Welcome back to No Non-cents Nanna's latest series Things Families Stress Over and Tips How to Fix it on a Shoestring Budget. This is the second post.
Tip #3 Avoid wasting...
I am sure you have heard the expresion, "Haste make waste," and know what it means. I have my own twist wouldn't you know!
Now, days we are all in such an all fired hurry to get to the next read red or fast food line so we can wait longer than anyone else.
We expect the kids to sit on their butts while we drive around in our gas guzzling vehicles to get them from one activity to another, because that might get them into the best college so they can earn money in 20 years. So now, we feel we have no time to cook at meal and sit at the table, because we have to rush to wait in line, that we park for 15 minutes in the drive thru lane to buy fast food that will get spilled out of the non biodegradable syfrofoam container or petrify underneath the car seats. What gets eaten will contribute to our kids' obesity and lack of motivation. Or is it the other way around?
This make no common sense to be wasting so much for so little in return.
We seem to find the time to schedule play dates, soccer games, and French classes because we have to hurry and get so much stuffed into our kids' heads because half of all they will learn is learned before kindergarten. YIKES!
Tip #4 Teach kids the basics so they can be self sufficient!
When will "our" offspring learn what it is like to just be a kid before kindergarten? Are we in such a hurry for them to grow up and make a living that "we" the parents are wasting their childhoods?
(My kids are grown, so why am I using the "we" term when I possibly mean YOU?)
It is fun to get messy learning how to measure oatmeal to make cookies. Right there you get in some practical math skills. Waiting for th etimer to ding teaches kids about the concept of time. They will consquences if they go off to play a video game and let those cookies burn.
And, guess what? Cookies don't have to come in a crinkle package with a cartoon character on it in order to taste good. How novel is that?
Don't get me wrong, I am not against playing baseball or cheerleading, language arts or music. Actually I do encourage kids to get involved in an organized sports etc. I brag about my grandkids all the time doing their activies.
- Just don't be overshedualing in order to avoid having eye to eye contact the the kids and your spouse.
- Don't be blowing your budget on things you can't afford soyou have to be taking out a second mortage.
- Too much of a good things cause too much not healthy stress.
Then we go home to dump into the garbage can all of the spoiled fruit and real veggies we thought might be an good idea to get the kids introduced to instad of fast food.
Just who are "we" trying to fool that "we" are being a "good parent"?
- Be responcible parents? Demonstrate good values by not wasting food.
Somebody, not me, bought a bunch of good healthy food and now it is wasted. No one even tasted it, let alone tried to eat it. Now, the rotten food gets pitched. WASTED!
...and you wonder why Dad, who didn't brown bag it either, is upset with Mom about how poorly she is managing the grocery budget.
I have an idea!
- Lets just throw our money on the van floor and hope it earns interest. Yeah, pretty dumb idea, I know. So is all of the wasting "we" are teaching our kids.
Here's a better idea
I will be sending you, dear viewers, to someone who is amazing at pinching pennies . Her name is Chanda. she writes: So NOT Betty.
I wonder if maybe, she wrote down on paper the recipes her great grandma's used , like I did not.You know people got by without modern conviences. Don't be rolling your eyes about me writing about the good ole days. People could not afford to waste anything, not they would have wanted to.
In the post I will send you to, on So NOT Betty, husband bought a lot of Strawberries on sale. Well, there was no way they could eat all of them in a few days.
I don't copy anyone's else work. So, if you want to know how she dealt with a lot of yummy healthy, juicy strawberries you will have to click this link, right here... http://www.sonotbetty.com/search/label/Food%20Storage
While you are on So NOT Betty, browse around the site.
Did you know that it is good form to leave a comment on a blog to tell the author you appreciate the
free information he/she just shared with you? Be sure to write that No Non-cents Nanna sent you.
I think we should ask Chanda to be a guest blogger soon to tell us the answer, don't you?
I Have more to be shooting from the hip tips that will open your eyes about stress and your budget.
I am Malika Bourne the No Non-cents Nanna saying, "Make good choices."
Didyou read part 1? http://nanna.teoe.com/b2evolution/blog1.php/things-families-stress-over-and