Time
- DD2 did our weekly shopping. Remember when I said we didn't need much? While she had a basic list of fruit, vegetables, dairy, I let her go ahead and do a look through cupboard, fridge, and freezer and supplement as she felt a need. Let's just say it was a worthwhile lessen for her as she learned how quickly an extra item here and there can add up as she had major sticker shock at the register. Still, she saved me close to an hour, and we are well and stocked again. I will add though that she found the experience stressful as so many people did not wear masks, and were not following the social distancing rules. She ended up just grabbing items without looking for options to avoid being crowded.
- We safely looked at a house with DD1. Not a good fit for her, but with each option she is learning more what she wants and what she doesn't.
- My sister set up a Cinco de Mayo virtual get together. I wasn't in a margarita mood, but it was a fun hour.
Resources
- The heat has stayed off, even when it dipped a bit cooler on Monday. DH noticed that our last electric bill was up $11 or about 20%. Heat is gas, so not quite the same, point but with us working from home more, we are bound to use more energy so will make a conscious effort to be less wasteful with the utilities in general. I need to add clothes pegs to my list.
- I pulled an assortment of frozen portions out of the freezer for lunches to make more room for DD2's grocery shop. We avoided waste and added some variety.
Money
- Not as much savings as cancelling altogether, but DH negotiated a $40 per month cut in our Direct TV for 12 months with no requirement to stay for all 12 months. We'll give another few months to determine another option like antenna, since we stream so much anyway.
There will be lots of little lessons we can share with our daughter while we have this time at home together. She's learning how to put together a nice lunch using the weeks leftovers and why throwing a portion in the freezer is a good idea. She's learning being deliberate with shopping, knowing what you need and what are wants, and how quickly the wants can add up.
Having your daughter shop is a great idea, and likely will still be cheaper than if your hubby did it (rogue shopper men are, mine too).
ReplyDeleteThere were a few extras and no price comparing at all, but thsat was because she was trying to be safe. She did great.
DeleteShe will remember these lessons forever! Good for your giving her these opportunities.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely worth the extra money she probably spent.
DeleteGood for you with DD2. My kids start going to the store for me the instance they get their licenses. In better times, when it was open 24 hours/day, eldest would hit the supermarket at night on the way home from one of his outings--he said he liked going then with nobody else around. He loved to peruse the clearance/dented/damaged section and find bargains. DD, on the other hand, is not as responsible at the store.
ReplyDeleteExcept for worrying about my college student/wanting schools to reopen for their sake/watching my h.s. freshman detest online learning, I am enjoying this time with our kids.
She's picked up grocery items fairly often, bread and milk, cereal and fruit etc. but not a whole weeks shop for three people, three meals, plus a few household, health, and beauty items.
DeleteI agree with your daughter, shopping is stressful and not the least bit enjoyable anymore. I’m not sure if things are different in your state but we are able to go through a third party electricity provider to save some money. Our bill gives us the “rate to compare” and I was able to find a third party that is consistently cheaper, NRG. Our bill and service are still through our local provider, I just have to call NRG a few times a year to compare rates and make sure we are getting the best deal. Customer service is amazing, no menus, no waiting and they are always super polite. We also got a gift card when we switched. Something to look into, maybe? JoAnn
ReplyDeleteWe don't have that option. We generally have a service provider assigned to an area. We are borderline rural, so have a cooperative, that might be a bit more expensive, but we seem to get better service and less outages than just 1/2 mile away that is on the big power company.
DeleteThat is a great way for your daughter to help out and learn about things she will be doing in the near future. Kudos to both of you.
ReplyDeletenow we need to get her cooking that food-real meals from scratch. She is enjoying helping to come up with crock pot combos.
DeleteI so remember my mother sending us shopping for weekly groceries, it sure taught me to budget.
ReplyDeleteunder current conditions, I don't think I'll give her a budget-she'd really be stressed, but just buying the $6 frozen pizza (because people were crowding the pizza aisle and she just wanted to grab one quick, and learning it wasn't any more enjoyable than the $4 version we normally by (often on sale 3 for $10), was a good lesson.
DeleteWell done on getting your daughter to do the shopping. I never did that but when I was in hospital one time my ex took both our kids shopping (for one week) and came out with 4 shopping carts!!! I never let him do that again.
ReplyDeleteShe really didn't spend that much more than I have, but she also didn't really get items like meat! She did it, and carried in and put away all the groceries-something no one ever helps me with it seems.
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