Monday, June 12, 2006

Saving Money

Ohhhh! I am very excited. Last night Jonathan filled hte gas tank of the moped. It was under $3. It cost under $3 for 115 miles of travel. We calculated that with the car we just sold, it would have cost over $25 for the smae number of miles. That is a savings of more than $20! Quite exciting!

A friend introduced me to grinding your own wheat. A 25 bag of wheat grain costs a $6.25. This will make about 25 lbs of flour (about 50 loaves of bread). She offered to grind the wheat for me. What a savings! I am used to spending just under $10 a week for 10 lbs of flour. It already is a savings, as I make bread instead of buy it, but this makes even a bigger savings.

She also taught me the basics of canning. I purchased strawberries (in season) and am canning or freezing them for use throughout the year. It really does make sense. Strawberries purchased now cost less than $1 a lb versus in the winter when it can cost a LOT more. Of course, I have some strawberry plants and was also given strawberries by a neighbor. In a few years I will not have to buy any berries. It does make sense to eat or preserve seasonally. I was also suprised at how little time it took to make some strawberry preserves (and can them).

My oregano plant is huge and spreading like wildfire. I am going to dig some of it up and give to a few friends. Why not share? I also planted some garlic among my roses. The garlic is growing!

I have to admit that I am a little worried that Jonathan has not yet found moonlighting possibilities in southern MN. I know that we can "make it" on my salary. We have made it work on a lot less. However, it does worry me. He has a possible lead in the twin cities. That would be more than an hour away, but the veggie mobile would be great to cut down on gas costs. My joy of simplicity is starting to turn into the concern for frugality. Things will work out. They always work out in whatever way they are meant to.

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