Life On The Central Coast

Wow, it hasn't been THAT long has it? I went to update my blog today and I COULD NOT FIND IT ANYWHERE. Well, just so you know, I'm ready to get posting again so stay tuned.

It's Day 14 of the 23 day challenge over at Frugally Sustainable . Today's topic is Urban Gardening. Have you given any thought as to how much money you could save growing your own produce? You could tuck some herbs in to your landscape, have a couple of raised beds, tubs of fruit such as blueberries and citrus trees, even do some sprouts right in your own kitchen. Saves a bundle of money! If you need some help on figuring out where to start, check out the Urban Organic Gardener . Mike has A LOT of ideas no matter how big or small your gardening space is. I really like his sections on composting and natural pest control.  We are organic gardeners and sometimes I think the bugs must spot the "open for business" sign. Mike has some pretty good, and funny ideas on how to control those little BUGgers.... get it? Bug.... Well, onto the Daily Goal...... Daily Goal:  S hare with us your gardening goals for 2012. Gardening Goals? Wow! I have a bunch! We started gar...

I could just tell from this title that THIS was going to be a challenge.  Sometimes I tell my husband that I feel like we own a car lot. Just too many vehicles, even though we drive each of them and they are all just about paid for. We plan to get rid of the excesses this year so hopefully, this will be an area that we can work on reducing. But you want me to go "Car-Lite" for the assignment? Daily Goal:  Plan a time in the near future to do a tiny experiment: Keep your car parked in the garage and try going to your local grocery store through an alternative method (i.e.  on foot, by bike, or by bus). Foot, bike or bus not an option? Plan a trip into town and coordinate a carpool with a friend or neighbor.   Side note: If you take your bike,  it has a rack, a carrier, or a basket so you can bring your purchases home. Oh, OK, I think this challenge is doable for us. Even though my hip p...

Do you find yourself trying to "Keep Up With The Joneses?" They get a car, you try and get a bigger, better car. Their kids go to a private school, you try to send yours to the same school or one a step up. They are taking a 2 week vacation all over the USA with their kids over the summer. You KNOW you don't have the money for that or the time but you decide you are going to do it anyway. "Let's apply early for a couple more credit cards to finance our vacation with...." Trying to keep impress others is sort of like throwing money down the drain. Have you ever asked yourself why keeping up or trying to impress your friends is so important? What if you made a choice NOT to do it? Would your friends NOT be your friends anymore? I've got news for you.... if that's all it takes to wreck a friendship, it wasn't a friendship to begin with! All good questions! Maybe a little soul searching is in order. We were all created to be "different...

If you live in the USA, you probably LOVE instant gratification. You're hungry? Plenty of stores and restaurants open at all hours to help you. Love to shop? Even if your local stores are closed, there are plenty on the internet that are open. Want an IPad, coat, purse, golf clubs, gym membership? If you have credit or money in the bank, you can have it today. Instant.... Gratification.  But what would happen if you decided to wait just a bit? Would you still want it in, let's say 30 days? Thats the question posed today at Frugally Sustainable . Daily Goal:  Begin today using the 30-day list for non-essential purchases.  Sometimes I wonder just how much I "need" something. Is it a true NEED or is it just a WANT? So Andrea is having us print out a list, put the item we THINK we want on it, the date we wanted it and the price leave it on the list for 30 days. Put that list in an area where you see it daily. That gives you a chance to really do some thinking,...

This is the Daily Goal from FrugallySustainable.com: Determine your strategy for controlling impulse spending Hi, I'm Karen and I'm an impulse shopper..... Its getting better but definitely NOT perfect! My downfall is Internet shopping. Lately I've used a little trick and it seems to be working. I'll shop here and there and put items in my "cart" but never check out. At the end of my computer session, I close all the shopping windows. Somehow it's working for me. When store shopping, right before I check out, I "edit" my cart. Comes down to need or want. Wants are out or narrowed down to just one item. Some days the cart is ALL wants and I end up leaving the entire cart somewhere in the store. It seems to feed the need to shop without actually purchasing anything. My husband and I decided to have a larger goal/ vacation plan to save for. Instead of getting the "feel good" feeling from a bunch of small impulse purchases that clutter up o...

See list of 50 ways to save on groceries  HERE :  Daily Goal:  Pick a few things from the list that you think will have the greatest impact on your monthly grocery budget. I think the money saving ideas I plan to adopt are.... 9. Grow your own herbs . I'm a gardener and LOVE to put things in the ground. This past Fall, hubby bought a really nice greenhouse for outback and I can put some seeds in pots and grow indoors year round. Those herbs at the store that do so much for home cooking will be MUCH more economical this way. 14. Shop at Farmer's Markets . I am lucky enough to live in an area that has numerous Farmer's Markets per week. One of the largest is in San Luis Obispo on Thursday nights. We went last week and found some super deals on local seasonal fruit and veggies... yum yum. It was lots of fun too! 23. Keep your receipts and enter into a spreadsheet . I've done this for our monthly home and utility payments so I already have an idea ...