The following is a post by MPFJ staff writer, Jeff. Jeff writes about reducing waste, saving money and building freedom at his website, Sustainable Life Blog.
My wife and I have had our fixed expenses (aka our monthly nut) under control for quite a while now, but occasionally we still spend way too much in the non-fixed categories, which can break the budget and really cut into the savings we want to put away to reach our goals.
The category can change based on things going on (such as house renovations) but typically the one expense that can always blow the budget is food.
One of our favorite ways to combat this is to plant a garden. Planting a garden doesn’t cost a lot, and can be a great hobby that many people will enjoy. Not only do people enjoy it, but aside from a few things the hobby is free and should keep you from spending money in other areas!
You don’t need a lot of skills for gardening, and in some areas you can garden almost all year long. Even in Wyoming where I live, you can garden from early April to late October as long as you’re planting the right things at the right time.
Look at What You Already Buy
The first way that we saved some money with a garden was to look at what we buy at the grocery store. During the summer, my wife & I like to eat salads with a bit of protein (chicken, fish, etc) on them, so we started there. Our first try at a garden included salad fixings, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and kale. We knew that we would eat these things once they grew, so all we had to do now is not kill them.
We got a packet of seeds for each of the items we wanted at the local flower store and our total cost was about $10. After that, it was simply labor that we did to get the garden going. We watered daily and waited until the fall to reap what we had sown.
After The First Season
Our first season in the garden was not all that successful, but we still were able to recoup all of our costs and save quite a bit of money on our food that fall. While our grocery budget didn’t go down for every single month of the year, we were able to make quite a bit of progress during the 3 months that we harvested stuff from the garden. We were able to lower our grocery bill by 20% or so each month, which was quite nice.
No Yard? No Problem!
For you apartment dwellers: don’t despair! You can give your own veggies a try in some pots on the patio or deck, but I suggest starting with herbs.
Herbs typically cost quite a bit of money at the grocery store and I can never seem to use them all before they go bad. Having them in pots out on the porch will allow you access to fresh herbs all the time, and you can even move them inside when the weather goes bad. A few of my favorites are basil (for pizza, salads and more) and mint (for mojitos!).
So if you’re looking to get started, think about what vegetables that you eat frequently and give some of those a try. All you need is some seeds and the willingness to do a little work outside in the summer time – which shouldn’t be too difficult.
How about you all? Do you have a garden? If so, what do you put in there? Has having a garden saved you money at the grocery store?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy mym [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
