Welcome to 2020! We have had a delightful week with the whole family off work and school, and we used the time for a lot of relaxing, movie watching at home, as well as getting ready for the new year.
Donating and Selling
Our house is small enough that we use every room every day. We went through a few closets and found plenty to donate, share with a neighbor, and some to sell. Sold an American Girl item for $ 10.00 in a mom group.. so much easier than eBay. For us, paying off our house and not moving has been a great way to build savings, so we try to stay satisfied with our home and keep it pleasant to be in.
One of the closets we went through has freed up space so we can better access items we might buy at a good price and store.
Saving on Food
My friends will be traveling this winter so they gave some some terrific food items before they leave. In addition to the items in the picture there is a huge box of Cheerios and some salmon. I need to explore recipes like muffins that use maple syrup, because this is a lot of syrup! Any recommendations?
The morning of Jan 1st I logged into my Kroger grocery store website to load the new digital coupons for the month. At the same time I added items to my cart so I can drive up to pick up my groceries after work. This is one of my favorite months for grocery sales because “healthy” foods are the focus. My daughter loves Special K and it is always on sale in January!
- Special K Family Size box $1.49
- Annie’s Box Mac and cheese 2 for .30 cents!
Spending
We are debt free, which affords us some choice about spending our money on things we value. I value having experiences with my family so this week DH and I went out for a date night, which we especially enjoyed after being sick over Christmas. Our teen stayed home and enjoyed her own “Dance Moms” binge on tv.
Any new resolutions or plans for your money in 2020?
The Healthful Saver 
I love your statement, “We try to stay satisfied with our home and keep it pleasant to be in.” I am in a similar situation and that means a lot to me. No desire to upsize or upgrade – just keep everything well-maintained, functioning and pleasant!
Enjoying what you already have can be an effort in our consumer culture, but it sure frees us up to have money and time to do things we really want to do.
Very informative post. I save a lot of money everyday. I use the following methods to save money at home and while travelling.
1: I used to cook my own food.
2: I mostly travel by bus and train
3: I used to workout at home
Those are some great ways to keep more money for other things. I would love to live in a walkable community some day.
I mix maple syrup with peanut butter for homemade granola. You can find a number of recipes online and it’s a delicious, healthier alternative to the stuff they sell in stores. 🙂
Great idea! My friends also passed along their open jar of PB. I try to stay gluten free so oats work well for me.
I use oats and whatever nuts I have on hand. After it comes out of the oven I add some golden raisins and vegan chocolate chips. So easy and good!