Small Changes... are enough

"Less is Enough" is a blog that I read and even though it's received national fame, probably still isn't getting enough credit.  I recently read this article:  "Cause and Effect".  It addresses a very important topic, that of finances and health. 

In it, she states:

"The cause of the problem is not that food is too expensive, it’s that people don’t know how to shop for and cook healthy food."

So true.

The original title of this blog was "Five Dollar Day Blog"  The goal was to feed my then husband and I for less than $5 per day (and I mostly succeeded).   I wanted to do it by still eating largely healthy foods, and without extreme couponing (not that coupons are always a bad thing).  For the most part I succeeded, these days I keep a keep a grocery budget of around $160 per month for two people.  That's about $5.33 per day.  This however does not include eating out, but amazingly (and honestly) I've kept that somewhat minimal too.  

There was a point when I spent $20/day (or more) so it's taken me a while to figure out how to do this, and quite frankly I could still find room to improve.  The process has involved teaching myself to cook more things from scratch, learning how to shop, and most recently successful meal planning.  Also worth mentioning, I have someone who enjoys doing this with me.  As time goes on, I hope to incorporate other tactics: gardening perhaps?

Before I became budget conscious, I would regularly purchase coffee while out .  This usually rang around $2, but can be as much as $5  for a fancy latte.  When I began Five-Dollar-Days I invested in a to-go mug ($0.50 at a garage sale) and I started making coffee at home.  Because I use whole beans and flavored cream (as opposed to Folgers black) it's a little high, but I would comfortably estimate a mug (or 3 cups by volume) at home costing about $0.28.  Not only is this an economical decision, I've come to enjoy it more.  I'm often times even upset when I forget my at-home coffee and have to resort to other options (I'm an addict by the way), and not simply because of the expense, but because I truly miss the taste.  Also, because I re-use my at home mug, I am reducing my carbon footprint as well.   


I think changing our habits about food (or anything for that matter) is really about small changes.  The media gravitates to the shocking tales of 180 degree changes that make for good headlines, but rarely do the 5 degree changes along the way get discussed.  The "coffee story" illustrates a small change well, but I also like it because it was also not just a change of economical value but of taste and environmental value too.