Kristen
12-02-2007, 01:45 PM
One of the things I do to save us money is actually something I just don't do! LOL
Flavored beverages are a largely unnecessary part of the typical modern diet, and so even cheaply obtained beverages are an expense that can largely be done away with, without having a negative effect on our health(conversely, I think it probably makes us healthier!).
So, the kids and I primarily consume water. The one exception is breakfast, when each of them has a small glass(or sippy cup!) of juice(usually apple, which is the cheapest juice I can find). At any other time of day, water is available to them, although at lunch they sometimes ask for milk.(I do buy milk, because I think it's a positive thing to have in our diets, and because I don't like eating cereal without milk! LOL).
This saves me a large chunk of money each month. If I had to buy enough juice for all six of us to have a glass of even apple juice three times a day, it would be a significant addition to my budget.
Now, my dear husband wasn't brought up on water, so he is still a pretty die-hard sweetened beverage drinker. I give him a big glass of ice water with his dinner, and the rest of the time, I try to supply him with cheaply obtained drinks. Here are a few of the items I buy:
-lemonade, made from the $.99 frozen concentrate at TJ's
-homemade iced tea(I make orange or lemon tea, and it is dirt cheap)
-cranberry juice when it is on sale
-apple cider(in the fall, you can get a gallon for $3-4 on sale, which is cheaper than most juice)
He also has a Mountain Dew a day addiction(I know, it's really bad for him, and he knows it too). If I don't keep it around here, he'll buy it for $.60 a can at work, so I figure that the best thing to do is to bargain shop for it(it's still unhealthy, but it might as well be cheap! LOL). I keep an eye out for sales and buy it when it's cheap(I like $2/12 pack or less). Even if it's a less desirable $3 sale, though, it's still FAR cheaper than the vending machine(which, at $.60 a can adds up to $7.20/12 pack! :eek).
Anyhow, you might want to take a look at how much money you're spending on flavored beverages(and also bottled water...buying a Brita filter or something similar will save you SO much money!), and consider one or more of these options for yourself and your children:
-Cut down your consumption(drink more water! which of course will be your filtered tap water :giggle)
-Switch at least partially to cheaper beverages i.e. plain grape juice instead of a fancier cocktail(which are almost always more per ounce), juice from frozen concentrate instead of in a bottle, and so on.
-Obtain them more cheaply(buy a gallon of iced tea for $3 instead of paying $1.50 for a measly bottle, look for sales, try some generics).
Flavored beverages are a largely unnecessary part of the typical modern diet, and so even cheaply obtained beverages are an expense that can largely be done away with, without having a negative effect on our health(conversely, I think it probably makes us healthier!).
So, the kids and I primarily consume water. The one exception is breakfast, when each of them has a small glass(or sippy cup!) of juice(usually apple, which is the cheapest juice I can find). At any other time of day, water is available to them, although at lunch they sometimes ask for milk.(I do buy milk, because I think it's a positive thing to have in our diets, and because I don't like eating cereal without milk! LOL).
This saves me a large chunk of money each month. If I had to buy enough juice for all six of us to have a glass of even apple juice three times a day, it would be a significant addition to my budget.
Now, my dear husband wasn't brought up on water, so he is still a pretty die-hard sweetened beverage drinker. I give him a big glass of ice water with his dinner, and the rest of the time, I try to supply him with cheaply obtained drinks. Here are a few of the items I buy:
-lemonade, made from the $.99 frozen concentrate at TJ's
-homemade iced tea(I make orange or lemon tea, and it is dirt cheap)
-cranberry juice when it is on sale
-apple cider(in the fall, you can get a gallon for $3-4 on sale, which is cheaper than most juice)
He also has a Mountain Dew a day addiction(I know, it's really bad for him, and he knows it too). If I don't keep it around here, he'll buy it for $.60 a can at work, so I figure that the best thing to do is to bargain shop for it(it's still unhealthy, but it might as well be cheap! LOL). I keep an eye out for sales and buy it when it's cheap(I like $2/12 pack or less). Even if it's a less desirable $3 sale, though, it's still FAR cheaper than the vending machine(which, at $.60 a can adds up to $7.20/12 pack! :eek).
Anyhow, you might want to take a look at how much money you're spending on flavored beverages(and also bottled water...buying a Brita filter or something similar will save you SO much money!), and consider one or more of these options for yourself and your children:
-Cut down your consumption(drink more water! which of course will be your filtered tap water :giggle)
-Switch at least partially to cheaper beverages i.e. plain grape juice instead of a fancier cocktail(which are almost always more per ounce), juice from frozen concentrate instead of in a bottle, and so on.
-Obtain them more cheaply(buy a gallon of iced tea for $3 instead of paying $1.50 for a measly bottle, look for sales, try some generics).