Nothing to Buy

We've moved to a place where most things in the stores are more expensive, yet we're saving money. Why? We simply spend less often.

I've published an article about it, so click here for all the details and tips. The basic idea is that we are pretty much free from the temptation to buy most of the time, simply because we don't live near any stores. I don't pass any on the way to school, and we both work from home and rarely go into town. I promise that in a blog entry sometime soon I'll compare our credit card statements to those from our Vancouver life, but I have no doubt that we've gone from an average of spending money at least twice per day to perhaps twice per week.

Another key, of course, is that we bought and preserved items when they were in season. The blueberries that we picked and froze in September are now being sold at 5 times the price. Not only does the one-time investment and minimal monthly electric cost of our new freezer enable us to continue eating local organic produce, but it's saving us bushels of money.

This coming year will hopefully usher in the third and biggest element to saving money - the zero-mile diet. I dream of a farm that supplies all our needs year-round; of never buying a zucchini again. We'll probably start with some core crops this year and expand as our knowledge and stamina increase over the years, but the thought of a steamy greenhouse full of tomatoes already makes me smile.