[mplsconservative]

Subway on Sunday is our usual routine. Of course, I’m a fabulous cook and it’s something I enjoy so we’d rather eat at home.

I like the once a week break and our son snarfs down his turkey footlong. We’ll probably have to buy two for him when he hits the teenage years. It’s in the budget. :)

[Marie]

I cut our cost of living down by $500 a month by never eating at fast food chains or restaurants and by not buying bottled water. I then took us down another $40 by slashing our TV programing package to one step above basic. (Hubby and the kids didn't notice for three months!) We gained another $100 advantage by buying only Tide, dryer sheets, dishwashing detergent for the machine, bleach, baking soda, Murphy's Oil Soap (to make my own dusting rags), ammonia, vinegar, borax and regular dish detergent for cleaning. No more scrubbing bubbles, pledge, all-in-one floor cleaner, special electronic dusting spray, Windex, Ajax, etc. I took another $300 a month off our grocery bill by learning how to can food.

The best part was that there wasn't a noticeable change in our quality of life. The house is still clean and it's a little more work for me to cook all meals at home, but I do a lot of cooking one day a week then we open jars of soup, chili or stew for dinner the rest of the week and boil some noodles or make rice. Top it off with a quick tossed salad and we're eating. Easy.

I'm proud of what I've done, but ashamed that it took me so long to see the options we've always had available. So much money has been wasted over the years! :-(