A lot is changing in my life and around our house. Life has been extremely busy lately, and I just feel like I can't get ahead or even keep up any more. Summer seems like it's passing me by and I have not yet had a chance to enjoy it. I talked with several of my frugal friends this morning and it seems as if no one has had time for much deal seeking or coupon shopping. I am so thankful for my stockpile now more than ever. I have a stack of inserts to look through from 5/1 thru present!!! In the midst of all this busy-ness, I am making lots of changes in our lifestyle, habits and routines.
Due to some recent health issues, I have become very interested in what I am putting into my body and on my family dinner table. I starting seeing a N.D. (Naturpathic Doctor) and I love it! The first change I am making is our eating habits. I have been very interested in eating better lately and trying to feed my family better. A few sources that I learned a lot from are the documentary Food Matters and the book The China Study. I highly recommend both of these to anyone that is interested in the quality and value (by value, I mean nutritional, not dollars and cents) of your food. Food Matters is available on Netflix and you could probably get it through your local library also. You can check out more info on the documentary here, and even catch a snippet of the film. The book The China Study can also come from the local library or book store. I picked mine up on Kindle for iPad through Amazon. This book offers hard evidence and many years of studies and research to back up it's nutritional information. There is a documentary based on this book just being released now that I would love to see, it's called Forks Over Knives. You can check out release dates and info about it here. I also learned quite a bit from my neighbor, friend and farmer, Jim Evans of Ready Jam Farms. Jim runs a CSA or Community Supported Agriculture co-op that offers locally grown, non genetically modified, totally organic produce to his customers each week through the co-op and our local farmer's market. He's an individual farmer with respect for the environment and land, and most of all his customers.
With that being said, I have made a commitment to do two things to start out. One is to buy organic when I can get it. Sometimes it's just not convenient and I won't be able to, but if it's available I will buy all my fruits and veggies organically grown, or grow them myself. Two, is to eat AT LEAST 50% of each meal as raw, whole foods, from plant based sources. That means fresh fruits, veggies, nuts with every meal, and 50% of what I am consuming. Yes, I am starting out slow. That is because if I try to do too much at once I will get overwhelmed and give up. I am trying to make changes to last a lifetime, and trying to do it right. Does this mean I am going to throw away everything in my stockpile and start new, no. Another reason I am starting out slow. We will use up as much from our pantry as we can first and then replace with better products as we run out. I don't want to be wasteful and if I make these subtle changes gradually over time rather than overnight, my family will be less resistant to the change also. Does this mean I won't be deal shopping any longer, no! I will be seeking out deals on organic items, and still getting the best deals that I can. It will change the deals that I blog...more about that a little later.
You are probably thinking right now, how much more expensive this is going to be on our family food budget. Organic foods are generally higher priced than the more readily available foods. You are right, it is going to be more costly up front, right now. But I am thinking into the future. If I put forth the extra efforts now, I will save on health care costs in the future. It's a balancing act and one that I think is a very good investment.
So, with the time it takes to change habits and learn new ones, grow a garden, learn new recipes and educate myself even more, there's been less and less time for me to coupon shop or post deals on this blog. That brings me to the next change. I am changing up the platform for sharing deals with my frugal pals and I think that you will enjoy it. I have created a Facebook page for deals and frugal finds. You can "like" the page Sharing the Wealth! Saving Money: 101 here and YOU can share your frugal finds on the wall also. This means there is a potential to find MORE deals if we all start to share our shopping successes. This blog and all it's info will still be here. You can still print coupons from here, find links to great money saving blogs, see the Sunday Coupon Preview and have all The Basics right at your finger tips. I would never take all that great info away!
So, take this as your personal invitation to join Sharing the Wealth! Saving Money: 101 and start sharing YOUR great finds! I just ask that you only post deals that are tried and true, and you make sure to include as much info as you can in your post. Make sure to be specific and give inserts or links of where the coupons needed for the deal can be found. If you are posting about finding coupons such as WT's, peelies, blinkies, etc, make sure to give store names and locations so others can take advantage of them too! Links to money saving blogs with deal write ups or scenarios for local stores are also welcome. I am looking forward to interacting with all my frugal friends through Facebook! See you there!
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