper comparison, but I was pleasantly surprised to find affordable diapers. Of course, I do have cloth diapers we could also use.

Overall, I spent 21 cents more to shop at the "expensive" store versus Wal-Mart. Overall, $2.57 cheaper than the "cheap" local store.

PLUS, really, truly, you cannot underestimate the customer satisfaction derived from the child-sized shopping card that kept my little one busy and happy for an entire hour. I was very impressed.

And, if anyone is interested, here is my dinner menu this week:

• Lasagna and lettuce salad (I usually make the kids corn noodles and cheese with sauce and cottage cheese for dipping)
• Macaroni and cheese and baked beans (again, corn noodles for the kids)
• Porcupine meatballs (recipe to come, if it turns out), green beans, bread
• Ring bologna, baked beans, cream corn
• Waffles and fruit salad
• Breakfast biscuits (probably just ham/egg sandwiches for the kids)

You may notice that we often have at least two meatless meals per week, and we often have two breakfast-for-dinner meals per week, which helps to keep costs down.

Clothes?

I don't have a particular need to buy clothes this month. But if I did...?

We've got some pretty great consignment stores in town to fill that need. You know, as long as you don't need underwear. In that case, you're probably just out of luck.

Someone posed the question, though, if a consignment store really counts as a local store. And I think, according to my rules anyway, that it really is more of a purely local store than just about anything else. The merchandise (regardless of where it originated) is gathered from the local community. And sold to the local community.

And if you ever wondered why someone who cares about the environment might prefer to buy used clothing, check this out: http://walkslowlylivewildly.com/2006/10/15/the-secret-life-of-stuff/

Dinner Update

We tried eating out for the first time since starting the local-buying challenge. I'm surprised to find that I haven't missed McDonald's as much as I thought I would. I slightly miss the convenience. I do not (yet) miss the food.

We went to the only local fast food place in town. It's changed over the last year or so, and no longer allows smoking or video lottery, which is great. I feel better taking my kids there now.

Burgers, hot dogs (with no bun, of course), and fries. Ice water. Yum. SuperDad and I got corn dogs, which weren't fully cooked. We sent them back, and got new ones AND a $5.00 gift card for next time. Woo!

NoLoBuMo - Day 5

I faced my first real local-buying challenge this weekend. A baby shower gift. The natural food store has adorable cotton organic onesies, but they were more than my budgeted amount for this purchase. They've also got some great products for babies like lotions and whatnot, but that's not really what I wanted to do. The consignment store used to carry some locally-made things like hair bows and taggie blankets, but no more. I went to a craft fair, but didn't really see anything there either.

So, I'm going to make something. And really, really hope it works out because I just spent most of my gift budget on supplies at the sewing store.

I'll update on that later!

NoLoBuMo

Day 1 - Grocery Shopping

$67.35 spent - 7 meals, 7 lunches, countless snacks

The cost difference between items I bought at Wal-Mart and the same items I bought at the local grocery store:

0.29 more for a can of baked beans
1.95 more for cat food (and is only available in the smaller, less economic size)
0.36 more for hot dogs (unable to find local, though there was local sausage and ring bologna)
0.03 more for gound beef (actually found local - very happy!)
0.01 more for baby carrots
0.14 more per pound for apples
0.19 less per pound for pears
0.13 more for milk
0.16 more for canned soup
0.01 less for Mandarin oranges
0.02 less for ham
0.21 less per pound for bananas
0.14 more for eggs

Overall, an extra $2.78 (at one pound each for fruit) investment in local purchasing. Not too shabby. I'm also happy that I found "local" flour and beef. I couldn't find local dairy products, though, and would love to.

And, finally, just a quick note on why I'm doing this:
1. I believe buying from local businesses is better for the local economy.
2. I believe that buying food that is produced locally (to the extent I can easily, anyway) is better for the environment.
3. I know that Wal-Mart and McDonald's are our biggest budget and diet busters. Even if they are cheaper, they both tempt us into excess spending/eating, and that's not a direction I need to go! And, even at the higher prices, this has been my cheapest shopping trip in awhile, mostly because there aren't things like clothes or earrings or whatever added in.

NoLoBuMo - November Local Buying Month

This November, as in beginning this Thursday, I'm going to try something. For one month, I will buy only from local businesses. As if there were no chain franchises, no multinational megastores. If all we had were homegrown businesses, how would my life be different?

In turn, if we all shopped locally, how would our local economies be different? If business owners and developers lived in our communities buying homes and spending money and employing the people they see at church. Would the extra cost of what I buy be an investment in my community?

Here are my rules:

1. One month = November 1 to December 1
2. Local = My hometown and surrounding communities
3. Regularly blogging about the experience here on GFF
4. All "normal" purchases for the month (I'm going to fess up right now that I plan to do some Christmas shopping online)
5. Home-grown, locally-owned businesses only
6. When an affordable choice is available, buying products produced locally in addition to sold locally

I'll let you know how it goes!