After much prayer, Jay and I decided that it was in the best interest of our family that I resign from my job. I enjoyed my job very much and it was a very difficult decision for me. However, it was the right decision for our family for various reasons. That being said, we have now gone down to 1 income and that income is that of a Seminary student! Needless to say, we are pinching pennies at every turn and making many sacrifices in order for me to be at home. My friend Stacy, who is a mother of 3 and extremely thrifty, has been helping me learn to budget better. She told me about a local Food Co-Op in our area and said that it has helped her family save alot of money on food. Fresh fruits and vegetables are so expensive in the local grocery store, but by joining the Co-Op, we get fresh food for half the cost (less than half actually), of what we would spend at the grocery store. Not to mention, we are helping our local farmers too. The more people who join the Co-Op, the less you have to pay for your fruits/veggies. So me and several of my friends from church all went in together and joined. We pick up our "laundry basket" of food 2 x's a month (or less if you don't want to buy bi-monthly), and only pay $16!!! I priced the amount of food that I get in my "laundry basket" at the grocery store and I would have paid $50!!! That's some good savings if you ask me! You can see from the pictures that we get a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables each time. I am super pumped about this new way to save money, help the local farmers, and serve healthy food to my family!
